1Dual Processing
The mind has two different tracks that simultaneously consciously and unconsciously process information.
2Dual Processing High Track
Conscious processing. Handles processing that occurs with awareness. Ex: Problem solving, definition of words, ID’ing objects
3Dual Processing Low Track
Unconscious processing. Handles processing disparate from awareness. Ex: Walking, acquiring fears, processing sensory details
4What is consciousness?
The awareness and experience of one’s self and their environment.
5Priming
The mind can be subconsciously influenced by things we experience.
6Blindsight
The ability of those with damaged visual cortexes to respond to unconsciously detected visual stimuli. A study found that those with damaged visual cortexes could navigate around obstacles despite a lack of conscious perception.
7Alcohol myopia
the tendency of alcohol to increase a person's concentration upon immediate events and reduce awareness of events which are distant
8Does attention have limits?
Yes. You can only allocate so much attention to one thing without fucking up another thing you’re doing. If you focus on one thing you often ignore others.
9Inattentional blindness
Hard focusing one thing to the point you don’t notice something else that’s happening
10Change blindness
Failure to notice changes in a scene’s visual details.
11What is sleep?
A periodic and natural loss of consciousness
12Circadian rhythm
Internal clock that regulates body functions and alters the body depending on the time. (begins raising body temps in the morning, peaks during the day, begins to drop during early afternoon, and hard drops during the evening. Peak body temperature is when thinking is sharpest and memory is at it’s most accurate. This can be altered by age and external factors.)
13Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Part of the hypothalamus and regulates the circadian rhythm
14Is sleep consistent?
No, in the sense that it cycles through multiple phases.
15What is REM sleep?
Also known as paradoxical sleep, Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the beginning of sleep and is characterized via high brain activity but paralyzed body. Increases in heart rate and frequency of breaths additionally occur
16How does the sleep cycle go?
Stage 1: N1. Hypnagogic sensations are experienced, along with hallucinations. Stage 2: N2 sleep, lasts around 20 minutes. Stage 3: N3 sleep, around 30 minutes. This is when you stop detecting external stimuli and become a brick. Stages then reverse and end up in REM sleep.
17What does sleeping do?
-Repairing and restoring neuron damage
-Ensures human safety during potentially dangerous periods
-Strengthens neural connections that ensure stronger memories
-Promotes creative problem solving the next day.
-During deep sleep, allows for release of HGH
18State 5 reasons why dreams occur
-Organizing and storing memories
-Satisfying desire
-Make sense of neural static
-Reflecting cognitive development
-Developing and preserving neural pathways
19Freud’s Wish Fulfillment Theory
Latent content (hidden, underlying meaning) is revealed through manifest content (remembered story line/plot)
20Information-processing theory
Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories.
21 Activation-Synthesis Theory
Random activity in the limbic system alongside sensory and visual cortexes is assembled by the brain into a VERY STUPID dream.
22Cognitive Theory of Dreams
Dream content reflects dreamers’ level of cognitive development
23Stimulants
Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions. Increases alertness and energy (dilation of pupils, increase in heart and breathing rates, rise in blood sugar, and drop in appetite).
24Hallucinogens
Drugs that distort perceptions and calls up sensory images w/o sensory inputs
25Depressants
Drugs that calm neural activity and slow body function.
26Withdrawal
Discomfort/distress that follows in the wake of stopping using drugs.
27Drug tolerance
More drugs you do, the more you need to get a high
28Addiction
A compulsive craving of drugs/certain behaviors in spite of known shit consequences
29Psychoactive drugs
Chem substances that alter mood and perceptions
30Nature versus Nurture
Is our behaviour determined by:
– Nature (inherited, genetic structures) or
– Nurture (socioenvironmental factors): media, peers, religion, stress, socioeconomic status, parenting, etc.?
31Genes
DNA segments that, when expressed direct the development of proteins that influence a person’s development.
32The genome
Contains the complete set of instructions for making an organism, and by extension all the genes in that organism
33Behavior genetics
Examines how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.
34Fraternal (dizygotic) twins
Develop from separate fertilized eggs, sharing 50% of their genes.
35Identical (monozygotic) twins
Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, sharing 100% of their genes.
36Temperament
Person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity. Temperament types: “easy,” “difficult,” and “slow to-warm-up”.
37Heritability
The degree to which genetics explains differences between individuals in a sample. This does not reveal the proportion that genes contribute to the trait for any one person.
38Epigenetics
Studies molecular mechanism by which environments can trigger or block genetic expression. Epigenetic marks (often methyl molecules) can affect the expression of any gene in the associated DNA segment.
39Evolutionary Psychology
Seeks to understand the adaptive function of shared human characteristics and behaviors.
40natural selection as the mechanism of evolution
1. Variation exists within a population of organisms
2. Some organisms are more “fit” for a particular environment tend to survival and reproduce (pass on genes to succeeding generations).
3. Overtime, their genes accumulate in the population
41Allen’s Rule
a rounder body minimizes heat loss in colder climates, whereas a longer, thinner body maximizes heat loss
42Culture
The V BAIT shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
43Norms
Standards for acceptable, expected behavior
44Individualist Cultures
Value independence. Promote personal ideals, strengths, and goals, pursued in competition with others, leading to individual achievement and finding unique identities.
45Collectivist cultures
Value interdependence. Promotes group+societal goals and duties, and blending in with group identity, Attributes achievements to group over self
46Culture and Relationship
• Levine et al. (1995): For individualistic cultures passionate, romantic love is essential for establishment of marriage.
– The disappearance of love is a sufficient reason to end a marriage.
• Companionate love, not passionate love, is more likely to endure a lifetime.
NO ANSWER-Just facts
47Biological sex
Biological differences between males and females
48Gender identity
Personal sense of being male, female, or a combination of the two.
49Gender Typing
The process in which we become aware of our gender and adopt traditional masculine or feminine role.
50Social learning theory
Proposes social behavior is learned by observing and imitating others’ gender-linked behavior and by being rewarded or punished.
51Differences in gender:
Social Power:
▪ In most cultures men have more control over people and resources than women do
▪ men are seen as dominant, women as nurturing
Social Connectedness:
▪ Women are more concerned about,social connections (e.g., use and worry about social media more)
▪ Boys have more competitive play, girls about friendship and support
Gender and Aggression:
▪ men behave more aggressively than women, and are more likely to behave in ways that harm others
▪ This difference applies to physical aggression rather than verbal or relational aggression
52According to Piaget, what are the 4 stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor stage (birth-2yrs)-> Preoperational stage (2-6/7 yrs)->Concrete operational (7-11 yrs)-> Formal operational (12 yrs through adulthood)
53Characteristics of the sensorimotor stage
Infants acquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it. Until about 8 months, a child lives in the present, and does not understand object permanence (i.e, something will continue to exist even if you don't see it.)
54Characteristics of the preoperational stage:
A preliminary understanding of quantities and the physical world alongside a rudimentary understanding of conservation (quantitative properties of an object don't change despite altered appearances). Latter can be affected by external factors (eg. motivation.) In terms of social interaction, in order to take the perspective of others, children need to develop a theory of mind. The ability to read mental state and behaviour of others is guided by their mind.
55Characteristics of the concrete operational stage
Children can manipulate numbers and understand conservation that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
56Characteristics of the formal operational stage
Ability to think logically about abstract concepts (e.g., love)is present along with ability to imagine (im)possibilities (e.g., hypotheticals)
57How do infants construct and adjust schemas (theories about how the world works)?
– Assimilation: Applying schemas in novel situations (ex: a corgi is a dog, hence a chihuahua, which resembles a corgi, is also a dog)
– Accommodation: Revising schemas in light of new information (ex: child thinks a tabby is a dog, but is told that a tabby is not a dog and is instead a cat. Revision is made)
58Egocentrism
When a child is unable to take another’s point of view. This issue is unique to the preoperational phase, when visualization of things outsidea child's PoV is difficult.
59Infant Attachment
According to John Bowlby, attachment is a instinctive, emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers.
60epigenetics
Studying the molecular mechanisms by which environments can trigger or block genetic expression.
61What was Jean Piaget known for?
4 stages of cognitive development and the concept of schemas. Piaget viewed children as nascent scientists
62Piaget schemas
Means that a developing child understands the world.
63What was Lev Vygotsky known for?
Ascribed increases in the cognitive ability of children to their parents and people around them. Viewed children as nascent apprentices
64What was Harry Harlow known for?
He and his wife did experiments on baby rhesus monkeys. When they took blankets kept in each cage away to be washed, the monkeys displayed distress. This proved that attachment was not due to parents providing food and shelter, but to a concept known as contact comfort.
65What was Lawrence Kohlberg known for?
Piaget believed that a child's moral judgement built on their cognitive ability. Kohlberg agreed, and focused on how moral reasoning developed, coming up with 3 basic phases of moral thinking: Pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional
66What was Erik Erikson known for?
He essentially said that every phase of life has a problem that needs resolution, which he called a psychosocial task. Erikson defined 8 different phases of life, ranging from the womb to the tomb.
67What is John Bowlby known for?
Outlined the concept of attachment
68What is Mary Ainsworth known for?
Created the 'Strange situation' test to test children's attachment to parents. Found 3 different attachment styles.
69What determines good sexual partners for both genders?
Men: Sexual partners need to look attractive and partners are chosen on the need to bear children
Women: Attractiveness is apparent here too and partners are chosen on the ability to commit to relationships
70Differences between gender and sex:
• Biological sex refers to biological differences between males and females
– E.g., chromosomes (female XX, male XY), reproductive organs (ovaries, testes), and hormones (estrogen, testosterone).
• Gender is a cultural category, including roles (expected behaviors) and attributes