Chapter 1

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

6:25 PM

Psychology
I: Psychology is the science of mental process and behavior.

A: Science
Using objective evidence go answer questions. Pychology=
Study of behavior and cognitive (thinking), understanding
B: mental process how we think, feel, learn and understand ourselves.
What your brain is doing when thinking and feeling.

C: Behavior
Outwardly observable acts of person

II: 3 Levels of Analysis

Each builds on each other.

A: Level of the Brain (mechanism) including the activity and structure

B: Level of the Person, (content), ideas, desires, and feelings

C: Level of the Group, physical environment.

III: Evolution of Science

A: Psychoanalytic Sigmund Freud
Unconscious or unaccessabe part of mind, SF said that all basis for behavior drived by
sex and aggression.

CONS: bad science, he couldn't prove true, ex; invisible apple. Psychodynamic Theory=
PROS: first to say parental influence affects how kids develop their Theory of how thoughts and feelings affect behavior; refers
personality. to the continual push-n-pull interaction among conscious
and unconscious forces.
B: Neo-Freudians Object Relation Theorist
Abandoned sex and aggression theory, believed the parent + child theory, Kids at the age of 2 had
developed personality.

C: Behavioralist Watson, Skinner and Pavlov

Observable behavior > direct counter to Freud. Observed the reward-punishment influcen on
behavior.
"Give me control of the world the kid grows in, I'll give you a Dr., thief or artist"
-Watson

D: Cognitive Psyc. Beck Beck's Model

Situation >>+>> Belief >>> Actions

2 broad areas of study:
How thoughts influence behavior? Situations don't trigger actions, actions are dictated by beliefs.
How the brain/senses operate?

E: Humanistic Theory
Focus on person conscious experience and importance of free-will and obtainment of self-
actualization.

F: Bio-psychological
Bio. Aspect of behavior, genetics, brain or hormones.

G: Evolutionary

Sec. I, Ch. 1 Page 1

 G: Evolutionary
How human behavior helps to adapt to environmental pressure.

****AS science of Psychology progressed, the "black and white"

dissipates, and a combination of NATURE AND NURTURE are found.

Nature (biological make-up) + Nurture (environment) = Human Behavior

IV: Fields of Specialization

A: Clinical/counseling = assessment & treatment of mental and emotional behaviors

Clinical = treat people with disorders and trained to administer and interpret psyc. Test
Counseling = trained to help people with issues that naturally arise in the course of life.

B: Psychiatrist = MD, prescribe drugs Psychotherapy

C: Social Worker = uses psychotherapy to help families and individuals Process of helping clients learn to
D: Psychiatric Nurse = MSN and CS, provides psychotherapy and may prescribe RX change so they can cope with
E: Experimental = conducts and analysis research troublesome thoughts, feelings and
F: Educational = help students learn more affectively. behaviors.
G: Developmental = psychological changes with age.

Methodology
Core characteristics of Science

VERIFIABLE need for replication, people are fucking liars.

PUBLIC PEER REVIEW the so-called "jury" for research
CUMALITIVE ability to be built upon

Process of Research
A: Identify the problem

B: Define the Problem

Operational Definition or how do I measure what I’m going to study

C: Formulate Hypothesis

D: Construct a method to test hypothesis

Criteria for Evaluating Theories.

A: Fit the known facts
B: Predicts new observations
C: Falsifiable - a way to design a study false
D: Law of Parsimony- scientist prefer the theory that explains matters in the simplest possible
terms and makes the simplest assumptions.

Data Collection

A: Case Study - intensive study of a single individual or event

P: Highly detailed info about that individual including historical -cultural context

C: Can't generalize the findings or apply it to others. Cant' determine cause and
effect.

B: multiple-baseline Design - study one variable over time, periodically introducing change into
the system, typical done with a single person

****By withdrawing and reintroducing the administration of the SOURCE of

CHANGE, you can reduce the probability that a 3rd variable is causing effects.

Sec. I, Ch. 1 Page 2

 CHANGE, you can reduce the probability that a 3rd variable is causing effects.

C: some variables have lasting effects so you can' obtain a 2nd baseline, cant
generalize or determine cause and effect.

C: Naturalistic Observation - Observations of real life situations, in homes or classrooms.

P: see behavior in natural setting

C: your presence influencies clients behavior, can't generalize findings, no
cause and effect

D: Surveys and Questionares

P: Ease of administration, ease to score and analyze

D: Sampling problem (may not be able to generalize results beyond that sample
you took), wording effects/influence, descrepencies between real life and test
responses

E: Correlation Research - info on how 2 variables are related to one another

Range + (-1) to (+1) the number indicating the strength of the relationship while the sign
ONLY depicts the direction.

Positive (+) = 1 variable increases, so does the other = (+1)

Negative (-) = 1 variable increases, the other decreases = ( -1)

Correlation does not equal causation

Correlation give a mathematical value from (-1) to (+1)

From Right to left, if both variables increase the number will be positive
"" "", if one variable increases & the other is moving opposite, # will be neg.

How to Provoke CAUSATION

An experiment, controlled investigation that studies the cause and effect relationships thru
manipulation of variables.

A: Define variables

1: Independent Variables: what the researcher manipulates

2: Dependent variables: what the examiner studies
Operational Definition: how to measure Internal Validity
Are the problems with the study that make
B: Create 2 groups it difficult to draw a conclusion
1: Experimental Group: exposed to treatment
2: Control Group: no exposure

**RANDOM ASSIGNMENT: Every subject has an equal chance to be in External Validity

experimental OR control group. This ensures the 2 groups are equal and To what extent can we generalize the
removes unwanted variables. findings to other groups

Potential Problems: non-random assignments, experimenter bias, and demand

characteristics (subjects act in the way they think the Experimenter wants')

Solution: Double-Blind Procedure, both the data collector and the

research participants are UNAWARE of the studies hypothesis.

Types of Long term Studies

Cohort Effect
Longitudinal-Problem is it takes too long and too much money Differences between age groups may
Cross-Sectional- group of people from different age's and measure the variables be caused by different experiences
Adoption Studies- allows for researchers to control for effects of genetics growing up and are not due to age
itself

Sec. I, Ch. 1 Page 3

Biology of Psychology
Sunday, February 22, 2009
6:59 PM

Neurons: 3 Types
1) Motor
2) Sensory
3) Interneuron's

****FUNCTION OF NERVE CELL IS TO MOVE INFORMATION, THIS INFO TRAVELS IN 1 DIRECTION

NERVE TRANSMITTION IS ELECTRICAL PROCESS

Dendrite
Axon Terminal
Node of
The Ranvier

Axon

nucleus Myelin

Dendrites (Post synaptic neuron) RECIEVES message.

Axon (Pre synaptic neuron) SENDS message Myelin
Fatty substance that transmits impulses more
effectively.
TRANSFER FROM ONE CELL TO ANOTHER IS A CHEMICAL PROCESS

Receptor and Neurotransmitter match each other by shape.

Neurotransmitters or Neuromodulators "bind" to the receptor. Action Potential

2 possible outcomes: Shifting change in the charge (-or+) of the axon
I> Excitatory - more likely to fire action potential
II> Inhibitory - less likely to fire action potential
Neurons receive thousands of differing inputs, Excitatory and Inhibitory cancel each other
out, which ever one has more is the outcome. Reuptake
Surplus NT is re-absorbed back into the sending
neuron so that the neuron can fire again.

Drugs that affect NT

Agonists = mimic NT by activating a select type of rec'v
Antagonist = blocks select receptors.
Blood-Brain Barrier
EXAMPLE: Filter that keeps drugs from the brain.
Opioids mimic endorphins' > block pain by activating receptors. If you overdose, Narkan is
administered, Narkan blocks receptors and is a Antagonist.

Nervous System

Peripheral NS (info sys/messenger)

Links the CNS to the organs in the body

Somatic Autonomic
Conscious movement Unlearned functions

Sympathetic Parasympathetic

Sec. I, Ch. 2 Page 1

 Peripheral NS (info sys/messenger)
Links the CNS to the organs in the body

Somatic Autonomic
Conscious movement Unlearned functions

Sympathetic Parasympathetic
Arousal, fight or flight Calming, opposite

Central Nervous System

Spinal Cord
Info HWY

Afferent (Sensory) Efferent (motor)

info TO Brain Info to the Body

Brain

Parts of the Brain.

Medulla
Vital functions, controls "the switch" left hemisphere
controls right side of body.
Hanging destroys medulla
Opiods affect it

Pons:
Facial muscles

Cerebellum
Coordinated muscle movement
Alcohol

Hypothalemus
Appitite, ultimate contol for fight or flight
Pleasure seeking behavior

Thalamus
Sensory relay (except smell)
"Distribution Center"

Hippocampus
Memory formation

Reticular Formation
Power generator for the brain
Responsible for consciousness

Amygdala
Anxiety , fear and anger

Basil Ganglia
Layers ontop of everything
Responsible for initiation and maintenanvce of movement

Cerebral Cortex
Most memories are stored

Occipital Lobe
Sight "visual cortex"

Temporal Lobe
Hearing "auditory cortex"

Sec. I, Ch. 2 Page 2

 Hearing "auditory cortex"

Pariental Lobe
Touch and body position
Contains the somatosensory strip = impulse control
Personality, and planning, Mapped out
Senses from the body

Frontal cortex
Conscious movement, "motor cortex", impulse control
"Association cortex"
Injured causes personality shift

Right Hemisphere Corpus Left Hemisphere

Callosum *Broca's Area=lang. Production
Spacial relationships *Werinke's Area=Lang Prod. Spoken
Emotional processing

Sec. I, Ch. 2 Page 3

 Section II, Chapter 4, 7 and 10
Saturday, March 28, 2009
11:33 AM

Emotions: 4 components
1. Pos or neg subjective experience The root of "emotion" and "motivation" come from the Latin word
2. Bodily arousal "movere"
3. Activation of specific mental process and stored info
4. Characteristic overt behavior

Expressions of Emotions
Basic Emotions : innate emo that's shared by all humans, psychological usually accompanied by Display rules - when appropriate to display emotions,
physiological reaction. culturally based
5 Core Emotions: Happiness or joy - fear or anxiety - Anger - sadness or grief - disgust
Cross-Cultural Similarities in Facial Expression - accuracy in
recognizing expressions in differing cultures, ie a pigmy
understanding a look of happiness on westerner face.
Theory's of Emotion
○ James-Lange
Event > physical change(arousal) > Emotion
Problems: ex. Spinal cord injuries, can't feel heart pacing but still reports emotions
Physio manipulation doesn't induce emotions

○ Cannon-Bard Theory

Event > Physiological Change (arousal) <same time as > Emotion

○ Cognitive Theory
Core Effect:
Event > Physiological change (arousal) > Interpretation as a function of the context > Simplest raw feelings
EMOTION

○ Schacter and Singer *most comprehensive

Emotions need physiological arousal + cognitive label that explains arousal = emotion ***Manipulate the Cognitive label and you can manipulate
emotions.

Emerging Synthesis

Brain and Body Reactions

Event Emotion Mood congruity effect-

Mood influences what you remember.

Memories & Interpretation

Motivation
Motivation
Theory's of Motivation Impulse or desire that activates behavior
Instinct Theory = inborn biological factors that must be inherited, species specific, and
stereotyped * *** Can't be applied to humans

Arousal Theory = optimal level of arousal

Yerkes-Dodson Law = There's an inverted "U" relationship b/t efficiency of performance and
levels of arousal.

HIGH

Performance midrange
Hard task
Easy task

LOW

LOW Arousal HIGH

When Arousal is mid-range = performance is at it's peak

Differences in "easy" & "difficult" task

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 1

 Intrinsic motivators = rewards that come
from w/in the individual
Extrinsic can undermine intrinsic
Extrinsic motivators = rewards from the
outside the individual

Self Efficacy = person's belief in their ability to master their environment and reach goals.

Low self efficacy

"I don't think I can do it" Lower effort

"I knew I couldn't do it" Greater chance of failure

Achievement Motivation = striving for accomplishment and excellence

Attribution Theory = How we explain our own and other behaviors

People who differ w/ achievement motivation differ in
the way they explain success. EX> People high need to
achieve attribute success to internal factors like ability or
effort.

Internal explanations=
"Hard work" High achievement motivation
External Explanations=
"Luck" Low achievement motivation

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Face validity = makes sense
I) Basic Needs
Physiological (food) and Safety (shelter)
II) Psychological Needs
Belongingness (social interaction) and Esteem needs (feeling of
competency)
III) Self-Actualization
Achieving one's full potential, includes creative activities

Problems:
No one knows what self actualization really is
Some people have high esteem/belongingness but are
homeless

Hunger
CNS involvement:

Lateral Hypothalamus = damage results in loss of weight - reports no hunger and some starve
ON SWITCH

Ventromedial Hypothalamus = damage results in gaining weight, but continued to eat

OFF SWITCH

Obesity = over 30 BMI (weight in Kg/height in meters2)

1:20 severely obese BMI over 40
5:20 obese
7:10 overweight

"active obese" - drastically reduced health risk

All fat stores aren't equal, fat on torso is worse for health than stored on thighs/hips

Weight loss and Set point theory: Keesley proposed that weight is regulated by a physiological
mechanism that establishes a set point for the individual weight

Physical activity dampens obesity health issues, as effective as anti -depressants lessen delusions,
chronic pain, etc

Weight cycling (healthy amount to lose = 1 to 2 lbs. per wk)

Caused by frequent dieting following periods of normal or more caloric intake. 10 to 50 lb
fluctuations, cycling leads to the replacement of muscle with fat.

Eating Disorders

Anorexia
10 x's more likely in women than men

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 2

 ○ 10 x's more likely in women than men
○ Mean age of onset > 17 Development peaks @ 14 and 19
○ Rare in age 40 and up
○ 10% die

Cultural impact > wast majority of cases come from industrialized countries where thin is equated
with beauty

Obsessive-Compulsive features > obsessed w/ food but won't eat

Diagnostic Criteria >

 Inability to maintain an acceptable body weight, 85% and down of optimal body weight
 Intense fear of gaining weight
 Disturbance in the way one's body is perceived
 In females, amenorrhea (stoppage of menstrual cycle)

Bulimia
○ 10 x's more likely in women (possibility of misdiagnosis of men due to purging via exercise)
○ Mean age 17
○ Rare in age 40 and up

Most appear to be of healthy weight but loss of dental enamel, calluses on knuckles and cardiac
problems are prevalent

Diagnostic Criteria >

 Re-occupant binge eating
□ Eating huge amounts of food
□ Severe lack of control over eating
 Recurrent use of inappropriate strategies ot prevent weight gain, purging
 Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight
◊ Weight goes up = self image goes down

Causes of eating Disorders

CNS - low levels of serotonin - meds are same as anti-depressants, hypothalamus "runs" on
serotonin

Psychological Factors:
 Cultural factors/prejudice
 Family relationships
□ Girls w/anorexia > enmeshed and overprotective families
□ Girls w/bulimia > more angry and rejecting
 Self control motivations> control weight = increase self-esteem
 Fearful of sexual maturation (Freud)- fear of sexual maturity
 Sexual abuse- this is a FALLISY rates of disorder are the same in abused vs. un-abused.

Treatment of Eating Disorders

○ Medication - anti depressants
○ Behavioral approach
○ Cognitive therapy
○ Most effective = combination

Sexual Motivation

Physiologically of Sex
i. Excitement - increased in muscle tension, heart rate, and blood pressure, penis and clitoris
become enlarged
ii. Platuea, "cresendo"
iii. Orgasm, contraction of muscles
iv. Resolution (First difference in men and women)
1) Refractory period: males can't become sexually aroused again for a period of time

Coolidge Effect = if you introduce a male w/a different female to mate with the refractory
period is lost.

Polygraphs and Lie Detectors

- Measure breathing, HR, GSR, BP = ASSUMING that when people lie their physical arousal goes up GSR (Galvanic Skin Response)
Measures the electric conductivity of the skin, stress =
Problems: Correctly ID's 77-87% of liars sweat = increase in conductivity
Falsely ID's 30-40% of people as liars

Guilty Knowledge Test: instead of asking direct questions, ask questions about the details of the
crime that only the perpetrator would know.

Correctly ID's 46-100% of liars

Falsely ID's 19-0% of people as liars

Individuals can use counter-measures to hike up the base line so that spikes of arousal are
miniscule.

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 3

Anger Management
Frustration/Aggression Hypothesis
Anger is a product of frustration, PROBLEM> too simplistic, no explanation to how a
situation is interpreted.

Problems in maintaining Anger:

 Individual doesn’t pay attention to internal cues - report "exploding" w/o warning
□ Solution: pay attentions to physical arousal
 Interpretation of ambiguous events as hostile
□ Solution: think of alternative explanations
 Misapplying the count to 10 rule
□ Remove yourself from the situation physically.

Classical Conditioning > Involuntary ****KNOW:

Example using Pavlov and his Dogs. Unconditioned - unlearned/reflexive
Conditioned - learned
 UCS - Unconditioned Stimulus - stimulus elicits unconditioned response w/o prior learning Stimulus - Physical event
□ Ex. > meat
 UCR - Unconditioned Response - unlearned response that is automatically paired with
stimulus
□ Ex. > Salivate
 CS - Conditioned Stimulus - previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with UCS
□ Ex. > Bell
 CR - Conditioned Response - Learned response associated w/ the CS
□ Ex.> ring bell = salivate
Acquisition
Pairing of UCS and CS, meat and bell
UCS UCR
Meat salivate
You only know if the
response is UCR or CR if
you know what caused it.
CS CR
Bell salivate

Timing of UCS - CS

Forward Conditioning - CS (bell) before UCS (meat) **Best for producing results Optimal interval b/t CS and USC = .2 to 2 seconds
Simultaneous Conditioning - CS and UCS @ same time
Backward Conditioning - UCS (meat) before CS (bell)

*Exception = taste aversion

Extinction - gradual weakening and disappearance of conditioned response

Spontaneous Recovery - temporary return of the conditioned response after extinction occurs, usually a
weaker response that doesn't last as long

Stimulus Generalization - tendency for stimuli other than the original to produce CS, buzzer not bell =
salivate

Stimulus Discrimination - ability to differentiate b/t different types of stimuli

Operant Conditioning voluntary

Learns to make a response because it produces a reward or punishment

○ Positive Reinforcement > Goal to increase behavior by awarding desired behavior

○ Negative Reinforcement > Goal to increase behavior by taking away something unpleasant when
the behavior is preformed
○ Punishment > goal is to DECREASE the occurrence of a behavior by following it with a negative
stimulus at the occurrence of behavior
 Punishment (severe) and child raising not effective
 Decreases behavior BUT doesn't teach the correct response
 Increases aggression
 Punishment is attention & for some any attention is good.
○ Omission Training > Goal to decrease behavior by removal of positive stimulus Extinction
○ Premack Principle > use a more preferred activity to reinforce a less preferred one. Behavior decreases and eventually disappears if
○ Shaping > establishing a new response by reinforcing successive approximations to it. Take it's not reinforced
behavior and break it down into steps.
○ Discriminative Stimulus > a stimulus that acts as a signal for when a response will be reinforced

Primary and Secondary Reinforces

-Primary > fills a biological need, food
-Secondary> not immediately satisfying, but rewarding due to association w/primary, money
to get food.

Schedules of Reinforcement: Continuous>

Best for results, very vulnerable to extinction

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 4

 Best for results, very vulnerable to extinction
○ Continuous > every correct behavior receives reward
Fixed ratio and Interval >
Based on number of response
High rate of behavior, vulnerable to extinction
○ Fixed ratio > reinforcement is given after a fixed no. of responses
○ Variable Ratio > reinforcement is given after a varying no. of responses
Variable ratio and Interval >
Based on Time
Lower response, very resistant to extinction
○ Fixed Interval > reinforcement given for the first correct response after a fixed period of time
○ Variable Interval > reinforcement given for the correct response after varying period of time.

Learned Helplessness - passive behavior caused by the belief that there is no way to escape a painful
stimulus.

Health Psychology
The study of the interaction b/t psychological process and physical health. Primary goal :
promote health & health enhancing behavior.

Causes of death : trend is moving away from infectious disease to chronic disease

Relationship b/t health behaviors and mortality (correlation)

Sleep 7-8 hrs
Eating Breakfast
Rarely eating between meals
Weight
No Smoking
Alcohol in moderation
Exercising regularly

Models of Health

Biomedical > base on the notion of pathogens (disease carrying agents), eliminate the pathogen
and you eliminate the disease. Biological Factor.

Bio-psychosocial > Physical, social and Psychological factors.

Stress
-Physiological mechanism of stress, The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), 3 phases
i. Alarm Phase > body aroused, sympathetic NS, HR - BP up
ii. Resistance > balance the alarm phase, parasympathetic NS kick in, attempt to reduce HR
and BP, etc You can't just "deal with" long term stress
iii. Exhaustion > if the stress isn't removed, body's reserves are exhausted, no longer able to
repair damaged tissues and the body becomes susceptible to infections.

Theory of Stress

Lazarus - Folkman > a situation that someone is in and interpretations of events

Personally threatening
Out of one's control.

People use Appraisals:

Primary: "Does it affect me?"
Secondary: "What can I do about it?"

Stress Modulators

Sense of Control
Predictability
Social Support, 4 types
Emotional - concern, empathy and caring
Instrumental aid - money, rides
Information - what Dr.'s to see, advise
Feedback - info about the person's self concept.

How Social Support Works:

The Main Effect Hypothesis > "people w/high social support just don't see as many things as
stressful."

The Buffering Hypotheses > Social support provides a buffer against high stress, base line is the
same, but doesn't "spike" as much

Styles of Coping

Problem Focused > tackles the problem itself

Emotion Focused > involves handling your own emotions to the problem

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 5

 Stress >>> Effects on the Immune System

Stress - Depression

Behavioral
Biological

Smoke-eat-drink-lose sleep
Nor-Epinephrine up
Cortisol up

Immune Sys Drops

Increase in Disease Susceptibility

Special Topics
Type "A" Personality "
○ High competitively
○ Sense of urgency
○ Tendency to become hostile
○ Difficulty in relaxing

More susceptible to heart attacks, researchers believe Hostility is the reason

Responds better to rehabilitation.

Depression and Health

Rates of depression are nearly doubled w/ diabetes, but only a 1.37 % increase of diabetes.

Depression DOUBLES the risk for heart attack (smoking and obesity only 1.5)

Depression post MI increases risk of second heart attack/death

Adherence to Medical Advice ( approx. 50% )

Factors that predict adherence:
 Severity of illness does NOT predict adherence
 Activities for prevention less adhered to than active treatment
 Length of treatment - longer the treatment the less adhered too
 Side effects - no adherence if sexual or weight gain
 Social support INCREASES adherence
 Personal responsibility for health care improves adherence
 Poor doctor-patient communication/poor perception of doctor decreases adherence
 Time spent in the waiting room increases = adherence decreasing

Sec. II Ch. 4,7 & 10 Page 6

Sec III Ch. 5 & 13
Saturday, April 18, 2009
4:35 PM

Memory
Recall = produce information from memory WITHOUT cues, from LTM to STM

Recognition = identify correct information from a list of alternatives

Explicit Memory = individual consciously acts to recall information.

Implicit Memory = recognized information without being consciously aware of it, "meaning of
particular words"

Mechanisms of Memory
○ Encoding = transfers physical sensory into a kind of representation that can be put in memory
○ Storage = how we retain info, different storage for different memories
○ Retrieval = gaining access to memory store

Three types of Memories

1) Sensory
i. Capacity = Large
ii. Storage duration = less than 2 sec.
iii. Encoding = stores exact replication of the sensations it encounters, 3 types
1) Iconic = Visual
2) Echoic = Auditory
3) Tactile = Touch
iv. Retrieval = storage time varies as a function of limited storage duration.

2) Short Term Memory (working memory)

i. Capacity = 7 items + or - 2, Based on acoustic store Chunking:
ii. Encoding = info in the STM is typically encoded according to it's acoustic code, R. Conrad Grouping letters, numbers into meaningful groups
(1964) visually presented subject w/a series of letters, BETOFH, upon reciting them,
mistakes were consisting of 2 letters that sound the same, F for S, T for C, B for V
iii. Retrieval = 2 different effects
1) Primacy Effect = improved recall at the beginning
2) Recancy Effect = improved recall of the end
3) ****Primacy is weaker then Recancy******

3) Long Term Memory

i. Encoding = stored according to semantic code, meaning of the words. 3 kinds of memory
storage,
1) Procedural = memory of how to perform something, difficult to recall or consciously
describe
2) Semantic = general knowledge, facts
3) Episodic = memory of personal experience Association Network
ii. Organization = info in the LTM stored in Association Networks
iii. Retrieval = Influenced by 2 things Pet
1) Context Effect = remember more material while in same environment as learned it in.
2) State Dependant Memory = remember best when in the same phys/emo state as Dog Cat Fish
when the material was initially learned.
Bark meow float

Alternative Theory's of Memory

The depth at which we process (rehearse) information determines how well it's placed into
memory

1) Maintenance Rehearsal = mere repetition of info, based on visual features or sound

2) Elaboration Rehearsal = rehearsal in which the meaning of the info is considered and the Memory = Attention ; Attention = Memory
info is related to other knowledge that you already know.

Forgetting and the Causes

Encoding Theory = don't pay attention to the stimulus or you don't process the info enough to
move it to the LTM

Decay Theory = memory naturally fade over time, particularly if not used for a long period of time
Von Restorff Effect:
Interference Theory = particular memories interfere with the retrieval of others More likely to remember an item that
doesn't conceptually belong on the list, ie,
1) Proactive Interference = old memories interfere with acquiring new memories. the "night, pillow, turn" in class
2) Retroactive Interference = new memories interfere with the retrieval of old
memories.
MEMORY IS A CONSTRUCTIVE PROCESS, NOT
A SNAP-SHOT OF PARTICULAR LIFE EVENTS.

Influences on Schemas
Schemas are cognitive frameworks representing our knowledge about aspects of the world. These

Sec. III Ch. 5 & 13 Page 1

 Schemas are cognitive frameworks representing our knowledge about aspects of the world. These
frameworks affect how we recall things and what we actually recall. Ie, what books do you see
the art student dropping, what about a history student, the books have no labels in the clip.

Flash-bulb Memories
Vivid memories of what we were doing at the time of a highly emotional event. In order to
produce the flashbulb memory effect, 3 requirements must be meet:
1) The event must be surprising
2) High personal interest
3) Evoked a high level of arousal

It's likely that the "flashbulb" effect has more impact on our confidence in the
memories that the accuracy.

Amnesia
Typically affects semantic memory (knowledge about factual info) but not procedural memory
(how to ride a horse)

Types of Amnesia

1) Retrograde = loss of memory prior to event

2) Anterograde = inability to form new LTM

Retrograde Head Injury Anterograde

TIME LINE Before event After event

**Korsakoff's Syndrome = shrinkage and destruction of the frontal lobe neurons caused by prolonged
deficiency of vitamin B1. Alcohol induced.

Confabulations =
Infantile Amnesia Attempts to fill in the gaps in their
Inability to recall events that happened when we were very young, before age 5 = little to nothing, memories with old, confused, or
memories before age 3 are rare fabricated info. Typically not on
purpose.
Reasons:
- Young people fail to organize their memories as adults do
- Slow maturation of the hippocampus
- People who do remember have been told the "story"

Repression
Take an unpleasant/traumatic memory and force it out of your consciousness and into the
unconsciousness
- NO lab evidence to support
- Recovered memory Syndrome or Implanted memory

Study Notes:
Required Reading Ch. 5, pg 198-202

Explicit vs. Implicit Memories

Explicit (declarative) memory: verbal and visual memories are "explicit" if you can call them to
mind in words or images. 2 types:
1) Semantic > memories of the meanings of words, concepts, and general facts about the
world.
2) Episodic > Memories of events that are associated with particular context, a time, place and
circumstance.

Implicit (nondeclarative) memory: memories that cannot voluntarily be called to mind, but still
influence behavior or thinking. 5 major types:
1) Classically conditioned responses
2) Memories formed through nonassociative learning
3) Habits
4) Skills
5) Priming

Social Psychology
How the present of others affect a persons thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Sec. III Ch. 5 & 13 Page 2

 -Attitudes = are learned, stable, and relatively enduring evaluations of a person or object
that can affect an individual.

Attitude Formation =
a) Classical Conditioning = pairing relationships with (+) or (-) words
b) Operant conditioning = ie father pays attention to son when he says he loves the chiefs
c) Vicarious learning = ie a kid 6 yrs old decked out in KKK garb

Changing Attitudes > persuasion

Character of the Recipient =

Central route persuasion- (logos), high process, critical thinking = attitude change based on
info contained in the message

Peripheral route persuasion- (ethos/pathos) topic not important, low elaboration, no

thoughtful consideration= attractiveness of speaker, perceived credibility

Relationships b/t attitudes and behavior

-Cognitive Consistency - match b/t attitudes and behavior

-Cognitive Dissonance - discomfort or confusion about behavior when it doesn't match belief.
Greatest when:
-Behavior is a free choice
-You can't change the behavior
-Behavior has important consequences for others

Self-Perception Theory = theory that we often draw conclusions about our own attitudes after
observing our own behavior. **Only works when attitude is vague or uncertain ie>Frat Hazing

Prejudice
Unfavorable attitudes directed toward another group

Causes:
Social Categorization > sorting based on perceived common attributes.

In/Out Group Effect > less likely to over generalize from stereotypes when considering
own group.

Realistic Conflict Theory > "only so much 'resources' to go around"

Social Learning > experience as a child from observing parents
Scape-Goating > blaming.

Consequence of Prejudice.

In Group Bias = people favor their own groups

Self-fulfilling prophecy = people believe in a certain way, so you act as you're expected to.

Techniques for reducing Prejudice

Contact- direct contact b/t groups alone will not reduce prejudice attitudes, need the following
conditions:
2 groups must be of = status
Contact must involve personal interactions
Groups must engage in cooperative activities
Social norms must favor reduction of prejudice

Attribution Theory > How people explain behaviors

1) Dispositional = internal causes - I did well cause I'm smart
2) Situational = sit. Based, "I did well cause the teacher is an idiot"

Factors that influence Attribution

1) Fundamental Attribution Error = over-emphazing internal causes for others, ie boss is screaming
because he is an ass.
2) Actor-Observer Effect = attributes actions of others to internal BUT our own actions to
situational factors, ie I'm screaming at you cause my boss is an ass
3) Social desirability = high weight to socially undesirable behavior as dispositional, ie theft? Or
family starving? People w/depression are opposite, but more
4) Self-Serving bias = generous to ourselves when interpreting our own behaviors, accurate >> Depression Realism
Success = internal Failure = situational
5) Self-Handicapping = taking actions to sabotage their own performance so they can use situational
effect as an excuse, usually to protect ego.

Group Influence.

Social Facilitation - performance (learned task) increase in front of others

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 Social Loafing = performance decreases when in a group

Bystander Effect = less likely to help a person when others are present
1) Diffusion of Responsibility = person feels less responsible personally of dealing
with a crisis
2) De-individualization = loss of individual identity
3) Conformity = modifies their behavior to make it consistent with the norms of
the group. Asch's conformity experiment.

Factors influencing Conformity:

Group size = increases until 4, levels off, then drops @
really high numbers

Cohesiveness = enhances conformity

Gender = ie,,,none.

Compliance
Modification of behavior in response to a request by another person.

1) Foot-in-door = ask for a smaller amount (money for example) then ask for a
larger one after a period of time has lapsed.
2) Door-in-the-face = ask for huge amount, well over target, and let it come down

Obedience
Modify behavior in response to a command of an actual authority

Factors that influence obedience:

□ If you see someone else disobey

□ Authority figure wasn't seen as legitimate.
□ Victim seen as more human - obedience reduced if "learner" was in the room.

Sec. III Ch. 5 & 13 Page 4

Sec. IV Ch. 11 and 12
Sunday, May 10, 2009
2:52 PM

Chapter 11 Abnormal Psychology AB = Abnormal Behavior

3 things to consider when answering "What is mental illness"

1) Deviance = behavior that is markedly different, culture plays a part

2) Maladaptiveness = behavior impairs the persons ability to effectively deal w/the environment,
reach goals, or to interact w/people. Problem is that a lot of things are maladaptive, but do we
label it a psych. Disorder.
3) Distress = feeling of discomfort/suffering. Distress isn't a good indicator of MI by itself.

***the determinations of abnormal behavior needs to include a consideration of all three

components.

Theoretical Aspects on Abnormal Behavior Etiology

A) Psychodynamic = AB result of intrapsycic conflict. According to Freud, MI is when the superego The cause of a disease
or ID overruns the Ego.

SuperEgo ID
Rules Pleasure seeking.

Ego
Mediator

B) Behavioral = AB is a result of classical or operant conditioning gone wrong. "generates fears/phobia's thru life
experiences.
C) Cognitive = AB is produced as a result of distorted thinking. This can be divided into two content of thought
a. People who are phobic of snakes may think all snakes are poisonous
b. Depressed people often selectively minimize their accomplishments and maximize their failures

D) Psycho-physiological = AB is due to underlying physiological abnormalities in the NS. Depression and 5-HT (serotonin)
a. Diathesis Stress Model > Biological/genetic pre-disposition + Environmental Stress = Mental Illness

Diagnosis of Abnormal Behaviors

The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV), gives basic information on disorders
(prevalence) and provides list of symptoms that clinicians use to diagnose AB. 5 categories:

Axis I = major psychological disorders like schizo, depression & childhood disorders,
tourette's or autism.

Axis II = personality disorders, may co-exist with Axis I diagnosis

Axis III = physical disorders and conditions, both CNS and other physiological, ie. Depression
and hypothyroidism

Axis IV = Severity of psycho-social stressors, ie. Divorce, living conditions

Axis V = global assessment of person's level of functioning. Range from 100 (best
functioning) to 1 (danger of hurting oneself)

Phobia's and Anxiety

A) Anxiety vs. Phobias = distinction here is that clinical anxiety is more non -specific than phobias.
Eamples of common Phobias:
Agoraphobia = fear of public places where escape may be difficult, public places
Social Phobia = fear of social or performance situations, public interaction
Specific Phobias = snakes, spiders - caused by classical conditioning, kept going by
person's avoidance (operant)

B) Anxiety
i. 3 things to consider to determine if anxiety is a disorder
1) Level of anxiety
2) Justification of anxiety
3) Consequences of anxiety

ii. 60% also suffer from Depression

iii. Panic-Attacks = over powering sensation that one is about to die/going crazy. Often
confused with heart attacks
1) Causes- more physiological, over sensitive respiratory control center in the medulla,
runs off of serotonin, the control center is inhibited by 5-HT (serotonin)
2) Treatment = anti-depressants
3) Cognitions plays a part in the durations, if you panic the attack will intensify.

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 3) Cognitions plays a part in the durations, if you panic the attack will intensify.

C) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 2.5% of population

i. Obsessions = unwanted images, thoughts, or impulses that an individual is unable to
suppress. Worries about contamination
ii. Compulsions = repetitive behavior that a person feels driven to perform in response to the
obsessions. Typically aimed at reducing or preventing some dreaded event, but the
behavior isn't connected to the event in a realistic way or are in excess.
iii. Related Findings =
1) Person typically recognizes that obsessions and compulsions are unreasonable - but
feels driven to do them anyway
2) O - C's need to cause distress or are significantly time consuming, taking up more than
one hour a day.
iv. Causes of OCD
1) Physiological = lower level of 5-HT
2) Learning/Cognitive Components = the person believes that rituals will protect them.
Rituals themselves have been reinforced because they reduce anxiety
v. Treatment of OCD
1) Physiological = use of antidepressants (only dampen)
2) Cognitive Behavior using the "response prevention", person is triggered by obsession
and is helped to avoid performing compulsion

Depression
Lifetime risk of experiencing major depression, 10-25% of women and 5-12% of men RATIO of 2:1 Dysthymia =
Milder form of depression
A) Needs at least 5 of the following to diagnose Depression:
i. Depressed for nearly all day for 2 weeks
ii. Diminished interest or pleasure in nearly all activities or anhedonia Anhedonia
iii. Significant weight change (+) or (-) Inability to experience pleasure
iv. Disturbance of sleep, insomnia or hypersomnia
v. Psychomotor agitation (+) or retardation (-)
vi. Fatigue or loss of energy
vii. Worthlessness or guilt
viii. Difficulty w/thinking or concentration
ix. Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death

B) Suicide
i. 15% w/mood disorders commit suicide
ii. For every successful suicide there are 8-10 attempts
iii. Women are 3X's more likely to try, Men are 3X's more likely to succeed.

C) Depressions relationship with Suicide

Happy
Risk Factors Warning Signs
More likely to kill
Male Sever depression followed by calm
Mood themself
Over 65 yrs old Hopelessness/helplessness
Prior attempts Discussion of a plan
Living alone or chronic ASK!!! Take threats seriously!!!
Health problems

Depressed
Time
On the upswing of a depression.

Bipolar Disorder (manic depression) more rare than major depression Cyclothymia =
Milder form of Bipolar
1%
A) To diagnose Bipolar must exhibit 3 of the following for 1 week
i. Inflated self esteem
ii. Decreased need for sleep
iii. Pressured speech (increase in rate of speech)
iv. Flight of Ideas
v. Distractibility
vi. Increased goal-directed activity
vii. Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for (-)
consequences

B) Causes of Mood Disorders

1) Psycho-physiological
2) Cognitive, The Attribution Model of Helplessness (how people explain things)
1) Negative Attribution Styles = when person fails they explain behavior in terms of
Internal causes, ie. "I failed the exam cause I'm a moron"
Stable Causes, ie, "I am always going to be a moron"
Global Causes, ie, "I am going to fail all my other classes too"

Sec. IV Ch. 11 & 12 Page 2

Schizophrenia 1% of population but uses 75% of mental health cost.

A) Diagnostic Criteria, symptoms can be broke down into 2 categories

i. Positive Symptoms = called positive because they are characteristics not present in normal
individuals.
1) Hallucinations - auditory or vision, no basis in reality.
2) Delusions - false beliefs that have no basis in reality, classified as bizarre (one's that
are impossible) and non-bizarre (one's that are possible but not likely)
3) Disturbed thought process - loosening of associations that cause the person to
frequently spin-off into irrelevant thoughts. This process is called a flight of ideas.

ii. Negative Symptoms = called negative because it is the reduction or loss of normal behavior
1) Anhedonia
2) Alogia, poverty of speech

iii. Phases, people w/schizo go through 3 stages

1) Prodromal Phase - person's interpersonal and intellectual functioning begins to
deteriorate, perceptual problems or inappropriate emotions. Duration=few days to
years.
2) Active Phase - symptoms worsen to full blown hallucinations, delusions, and problems
w/thought and language
3) Residual Phase - similar to prodromal phase, lessening of symptoms

iv. Course 2 types

1) Process - insidious development, slow/gradual development. Typically socially Facts:
isolated w/ negative symptoms, POORER OUTCOME Onset: late20-mid30
2) Reactive - a sudden development, usually a precipitating event. Usually women, later 10% commit suicide
onset, Positive symptoms, BETTER OUTCOME
v. Subtypes of Schizo
1) Disorganized = frequently incoherent, socially withdrawn
2) Catatonic = mute & waxy flexibility, or polar opposite extreme
3) Paranoid = delusions of persecution and/or grandiosity
4) Undifferentiated - catch all for those who don't fit into any group
5) Residual = one major episode & are w/o prominent psychotic features, no
hallucinations or delusions
6) Problems w/diagnostic types, provides good description but doesn’t say anything
about the process of the disease or outcome.

vi. Causes of schizophrenia

1) Cognitive = people w/schizo have different sensory experiences. Many report
COGNITIVE FLOODING - where there is an excessive broadening of attention that
leads to stimulus overload.
2) Physiological =
a) Dopamine hypothesis, schizo caused by hypersensitivity to Dopamine.
b) Structural abnormality found in brain
i) Hypofrontalilty - lower levels of activity in the frontal lobes
ii) Enlarged ventricles - brain atrophy, schizo's show reductions in other
areas of CNS
iii) Season of Birth Effect - mothers in the 2nd trimester w/flu had kids
w/increased change of schizo.

Psychotherapy
I) Psychoanalytical
Assumes that person's problems are due to intrapsycic conflicts & repressed
anxieties/impulses.

A) Goals > bring repressed feelings or conflicts into the conscious awareness to be dealt with
B) Components >
1) Catharsis - letting out of pent-up emotions associated w/unconscious conflicts
2) Free-association > saying 1st thing that comes to mind when talking about subject
enabling the therapist to find the connection
3) Resistance > unconscious attempts to avoid threatening topics
4) Transference >client uses therapist as a "stand-in" for significant person, transferring
powerful emotions, allowing them to become aware of past conflicts
5) Counter-Transference > therapist starts to transfer their feelings onto the client
C) Criticisms
1) Limited applicability, suits only small group of individuals, clients must be smart and
articulate
2) Costly and time consuming

II) Behavioral
Derived from classical and operant conditioning

A) Counter Conditioning > a particular behavior is replaced w/and alternative behavior

1) Aversion Therapy - therapist pairs inappropriate attraction w/negative consequence,
pics of kids w/shock

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 pics of kids w/shock
2) Typically used in combination w/other approaches to provide client w/more socially
acceptable responses.
B) Systematic Desensitization > tries to help client learn not to experience negative feeling
toward stimulus, primarily used for phobias
1) Client taught how to relax
2) " constructs an anxiety list, starts easy and progresses
3) Client relaxes and starts to work through the list, anytime they become anxious they
concentrate on the relaxation
4) After this procedure, the client starts to apply these techniques to real life situations
C) Flooding > client is immediately exposed to anxiety producing stimulus, no relaxation, no
slow approach, forced to remain in situation eventually realizing that nothing bad is going to
happen
D) Implosion > uses visualization of anxiety, provoking scene, anxiety undergoes extinction
E) Operant Conditioning > "token economy" receive tokens they can trade in on something
they want for showing adaptive behavior. Important to define the exchange rate/penalties

Criticisms:
Generalizablity - can improvement be seen outside the therapy setting

Ethics - some procedures are iffy.

III) Cognitive
Maladaptive/abnormal behavior is caused by distortions in the way that people think.

A) Beck's Cognitive Therapy, 2 components

1) Cognitive Triad - people have automatic thoughts concerning 3 different areas:
a) Themselves
b) Their world/environment
c) Their future
2) Distortions - errors in thinking
a) Selective Abstraction - picking out the insignificant detail while ignoring the rest,
ex, written feedback on a job
b) Overgeneralization - drawing global conclusions from scanty evidence ex,
missed payment = incompetence in financial matters
c) Maximization/Minimization
d) Absolutist thinking - "black and white", ex, one small mistake and everything is
ruined

3) Cognitive Restructuring = make client aware of these distortions and substitute more
accurate thinking. Reality testing, testing irrational beliefs
4) Cognitive Model
a) A = activating event Failed test
b) B = Belief I should be great at everything
c) Emo. Consequence Feel Depressed/angry

CRITICISMS:
Ignores unconsciousness
Ethical, has been criticized for imposing his own standards on other people.

IV) Humanistic
A) Client-Centered = Carl Rogers, w/the focus being on client point of view instead of therapist
interpretation. Based on "people are good", Client-Centered Therapy does 3 things
1) Genuine - Therapist needs to be totally honest and open providing and effective role-
model
2) Unconditional Positive Regard = Therapist has positive, non-judgmental attitude
towards client, gives client a chance to develop unconditional self-worth
3) Empathetic Understanding = Therapist has an accurate feeling of the clients emotion,
seeing the world the way the client does

Criticisms:
Unscientific - can't measure technique or success
Knowing yourself doesn't guarantee change.

V) Biomedical
A) Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) - for sever, un remitting depression, used as a last alternative
B) Lobotomies - destruction of portions of the CNS, usually the frontal lobes are severed, 1935-1955,
creator was killed by lobotomized patient

VI) Drugs
A) Anti Psychotics = alleviate symptoms of schizo
i. First Generation - Typical Neurolyptics - caused sever side effect, Tardive Dyskensia muscle
tremors that DON"T go away
ii. Second Generation - Atypical Neurolyptics - side effect called agranulocytosis, which can
cause death
B) Anxiolytics = valium/benzodiazepines - muscle relaxants/sedatives
C) Anti-Depressants
i. MOA-Is - reduce metabolism, avoid food containing tyrosine, hypotensive crisis

Sec. IV Ch. 11 & 12 Page 4

 i. MOA-Is - reduce metabolism, avoid food containing tyrosine, hypotensive crisis
ii. Tricyclinics - reduce re-uptake of 5-HT/NE
iii. SSRI - Prozac and Zoloft

VII) Evaluation of Psychotherapies

A) A meta-analysis combining the results of 475 studies concluded that people who are treated are
80% better off than those that weren't
B) No difference between therapy's, WHY?
i. Treatment/Problem match hasn't been explored, ex behavior therapy for phobia vs.
personality disorder
ii. Common core - interaction w/empathetic therapist who is providing insight
iii. Treatment of severe psychological distress w/drugs first to reduce stress, then talking
therapy.

Sec. IV Ch. 11 & 12 Page 5