Ch.4 Topics

1. What is addiction, and what brain processes play a central role in it?
      Addiction is the physiological dependence on a drug or foreign substance. The insula region of the brain and the chemical dopamine are hyperactive when an addict craves and uses drugs, and is damaged when drugs are abused.
2. How the study of brain activity in consciousness  might help people who are paralyzed.
     In one study, microchips were implanted into quadriplegic patients. The chips were able to translate cortex motor neurons that had fired and then used these firings as a remote to control robotic movements, such as a prosthetic device.
3. Blindsight and its implications.
     In blindsight, usually some part of the visual system is damaged leaving the patient unable to see, however the patient is able to identify specifics of the item, such as if it is moving. Some of the visual information goes to the amygdala, so even if the visual regions of the brain are injured, parts of the signals will still be interpreted by other parts of the brain.
4. REM sleep
     (Rapid eye movement) the fast darting of the eyes beneath the eyelids. Also called paradoxical sleep because the body is resting and the brain is active.
5. The concept of flow.
      Flow is an optimal experiednce, in that the acgtivit is completely absorbing and completely satisfying. They lose track of time, and doesn't notice or realized external conflict or things.
6. How expectations modify alcohol effect.
     Some people drink because they believe they will get the expected result or effect from drinking, such as some relaxation from only a small to moderate amount of alcohol consumption, or negative, violent effects from excessive amounts of alcohol. Impairment only blocks out annoyances that people experience after becoming intoxicated. Problems they had before they started drinking, have been proven to bother the person worse.

Ch.4 Paragraphs

1. What are we conscious of? What different levels of consciousness are there?
     Consciousness can be described as moment-to-moment subjective thought, such as one's current thought or awareness of one's surroundings. There are three levels of consciousness; full consciousness, minimally conscious, and vegetative state. Full consciousness is when a person has a focused awareness and a constant thinking pattern. A minimally conscious person should be able to make some deliberate movements, but not persistent thought, such as when you're watching tv. Vegetative state is when only one's automatic responses are in tact, like coma.
2. What is a "split brain?" What evidence indicates that splitting the brain also splits the mind and consciousness?
     A split brain is when the corpus callosum is severed and the two halves are almost completely isolated from each other. When a brain is split, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa because the eyes function backwards.The left hemisphere is also responsible for speech and language while the right side is more fore logistics, science, etc.
3. What changes in brain activity occur as a person goes to sleep, and how do we measure those changes?
     The brain does not shut down during sleep. It stops receiving many of its sensor messages, but it's still active. It still, to some extent remains aware of the surrounding environment. Sleep is an altered level of consciousness. Scientists use an EEG or electroencephalogram, to measure electrical activity in the brain.
4. What is hypnosis, and what evidence supports the claim that it is an altered state of consciousness?
     Hypnosis is a social interaction during which a person, responding to suggestions, experiences changes in memory, perception, and/ or voluntary action. Evidence gathered by Kihlstrom & Eich suggest that like unconscious stimuli, posthypnotic suggestions can at least subtly influence behaviors. Hypnosis depends on whether or not the subject is suggestible. The left hemisphere interpreter might be involved in people understanding their own behavior, when that behavior results from posthypnotic suggestion, or other unconscious influence. According to sociocognitive theory of hypnosis, hypnotized people behave as expected. In dissociation theory of hypnosis, hypnosis is an altered mental state in which conscious awareness is separated from other aspects of consciousness.

Ch. 3 Paragraphs

1. What are monozygotic and dizygotic twins, and how can we compare them to determine whether some behavior is partly caused by genetic factors?
    Monozygotic twins are identical twins that resulted from one fertilized egg dividing into two zygotes. Each zygote has the same chromosomes and the same genes. Research has proved that monozygotic twins' DNA might not be so identical. Dizygotic twins or fraternal twins result from two separate eggs being fertilized and developing in the womb simultaneously. Studies have found that identical twins, raised separate or not, end up being much more alike than dizygotic twins.
2. What is the difference between axons and dendrites, and what functions do they serve in neurons?
    Dendrites are the short branch-like appendages of a neuron that increase the neuron's receptive field and detect chemical signals from neighboring neurons. Axons are the long narrow outgrowth of a neuron that transmit information to other neurons. Axons can vary in length between a millimeter to more than a meter. Neurons do not touch each other; instead they communicate and transmit information by sending chemical signals and electrical impulses through the terminal buttons that protrude from one end of a neuron to the dendrites of another neuron through a small gap called the synapse.
3. Describe the resting potential and the action potential. What ion movements occur during the action potential?
    Resting membrane potential is when a neuron's inside and outside differ electrically while it is inactive. Action potential (neural firing) is the electrical signal that passes along the axon and causes the release of chemicals that transmit signals to other neurons. In its inactive state, a neuron is slightly negatively charged. When a neurons fires, sodium gates in the cell membrane open allowing sodium ions in which cause the neurons to become slightly more positive because of depolarization. A fraction of a second later potassium channels open causing the neuron to return to its negative state (repolarization).
4. How do neurotransmitters allow one neuron to communicate with another?
    Every terminal button has vesicles that contain neurotransmitters, a chemical substance that carries signals across the synaptic cleft. after an action potential, the vesicles release the neurotransmitters which then span across the synapse and attach themselves to the postsynaptic neuron.
5. List the four lobes that form each brain hemisphere, and describe the areas of the cortex that process seeing, hearing, touch, and movement.
    The frontal lobe of the brain is basically the front upper third of the brain and is responsible for the ability to think, plan, and move. The temporal lobe is a large majority of the bottom rear side of the brain. It deals with the ability to hear, which makes sense considering the ears are right on top of it. The parietal lobe is the back upper half of the brain and deals with touch and spatial relations. The occipital lobe is the back lower little corner of the brain which deals with vision.

Ch. 3 Topics

1. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
The genotype is an organism's genetic code or makeup. The phenotype is the visible characteristics that result from the genetic code such as brown hair or green eyes.
2. What are some distinctions between motor, sensory, and interneurons?
Motor neurons travel from the brain to the body's different receptors in order to cause a motor reaction, such as an muscle contraction. Sensory neurons detect information from the physical world and send signals through the spinal cord to the brain. Interneurons communicate within small areas of the brain. They integrate neural activity in the brain.
3. What is dopamine and what function does it serve?
Dopamine is the primary neurotransmitter responsible for causing desire for things that involve satisfaction and pleasure, such as hunger and thirst. It also causes the body to move towards things that give reward. Basically our sin response.
4. What is the amygdala and what does it do?
The amygdala is the almond shaped part of the brain that deals with associating emotional responses with things. An example would be an expression of happiness at the sight of a park due to previous fond memories. "A frightening experience may be seared into one's memory for life, although their memory of the event may not be completely accurate."
5. Learning is apart of several different parts of the brain. Emotional responses and feelings associated with specific things is done in the amygdala. Motor memory or planned movements is controlled by the basal ganglia. Memory and thought is more of a function of the prefrontal cortex.

Topics

Professions in psychology:
     Biology and physiology both make use of psychology in understanding the brain and how it works. Pharmacology make use of the brain by determining the effects of some medications and in attempting to cure some psychological illnesses.
Adaptivity:
     A natural fear of heights at and early age is an example of the adaptivity of the mind. Also, Individuals strive to be social and surrounded by people. Society supports individuals keep from exclusion.
Empirical:
     Psychology is an empirical science because it is based on information gathered either from experience or experimentation. It uses the five senses to collect data and make educated inferences.
fMRI:
     The fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) is used to monitor activity in different parts of the brain. It can be used to compare with other tests in order to make logical supported psychological theories.

Chapter 1 Questions

Chapter 1 Topics
1. fMRI and why it is an important research tool.
fMRI stands for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.  It helps scan a person's brain, shows when certain brain structures are activated.

2. What "empirical" means, and how psychology is an empirical science.
Empirical has to do with what we're able to know through our senses.  Psychological science relies on empirical evidence in order to achieve an accurate understanding.  Empirical sciences is founded on observations that we make with out senses.

3. An example of the adaptive value of the mind.
An example of the adaptive value of the mind is that humans have a need to belong to a group, and all societies discourage behaviors that may lead to social exclusion.

4. When psychology became a discipline and the two main founders of the discipline.
Psychology became a discipline in 1879.  The main founders of the discipline are Wilhelm Wundt and William James.

5. How at least two professions make use of psychological knowledge.
Lawyers, advertisers, and physicians make use of psychological knowledge.  Lawyers need to know how groups make decisions in order to persuade jurors.  Advertisers must know how attitudes are formed or changed and to what extent people's attitudes predict their behavior.  Physicians need to know how to relate to their patients, how their behaviors are linked to health, and what motivates or discourages them from seeking medical care.


Chapter 1 Questions
1. What is psychological science?
Psychological science is the study of mind, brain, and behavior.  Psychologists try to understand how people perceive, think, and act in a variety of situations.  Different developments in study methods are helping improve the understanding of the human mind and behavior.  Research helps psychologists explain human behaviors in real-life contexts.  Psychologists try to figure out what makes other people tick.  What people do, think and feel.

2. How are the mind and brain related to each other?
The mind refers to mental activity.  The perceptual experiences while a person interacts with the world.  Sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch are all examples of the mind in action.  Memories, thoughts, and feelings also show the mind in action.  Mental activity comes from actions of nerve cells, neurons, and chemical reactions within the brain.  The physical brain enables the mind.  The "Mind is what the brain does".

3. What are the levels of analysis, and how are these levels illustrated by human use and experience of music?
The first level of analysis is the biological level.  Studies of music's effects on mood at the biological level have shown that pleasant music may be associated with increased activation of one brain chemical, serotonin, which is relevant to mood.  Case studies have shown that some patients with certain types of brain injury become unable to hear tones and melody but not speech or environmental sounds.  The second level is the individual level of analysis.  Studies have shown that mood may be affected not only by the tempo of music but by whether the music is in major or minor mode.  In Western music, major mode is associated with positive moods and minor mode is associated with sad moods.  Children can distinguish mood effects by age seven or eight.  The third level is the social level of analysis.  When people are alone they might like quiet, contemplative music, with others they might like more upbeat music that encourages dancing.  The final level is cultural analysis.  African music has rhythmic structures different from those in Western music which might reflect the important rule of dancing and drumming in African folktales  The influences of major and minor modes on mood hold only within certain cultures.

4. What is the role of women in the discipline of psychology, and how has it changed since the late 19th century?
Many women like Mary Whiton Calkins, and Margaret Flay Washburn have contributed to psychology history.  Today women make up about 70 percent of psychology majors and nearly half of all new psychology doctorates.  Today, contributions from women are acknowledged but in the early 19th century they were ignored.  Calkins had a hard time continuing her studies at Harvard.  After she completed all the requirements for a PhD, she took the qualifying exam and scored higher than all her male classmates.  Even then, Harvard refused to give her a degree.  Calkins became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association.  Margaret Flay Washburn was the first woman to be officially granted a PhD in psychology and was the second woman president of the American Psychological Association.

5. What is critical thinking, and how can you improve your critical thinking activities as you study psychology?
Critical thinking is a systematic way of evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions.  Thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal oriented.  Considering alternative explanations, looking for holes in evidence, and using logic and reasoning to see if information makes sense.  It involves keeping an open mind.  In order to improve my critical thinking skills I need to be skeptical of overblown media reports of new findings gained by research.  Critical thinkers consider alternative explanations for behavior and seek quality research.

Studying Handout

What is usually assumed about studying and about testing?
     Studying usually leads to better test scores. The tests are a measurement of how much material was learned.
What were the goals of the authors in designing this experiment?
     To examine the long-standing assumptions of the effectiveness of studying and to see if learning something      faster helps people remember it better. The students also predicted how well they thought they would do on the test.
What kinds of materials were used?
     The students were taught Swahili, which was considered to be something that would put all of the students on a level basis.
What were the independent variables?
     The independent variables included whether or not people studied or were tested.
* When one group of subjects are tested doing different things, studies are being done within subjects.
* When several groups are tested doing different things and compared, studies are done between subjects.
What are the drop-out conditions? Are they related to common education?
    Subjects were dropped from some groups for people who demonstrated proficient scores that proved they knew the material. It does relate to common education because education is added on and only slightly reviewed every year.
What was the dependent variable?
    The dependent variable, or what was being measured, was the amount of material that the students remembered, based on their test scores.
Did the different groups perform different in learning?
    There were no significant differences between their results.
Did the groups predictions differ?
    No, about every group predicted they would remember about half.
Did the groups differ on the test? Which variable mattered and how much?
    The two groups that did not test did not do as well as those that did. Studying was not as relevant in helping them learn the material.

The Beginning of Psychology

    Psychology as a science was talked about and recorded as far back as the time of Aristotle and Confucius. Since the late 1800s, it has radically expanded into the diverse subject that it is today. There are many people who contributed largely to psychology.
    In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory. He also developed the method of introspection, or a person's perspective or opinion of an object.
    William James a professor of physiology at Harvard traded over to psychology and gave the first psychology lecture during his classes. He also wrote the book Principles of Psychology in 1890. James believed in a stream of consciousness or continuous series of thoughts.
    Charles Darwin too contributed partly to psychology in developing functionalism, which dealt with the evolution of the mind and the purpose it serves in preserving life.
    Behaviorism is the result of the studies of John B. Watson who in 1913 questioned the effects of the environment on one's behavior or responses.
    Sigmund Freud was responsible for the studies dealing with a person's level of unconsciousness. He used psychoanalysis to try to make someone's unconscious contents to their conscious awareness.
    George A. Miller started the Center for Cognitive Science at Harvard in 1957. Cognitive psychology deals with higher-order mental functions such as thinking, intelligence, language, memory, and decision making.

What is Critical Thinking?

    Critical thinking is a systematic way of evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions. A large part of critical thinking is amiable skepticism, or openness to new ideas but wary of those not convincingly supported by evidence. "It involves healthy questioning and keeping an open mind," You can improve your critical thinking abilities by considering alternative explanations, bias judgments and answers, and information that verifies your preconceptions.

What is the Role of Women in Psychology?

    Women play a large, unappreciated role in psychology. Mary Whiton Calkins was one of the first majoring women in psychology history. She wrote an Intro to psychology textbook in 1901 and was the first woman president of the American Psychological Association. Her main area of interest was that of the psychology of the self. Another main contributing woman to psychology was Margaret Flay Washburn. She was the first woman to be granted a PhD in psychology from Cornell in 1921. Many other women also contributed to psychology and women now make up about 70% of psychology majors and 1/2 of psychology doctorates.

What are the Levels of Analysis?

    The biological level of analysis deals with the physical body's contribution to mind and behavior (e.g., brain injury, down syndrome, etc.).
    The individual level of analysis deals with the personal characteristics and differences (e.g., gender, development, age, etc.).
    The social level of analysis deals with how and who and individual interacts in relationships and groups.
    The cultural level of analysis deals with the environment that the individual was raised in (e.g., beliefs, symbols, ethnicity, religion, etc.).

     Using music as an example, a person who listens to country, could be analyzed from the levels considering whether or not he grew up or is exposed to it on a regular basis, whether or not is a popular genre of music in his community, or the fact of if he even likes the music.

How are the Brain and Mind related to each other?

The mind is believed to be what the brain does, by many psychological scientists. The brain is the organ in which there are many neurons and brain cells that contribute to the passing of neurological impulses and sensors. The brain consists of several parts that perform different functions. For example, the frontal lobe is responsible for abstract thought and memory, whereas the cerebellum controls all of the involuntary functions of the body such as circulation and immunity responses. The mind is made up of the thoughts and feelings that we as individuals have. Our ability to think, solve, feel emotion towards things. Our mind sometimes even affects our physical nature. It can make us sick, or react in unexplainable ways.

What is Psychological Science?

    Psychological science is an empirical science. It uses well-conducted experiments to solve questions that are derived from observations of the world. In short, psychology is the science of watching and studying the mind, brain, and behavior of individuals. Psychological scientists use the scientific method, which is the objective and systematic procedures that lead to an accurate conclusion. Psychology is based upon observing the natural world to see how things work.