PSY midterm 2

Question 1

Split brain

Answer 1

Conscious experience
Split brain procedure: severs a large band of axons that connect the two hemispheres (CORPUS CALLOSUM). This was to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures from epilepsy
Consequence: the two hemispheres are now unable to share information across the cortex. Several regions associated with perception are isolated from parts of the brain involved in language. Some portions of the brain cannot communicate with other parts
Pros: did reduce the seizures, and also provided information about consciousness
Right after surgery, patients noticed that their left side of the body sometimes acts on its own. For example, if a patient is holding a book, the left hand can put it down/drop it.
Gazzaniga (someone who studied this) suggested that it might be because the right hemisphere cannot use language, and it cannot understand what the book says and becomes bored.
Another example is the left hand may do a rude finger gesture without the control of the patient.
Hemispheric specialization: refers to idea that the two hemispheres in brain have different functions)
In split brain patients, this is what actually happens: if a person was showed a cat only on the right side of their visual field, this message would travel to the left visual cortex and forward to the left temporal lobe. The patient would easily say that it is a cat they see, but on the left side. If a cat is shown on the left side of the visual field, the message would travel to their right occipital lobe but wouldn’t be able to travel to the left temporal lobe for language. So even though they recognize that they saw a cat, they cannot communicate it, but they can draw the cat.

Question 2

What are the Two components of conscious experience?

Answer 2

1. Conscious content
   Subjective experiences of the internal and external world.
   Experience of consciousness is the result of the operations in the brain
2. States of consciousness
   Different levels of arousal and attention. Your experience of a particular stage of consciousness is based on several processes.
   Conscious content is heavily dependent on states of consciousness
   This is about awareness, so the states of consciousness wouldn’t be about, for example, your heart beating or having to breathe.
   If someone is worrying about something, they are aware of it, so this means is a part of conscious content

Question 3

Attention

Answer 3

Process of selecting information from the internal and external environments to prioritize for processing
Can be involuntary or automatic
Passive attention: occurs when bottom up information from the external environment requires a response. When you hear a loud noise in a quiet room, you are likely to stop what you are doing and look for the source of noise
Active attention: when attention is directed by goals and top-down processing, like when you search for a cluttered table for your keys
Selective attention: occurs when you attend to one source of information while simultaneously ignoring other stimuli.
Top-down processing plays a role in guiding selective attention
Learning and experience can help determine what information should be processed
Certain types of stimuli are processed more effectively because of their relevance to our evolutionary past
Stimulus silence: some stimuli in the environment capture more attention because of their physical properties
Bottom up qualities of a scene that influence how we direct attention
Attentional capture: occurs when attention is diverted because of the salience of a stimulus
Divided attention: occurs when someone engages in 2+ tasks at once (multitasking)

Question 3

Cocktail party effect

Answer 3

Describes situations associated with selective attention. For example, at a party, a person can be engaged in a conversation and ignore all the information going on around them to attend to the conversation
This is an example of selective attention

Question 4

Dichotic listening

Answer 4

Participants were asked to wear headphones and only repeat what was being said on one one ear (both ears had different messages). This was done easily since the person was ignoring the ear that was asked to be ignored
BUT the participant may notice that the gender of the voice in the ear that was ignored was male or female
If you are participating at this activity, you might notice the ignored voice when it calls for your name

Question 5

Top down and bottom up processes

Answer 5

Top down: starts with knowledge, uses past experiences. Used when sensory input in unclear

Bottom up: sensory input from environment, like sound, touch, light are transmitted to brain for analysis

For example, when looking at a colorful image and you are looking for the brightest colour, this is bottom-up. But if you are looking for a red apple in a sea of green apples, this is top down because you know how the apples look like

Question 5

Automaticity

Answer 5

fast, effortless processing of information without conscious thought
Something is only defined as automatic when it doesn’t get impaired by other tasks

Question 6

Inattentional blindness

Answer 6

tendency to miss changes to some kinds of information when attention is engaged elsewhere

Question 7

Change blindness

Answer 7

Flicker test, a change happens and you know it but can’t know exactly what the change is

Question 8

Intentional change detection

Answer 8

an attention task that requires the participant to actively search for a change made to the stimulus

Question 9

Subliminal stimulus

Answer 9

a sensory stimulus that is processed, but does not reach the threshold for conscious perception

Question 9

Subconscious processing

Answer 9

information we are aware of but not necessarily aware that it’s influencing our behavior

Question 10

Subliminal processing

Answer 10

information we cannot consciously detect, even if we were to look at it (subvisual messages, messages presented too quickly, subaudible messages, quiet messages with loud noise covering it)
No effect on behavior
Images still activate photons in the eye and the auditory messages still bend the hair cells in the ear

Question 11

Fatal familial insomnia

Answer 11

rare hereditary disease affecting the thalamus, which causes individuals to die from lack of sleep. Early in the disease, the affected is unable to fall asleep, and later can cause weight loss and inability to maintain homeostasis. Death occurs 12-18 months after.

Question 12

Electroencephalograms (EEGs)

Answer 12

measure activity across the surface of the brain, with electrooculograms to measure the movements of your eyes as you sleep. Electromyograms are used to measure the tension in the muscles of the jaw

Question 13

Frequency

Answer 13

measured in hertz. The number of up and down cycles of the wave per second

Question 14

Amplitude

Answer 14

differs between stages of sleep

Question 15

Regularity

Answer 15

measure of how consistent or erratic the waves appear. Slow-wave sleep is regular and high amplitude

Question 16

Beta waves

Answer 16

brain waves that appear on an EEG when a person is alert and actively processing information. Occurs during REM sleep
Irregular
Low amplitude
Dysenchornized

Question 17

Sleep spindles

Answer 17

K-complexes: a pattern of neural excitation followed by neural inhibition occurring during stage 2 sleep
Bursts of activity
Occur only once per minute
Can be triggered by unexpected noises
You are kinda asleep here but if woken up, you may feel that you weren’t actually sleeping
Prepare for delta wave
Stage 2
Some theta activity
Waves are irregular
Brief bursts of activity that occur around 2-5 times per minute during non-REM stages of sleep
They may play a role in memory consolidation
Increased sleep spindles = higher scores on standard IQ tests

Question 17

Theta waves

Answer 17

From alpha to theta waves when trying to sleep
Very light sleep, many say it isn’t even sleeping
Stage 1

Question 18

Alpha activity

Answer 18

When an individual is awake but relaxed
More regular than beta waves
Medium frequency

Question 19

REM (rapid eye movement)

Answer 19

45 minutes after the beginning of slow-wave
Desynchronized beta waves appear
Eyes move side to side beneath your closed eyelids
Brain becomes highly active
EEG looks similar at REM to when you are awake
Body may occasionally twitch, but most of the time will be still
We basically become paralyzed (REM sleep antonia)
Easier to wake up during REM than during slow-wave
Waking up during REM will make you attentive an alert
Also when dreams happen. Blood flow in the brain is reduced but the visual association cortex and the prefrontal cortex receive a large proportion of oxygenated blood. Messages sent from brain to body are reduced. This may be why dreams occur
After this stage, you return to stage 1 sleep and cycle repeats
More and more cycles = less time in slow-wave and more in REM
If you want to increase physical skills, more REM sleep than slow wave

Question 19

Slow-wave sleep (SWS)

Answer 19

Firing across the cortex becomes coordinated and we transition to delta activity
Delta: recognizable, slow and regular waves
High amplitude
Referred to as the deepest stage of sleep
Only a strong stimulus will wake you
Important for if you want to maintain memories, like memorizing something

Question 20

Hypnogram

Answer 20

graphic depiction of a person’s process through the stages of sleep over the course of a night

Question 21

Insomnia

Answer 21

Dyssmonia Very common Inability to fall asleep or inability to remain asleep

Question 22

What happens to someone after not sleeping for one night?

Answer 22

Same physical functions to someone sleeping a full night. This means the person with no sleep won’t be affected negatively when doing something physical HOWEVER cognitive function is affected, as no sleep will cause irritability, disorientation, and moodiness.

Question 23

Behavior

Answer 23

Any observable action, including words, gestures, responses and more that can be repeated, measures, and are affected by a situation to produce or remove some outcome. Behavior can also refer to biological activity, including actions on the cellular level

Question 24

Learning

Answer 24

A relatively permanent change in behavior not due to drugs, maturation/development, injury, or disease.

Question 25

Operant conditioning

Answer 25

how we learn what happens when we do something Your cat learns to run to you when you shake treats because you give him treats Instrumental learning Consequences of our behavior matters

Question 25

Innate

Answer 25

something you’re born knowing how to do

Question 26

Reflexes

Answer 26

a type of stimulus-response relationship which is either learned or innate and indicates behavior that happens automatically. This is a small proportion of our behavior

Question 27

Social learning

Answer 27

when we learn something by watching others

Question 27

Latent learning

Answer 27

occurs when we learn something but don’t show it until we have a reason to use our new knowledge. This can be social, operant, or pavlovian a type of learning that has happened but hasn’t had an opportunity to be demonstrated. A group of rats would receive food when they reach end of maze, made fewer errors than the group with no food as reward. When the group with no food finally were rewarded with food, they made less errors and got to the end quicker than the group with food.

Question 28

Pavlovian conditioning

Answer 28

Classical conditioning Involves associating two events that occur together Makes environment more predictable Stimulus: can be anything in the environment that we can detect, measure, and can evoke a response or behavior Starts with unconditional stimulus that produces unconditional response (an innate reflex). In Pavlov's original experiment, food was US that produced salivation, UR With learning, we can produce conditional stimulus that signals or predicts an unconditional stimulus. Learning occurs when the conditional stimulus forces a conditional response Conditional: the probability of the unconditional stimulus given that the unconditional stimulus has occurred is important for learning

Question 29

Excitatory conditioning

Answer 29

type of pavlovian conditioning where the conditional stimulus indicates that an unconditional stimulus will occur Positive correlation between the conditional stimulus and the unconditional stimulus Conditional stimulus is presented before unconditional stimulus in short-delayed (US occurs in few seconds after CS starts), long-delayed (US occurs after a while when CS started), and trace conditioning (US occurs minutes to hours after CS has stopped)

Question 30

Inhibitory conditioning

Answer 30

Type of pavlovian conditioning where the CS indicates that no US will occur Negative correlation between the conditional stimulus and the unconditional stimulus Simultaneous conditioning: US occurs with the start of the CS, Backward conditioning: US occurs a few seconds before start of CS

Question 31

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 31

an effect where after extinction and a break without the signal/what’s signaled, the signal occurs alone, and the conditional response reappears. For example, if Pavlov stopped giving meat to dogs when wearing lab coats, they would stop salivating. When he doesn’t wear a coat after a while but does again, they salivate.

Question 32

Appetitive

Answer 32

type of stimulus that is something you like and for which you will work

Question 33

Aversive

Answer 33

type of stimulus that is something you don’t like and for which you won’t work

Question 34

Stimulus generalization

Answer 34

responding similarly to conceptually/physically similar stimuli. An event that has not been paired with the US also elicits or causes the CR.

Question 35

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 35

responding differently to different events. An animal notices differences between objects and responds to them as though they are different. Opposite to generalization.

Question 36

Higher-order conditioning

Answer 36

where an already conditioned signal is paired with a neutral stimulus or currently meaningless event

Question 37

Behaviorism

Answer 37

approach to science that focuses on how we learn new behaviors and how those behaviors change across different situations.

Question 38

Law of effect

Answer 38

E.L. Throndike We learn about situations and behavior that lead to something we like and do not learn to associate situations and behavior that lead to something we don’t like Satisfaction = stamping in = means we associate a situation with behavior when that behavior is pleasant Discomfort = stamping out = we do not associate a situation with behavior when that behavior leads to something unpleasant

Question 39

Radical behaviorism

Answer 39

philosophy of science that treats thinking and feeling like any other behavior. We just have to be able to measure behaviors and see their effects on the environment Antecedents: anything in the physical environment that we can detect and tells us something about the consequences of our actions. Consequences: stimuli that can increase or decrease the probability of future behavior. They are events that happen after and because of a response Differential consequences: When a kid gives someone a file, they receive a chip. When giving a clip, receive a cookie. The kid can tell what each thing will give him (consequence) and what each thing is. Non-differential consequences: kid receives a raisin when giving either a nail or a socket. Giving either one would result in getting a raisin, so the kid took longer to identify what a nail and a socket are.

Question 40

Contingencies

Answer 40

if you do this (behavior), then that will happen (consequence)

Question 41

Positive reinforcement

Answer 41

behavior produces stimulus that leads to more of that same kind of behavior in the future. Positive because of added consequence and reinforcement because of the effect of increasing the behavior. Connor throws a tantrum at the store and gets chocolate. He continues to throw more tantrums at the store

Question 42

Negative reinforcement

Answer 42

behavior removes stimulus that leads to more of that same kind of behavior in the future. Negative because of removed consequence and reinforcement because of the effect of increasing the behavior. Amaya washes her hands before dinner to avoid getting sick and continues to wash her hands before other meals.

Question 43

Positive punishment

Answer 43

behavior produces stimulus that leads to less of that kind of behavior in the future. Positive because of added consequence and punishment because of the effect of decreasing the behavior. Greg annoys his brother and gets pinched. This makes him stop annoying him

Question 44

Negative punishment

Answer 44

behavior removes a stimulus that leads to less of that kind of behavior in the future. Negative because of the removed consequence and punishment because of the effect of decreasing the behavior. Luna argued with her parents and had her phone taken away. Stopped arguing with her parents

Question 44

Shaping

Answer 44

involves selecting and reinforcing more complex responses that look like the response you want while extinguishing simpler forms of the target response. Example: imagine trying to make a kid good at playing football. First, praise them for being on the field. Then, only praise when they head towards the ball and stop praise when they are on the field. Continue doing this until you reach your target. Part of positive reinforcement

Question 45

Reinforcers

Answer 45

events or stimuli that follow behavior and increase the future likelihood of that kind of response

Question 45

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 45

Influence responses because they signal or have been associated with a primary reinforcer Not universal Depend a bit on what has already been learned You know that H on shower nozzle = hot water, where another person might know red line = hot water

Question 45

Primary reinforcers

Answer 45

Not learned Naturally affect the responses they follow and include stimuli/events needed to maintain life (food, water, air, sleep) Primary negative reinforcers include aversive events such as heat and pain. When you do something to successfully remove an aversive event, you will do that thing more often, as an escape or avoidance. For example, if you get into a car that has been in the sun for a long time, you will jump quickly off the hot seat. Not mediated by other people

Question 46

What do reinforcers depend on?

Answer 46

Ratio schedules deliver reinforcers after a specific number of responses. Can be fixed, where the animal will learn that a specific number of responses are required to receive reinforcement, or variable, where the required number of responses changes with each trial Interval schedules deliver reinforcers after at least two responses and a specified amount of time. Can be fixed or variable

Question 47

Transferred association

Answer 47

in order to copy the behavior of another, the observer must see the model’s behavior and see the model earn a reward for that behavior.

Question 48

The steps to observational learning

Answer 48

1. Attentional - we must notice the model's behavior. We are more likely to imitate the model when we like and respect the person. 2. Retention - we think about performing the model’s actions ourselves 3. Production - we actually perform the model’s actions 4. Motivation - our imitated behavior produces the same reward that the model earned, and if we earn the same reward we thought we would, we’re more likely to repeat this behavior in the future

Question 49

Memory

Answer 49

refers to both the structures and processes involved in both the storage and the retrieval of information.

Question 50

Sensory memory

Answer 50

a system that keeps information translated by the senses briefly active in a relatively unaltered, unexamined form. Iconic and echoic memories are visual and auditory forms of sensory memory