Laurence Davis Jeon

AP Psychology Per. 3

AP Study Guide: Modules 1 & 2

Module 1: History and Scope

A. History of Psychology
a. Definition of psychology
i. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes
ii. Behavior: an action of an organism
iii. Mental processes: internal, subjective experiences inferred
from behavior
1. Ex. sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs,
feelings
b. Psychology is a way of asking and answering questions
c. Pre-scientific Psychology
i. Aristotle
1. Thought soul is inseparable from the body
ii. Descartes
1. Descartes + Socrates + Plato: mind separate from death
2. Dissected animals, thought brain contained spirits
iii. Bacon
1. Founder of modern science
2. Suggested an order in nature
iv. Locke
1. Modern empiricism: knowledge originates in
experience, science relies on observation and
experimentation
d. Psychological Science Born
i. Wilhelm Wundt
1. Lag time measured for tasks and response
2. Thus tried to measure mental processes
ii. Structuralism
1. Edward Bradford Titchener and introspection
2. Wanes as introspection proves to be unreliable
iii. Functionalism
1. William James and functions
2. Why an organ does what it does => evolutionary
adaptation
3. Mary Calkins and Margaret Washburn
e. Psychological Science Develops
i. Varied definitions of psychology
1. Wundt/Titchener/James: introspection
2. Freud: responses to childhood and unconscious

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 thought processes
3. Psychology: the science of mental life until 1920’s
4. 1920-1960: Watson and Skinner redefine as “scientific
study of observable behavior”
a. Behaviorism
5. Humanistic psychology
a. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
b. Response to Freudian psychology and
behaviorism
c. Importance of current environmental
influences and meeting our needs for love and
acceptance
6. Cognitive revolution
a. Expanded upon ways that people perceive,
process, and remember information
7. Modern definition
a. The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes
B. Contemporary Psychology
a. Psychology’s big debate
i. Nature vs. nurture
1. Plato: character/intelligence inherited
2. Aristotle: everything externally through senses
3. Locke: reject innate ideas; “blank sheet”
4. Descartes: Some ideas are innate
5. Darwin and natural selection
6. Common topics
a. Treatment of depression: biological or mental?
b. Sexual behaviors: innate or external?
c. Gender differences: biological or social?
7. Solution: nurture works on what nature endows
b. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
i. Biopsychosocial approach
1. Biological, psychological, social-cultural factors
ii. Psychology’s current perspectives
1. Neuroscience
2. Evolutionary
3. Behavior genetics
4. Psychodynamic
5. Behavioral
6. Cognitive
7. Social-Cultural
Psychology’s Subfields
iii. Industrial/organizational psychologists
1. Applied research: practical problem solving
2. Help companies select/train employees, boost

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 morale/productive, design products, implement systems
iv. Counseling psychologists
1. Help people cope with challenges by recognizing
strengths and resources
v. Clinical psychologists
1. Asses and treat mental/emotional/behavior disorders
vi. Psychiatrists
1. Offer psychotherapy, prescribe drugs and treat physical
casuses or disorders

Module 2: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

A. The Need for Psychological Science

a. The Limits of Intuition and Common Sense
b. Did We Know It All Along? Hindsight Bias
i. I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon
1. Stock market, 9/11
c. Overconfidence
i. Caused by hindsight bias
d. Hindsight bias and overconfidence can be overcome by scientific inquiry
B. The Scientific Attitude
a. Curiosity underlies psychology (and science in general)
b. Critical thinking
i. Examining assumptions, discerning hidden values, evaluating
evidence, assessing conclusions
ii. What has been learned is not yet widely believed
C. The Scientific Method
a. Make observations, form theories, refine theories with new observation
b. Theory
i. Explains through principles that organizes and predicts
behaviors/events
c. Hypotheses
i. Testable prediction that give direction to research
d. Operational definition
i. Check on biases, allow anyone to replicate results
D. Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology
a. Can Laboratory Experiment Illuminate Everyday Life?
i. Lab environment is intended to be simplified reality
ii. People’s traits unchanging whether in experiment or life
iii. The experiments give principles that explain behaviors
1. The findings themselves are not sufficient
b. Does Behavior Depend on One’s Culture?
i. Some behaviors do differ across different cultures
ii. However, there are biological similarities for every human being
c. Does Behavior Vary With Gender?
i. Similar to cultures, there are both differences and similarities

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 d. Why Do Psychologists Study Animals?
i. Fascinating
ii. Understand differences in learning/thinking/behaving
iii. Learn about people through similarities
e. Is It Ethical to Experiment on Animals?
i. Irony of testing animals based on similarities then ethically
defending experimentation based on differences
ii. Right to place human well-being above animal rights
iii. Safeguards to animal rights
f. Is It Ethical to Experiment on People?
i. Ethical principles including consent, protection, information
g. Is Psychology Free of Value Judgments?
i. Values affect what psychologists study
ii. Preconceptions can bias observations and interpretations
h. Is Psychology Potentially Dangerous?
i. Concerns about growing influence of psychology
ii. Power to deceive, purpose to enlighten

Short Answer:

1) Today, psychology is defined as: ______________________________________.

2) Descartes, along with Socrates and Plato, thought that:
_____________________________.
3) Stucturalism, founded by ______________, advocated _______________.
4) Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow developed __________________ in response to
_____________ psychology.
5) Psychologists study animals because ____________________________________.

Multiple Choice:

1. In deciding the ethics of experimenting on people, principles require:

A) Consent of subject, protection of subject, and information of experiment
B) Integrity of experimenter, honesty of experimenter, and courage of subject
C) Enthusiasm of both subject and experimenter
D) Indifference of experimenter, fear of subject, and incentives for subject

2. Stock market gurus’ comments that the market was overdue for a correction after a fall
in stock prices are most likely an example of:
A) Overconfidence
B) Introspection
C) Magic
D) Hindsight bias

3. The interpretation of psychology focusing on self-examination, or introspection, is

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called:
A) Functionalism
B) Self-examinationism
C) Structuralism
D) Freudism

4. Contrary to the modern definition of psychology, the science was defined until 1920
as:
A) The science of mental life
B) The study of life
C) The one and only way of achieving enlightenment
D) The science of behaviors

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 Crossword puzzle activity
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Puzzle: http://www.variety-games.com/CW/Puzzles/1388041582-puzzle.htm
2 3 4
Solution: http://www.variety-games.com/CW/Puzzles/1388041582-solution.htm
5 6
Brain Crossword
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10 11

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14 15

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17 18 19

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EclipseCrossword.com
Across
2. A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated
images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures
within the brain.
6. controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and
expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
8. A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral
hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as
those for food and sex. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.
10. Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area or
to Wernicke's area.
11. cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, & protect neurons
13. The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage
(especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain
development.
15. A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while
the brain performs a given task.
17. The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres
21. Two lima bean-sized neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked
to emotion.
22. Behind the forehead; involved in speaking & muscle movements and in making plans &
judgments
23. Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions;
rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking,
and speaking.
24. The area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and
movement sensations.

Down
1. A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating,
drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and
is linked to emotion.
2. The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
3. A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.

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4. An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s
surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
5. The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it
enters the skull; responsible for automatic survival functions.
7. A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive
MRI scans. MRI scans show brain anatomy; fMRI scans show brain function
9. At the top of the head and near the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position
12. The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing
sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.
14. At the back of the head; includes visual areas, which receive visual information from
opposite visual field
16. On the sides of the head (just above the ears); includes the auditory areas, each of which
receives auditory information mainly from the opposite ear
18. The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the
sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
19. An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
20. Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere,
that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Short Summaries:
5.1
• MRI’s reveal brain structures
• EEG’s, PET, and fMRI’s scans reveal brain activity
• Scientists use these to explore the connections between the brain, mind, and
behavior
5.2
This section talks about the older brain structures. For example, it
goes through the parts of the brainstem, the cortexes and the limbic
system. Each part of the brain is described in terms of location and
what each function is. It explains why we act the way we do, such as
the role certain parts play in our emotions.

5.3
This section mostly talks about the cerebral cortex and the different
parts of it. Everything that makes up the cerebral cortex helps us
with our life functions. There are four lobes that control speech,
hearing, etc, and cortexes that help with movement and processing body
touch and sensations.

5.4
• Cerebral Cortex = the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers
the cerebral hemispheres
o the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center
• Expansion of cerebral cortex means:
o relaxed genetic controls and increased adaptability of organism
• People have larger cerebral cortexes, resulting in:
o increased capabilities for learning & thinking and increased adaptability

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5.5
• Glial Cells (glia) = cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, & protect
neurons
o guide neural connections, provide nutrients & insulating myelin, and mop
up ions & neurotransmitters
o may participate in information transmission & memory
o proportion of glia to neurons increase as animal complexity increases
• Human cerebral cortex has a huge surface area, increased by many folds
• Each brain hemisphere divided into 4 lobes (so total of 8), geographic parts of the
cerebral cortex separated by prominent fissures or folds:
• 1) Frontal Lobes = behind the forehead
o involved in speaking & muscle movements and in making plans &
judgments
• 2) Parietal Lobes = at the top of the head and near the rear
o receives sensory input for touch and body position
• 3) Occipital Lobes = at the back of the head
o includes visual areas, which receive visual information from opposite
visual field
• 4)Temporal Lobes = on the sides of the head (just above the ears)
o includes the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information
mainly from the opposite ear
5.6
• Different areas of the cortex control specialized functions
• Motor functions can be caused by electrical stimulation
• Motor cortex (Output)
• Controls voluntary movement
• One side of cortex controls the opposite side of the body
• Fingers/moth = largest space
• Neural prosthetics – the thought of something activates an electric appliance
• Sensory Cortex (Input)
• Right behind motor cortex
• Receives sensory info
• Association areas
• Cerebral cortex that does not include motor, sensory, auditory, and visual cortex
• Integrates info
• Frontal lobe damage – difficulty judging, planning, processing new memories
(Phineas Gage)
• Parietal lobe damage – interferes with mathematical reasoning
• Temporal lobe – interferes with ability to recognize faces
5.7
• Aphasia – impairment of language
• Reading process
o Words register in visual area

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 o Relayed to angular gyrus, which transforms words to an auditory code
o Code received and understood in Wernicke’s Area
o Sent to Broca’s area, which controls motor cortex to create pronounced
word
5.8
o Plasticity – Brain’s ability to modify itself after damage
 Losing one sense increases sensitivity in other senses
 Blind people respond better to touch
 Deaf people respond better to sight
5.9
• Left hemisphere focuses on verbal
• Right hemisphere focuses on visual perception and recognition of emotion
• Each hemisphere contributes individually to the brain
5.10
• right-handers process speech on the left hemisphere
• ½ of the left-handers process speech on the right hemisphere
• As age increases the number of lefties decreases

Diagrams
Label the Diagram:
Match the lobe name to the color (Red, Yellow, Light Green, and Light Blue).

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Answers to Diagram:
Red = Frontal Lobe
Yellow = Parietal Lobe
Light Green = Occipital Lobe
Light Blue = Temporal Lobe

Brain Stem and Thalamus

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Brain Structures and Their Functions

Practice Questions:
1) The _____________ lobes receive sensory input for touch and body position.
A. Frontal
B. Parietal
C. Occipital
D. Temporal

2) Which of the following is NOT a function of glial cells?

A. Mopping up ions & neurotransmitters
B. Guiding neural connections
C. Providing nutrients & myelin
D. Increasing the surface area of the cerebral cortex
3) MRI’s

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 A. reveal brain activity
B. only work on animals
C. shows brain function
D. reveal brain structures

4) The left hemisphere

A. focuses on verbal
B. focuses on visual perception
C. focuses on recognition of emotion
D. All of the above
5) Left- handers
A. process speech on their left hemisphere
B. always process speech on their left hemisphere
C. process speech on their right hemisphere
D. always process speech on their right hemisphere
6) What is the oldest and most central part of the brain?
A. cerebellum
B. hypothalamus
C. brainstem
D. cerebral cortex
7) The limbic system includes everything except:
A. hippocampus
B. amygdala
C. hypothalamus
D. cerebellum
8) Which lobe receives auditory information?
A. temporal
B. occipital
C. parietal
D. frontal
9) Broca’s area…
A. controls language expression
B. is in the left temporal lobe
C. directs muscle movement involved in speech
D. is in the left hemisphere
10) Aphasia is…
A. Inability to read
B. Impairment of hearing
C. Impairment of memory
D. Impairment of language

Answers: 1) B, 2) D, 3) D, 4) A, 5) C, 6) C 7) D, 8) A, 9) C, 10) D.

Key Terms:
 Environment- every external influence, in terms of our behavior differences

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  Behavior Geneticists- people who study our differences and weigh the relative
effects of heredity and environment
 Chromosomes- the genetic structures of cells containing the cellular DNA that
bears in its proteins
 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)- a nucleic acid that carries genetic information
about the cell
 Genes- a segment of DNA, the basic unit of heredity
 Genome- a full set of chromosomes; all the inheritable traits of an organism
 Identical Twins- siblings born of the same egg, split into two
 Fraternal Twins- twins born of separate eggs
 Temperament- the natural predisposition of emotional excitability in a person
 Heritability- the capability of being inherited, the extent to which variation among
individuals can be attributed to their differing genes
 Interactions- the effect of one factor (such as the environment) depends on
another factor (such as heredity)
 Molecular Genetics- the branch of genetics that deals with genes at the molecular
level, or “bottom-up” genetics
 Evolutionary Psychology- the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind,
using principles of natural selection
 Natural Selection- the principle that inherited trait variations that improve survival
and reproduction will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
 Mutations- random errors in gene replication that lead to changes
 Gender- the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people
define male and female

Summary:
Nature vs. nurture is the biggest controversy in the study of what makes us who
we are. Our genes and our environment come together to define the things that make us
different from one another. As a reference point for how much genes play a role, human-
chimpanzee DNA similarity is 99.4%. Throughout the study of heredity versus
environment, behavior geneticists often use two types of studies: twin and adoption.
While, with 850 US twin pairs given questionnaires in 1976, identical twins were much
more similar than fraternal twins in many ways, identical twins also reported being
treated alike more often. The personalities of adopted children tend to follow those of
their biological parents, though their values and attitudes tend more towards those of their
adoptive parents.
Although genetic differences help to explain individual diversity in traits, they
don’t necessarily account for differences between men and women, or between people of
different races. Our enormous adaptive capability is the most important of our
similarities. As a species, our shared biology enables our developed diversity. Genes do
more than just code for particular proteins, they also respond to environments in a self-
regulating manner. By itself, the gene does not cause depression, but it is part of the
recipe. The goal of molecular behavior genetics is to find genes that influence normal
human traits. Genetic tests can now reveal at-risk populations for at least a dozen
diseases.

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 Natural selection has shaped our human traits in its acting across the course of
human evolution. Men are universally more uninhibited in terms of sexual interactions,
according to many studies and surveys on the general subject. This is most likely due to
the fact that, while a woman normally incubates and nurses one’s infant, a male can
spread his genes through other females. In our ancestral history, women were better off
pairing wisely, men widely. Men tend to be more inclined to take risks than women,
because of their predisposition to impress women and thus spread their genes. Even
taking all of this into account, women and men are much more alike than they are
different.

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Nurture Nature

Crossword:

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11. the way changes are formed in gene
replication

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 Crossword Answer Key:
1. GENES
2. BEHAVIOR GENETICS
3. IDENTICAL TWINS
4. GENDER
5. NATURE
6. TEMPERAMENT
7. MOLECULAR
8. HERITABILITY
9. ENVIRONMENT
10. NATURAL SELECTION
11. MUTATIONS

7.1: Parents and peers

Parents and Early Experiences
Prenatal Environment
Nurturing begins in the womb. Even identical
twins, whether they share the same placenta
or not, are exposed to different types of
nutrition and toxic agents! Twins with
different placentas tend to have less similar
psychological traits.

Experience and Brain Development

Experience helps develop the brain’s
neural connections. In an experiment
done by Mark Rosenzweig and David
Krech, they found that rats reared in an
enriched environment developed a much
thicker brain cortex. Similarly, infants
who are constantly handled are proven
to gain weight and develop faster neurologically. During maturation, a
child's neural connections increase in areas associated with repetitive
activities, and degenerate in unused areas, a process also known as
pruning. In other words, use it or lose it!

How Much Credit (or Blame) Do Parents Deserve?

While parents do influence some areas of their children's lives, such as
their manners and political and religious beliefs, the home environment
accounts for less than 10 percent of siblings' differences in areas such as

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personality. Parental nurture can be compared to nutrition. Whether we
get our protein from chicken or beans, we need food. Similarly, it doesn’t
matter how early or late we were toilet trained by our parents, just that
we have someone who cares about us.

Peer Influence
At all ages, people conform in order to be
accepted. But children also select peers who
share their same attitudes and
interests. Parents are important models for
education, discipline, responsibility,
orderliness, charitableness, and ways of
interacting with authorities, while peers are
influential in learning to cooperate with others, achieving popularity, and
finding appropriate styles of interaction with people of a similar age. By
choosing the neighborhoods in which their children live, parents can
exert some influence over the peer group culture that helps shape
children.

So what have we learned?

Fill in the blank.
Nurturing begins __________________________(1).
During ____________(2), a child's neural connections
increase in areas associated with ____________(3) and
deteriorate in ____________(4). This process is also
known as ___________(5).
_____ (6) it or _____ (7) it!
Identify each environmental influence
as either a PARENTAL influence or a
PEER influence.
1)Orderliness

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2)Manners
3)Interests
4)Cooperation
5)Responsibility
6)Religious beliefs
7)Interaction with similar age groups
8)Interaction with authorities
9)Popularity
10)Charitableness

Answers to review questions:

Parents and peers
Fill in the blank:
1. in the womb.
2. maturation
3. repetition
4. unused areas
5. pruning
6. use
7. lose
Matching
1. parent
2. parent
3. peer
4. peer
5. parent
6. parent
7. peer
8. parent
9. peer
10. parent

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7.2: Cultural Influences
Cultural Influences

Culture is the behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and

traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from
one generation to the next (Brislin, 1988). Human nature
seems designed for culture in that is supports social and
economic systems that enable us to access broader
resources and accumulate information. Though many
animals are social, humans differ in that culture allows for
change and progress outside of biological adaptations.

Language allows humans to preserve innovation. We can

accumulate and pass on knowledge, which accounts for
human’s extended life expectancies. Language and culture
allow for a division of labor, where many people can create
something together, such as a building, that just one person
would not be able to create.

Cultural diversity would be less relevant if

we all lived in isolated homogenous
societies. 99% of Japan’s inhabitants are of

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Japanese decent. Therefore internal cultural differences are
minimal compared with those found in Los Angeles, where
the public schools recently taught 82 different languages.

Variation Across Cultures

Norms are rules for accepted and
expected behavior. For example, the
British have a norm for orderly
waiting in line. Within each culture
norms vary. In North America, people like to maintain a
large buffer zone around their bodies… therefore they like
more personal space than the French. Many other things
vary across cultures- each culture has different norms on
expressiveness, pace of life, and punctuality.

Variation Over Time

Changes in cultures occur rapidly overtime. Whether it’s a

switch from snail mail to email or an increased rate of
divorce, there is no denying cultures change. Change can be
positive or negative, and we cannot explain them by
changes in the human gene pool, which evolves far too
slowly to account for high-speed cultural transformations.

Culture and the Self

Individualists give relatively greater priority to personal goals

and define their identity mostly in terms of personal
attributes. They strive for personal control and individual
achievement. People in competitive, individualist cultures
have more personal freedom, take more pride in personal
achievements, are less geographically bound to their
families, and enjoy more privacy. Individualism can come at
the cost of more loneliness, more divorce, more homicide,
and more stress-related disease.

Collectivists give priority to the goals of their groups, often

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their family, clan, or company, and define their identity
accordingly—not as "me" but as "we." People in collectivist
cultures, such as Korea, place a premium on maintaining
harmony and making sure others never lose face. To
preserve group spirit, people avoid direct confrontation,
blunt honesty, and uncomfortable topics; they defer to
others' wishes and display a polite, self-effacing humility
(Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

Table 7.1: Value contrast between individualism and

collectivism
Concept Individualism Collectivism
Self Independent (identify Interdependent (identify
from individual traits) from belonging)
Life task Discover and express Maintain connections,
one's uniqueness fit in, perform role
What Me—Personal Us—group goals and
matters achievement and solidarity; social
fulfillment; rights and responsibilities and
liberties; self-esteem relationships; family
duty
Coping Change reality Accomodate to reality
method
Morality Defined by Defined by social
individuals (self- networks (duty-based)
based)
Relationshi Many, often Few, close and
ps temporary or casual; enduring; harmony
confrontation valued
acceptable
Attributing Behavior reflects Behavior reflects social

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behavior one's personality and norms and roles
attitudes

Culture and Child-Rearing

Child Rearing varies across cultures. Westerners typically

raise their children to be independent, while Asian and
African communities raise their children to value emotional
closeness. Children in these cultures grow up with a
stronger sense of family self—a feeling that what shames the
child shames the family, and what brings honor to the family
brings honor to the self.

Developmental Similarities Across Groups

Similarities can be found throughout the world despite

differing cultures. Humans share the same life cycle and
parent’s respond the same to children’s cries and coos no
matter which culture they were raised in. So in surface ways
we may differ, but as members of one species we seem
subject to the same psychological forces. As members of
different ethnic and cultural groups, our languages vary, yet
they reflect universal principles of grammar. Our tastes vary,
yet they reflect common principles of hunger. Our social
behaviors vary, but they reflect pervasive principles of
human influence.

Review Exercises:
Put an “I” for traits common among Individualists and a “C’
for traits common amongst Collectivists:

Independent

Interdependent

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 American Culture

Korean Culture

Relatively free to switch jobs or divorce

Connections with a group defines you

Enduring Commitment is valued more than romance

Multiple Choice

1. Why are social norms important?

A) They make everyone alike
B) They free us from self pre-occupation and allow us
to relax
C) They make diagnosing diseases easier
D) They are common across all cultures
2. Where is cultural diversity less relevant?
A) Japan
B) North America
C) Canada
D) Australia
3. What are some of the ways cultures vary?
A) In their pace of life
B) In their expressiveness
C) Sense of punctuality
D) Cultures vary in all of these ways

Fill in the Blanks

Word Bank: Language, Division of Labor, Human Diversity,

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Norms, Personal Space, Individualists, Collectivists,
Independent, Family Self, Grammar

exhibit greater shyness toward strangers and

greater concern for social harmony and loyalty while
may feel more comfortable leaving their family, switching
jobs, or divorcing.

We all speak to our infants in ways and respond in

ways to their coos and cries.

1 2

7 8

10

ACROSS DOWN
2. These people find 1. The coordination and
satisfaction in advancing their commitment of a team of
groups' interests, even at the women and men to produce
expense of personal needs. something, no one of whom is
4. These people give capable of producing it alone.
relatively greater priority to 3. This is enabled by our
personal goals and define shared capacity for culture.
their identity mostly in terms 8. Our languages vary, but
of personal attributes. they reflect universal
5. Most Westerners now raise principles of THIS.

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 their children to be THIS.
6. Behavior seen as
appropriate in one culture
may violate the THESE of
another group.
7. Thanks to our mastery of
this, humans can preserve
innovation.
9. Scandinavians, North
Americans, and the British
prefer more of this, while
Latin Americans, Arabs, and
the French are accustomed to
less.
10. A feeling that what
shames the child shames the
family, and what brings honor
to the family brings honor to
the self.

Key Terms
Word Bank: Culture, Norms, Personal Space, Individualism,
Collectivism

: the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and

traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted
from one generation to the next.

: an understood rule for accepted and expected

behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.

: giving priority to one’s own goals over

group goals, and defining one’s identity in terms of personal
attributes rather than group identifications.

: giving priority to the goals of one’s group

(often one’s extended family or work group) and defining
one’s identity accordingly.

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 : the buffer zone we like to maintain around our
bodies

Answer Key:

I, C, I, C, I, C, C

Multiple Choice:
1-B, 2-A, 3-D

Fill in the Blanks:

Collectivists, individualists; similar, similar

Cross word puzzle answers:

1. Division of Labor
2. Collectivists
3. Human Diversity
4. Individualists
5. Independent
6. Norms
7. Language
8. Grammar
9. Personal Space
10.Family Self

Key Terms (in order from top to bottom):

culture, norms, individualism, collectivism, personal space

27
7.3: Gender Development
Gender Similarities and Differences
Men and women are very similar, and among your 46
chromosomes, 45 are unisex. Woman have more body fat,
less muscle and are 5 inches shorter hand the average man.
Women enter puberty sooner, express emotions freely, and
smell faint odors. However, they are more vulnerable to
depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Men are more
likely to commit suicide, become alcoholic, be autistic, and
to be color-blind.

Gender and Aggression

Men admit to more aggression than do women in a physical
sense, and more men than women commit murders. Men
also express more support for war.

Gender and Social Power

People all around the world perceive men as more dominant,
forceful, and independent than women. In society males are

28
socially dominant and more likely to be leaders. Yet
compared to women, men are more autocratic leaders and
more likely to speak their opinions. Men are also more likely
to act powerful by being assertive and dominant; it is these
sorts of behaviors that perpetuate sexual inequality in salary
and leadership positions. However, these gender differences
can lessen with maturity.

Gender and Social Connectedness

Some believe that the struggle to create one’s own identity is

more of a male struggle than a female one because females
are more concerned with their relationships with others.
Children’s play shows this theory: girls have intimate
friendships with a small group and are more responsive. The
male answer syndrome describes a male’s reluctance to
admit they don’t know an answer to a question. Women use
conversation to explore relationships, while men use it to
communicate solutions. Men are more skeptical and
emphasize freedom and self-reliance more than women. This
means that women turn to one another for help and support,
and as a result, develop more intimate and personal

29
relationships.

The Nature of Gender

The biopsychosocial view suggests that our environment
and biology both contribute to gender diversity. Genetic
influences on our gender are determined by differing sex
chromosomes and physiologically from our sex
hormones. Your sex is determined by the 23rd pair of
chromosomes; you received an X chromosome from your
mother, and if you are a boy you received a Y chromosome
from your father as opposed to an X chromosome, making
you a girl. The Y chromosome triggers the testes to develop
and produce testosterone, the principal male hormone.
During the fourth and fifth prenatal months, different brain-
wiring patterns for males and females develop. Females with
high levels of testosterone have masculine-appearing
genitals and tend to be more aggressive; this exposure can
affect one’s biological appearance as well the social
experiences that shape one’s character. Biology influences
gender development. Recent research suggests that there
are differences in the brains of males and females.

The Nurture of Gender

Gender is influenced by biology, but is also socially
constructed.

Gender Roles
A role refers to a cluster of prescribed actions and the
expected behaviors of people. Our culture’s gender roles,
our expectations about the way men and women behave,
shape the way men and women behave and act as members

30
of society. The diversity of gender roles over time shows that
culture rather than biology influences these roles. Gender
ideas have varied greatly over time and across generations.

Gender and Child-Rearing

Our gender identity is our sense of being male or female,
and is determined by society based on our biological gender.
We are also gender-typed by acquiring a traditionally
masculine or feminine role. The social learning theory
assumes that children learn gender-linked behaviors by
observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.
Parents aren’t the only ones influencing a child’s gender-
typing, as studies show differing parenting styles don’t

31
account for a child’s gender identity. The gender schema
theory states that children learn from their cultures a
concept of what it means to be male and female and adjust
their behavior accordingly. Children have very rigid
stereotypes about boys and girls that peak around age 5.

32
Review exercises
Fill in the blanks:
1. More women are diagnosed with _____________________
more men with _________________________________.

2. In most societies, men are socially ___________________

and are perceived as such.

3. _____________ tend to emphasize freedom and self-

reliance, while _____________ tend to be more nurturing
and caring.

4. Biological sex is determined by the twenty-third pair of

_________________.

5. _____________ use conversation to explore relationships,

while _____________ use it to communicate solutions.

6. Gender is influenced by both _________________ and

_______________.

Key Terms:
Word bank: gender schema theory, gender role, X
chromosome, role, gender identity, social learning theory, Y
chromosome, gender-typing, testosterone

1. : the sex chromosome found in both men

and women.

2. : the most important of the male sex

hormones. Both males and females have it, but the
additional amount in males stimulates the growth of the

33
male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the
male sex characteristics during puberty.

3. : the sex chromosome found only in males.

When paired with a chromosome from the mother, it
produces a male child.

4. : a set of expectations (norms) about a

social position, defining how those in the position ought to
behave.

5. : a set of expected behaviors for males and

for females

6. : the theory that we learn social behavior

by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or
punished.

7. : the acquisition of a traditional

masculine or feminine role.

8. : the theory that children learn from

their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and
female and that they adjust their behavior accordingly.

9. : one’s sense of being male or

female.

34
Answers
Fill in the blanks:
1. depression; antisocial personality disorder

2. aggressive

3. men; women

4. chromosomes

5. women; men

6. biology; society

Key Terms:
1. X chromosome

2. testosterone

3. Y chromosome

4. role

5. gender identity

6. social learning theory

7. gender typing

8. gender schema theory

9. gender identity

35
 Reflections on Nature and
Nurture

Genes form us.

Experience forms us.
Our biology provides us with certain abilities and
places limits on others, while the people and customs
in our social environment direct us toward specific
roles and reward us for adhering to cultural
expectations.
“Nature seems cunningly and ingeniously devised to
produce extraordinary, self-replicating, information-
processing systems—us. Although we appear to have
been created from dust, over eons of time, the end
result is a priceless creature, one rich with potentials
beyond our imagining.” Pg. 127

Review: The approach to development

which combines biological, psychological,

36
and social-cultural influences is called the
______________ (1) approach.
Answers
1. biopsychosocial

Module 8: Prenatal Development & The Newborn

(pages 133-159)
Ali Arams

Bravely Bold Sir Robin Tunes Continued…(chapter reviews)

Conception of Bravely Bold Sir Robin
Bravely bold Sir Robin
Was conceived in the spring
Because during that summer, his parents had a fling
His father ejaculated 200 million sperm
And swam upstream to his mother’s egg

First the boy sperm said hello to the lady egg

By breaking down her outer coating with his special enzymes
Then he penetrated her, and she refused the others
And then their nuclei fused together

First a zygote
Attatched to the uterus
Then an embryo
then a fetus
Then proportion
With arms and legs
Then facial features
Like hands and feet

Brave Sir Robin’s Birth Defects

37
Bravely bold Sir Robin
Had an irresponsible Mom
During pregnancy, she drank alcohol
Then the teratrogens entered Robin’s placenta
And killed many of his brain cells

This is why when Robin was born, he was not quite right
He was a victim of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
40% of women who drink bear babies with FAS
And is the leading cause to mental retardation

Disproportioned
With a very small head
Brain damage
And abnormities
Learning deficits
And depression
Bad motor skills
And neurotransmitter problems

Brave Sir Robin after Birth

Bravely bold Sir Robin was born with many skills
When he was born he already could suck nipples
He had the rooting reflex, and also would cry with hunger
Because of his predisposition to survive

His perceptual abilities developed right after birth

He could even identify his mother by smelling her scent
He could go as far as identifying her breast milk
And shortly after recognized her voice

Rooting reflex
and breathing
Detecting cents
And voices too
And cries of hunger
That drive his mother crazy

Important Terms to Remember…

Developmental Psychology: a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and
social change throughout the life span.

Zygote: the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops

38
into an embryo.

Embryo: the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through
the second month.

Fetus: the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Teratogens: agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus
during prenatal development and cause harm.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused
by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable
facial misproportions.

Rooting Reflex: a baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch,
open the mouth, and search for the nipple.

Habituation: decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain

familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look
away sooner.

Bravery Review…

When Bravely Bold Sir Robin was conceived, he was first a _______, then a
_______, then a ________ about nine weeks after conception. After that stage,
Robin developed (in order), proportion, _____ and legs, then _____, and ______ and
feet. Because His mother drank during his pregnancy, Robin’s brain cells were
________ by the millions. This caused learning ___________, disproportion, and
slowed _______ skills. 40% of babies born with _______ _______ Syndrome develop
mental ___________. Then, when Robin was born, the first thing that he began to
recognize was his mother’s ________. He could even recognize the scent of his
mothers ________ _______. His ______ reflex allowed him to search for ______ to
suck on for milk. Then he recognized her sweet, soothing __________.

Word Bank:
retardation rooting fetus
voice

breast milk hands killed deficits

motor fetal alcohol scent

zygote nipples embryo facial features

Kelsey Browne, Hana Raftery, Shireen Tofig

39
 Period 2
4/14/08
Adolescence and Adulthood Study Guide
Modules 10 and 11
Module 10: Adolescence

Key Terms:
Adolescence: the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty
to independence.
Puberty: the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of
reproducing.
Primary sex characteristics: the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia)
that make sexual reproduction possible.
Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female
breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.
Menarche: the first menstrual period.
Identity: one’s sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a
sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.
Intimacy: in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary
developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.

Summaries:
10.1 Physical Development

During puberty, primary sex characteristics (the reproductive organs and external
genitalia) and secondary sex characteristics (nonreproductive sexual characteristics such
as a girl's breasts and a boy's deepened voice) develop. For most girls, menarche happens
within a year of age 12. For most boys, spermarche occurs by about age 14. Individual
onset of puberty varies, depending on heredity and environment, and other people's
reactions to early or late maturation can influence adolescents' adjustment. During
adolescence, frontal lobes mature and unused neurons and their connections are pruned.

40
10.2 Cognitive Development
Lawrence Kohlberg proposed three levels of moral thinking: preconventional morality
(selfinterested, based on reasoning that attempts to avoid punishment or gain concrete
rewards); conventional morality (law-abiding, based on reasoning that existing laws must
be upheld), and postconventional morality (self-defined, based on abstract reasoning
about what is ethical, right, and fair).

10.3 Social Development

Erik Erikson proposed the eight stages of life. In infancy (to 1 year), the issue is trust
versus mistrust; in toddlerhood (1 to 2 years), the issue is autonomy versus shame and
doubt. Preschoolers (3 to 5) learn initiative or guilt, and elementary school children (6 to
puberty), competence or inferiority. A chief task of adolescence (teens to twenties) is
solidifying one's sense of self—one's identity. For young adults (twenties to early forties),
the issue is intimacy versus isolation, and for middle adulthood (forties to sixties),
generativity versus stagnation. Late adulthood's (late sixties and up) task is integrity
versus despair.

Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages:

Stage (approximate age) Issues Description of Task

Infancy (to 1 year)
Toddlerhood (1 to 2 years)
Preschooler (3 to 5 years)
Elementary school (6 years
to puberty)
Adolescence (teen years
into 20s)
Young adulthood (20s to
early 40s)
Trust vs. mistrust
Autonomy vs. shame and
doubt
Initiative vs. guilt
Competence vs. inferiority
Identity vs. role confusion
Intimacy vs. isolation
If needs are consistently
met, infants develop a sense
of basic trust.
Toddlers learn to exercise
will and do things for
themselves, or they doubt
their abilities.
Preschoolers learn to initiate
tasks and carry out plans, or
they feel guilty about efforts
to be independent.
Children learn the pleasure
of applying themselves to
tasks, or they feel inferior.
Teenagers work at refining a
sense of self by testing roles
and then integrating them to
form a single identity, or
they become confused about
who they are.
Young adults struggle to
form close relationships and
to gain the capacity for
intimate love, or they feel
socially isolated.

41
Middle adulthood (40s to Generativity vs. stagnation In middle age, people
60s) discover a sense of
contributing to the world,
usually through family and
work, or they may feel a
lack of purpose.
Late adulthood (late 60s and Integrity vs. despair When reflecting on his or
up) her life, the older adult may
feel a sense of satisfaction
or failure.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Three Stages of Moral Thinking:

Stage Description
Preconventional morality Obey either to avoid punishment or to gain
concrete rewards.
Example: I better share this toy or Mommy
will be mad.
Conventional morality Cares for others and upholds laws and
social rules simply because they are the
laws and rules.
Example: If you drive too fast, you will
break the law.
Postconventional morality Affirms people's agreed-upon rights or
follows what one personally perceives as
basic ethical principles.
Example: I don’t care if it is the law, it’s
not right and it’s not fair!

Module 11: Adulthood

Key Terms:
Menopause: the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological
changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.
Alzheimer’s disease: a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by
gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
Cross-sectional study: a study in which people of different ages are compared with one
another.
Longitudinal study: research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a
long period.
Crystallized intelligence: one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to
increase with age.
Fluid intelligence: one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease
during late adulthood.
Social clock: the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage,
parenthood, and retirement.

42
Summaries:
11.1 Physical Development
Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac output begin to decline in
the late twenties. Women outlive men and outnumber men at most ages past early
infancy. In late adulthood, especially after age 70, hearing, distance perception, and the
sense of smell diminish, as do muscle strength, reaction time, and stamina. Life-
threatening diseases such as cancer and pneumonia increase, but short-term ailments
decrease. Neural processes slow, but physical exercise can stimulate the development of
some new brain cells and connections. With age, the incidence of dementia increases, but
dementia is not a normal part of the aging process. The ability to recall new information
declines during early and middle adulthood, but the ability to recognize such information
does not. Older adults recall meaningful information more easily than meaningless
information. Today's view is that fluid intelligence (the ability to reason speedily and
abstractly) declines in later life, but crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge and
skills) does not.

11.2 Cognitive Development

Well-being and people's feelings of satisfaction are stable across the life span. As we age,
highs may be less high and lows less low, but the average level of satisfaction remains
stable.

11.3 Social Development

Piaget (cognitive development), Kohlberg (moral development), and Erikson
(psychosocial development)

Modules 10 and 11 Review Quiz

1. Which is NOT considered a secondary characteristic?

43
a. male facial hair
b. female hips
c. male deepened voice
d. female ovaries

2. Female breasts are to _____ as male testes are to _____.

a. primary sex characteristic; secondary sex characteristic
b. puberty; menarche
c. secondary sex characteristic; primary sex characteristic
d. menarche; puberty

3. The process of developing a sense of identity during adolescence was highlighted by:
a. Piaget
b. Kohlberg
c. Erikson
d. Pavlov

4. A decline in the ability to reproduce is most closely associated with:

a. menopause
b. dementia
c. puberty
d. menarche

5. A researcher who administers a personality test to the same children every three years
as they progress though school is conducting a (n) _____ study.
a. case
b. experimental
c. cross-sectional
d. longitudinal

6. Which of the following is true about the physical development in adult life?
a. Most adults are clearly aware of the first signs of physical decline.
b. Sensory ability and reaction time reach their peak by the mid-twenties. c. The outward
signs of advancing years are psychologically stressful for adults in every culture.
d. None of the above

7. As adults age, they show the greatest declines in:

a. crystallized intelligence and in the memory capacities needed to recall recently
presented information.
b. fluid intelligence and in the memory capacities needed to recognize recently presented
information.
c. crystallized intelligence and in the memory capacities needed to recognize recently
presented information.
d. fluid intelligence and in the memory capacities needed to recall recently presented
information.

44
8. Mark thinks he should obey his teachers only if they are carefully watching him.
Kohlberg would suggest that Mark demonstrates a (n) _____ morality.
a. conventional
b. preconventional
c. postconventional
d. unconventional

9. Adolescence is typically a time of:

a. growing parental influence and growing peer influence
b. growing parental influence and diminishing peer influence
c. diminishing parental influence and growing peer influence
d. diminishing parental influence and diminishing peer influence

10. The best predictor of a couple’s marital satisfaction is the:

a. ratio of their positive to negative interactions with each other
b. frequency of their sexual intimacy
c. intensity of their passionate feelings
d. all of the above

Answers: 1. D, 2. C, 3. C, 4. A, 5. D, 6. B, 7. B, 8. B, 9. C, 10. A

MODULE SUMMARIES
MODULE 12+13: Intro to Sensation and Perception and Vision
A. Section 12-1: explains the difference between sensation and perception and
bottom up and top down processing.
a. Sensation
i. The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system
receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
b. Perception
i. The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information,
enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
c. Bottom-up processing
i. Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the
brain’s integration of sensory information.
d. Top-down processing
i. Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as
when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and
expectations.
B. Section 12-2: Explains the difference between absolute and difference thresholds.
Describes how although we can sometimes sense stimuli below our absolute
threshold, the effect is too small to make us susceptible subliminal messages.
a. Absolute threshold
i. The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50
percent of the time.
b. Difference threshold
i. The minimum difference between two stimuli required for

45
 detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference
threshold as a just noticeable difference. (Also called just
noticeable difference or jnd.)
c. Weber’s law
i. The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must
differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant
amount).
d. Psychophysics
i. The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of
stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of
them.
e. Subliminal stimuli
i. Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
f. Signal detection theory
i. A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint
stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise").
Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and detection
depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation,
and level of fatigue.
C. Section 12-3:Explains what sensory adaptation is. Ex: when we are exposed to a
certain sensory stimulus for a long period of time, we become no longer aware of
its existence because of sensory adaptation.
a. Sensory adaptation
i. Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
D. Section 12-4:
a. Inattentional Blindness
i. Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere.
E. Section 13-1: Defines transduction. Explains how the hue and brightness of a
light depends on its intensity and wavelength.
a. Sensory transduction
i. Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the
transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and
smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
b. Wavelength
i. The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak
of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips
of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
c. Hue
i. The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of
light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
d. Intensity
i. The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive
as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude.
F. Section 13-2: Describes how the eye processes light. (And explains the major

46
structures of the eye) 1. Light enters through the cornea 2.The iris contracts to
controls the size of the pupil (which decides how much light to let in). 3. The lens
changes shape to focus light rays on the retina where receptor cells convert the
light energy into neural impulses.

CONTINUE

Macula

i. Accommodation
a. The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus
near or far objects on the retina.
ii. Acuity
a. The sharpness of vision.
iii. Nearsightedness
a. A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than
distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the
retina.
iv. Farsightedness
a. A condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly
than near objects because the image of near objects is focused

47
 behind the retina.
G. Section 13-3:Describes the difference between rods and cones and other
structures of the eye.
a. Parts of the Eye:
i. Pupil: the adjustable opening in the center of the eye trough which
light enters
ii. Lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes form
to help focus images on the retina.
iii. Iris: a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the
eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
iv. Cornea: Where light enters through
v. Retina: the process by which the eye’s les changes shape to help
focus images on the retina
vi. Fovea: the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s
cones cluster.
vii. Optic Nerve: The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye
to the brain
viii. Blind Spot: The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye,
creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
ix. Rods: retinal receptors that detect black, white and gray; necessary
for peripheral and twilight visions, when cones don’t respond.
x. Cones: retinal receptors cells that are concentrated near the center
of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions.
The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensation.
H. Section 13-4:Defines feature detection
a. Feature detection
i. Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the
stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
I. Section 13-5: Defines parallel processing and its role in visual information
processing.
a. Parallel processing
i. The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the
brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions,
including vision. Contrasts with the step-bystep (serial) processing
of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
J. Section 13-6: Describes two theories on color: Young-Helmholz trichromatic
theory and the opponent process theory.
a. Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
i. the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—
one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which when
stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.
b. Opponent color
i. Red vs. green
ii. Blue vs. yellow
iii. White vs. black

48
 c. Opponent-process theory
i. The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue,
white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are
stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by
red and inhibited by green.
K. Section 13-7: Explains the concept of color constancy.
a. Color constancy
i. Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if
changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the
object.

L. Other Key Terms:

a. Illusory contours
i. Illusory contours or subjective contours are a form of visual
illusion where contours are perceived without a luminance or color
change across the contour. Friedrich Schumann discovered illusory
contours
b. Primary colors of light
i. Red, green, and blue
c. Afterimage effect
i. After staring at some color like red for a long time and then
looking at a white piece of paper and then seeing green… you
always see the opponent color
d. Visual capture
i. The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.
e. Depth perception
i. The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images
that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge
distance.

49
 M.
Review Quiz:
Matching: Pair the definition with the appropriate letter

1. Pupil A. One of the primary colors

2. Red B. The point at which the optic nerve
3. Sensory Adaptation leaves the eye; no receptor cells are
4. Blue located there.
5. Feature detection C. Where opposite colors enable vision
6. Weber’s law in color
7. Hue D. the dimension of color that is
8. Opponent-process theory determined by the wavelength of
9. Depth Perception light
10. Blind spot E. The principle that, to be perceived
as different, two stimuli must differ
by a constant minimum percentage
(rather than a constant amount).
F. Green’s opponent color
G. the adjustable opening in the center
of the eye trough which light enters
H. The ability to see objects in three
dimensions although the images
that strike the retina are two-
dimensional; allows us to judge
distance.
I. Nerve cells in the brain that respond
to specific features of the stimulus,
such as shape, angle, or movement.
J. Diminished sensitivity as a
consequence of constant
stimulation.

11. Henry walks into a room that smells strongly of paint varnish. After a couple of
minutes however, Henry no longer notices the smell. This phenomenon is best described
by:
A. Weber’s Law
B. The difference threshold
C. Sensory Adaptation
D. Selective Attention

12. __________ is the conversion of one form of energy into another.

13. The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next is
called________

50
14. The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors – the most sensitive
to red, one to green and one to blue—which when stimulated in combination can produce
the perception of any color is called ___________

15. Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination
alters the wave lengths reflected by the object is called _________
Answers:
1. G
2. F
3. J
4. A
5. I
6. E
7. D
8. C
9. H
10. B
11. C
12. Transduction
13. Wavelength
14. Trichromatic theory
15. Color constancy

Study Guide: Module 14 – Hearing (Pg. 214-223)

By: DJ Shelton, Bubba Paguirigan, Kelvin Wang, Gracie Varda, and Caitlin Heising

Module 14: Summary (Psychology: Eighth Edition in Modules by David G. Myers)

14-1 AUDITION: Audition is the sense of hearing. Sound waves consist of bands that are
either compressed or expanded air. Ears detect these changes in air pressure and turn
them into neural impulses, which is then created into sound by the brain. Sound waves
vary in frequency and amplitude, which we perceive as differences in pitch and loudness.

14-2 THREE REGIONS OF THE EAR: The outer ear is the visible portion of the ear.
The middle ear is the chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea. The inner ear
consists of the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. Through a mechanical

51
chain of events, sound waves traveling through the auditory canal cause tiny vibrations in
the eardrum, which the bones of the middle ear amplify and relay to the fluid-filled
cochlea. Rippling of the basilar membrane, caused by pressure changes in the cochlear
fluid, causes movement of the tiny hair cells, triggering neural messages to be sent (via
the thalamus) to the brain’s auditory cortex.

- The Inner Ear:

- The Outer Ear:

- Transforming Sound Waves into Nerve Impulses

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14-3 CONTRAST PLACE AND FREQUENCY THEORIES: Place theory proposes that
our brain interprets a particular pitch by decoding the location where a sound wave has
stimulated the cochlea’s basilar membrane. Frequency theory proposes that the brain
deciphers the number and rate of the pulses traveling up the auditory nerve to the brain.
Place theory can explain how we hear high-pitched sounds but not how we hear low-
pitched sounds. Frequency theory can explain how we hear low-pitched sounds, but not
how we hear high-pitched sounds. Some combination of the two explains how we hear
sounds in the middle range.

14-4 PINPOINT SOUNDS: Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than
the other. Using parallel processing, the brain analyzes the minute differences in the
sounds received by the two ears and computes the source of the sound.

14-5 HEARING LOSS: Conduction hearing loss results from damage to the mechanical
system that transmits sound waves to the cochlea. Sensorineural hearing loss results from
damage to the cochlea’s hair cells or their associated nerves. Diseases and accidents can
cause these problems, but age-related disorders and prolonged exposure to loud noise are
more common causes of hearing loss, especially of nerve deafness.

14-6 COCHLEAR IMPLANTS: Cochlear implants wired into various sites on the
auditory nerve transmit electrical impulses to the brain. These devices can help deaf
children to hear some sounds and to learn to use spoken language. But cochlear implants
are most effective when children are very young, which means that parents must make
this decision for their deaf children. In opposing the transplants, Deaf culture advocates
maintain that deafness is not a disability – Deaf people already have a complete language,
sign – and that sensory compensation, which enhances other senses, gives Deaf people
advantages the hearing do not have.

53
Module 14: Key Terms

- Audition: the sense or act of hearing

- Frequency: the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for
example, per second)

- Pitch: a tones experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

- Middle Ear: the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones

54
(hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the
cochlea’s oval window

- Cochlea: a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves
trigger nerve impulses

- Inner Ear: the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and
vestibular sacs

- Place Theory: in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the
auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

- Conduction Hearing Lost: hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that
conducts sound waves to the cochlea

- Sensorineural Hearing Loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor
cells or to the auditory nerves, also called nerve deafness

- Cochlear Implant: a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating
the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Module 14: Review

Matching

1. Audition
2. Frequency
3. Pitch
4. Middle Ear
5. Cochlea
6. Inner Ear

55
7. Place Theory
8. Conduction Hearing Loss
9. Sensorineural Loss
10. Cochlear Implant

___A. a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger
nerve impulses

___B. a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory
nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

___C. the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and
vestibular sacs

___D. the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for
example, per second)

___E. hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory
nerves, also called nerve deafness

___F. the sense or act of hearing

___G. a tones experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

___H. hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound
waves to the cochlea

___I. the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones
(hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the
cochlea’s oval window

___J. in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve
matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Module 14: Answers to Matching: 5 – 10 – 6 – 2 – 9 – 1 – 3 – 8 – 4 – 7

Study Guide: Module 15 – Other Important Senses (Pg. 224­234)
By: DJ Shelton, Bubba Paguirigan, Kelvin Wang, Gracie Varda, and Caitlin Heising

Module 15: Summaries (Psychology: Eighth Edition in Modules by David G. Myers)

15-1 TOUCH: Our sense of touch is actually for senses— pressure, warmth, cold, and
pain— that combine to produce other sensations, such as “hot”. Of these, only pressure
has specialized receptors.

56
 QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Fig. 15.1 Warm + cold = hot When ice-cold water passes through one coil and comfortably
warm water through another, we perceive the combined sensation as burning hot.

15-2 PAIN: Pain is an alarm system that draws our attention to some physical problem.
One theory of pain is that a “gate” in the spinal cord either opens to permit pain signals
traveling up small nerve fibers to reach the brain, or closes to prevent their passage. The
biopsychosocial approach views a person’s experience of pain as the sum of three sets of
forces; biological influences, such as nerve fibers sending message to the brain;
psychological influences, such as the situation and our past experiences; and social-
cultural influences, such as cultural expectations and the presence of observers.
Treatments to control pain often combine physiological and psychological elements.

QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Pain perception: A cool look at a hot topic At the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown,
physicist David Willey used eight cords of wood to construct the world's longest firewalk. After
explaining heat-diffusion principles that permit firewalking, he then joined several others in
putting his feet where his mouth was. (Think of a cake baking in a 350-degree oven. Touch the
aluminum cake tin and you'll get burned; briefly touch the cake—like wood, a poor conductor
of heat— and you'll be okay.) Both photos: David Willey

15-3 TASTE: Taste, a chemical sense, is a composite of five basic sensations—sweet,

sour salty, bitter, and umami—and the aromas that interact with information from the
taste buds. Taste buds on the top and sides of the tongue and in back and on the roof of
mouth contain taste receptor cells. These cells send information to an area of the temporal
lobe near the area where olfactory information is received. The influence of smell on our
sense of taste is an example of sensory interaction, the ability of one sense to influence

57
another.

QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Sensory interaction: One sense influences another When a hard-of-hearing listener sees
an animated face forming words being spoken at the other end of a phone line, the words
become easier to understand (Knight, 2004). Courtesy of RNID: www.rnid.org.uk

15-4 SMELL: Smell is a chemical sense, but ther are no basic sensations for smell, as
ther are for touch and taste. The 5 million olfactory receptor cells, with the approximately
350 different receptor proteins, recognize individual odor molecules. The receptor cells
sens messages to the brain’s olfactory bulb, then to the tempora lobe and to parts of the
limbic system. Some odors trigger a combination of receptors. An odor’s ability to
spontaneously evoke memories and feelings is due in part to the close connections
between brain areas that process smell and those involved in memory storage.

QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Fig. 15.5 The sense of smell If you are to smell a flower, airborne molecules of its
fragrance must reach receptors at the top of your nose. Sniffing swirls air up to the receptors,
enhancing the aroma. The receptor cells send messages to the brain's olfactory bulb, and then
onward to the temporal lobe's primary smell cortex and to the parts of the limbic system
involved in memory and emotion.

15-5 SENSE: by means of millions of position and motion sensor s all over our body, our

58
kinesthetic sense monitors the position and movement of our individual body parts. Our
vestibular sense relies on semicircular canals and vestibular sacs in the inner ear to sense
our head’s— and thus our whole body’s— position and movement, letting us maintain
our balance.

QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

The intricate vestibular sense Thank your inner ears for the information that enables your
brain to monitor your body's position. Bob Daemmrich/The Image Works

Module 15: KeyTerms

­ Gate­control Theory: the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that 
blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the 
activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger 
fibers or by information coming from the brain. 

59
- Sensory Interaction: the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the
smell of food influences its taste.

- Kinethesis: the system for sensing the position and movement and position of individual
body parts.

- Vestibular Sense: the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of
balance (based in our inner ear).

Module 15: STUDY QUESTIONS (QUIZ)

T/F

___ The gate­control theory refers to the taste buds monitoring levels of spiciness and/or 
bitterness in our food. 

___ Sensory interaction refers to bodily senses interacting with each other, as in smell
enhancing/hindering taste.

___ Kinethesis refers to the part of our nervous system that controls the movement of
specific body parts.

___ Vestibular Sense refers to the inner ear helping us keep our balance and keep our
head straight.

Answer: F – T – T- T

Module 12
sensation: the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and
represent stimulus energies from our environment.

perception: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to

recognize meaningful objects and events.

bottom-up processing: analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the
brain’s integration of sensory information.

top-down processing: information processing guided by higherlevel mental processes, as

when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

psychophysics: the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli,

such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.

absolute threshold: the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50

percent of the time.

signal detection theory: a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint
stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute
threshold and detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation,

60
and level of fatigue.

subliminal: below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s
perception, memory, or response.

difference threshold: the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50
percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.
(Also called just noticeable difference or jnd.)

Weber’s law: the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a
constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).

sensory adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

selective attention: the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the

cocktail party effect.

inattentional blindness: failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere.

Module 13
transduction: conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming
of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can
interpret.

wavelength: the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.
Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of
radio transmission.

hue: the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as
the color names blue, green, and so forth.

intensity: the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or
loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude.
pupil: the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

iris: a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and
controls the size of the pupil opening.

lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on
the retina.

accommodation: the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far
objects on the retina.

retina: the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones
plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

acuity: the sharpness of vision.

nearsightedness: a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant
objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina.

farsightedness: a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects
because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina.

61
rods: retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and
twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.

cones: retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that
function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color
sensations.

optic nerve: the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

blind spot: the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because
no receptor cells are located there.

fovea: the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.

feature detectors: nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus,
such as shape, angle, or movement.

parallel processing: the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the

brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts
with the step-bystep (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory: the theory that the retina contains
three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which
when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.

opponent-process theory: the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-
blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and
inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

color constancy: perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing
illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

Module 14
audition: the sense or act of hearing.

frequency: the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for
example, per second).

pitch: a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

middle ear: the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones
(hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s
oval window.

cochlea: [KOHK-lee-uh] a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound
waves trigger nerve impulses.

inner ear: the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and
vestibular sacs

place theory: in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the
cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.

frequency theory: in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the
auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

conduction hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that
conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

62
sensorineural hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells
or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

cochlear implant: a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the
auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Module 15
gate-control theory: the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that
blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity
of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by
information coming from the brain.

sensory interaction: the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell
of food influences its taste.

kinesthesis: [kin-ehs-THEE-sehs] the system for sensing the position and movement of
individual body parts.

vestibular sense: the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

Module 16
visual capture: the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

gestalt: an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate

pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

figure-ground: the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out
from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping: the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

depth perception: the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that
strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

visual cliff: a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

binocular cues: depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the
use of two eyes.

retinal disparity: a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the two
eyeballs, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two
images, the closer the object.

convergence: a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge
inward when looking at an object. The greater the inward strain, the closer the object.

monocular cues: depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either
eye alone.

phi phenomenon: an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on
and off in quick succession.

perceptual constancy: perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color,

shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

Module 17
perceptual adaptation: in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even

63
inverted visual field.

perceptual set: a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

human factors psychology: a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines
interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.

extrasensory perception: the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from
sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

parapsychology: the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

Sensation and Perception

FILL.in.Blank REVIEW

1. __________ includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

2. You see a tomato on the kitchen table. When the sun shines on it, you see it as
“red”. When the sun sets outside, you still see it as “red”. This is called ________.
3. Retinal disparity and convergence are __________ cues.
4. The following picture is an example of_________.

64
 5. In the following picture, is the guy spearing the elephant or the antelope? You can
tell because of….?

6. According to gate control theory, you only experience pain if the signal passes
through the ________ and goes to the brain.
7. _______+ _______ + ________ = flavor. This is called sensory interaction.

ANSWERS:
1. Extrasensory Perception
2. Color constancy
3. Binocular
4. Interposition
5. Antelope; Relative size; Relative Height
6. Spinal cord

65
7. Smell; texture; taste

Sensation and Perception

More for you to learn (With PICS)! 

1. Through bottom-up processing, we detect lines, angles, and colors, and form them
into a full image. Through top-down processing, we use our understanding of the
title to direct our attention to certain details.

2. The eye.

3. The Ear

66
4. The sense of smell

67
5. Grouping

6. A caricature of Arnold Schwarzeneggar is more recognizable than a normal

picture of him because we notice certain unique features of his face more than
others, and caricatures exaggerate these points.

68
69
 Sensation and Perception
MATCHING REVIEW

Directions: Match the correct term to its description.

a. When your mommy hears you placed. In the other, one quarter
whimper in another bedroom, is placed. You can tell the
it’ll catch her attention, while a difference easily. If you had 5
louder sound on the street may quarters in one hand, and six
not affect her. quarters in another, you wouldn’t
b. A positive image is flashed in be able to tell the difference. You
front of you. When a neutral can only detect the difference if
image is shown to you your other hand has 10 quarters.
immediately after this flash, you This is…?
will think it’s more positive. This
is because of …? 1. Sensory Adaptation
c. You live on a farm with stinky
animals. After awhile, you have
diminishing sensitivity to that
odor because of…?
d. In the following picture, you see
an image because your brain
forms it. You have grouped
everything. This is 2. Signal Detection Theory
called_______.

3. Gestalt

4. Weber’s Law

e. In one hand, two quarters are

70
5. Priming

71
72
73
ANSWERS FOR CROssWORD PUzzLE

ACROSS
3. Sensation
5. Accomodation
7. Cochlea
8. Lens
9. Selective Attention

DOWN
1. Perception
2. Acuity
4. Nearsighted
6. Place Theory

Module 18.1
Objective 18.1: Consciousness and Information Processing
Summary:
Psychology began as a study of one’s consciousness or awareness of ourselves and the
environment around us—later turning into the study of behavior. Conscious awareness is
what enables us to communicate our mental states to others, though it is not the only
component of this process. While you are consciously thinking, our unconsciousness
simultaneously occurs. For example, when one sees a car drive by, they know it is a car,
but subconsciously they know that it is a certain make or model of car.

Table 18.1: States of Consciousness

Some Are Some Are
Some Occur
Physiologically Psychologically
Spontaneously
Induced Induced
Daydreaming Hallucinations Sensory Deprivation
Drowsiness Orgasm Hypnosis
Dreaming Food or Oxygen Meditation

74
 Starvation

Review:

1) What does consciousness do?

2) Give an example of simultaneous consciousness.
3) Name three kinds of states of consciousness.

75
Module 18.2
Objective 18.2: Biological Rhythms
Summary:
There are four types of biological rhythms, also known as periodic physiological 
fluctuations. These four types are called annual cycles, twenty­eight­day cycles, twenty­
four­hour cycles, and ninety­minute cycles. When on an annual cycle, a person may 
undergo appetite, sleep length, and mood swings. For instance, seasonal affective disorder 
may occur when one lives in a dark and gloomy atmosphere, causing depression. An 
example of twenty­eight­day cycle is a female’s menstrual cycle. The twenty­four­hour 
cycle changes ones alertness, body temperature, and growth hormone secretion. Lastly, 
the ninety­minute cycle occurs during change of sleep stages.

Review:

1) What is a component of a twenty­four­hour cycle?
a. Depression
b. Attentiveness
c. Menstrual Cycle
2) How many biological rhythms are there? What are they called?
3) What happens during seasonal affective disorder?

76
Module 18.2
Objective 18.3: Circadian Rhythm
Summary:
Circadian rhythm is the human’s biological clock, a 24­hour cycle. One’s body 
temperature is at its highest during the day and it’s lowest before going to bed. Brightness 
of light affects the circadian clock by turning on light­sensitive retinal proteins, setting off 
the suprachiasmatic nucleus (clusters of cells controlling the circadian clock). The longer 
one is awake, the more chemicals produced, causing sleepiness.

Figure 18.3 The biological clock Light striking the retina

causes the suprachiasmatic nucleus (a tiny neural center in
the hypothalamus) to alter the production of biologically
active substances, such as melatonin production by the
pineal gland. Illustration © Cynthia Turner 2003
Review:

1) When is one’s body temperature at its peak?
a. When they first wake up
b. During the late afternoon
c. In the middle of the day
2) What are the clusters of cells control the circadian clock called?
a. Syprachiasmatic nucleus
b. Pineal gland
c. Optic nerve
3) What affects the circadian clock?

77
Module 18.2
Objective 18.4: Sleep Stages
Summary:

Around every 90 minutes of sleep, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.
Stage one is very similar to being awake and only lasts a couple of minutes. Alpha waves
are present at this time; slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state. During state one, it is
common to experience images resembling hallucinations. At this time, hypnagogic
sensations occur. This is when your body suddenly jerks. Next is stage two. Sleep
spindles, bursts of brainwave activity, occur in this stage. One can easily be awaken
during this stage, but you are now asleep. Stage two is also where sleep talking can begin.
The third stage lasts about thirty minutes. This is a much deeper sleep where you are hard
to awaken. At this point your brain emits delta waves; slow brain waves associated with
deep sleep. Stage four is the deepest sleep of them all. At this stage, one can experience
episodes of sleepwalk or wetting the bed. During stage two and three, you enter REM
(Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. During REM your heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid
and irregular, and your eyes move around behind the closed lids.

Fig. 18.7 The stages in a typical night's sleep Most people pass
through the five-stage sleep cycle (graph a) several times, with the periods
of Stage 4 sleep and then Stage 3 sleep diminishing and REM sleep
periods increasing in duration. Graph b plots this increasing REM sleep
and decreasing deep sleep based on data from 30 young adults. (From
Cartwright, 1978; Webb, 1992.)

Review:

1) Around how many minutes does it take to pass through a sleep cycle?
2) What is it called when you body jerks during stage one?
3) At what stage(s) does REM occur? List the three changes that occur to
your body at this time.

78
Module 18.2
Objective 18.5: Why Do We Sleep?
Summary:

Every human needs sleep to survive. Sleep takes over around one-third of our lives
(around 25 years!!!). Sleep patterns and duration vary from person to person. They can be
culturally influenced and such things as light, work, hobbies, and past times can impact
one’s amount of sleep. Those who get more sleep are more efficient and accurate than
those who sleep less. While people may make up for a short sleep the night before,
sleeping for a long period of time the day after does not necessarily help. It is a consistent
sleep schedule that does the job.

Review:
1) What is the best kind of sleep one can get?
2) About how long does sleep take over ones life?
3) Why is a good night of sleep a smart choice for someone who has a test the next
day?

79
Module 18.2
Objective 18.6: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Summary:

Sleep deprivation experiments reveal slowed reaction times and increase errors on visual
tasks. Some examples of sleep deprivation include:
1) Struggling to get out of bed in the morning
2) Feeling tired, irritable, and stressed out during the week
3) Often falling asleep during boring meetings or lectures
4) Often feeling drowsy while driving
5) Often needing a nap to get through the day
Sleep loss can also affect us in a more subtle way such as a weaker immune system that
fights off viral infections and cancer. Sleep dept can also alter metabolic hormonal
functioning causing obesity, hypertension, and memory impairment. Some other effects
are:
1) Slowed performance
2) Impaired creativity
3) Concentration
4) Communication

Review:
1) List some examples of sleep deprivation.
2) Sleep Deprivation can ____ reaction time and ________ visual errors.

80
Module 18.2

Objective 18-8: Sleep Disorders

Summary:

The major disorders of sleep include insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, night terrors,
sleepwalking, and sleeptalking.

- Insomnia – Persistent problems falling and/or staying asleep

- Narcolepsy – Uncontrollable sleep attacks
- Sleep Apnea – Temporary cessations of breathing during sleep along with
repeated momentary awakenings
- Night Terrors – High arousal and an appearance of being terrified; occur during
Stage 4; and are seldom remembered
- Sleepwalking – Occurs during Stage 4; common among mostly children
- Sleeptalking – Common among mostly children

Review:
1) What are some ways to prevent sleep disorders?
2) Do people remember their night terrors? Why or why not?
3) Sleepwalking and talking is most common among what age groups?

81
Module 18.2

Objective 18-9: What do we dream?

Summary:

People usually dream of ordinary events and everyday experiences. Most dreams occur
during REM sleep and are most vivid then. Dreams that do not occur during REM tend to
be vague, unmemorable images. Dreams are marked by negative emotions 80% of the
time. According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream is called manifest
content. A common dream one has is to be falling, but suddenly awoken when about to
hit the ground.

Review:

2) REM dreams are…

a. Vivid

b. Emotional

c. Bizarre

d. All of the above

3) __ in 10 dreams are marked by negative emotions.

a. 2

b. 5

c. 8

d. 10

4) What sometimes incorporates traces of previous days’ experiences and

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preoccupations?

a. REM sleep

b. Sleepwalking

c. Night terrors

d. Manifest content

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Module 18.2

Objective 18-10: Why do we dream?

Summary:

There are five major perspectives on why we dream:

1) To satisfy unfulfilled wishes by expressing them through latent content

2) To file away memories by sorting the day’s experiences
3) To develop and preserve neural pathways during sleep
4) To make sense of neural activity
5) To reflect cognitive development of knowledge and understanding

Table 18.3: Dream Theories

Theory Explanation
Freud's wish- Dreams provide a “psychic safety
fulfillment valve”—expressing otherwise
unacceptable feelings; contain
manifest (remembered) content and a
deeper layer of latent content—a
hidden meaning.
Information- Dreams help us sort out the day's
processing events and consolidate our memories.
Physiological Regular brain stimulation from REM
function sleep may help develop and preserve
neural pathways.
Activation- REM sleep triggers neural activity
synthesis that evokes random visual memories,
which our sleeping brain weaves into
stories.
Cognitive Dream content reflects dreamers’
theory cognitive development-their
knowledge and understanding.
Critical Considerations
Lacks any scientific
support; dreams may be
interpreted in many
different ways.
But why do we sometimes
dream about things we
have not experienced?
This may be true, but it
does not explain why we
experience meaningful
dreams.
The individual's brain is
weaving the stories, which
still tells us something
about the dreamer.
Does not address the
neuroscience of dreams.

Review:
1) Freud’s ____-___________ theory proposed we dream because of a deeper,
hidden meaning.
2) Dreams help us sort out the day’s events is part of the ___________-__________
theory.

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3) REM rebound is the tendency for REM sleep to _________ following REM sleep
deprivation.

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Module 19.1

Objective 19-1: Hypnosis

Summary:

Hypnosis is a social interaction in which the hypnotist suggests to the subject that certain
perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur. Researchers, after
many experiments, now agree that the strength, stamina, learning, and perceptual abilities
of those under hypnosis are like those of motivated unhypnotized people. For example,
hypnotized people can perform “the amazing human plank,” but this can also be
performed by extremely motivated unhypnotized people as well.

Review:
1) What are some examples of what people do under hypnosis?
2) What are some examples of feats that researchers now agree are
impossible to accomplish?

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Module 19.1

Objective 19-2: Can Anyone Experience Hypnosis?

Summary:

Nearly everyone is suggestible to hypnosis. The people who respond to suggestions

without hypnosis are people that are likely to respond with hypnosis. During hypnosis,
hypnotists can suggest a large range of different experiences like spreading your arms
out, or seeing imaginary things while your eyes are open. Hypnotic ability is the ability to
focus one’s attention on a certain task and become imaginatively absorbed in it.

Review:

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88
Module 19.1

Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Enhance Recall of Forgotten Events?

Summary:

Hypnotically refreshed memories combine fact with fiction. Hypnotists can plant ideas in
the subject’s pseudomemory by asking leading questions. Research has revealed that
most reports of UFOs have come from people who were inclined to believe in aliens, are
easy to hypnotize, and have undergone hypnosis.

Review:
1) True or False: Memories recalled under hypnosis are 100% fact.
2) True or False: Those who have reported UFO sightings are easily susceptible to
hypnosis.

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Module 19.1

Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will?

Summary:

Martin Orne and Frederick Evans found that hypnotized people could perform dangerous
acts if told to do so. After doing dangerous acts, patients had no memory of them and
denied performing such acts. Stanley Milgram found that authoritative people can force
hypnotized and unhypnotized people to perform unusual acts.

Review:
1) Explain what happens after a person is hypnotized to perform a dangerous act.

2) What did Milgrim find in regards to authoritative people?

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Module 19.1

Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?

Summary:

Hypnotherapists simply try to help patients heal themselves. Hypnosis has helped people
alleviate pain, asthma, and stress-related problems. It was found that hypnosis helps a lot
with obesity. But it was also found that hypnosis didn’t help with drug or alcohol
problems.

Review:

1) Hypnosis helps people…

a. Grow hair
b. Reduce pain
c. Run faster
d. None of the above
2) Hypnosis helps rid of…
a. Obesity
b. Drug addiction
c. Alcohol addiction
d. None of the above

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Module 19.1

Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Alleviate Pain?

Summary:

Hypnosis does alleviate pain. Dissociation is a theory of hypnotic pain relief. The theory
happens when the sensation of pain dissociates from the emotional suffering during
hypnosis. Another theory of hypnotic pain relief is selective attention when people
choose when to feel the pain. Hypnosis doesn’t block sensory input, but it does block
one’s attention to the stimuli of the sensory input.

Review:

1) True or False: Does hypnosis relieve pain?

2) True or False: Dissociation occurs when we combine the pain sensation with our
conscious awareness

3) True or False: Selective attention is when we focus our attention on other things

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Module 19.2

Objective 19.3: Hypnosis as Divided Consciousness

Summary:

There are three findings that support the theory of dissociation:

1) Hypnotized people may carry out posthypnotic actions when no one else is
watching.

2) Brain scans show that people hypnotized to see imaginary things will show higher
brain activity during those things.

3) Brain scans show that people hypnotized to alleviate pain will show less brain
activity relating to that sensory information.

Review:
1) Brain scans show _________ brain activity when hypnotized to see imaginary
things.

2) Brain scans show _________ brain activity when hypnotized to relieve pain.

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94
Review Question: Answers

Module 18.1
Objective 18.1: Consciousness and Information Processing

1) Consciousness enables us to communicate our mental states to others.

2) Answer should be similar to the following: When one sees a car drive by, they
know it is a car, but subconsciously they know that it is a certain make or model
of car.
3) Daydream, Orgasm, Hypnosis (or any others from the chart)

Module 18.2
Objective 18.2: Biological Rhythms

1) B
2) Four; Annual Cycles, Twenty-Eight-Day Cycles, Twenty-Four-Hour Cycles, and
Ninety-Minute Cycles
3) Depression

Module 18.2
Objective 18.3: Circadian Rhythm

1) C
2) A
3) Light

Module 18.2
Objective 18.4: Sleep Stages

1) 90 minutes
2) Hypnagogic Sensations
3) Two and Three; During REM your heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and 
irregular, and your eyes move around behind the closed lids.

Module 18.2
Objective 18.5: Why Do We Sleep?

1) Consistent sleep schedule
2) Around one­third of our lives or around 25 years
3) You are more efficient and accurate

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Module 18.2
Objective 18.6: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

1) Struggling to get out of bed in the morning, feeling tired, irritable, and stressed 
out during the week, often falling asleep during boring meetings or lectures, often 
feeling drowsy while driving, and often needing a nap to get through the day.
2) Slow; increase.

Module 18.2
Objective 18-8: Sleep Disorders

1) Relax before bedtime, use a dimmer light, avoid caffeine, sleep on a regular
schedule, exercise regularly, hide the clock face so you aren’t temped to check it,
etc.
2) No they don’t because they occur during Stage 4 of sleep.
3) Children and adolescents.
Module 18.2
Objective 18-9: What do we dream?

1) D. All of the above

2) C. 8

3) D. Manifest content

Module 18.2
Objective 18-10: Why do we dream?

1) Wish-fulfillment
2) Information-processing
3) Increase
Module 19.1
Objective 19-1: Hypnosis

1) Forget the number six, think foul odors smell good, etc.
2) See the back of their head, talk to dead people, etc.
Module 19.1

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Objective 19-2: Can Anyone Experience Hypnosis?

ACROSS
3) Hypnotic ability

DOWN
1) Suggestible
2) Range

Module 19.1
Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Enhance Recall of Forgotten Events?

1) False
2) True

Module 19.1
Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will?

1) They do not recall it once they are no longer under hypnosis

2) An authoritative person can induce hypnotized or non hypnotized people to

perform acts

Module 19.1
Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?

1) B

2) A

Module 19.1
Objective 19-2 continued: Can Hypnosis Alleviate Pain?

1) True
2) False
3) True

Module 19.2
Objective 19.3: Hypnosis as Divided Consciousness

1) Increased

2) Decreased

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 Learning Review Sheet
Definition of learning
a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience.
Associative Learning

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learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical
conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
Ivan Pavlov
Classical conditioning
a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus
that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates
and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus.

UCR
in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned
stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.
UCS
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—
triggers a response.
CR
in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS).
CS
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an
unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Acquisition
the initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an
unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned
response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
Discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus
and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.
Generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned
stimulus to elicit similar responses.
Extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an

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unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in
operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
Thorndyke
Law of Effect
Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more
likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.
B.F. Skinner-invented the operant conditioning chamber
Shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and
closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or
diminished if followed by a punisher.

Table 22.1: Some Differences Between Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
Response Involuntary, automatic.
Acquisition Associating events; CS
announces US.
Extinction CR decreases when CS is
repeatedly presented alone.
Cognitive Organisms develop
processes expectation that CS signals
the arrival of US.
Biological Natural predispositions
predispositions constrain what stimuli and
responses can easily be
associated.
Operant Conditioning
Voluntary, operates on environment.
Associating response with a
consequence (reinforcer or punisher).
Responding decreases when
reinforcement stops.
Organisms develop expectation that a
response will be reinforced or
punished; they also exhibit latent
learning, without reinforcement.
Organisms best learn behaviors similar
to their natural behaviors; unnatural
behaviors instinctively drift back
toward natural ones.

Primary reinforcers

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an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
Secondary reinforcers
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary
reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer.
Immediate reinforcement
A reinforcing stumulus, that immediately follows behavior. (conditions quickely)
Delayed reinforcement
A reinforcing stimumus that is delivered with a delay after behavior, (takes longer to
condition)
Positive reinforcement
increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is
any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
Negative reinforcement
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative
reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.
(Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.)
Continuous reinforcement
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.
Partial reinforcement
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response
but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.
Schedules of partial reinforcement
Fixed interval
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a
specified time has elapsed
Variable interval
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals
Fixed ratio
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a
specified number of responses.
Variable ratio
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an
unpredictable number of responses.
Punishment
an event that decreases the behavior that it follows.
Latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Overjustification Effect- extrinsic rewards for previously intrinsically motivated
behaviors, becomes reason for behavior, so behavior decreases
Observational Learning
learning by observing others.
Modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.
Albert Bandura
demonstrated that we are likely to imitate actions that go unpunished

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Mirror Neuron
frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or observing another doing
so
Prosocial Behavior
positive, constuctive, helpful behavior

Table 22.3: Ways to Decrease Behavior

Type of Punisher Description Possible Examples
Positive Administer an Spanking; a parking ticket
punishment aversive stimulus
Negative Withdraw a desirable Time-out from privileges (such as time with
punishment stimulus friends); revoked driver's license

Table 22.4: Comparison of Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
Response Involuntary, automatic.
Acquisition Associating events; CS
announces US.
Extinction CR decreases when CS is
repeatedly presented alone.
Cognitive Organisms develop
processes expectation that CS signals
the arrival of US.
Biological Natural predispositions
predispositions constrain what stimuli and
responses can easily be
associated.
Operant Conditioning
Voluntary, operates on environment.
Associating response with a
consequence (reinforcer or punisher).
Responding decreases when
reinforcement stops.
Organisms develop expectation that a
response will be reinforced or
punished; they also exhibit latent
learning, without reinforcement.
Organisms best learn behaviors similar
to their natural behaviors; unnatural
behaviors instinctively drift back
toward natural ones.

Module Summaries
Module 21: Classical Conditioning Learning Objective Summary

Learning is a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience. In

associative learning, we learn to associate two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a
response its consequences (as in operant conditioning). In observational learning, we

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learn by watching others' experiences and examples.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate

stimuli. Pavlov's work on classical conditioning laid the foundation for behaviorism, the
view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without
reference to mental processes. In classical conditioning, a UR is an event that occurs
naturally (such as salivation), in response to some stimulus. A US is something that
naturally and automatically (without learning) triggers the unlearned response (as food in
the mouth triggers salivation). A CS in classical conditioning is an originally neutral
stimulus (such as a bell) that, through learning, comes to be associated with some
unlearned response (salivating). A CR is the learned response (salivating) to the originally
neutral but now conditioned stimulus.

In classical conditioning, extinction is diminished responding when the CS no longer

signals an impending US. Spontaneous recovery is the appearance of a formerly
extinguished response, following a rest period. Generalization is the tendency to respond
to stimuli that are similar to a CS. Discrimination is the learned ability to distinguish
between a CS and other irrelevant stimuli.

Module 22: Operant Conditioning Learning Objective Summary

Classical conditioning, the organism forms associations between behaviors it does not
control; this form of conditioning involves operant behavior (automatic responses to
some stimulus). In operant conditioning, the organism learns associations between its
own behavior and resulting events; this form of conditioning involves operant behavior
(behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences).

Thorndike's law of effect asserts that rewarded behavior is likely to recur. Using this as
his starting point, Skinner devoted his life to exploring the principles and conditions of
learning through operant conditioning.

Positive reinforcement adds something desirable to increase the frequency of a behavior.

Negative reinforcement removes something undesirable to increase the frequency of a
behavior. Primary reinforcers (such as receiving food when hungry or having nausea end
during an illness) are innately satisfying—no learning is required. Conditioned (or
secondary) reinforcers (such as cash) are satisfying because we have learned to associate
them with more basic rewards (such as the food or medicine we buy with them).
Immediate reinforcers (such as the nicotine addict's cigarette) offer immediate payback;
delayed reinforcers (such as a weekly paycheck) require the ability to delay gratification.

In continuous reinforcement (reinforcing desired responses every time they occur),

learning is rapid, but so is extinction if rewards cease. Continuous reinforcement is
preferable until a behavior is learned. In partial reinforcement (reinforcing responses only
part of the time), initial learning is slower, but the behavior is much more resistant to
extinction. Reinforcement schedules may vary according to the number of responses
rewarded or the time gap between responses. Fixed-ratio schedules offer rewards after a

103
set number of responses; variable-ratio schedules, after an unpredictable number. Fixed-
interval schedules offer rewards after set time periods; variable-interval schedules, after
unpredictable time periods.

Module 23: Learning by Observation Learning Objective Summary

In observational learning, we observe and imitate others. Mirror neurons, located in the
brain's frontal lobes, demonstrate a neural basis for observational learning. They fire
when we perform certain actions (such as responding to pain or moving our mouth to
form words), or when we observe someone else performing those actions.

Bandura and others demonstrated that we are likely to intimate actions that go
unpunished. And we tend to imitate models we perceive as similar to us, successful, or
admirable.

Children tend to imitate what a model does and says, whether the behavior is prosocial
(positive, constructive, and helpful) or antisocial. If a model's actions and words are
inconsistent, children may imitate the hypocrisy they observe.

Correlation does not show causation.

Questions:
1. A response is learned most quickly and is most resistant to extinction if it is
learned under conditions of __________ reinforcement followed by __________
reinforcement.
a. Partial, continuous
b. Secondary, primary

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 c. Continuous, partial
d. Primary, secondary
2. B. F. Skinner elaborated on what Thorndike had called:
a. The law of effect
b. Observational learning
c. Latent learning
d. Shaping
3. The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that
do not signal an unconditioned stimulus is called:
a. Acquisition
b. Shaping
c. Discrimination
d. Generalization
4. In what form of learning is behavior said to be influenced by its consequences?
a. Observational learning
b. Classical conditioning
c. Latent learning
d. Operant conditioning
5. Maria developed an intense fear of snakes five years ago when she was bitten.
The fact that today she can again be around snakes without distress indicates that
her fear has undergone:
a. Spontaneous recovery
b. Discrimination
c. Extinction
d. Generalization
6. The fact that learning can occur without reinforcement is clearly demonstrated by
studies of:
a. Shaping
b. Latent learning
c. Spontaneous recovery
d. Operant conditioning
7. The highest rate of operant responding are associated with the ________ schedule
of reinforcement.
a. Fixed-ratio
b. Variable-ratio
c. Fixed-interval
d. Variable-interval
8. Stimulus-stimulus associations are to _______ as response-stimulus associations
are to ________.
a. Latent learning, observational learning
b. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning
c. Operant conditioning, classical conditioning
d. Acquisition, extinction
9. For purposes of effective child raising, most psychologists favor the use of
________ over _________.
a. Shaping, modeling

105
 b. Reinforcement, punishment
c. Spontaneous recovery, extinction
d. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning
10. In order to quickly teach a dog to play dead on command, you would be most
successful using _________ rather than __________.
a. Negative reinforcers, positive reinforcers
b. Partial reinforcement, continuous reinforcement
c. Latent learning, shaping
d. Immediate reinforcers, delayed reinforcers
11. Who invented the operant conditioning chamber?
a. Watson
b. Bandura
c. Skinner
d. Pavlov
12. A child’s fear at the sight of a needle is:
a. Conditioned response
b. Unconditioned response
c. Conditioned stimulus
d. Unconditioned stimulus

106
Questions:
13. A response is learned most quickly and is most resistant to extinction if it is
learned under conditions of __________ reinforcement followed by __________
reinforcement.
a. Partial, continuous
b. Secondary, primary
c. Continuous, partial
d. Primary, secondary
14. B. F. Skinner elaborated on what Thorndike had called:
a. The law of effect
b. Observational learning
c. Latent learning
d. Shaping
15. The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that
do not signal an unconditioned stimulus is called:
a. Acquisition
b. Shaping
c. Discrimination
d. Generalization
16. In what form of learning is behavior said to be influenced by its consequences?
a. Observational learning
b. Classical conditioning
c. Latent learning
d. Operant conditioning
17. Maria developed an intense fear of snakes five years ago when she was bitten.
The fact that today she can again be around snakes without distress indicates that
her fear has undergone:
a. Spontaneous recovery
b. Discrimination
c. Extinction
d. Generalization
18. The fact that learning can occur without reinforcement is clearly demonstrated by
studies of:
a. Shaping
b. Latent learning
c. Spontaneous recovery
d. Operant conditioning
19. The highest rate of operant responding are associated with the ________ schedule
of reinforcement.
a. Fixed-ratio
b. Variable-ratio
c. Fixed-interval
d. Variable-interval

107
20. Stimulus-stimulus associations are to _______ as response-stimulus associations
are to ________.
a. Latent learning, observational learning
b. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning
c. Operant conditioning, classical conditioning
d. Acquisition, extinction
21. For purposes of effective child raising, most psychologists favor the use of
________ over _________.
a. Shaping, modeling
b. Reinforcement, punishment
c. Spontaneous recovery, extinction
d. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning
22. In order to quickly teach a dog to play dead on command, you would be most
successful using _________ rather than __________.
a. Negative reinforcers, positive reinforcers
b. Partial reinforcement, continuous reinforcement
c. Latent learning, shaping
d. Immediate reinforcers, delayed reinforcers
23. Who invented the operant conditioning chamber?
a. Watson
b. Bandura
c. Skinner
d. Pavlov
24. A child’s fear at the sight of a needle is:
a. Conditioned response
b. Unconditioned response
c. Conditioned stimulus
d. Unconditioned stimulus

108
Crossword Clues:

Across:
7. Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more
likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.
8. Positive, constructive, helpful behavior
12. The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
14. In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after
a specified number of responses.
15. In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned
stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.
17. Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or observing another
doing so
18. A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral
stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that
anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus.
19. Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in
classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
20. In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals
21. An event that decreases the behavior that it follows.
22. The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an
unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in
operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

Down
1. Extrinsic rewards for previously intrinsically motivated behaviors, becomes reason for
behavior, so behavior decreases
2. In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the
unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.
3. A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience.
4. The initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with
an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned
response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
5. Father of classical conditioning
6. The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the
conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.
9. A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or
diminished if followed by a punisher.
10. Learning by observing others.
11. Anything that strengthens behavior
13. In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with
an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.
16. An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer
and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

109
110
 Memory Review Packet

By Isaac Yao, Alan Chu, Jessica Yu, Kelsey Liu, Alfred Chen

Module 24: Memory

• Memory is the persistence of (1)_____________ over time through the storage

and retrieval of information.
• A person’s memory capacity is perhaps most apparent in his or her recall of
unique and highly emotional moments in the past.
• A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event is called a
(2)_____________ memory.
• Like other memories, these memories can err.

• To remember any event, we must get information into our brain, retain that
information, and later get it back out.
• (3)_____________ is the processing of information into the memory
system.
• (4)_____________ is the retention of encoded information over time.
• (5)_____________ is the process of getting information out of memory
storage.

• Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin’s classic three-stage processing model of

memory:
• Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that we first record to-be-remembered
information as a fleeting sensory memory, from which it is processed into
a short-term memory bin, where we encode it through rehearsal for long-
term memory and later retrieval.

• Sensory memory is the immediate, very brief recording of

(6)____________ information in the memory system.

• Short-term memory is the activated memory that holds a few items

briefly before the information is stored or (7)______________.
• Long-term memory is the relatively (8)______________ and limitless
storehouse of the memory system. It includes knowledge, skills, and
experiences.
• Criticism: Some information skips the first two stages and is processed
into long-term memory automatically without our conscious awareness.

The modified version of the three-stage processing model of memory incorporates the
concept of the working memory.

111
 Since Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model, we have learned that short-term memory is
more than passive rehearsal.

Working memory is a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves

conscious, (9)___________processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial
information, and of information retrieved from long term memory.

Working memory’s auditory and visual-spatial elements are coordinated by a central

executive processor

These separate mental subsystems allow us to process images and words

simultaneously, which explains why we can talk while driving but working memory's
limited capacity explains why it is so difficult to try to remember the melody for one song
while we are listening to another.

Module 25: Encoding: Getting Information In

How We Encode

• Sensory input is processed consciously and unconsciously.

• Consciously processed input is encoded into our working or short-term memory.
• Further rehearsal and processing encodes into long-term memory.

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Automatic Processing

• Without conscious effort we can process space, time and frequency due to parallel
processing.
• Some conscious processing can become automatic such as reading and driving.

Effortful processing

• Effortful processing requires attention and effort, but is durable and retrievable.
• Rehearsal or conscious repetition helps create long-term memories.
• Hermann Ebbinghaus found the amount remembered depends on the time spent
learning, an overlearning increases retention.
• Next-in-line effect-forgetting the information presented before we present.
• Information is processed best an hour before sleep, not immediately before sleep.
• Spacing effect-learn better when rehearsal is distributed over time.
• Serial position effect- first and last items are recalled more often than the middle.

What We Encode

• Information processed by encoding its meaning, image or mentally organizing it.

• Self-reference effect- information that is relevant to the person is easier to
remember.
• Visual encoding-encoding of images.
• Acoustic encoding-encoding of sounds, particularly words.
• Semantic encoding- encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
• Visual and Acoustic are both shallower than semantic encoding.

Visual Encoding

• Imagery- mental pictures, that help with effortful processing.

• People remember words that have string images more easily than those that do
not.
• Rosy retrospection-negative emotion fades faster than positive emotion of events.
• Mnemonics- memory aids, may use imagery and organizational devices, such as
the peg-word system like five is a hive.

Organizing Information for Encoding

• Meaning and imagery boost memory by organizing information.

• Chunking-organizing items into familiar units to make it easier to recall, such as
acronyms like HOMES for the names of the Great Lakes.
• Hierarchies- organizes information by dividing it into levels from general to
specific

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Matching Terms and Definitions:

1.Automatic processing a. Practice makes memories easier to

retrieve and longer lasting.
2.Effortful processing b. The first and last items are easier to
remember than the middle ones.
3.Rehersal c. Most difficult to remember the
information presented right before
4.Spacing effect you present.
d. ROY G. BIV
5.Serial Position effect e. Conscious processing
f. Mental pictures, helpful when
6.Visual encoding combined with semantic encoding.
g. Stopping at a stop sign.
7.Acoustic Encoding h. Learning over a semester provides
better recall than learning in two
8.Semantic Encoding weeks because of this.
i. One is a bun, two is a shoe.
9.Next-in-line effect j. Self-reference effect falls under this.
k. Is rhyming and sounds not listening
10.Imagery to tapes to learn information.
l. Easier to remember fire and
11.Mnemonics typewriter because of this.

12.Chunking
Module 26: Retaining Information

• We have two kinds of sensory memories: Iconic (Momentary sensory memory of image
stimuli) and Echoic (Momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli)

• Both types have extremely short lifetimes, about 3-4 second, because we are virtually
flooded with sensory stimuli everyday (so we ‘make room’ for incoming sensory
information)

• Short-term memory (or working memory) is the transitional stage between sensory
memory and long-term memory

• Relative to sensory memories, short-term memories last a long time (about 12-15
seconds)

• We can recall about 7 items (give or take 2) that are in short-term memories

• If short-term memories are rehearsed enough, they turn into long-term memories, which

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stay with you (practically speaking) forever

• Long-term memories are not stored in just one central place; they are all over the brain
because of the way they are encoded (visual, audio and semantic)

• What we encode for long-term memories and what we actually experienced are two
completely different things

• Physically, memories seem to be stored in the synapses in between the brain’s neurons

• One piece of evidence pointing to this is long-term potentiation (an increase in a

synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation), where a neuron adapts to the
frequent firing and lowers its threshold to fire

• Further proof that memories reside in the synapses is that if LTP (long-term
potentiation) is blocked then learning becomes difficult if not impossible

• If an electric current is passed through the brain after LTP, the old memories are intact
but very recent memories are cleared away (a blow to the head will do the same)

• Stress can literally ingrain memories into the mind; the more emotion, the more vivid
the memory becomes (conversely the duller the emotion, the weaker the memory)

• This is because of the stress hormones make the brain go into a flurry of activity,
leading to vivid memory recall (any event causing stress, like a first kiss or natural
disaster, can lead to powerful memory recall)

• However too much stress will cause the brain areas related to memories shrink and
block older memories

• People with a type of amnesia (loss of memory), in which they cannot form new
memories, can learn new things like riding a bicycle or reading a story over and over
(faster each time)

• They cannot say they know they learned something, they have no explicit memory
(memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" [also
called declarative memory]) of the deed

• They do have implicit memory (retention independent of conscious recollection [also

called procedural memory]) of the activity (basically they know how to do an activity but
are not away of it)

• So they will say they cannot ride a bicycle but when they do get on, they can ride it with
ease (assuming that they learned it after they lose the ability to make new memories)

• The explicit memories seem to be stored in the hippocampus (a neural center located in

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the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage), which is lateralized

• Explicit memory of images and locations are located in the left hippocampus and
memory of verbs and words are located in the right.

• If the hippocampus is lost, then recent (month old) long-term memories disappear, but
older ones are still intact (further proving that long-term memories are stored in different
locations)

• Implicit memories are stored in the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain controlling
body motion (Thanks to implicit memories, classical conditioning is possible)

• Since the cerebellum develops and matures before the hippocampus, it is little wonder
that memories of learning how to walk/crawl are not explicit but implicit (and memories
before three years of age is forgotten)

Module 27: Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Key Terms
-recall
-recognition
-relearning
-priming
-déjà vu
-mood-congruent memory

Outline

I. Recall/recognition/relearning
a. Memory is the retention of learning
b. Retrieval= process of getting information out of memory system
i. Recall=a measure of memory concerning ability to retrieve
information not in conscience awareness (Example: fill-in the
blank)
ii. Recognition=a measure of memory concerning ability to identify
items even if one can not recall them (Example: multi-choice test
question)
iii. Relearning=a measure of memory concerning the amount of time
saved when learning material for a second time (Example:
reviewing for a final)

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 II. Retrieval Cues
a. A retrieval cue is some supplementary
information that you associate with a
memory when it is created
b. Priming=the activation of associations in
one’s memory
i. Priming is often done unconsciously
i. Example 

III. Context Effects

a. Being in the context where you experienced
or thought something makes you remember the experience or thought
better.
b. Déjà vu = the feeling that one has already experienced this before caused
by cues from the current situation which cause retrieval of a memory.

IV. Moods and Memories

a. State dependent memory=you can recall information better when you are
in the same state that you encoded it in
b. Mood-congruent memory= you tend to recall experiences that fit your
current mood.
c. Mood will also influence how one interprets events

Questions

1. Memory is__________.
2. The three different types of retrieval are
a.
b.
c.
3. The activation of associations in one’s memory is…
a. retrieval
b. déjà vu
c. priming
d. mood congruent memory
4. What kind of retrieval was tested in question number 3?
5. What is the difference between state dependent memory and mood congruent
memory?

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 Module 28: Memory

4/11/08

28.1

~Three Sins of Forgetting~

• Absent-mindedness—inattention to details produces encoding failure (your

mind is somewhere else as you are storing something away).
• Transience—storage decays over time (after a conversation, information
that is not used, fades away overtime).
• Blocking —inaccessibility of stored information (you know what to say,
but you can’t express it in that manner).

~Three Sins of Distortion~

• Misattribution —confusing the source of information (remembering

something prior to what actually happened).
• Suggestibility —the lingering effects of misinformation.
• Bias —belief-colored recollections.

~One Sin of Intrusion~

• Persistence —unwanted memories (such as memories of murder and

assault).

• Information in short term memory stays there temporally and will be forgotten
eventually, unless encoded to long term memory.
• Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885)

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 • Forgetting Curve – how much we learn, yet how fast we forget the info.

• Harry Bahrick (1984)

• Followed up on Hermann’s “Forgetting Curve”

• Says that when we learn a language and stop learning it for a while, we
forget what we learned, but will even out later in life.
• People, who studied and stopped studying early, will forget the same
amount.

Forgetting Curve:

Spanish Forgetting Curve:

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 • Even if we encode information in our long term memory, sometimes we have a
hard time to retrieve the information; hence, we forget it eventually.

• proactive (forward-acting) interference: the disruptive effect of prior learning

on the recall of new information (such as if we got a new phone, we are trying to
remember the new number, but instead, we remember the old number).
• retroactive (backward-acting) interference: the disruptive effect of new
learning on the recall of old information (learning new things, then when trying to
remember the old, we have forgotten it or had a hard time to recall).
• Retroactive interference can be minimized when we learn new things and then
going to sleep after learning.
• Jenkins and Karl Dallenbach (1924)
• Did an experiment, two people learn two nonsense syllables, then one
person stayed awake and the other sleeps.
• Next day, when both of them try to recall the syllables, the one who got
sleep could recall faster and clearer.
• positive transfer: when old and new information compete with each other that
interference occurs.

Retroactive Interference:

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• repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes
anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

28.2

• misinformation effect: After exposure to subtle misinformation, many people

misremember.
• It is nearly impossible to give suggestive ideas to a person who has
misinformation of the event that took place.
• Non-existing objects, events, actions, etc, can create misinformation / false
memories.
• Debra Poole and Stephen Lindsay (1995, 2001, 2002)
• source amnesia: attributing to the wrong source an event we have
experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (Also called source
misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is
at the heart of many false memories.
• Experimented “source amnesia” with preschoolers by engaging them with
Mr. Science who gave demonstrations such as blowing up a balloon with
baking soda and vinegar.
• Three months later, a book was published about the event, but some of the
parts of the story were made up.
• An interviewer asked the preschoolers if the story was accurate (4 out of
the 10 preschoolers said the story was genuinely true).
• People who are committed to protecting abused children and those committed to
protecting wrongly accused adults agree on the following:

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 • Injustice happens. Some innocent people have been falsely convicted.
Some guilty people have evaded responsibility by casting doubt on their
truth-telling accusers.
• Incest and other sexual abuse happen. And it happens more often than
we once supposed. There is no characteristic "survivor syndrome"
(Kendall-Tackett & others, 1993). However, sexual abuse can leave its
victims predisposed to problems ranging from sexual dysfunction to
depression.
• Forgetting happens. Many of the abused were either very young when
abused or may not have understood the meaning of their experience—
circumstances under which forgetting is "utterly common." Forgetting
isolated past events, both negative and positive, is an ordinary part of
everyday life.
• Recovered memories are commonplace. Cued by a remark or an
experience, we recover memories of long-forgotten events, both pleasant
and unpleasant. What is debated is whether the unconscious mind
sometimes forcibly represses painful experiences and, if so, whether these
can be retrieved by certain therapist-aided techniques.
• Memories "recovered" under hypnosis or the influence of drugs are
especially unreliable. "Age-regressed" hypnotized subjects incorporate
suggestions into their memories, even memories of "past lives."
• Memories of things happening before age 3 are also unreliable. People
do not reliably recall happenings of any sort from their first 3 years—a
phenomenon called infantile amnesia . Most psychologists—including
most clinical and counseling psychologists—therefore are skeptical of
"recovered" memories of abuse during infancy (Gore-Felton & others,
2000; Knapp & VandeCreek, 2000). The older a child's age when suffering
sexual abuse, and the more severe it was, the more likely it is to be
remembered (Goodman & others, 2003).
• Memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting. If a false
memory of abuse becomes a real part of one's history, both the accuser and
the accused may suffer. What was born of mere suggestion can, like an
actual trauma, become a stinging memory that may drive bodily stress
(McNally, 2003). People knocked unconscious by unremembered
accidents sometimes later develop stress disorders when haunted by
memories constructed from photos, news reports, and friends' accounts
(Bryant, 2001).

28.3

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 • Ways to improve memory:
• Study repeatedly to boost long term recall
• Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material
• Make the material personally meaningful
• To remember a list of unfamiliar items, use mnemonic devices (memory
aids that use vivid images or organizational devices)
• Refresh your memory by activating retrieval cues
• Recall events while they are fresh, before you encounter possible
misinformation
• Minimize interference
• Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what
you do not yet know

Word Search activity

Dirrections: look for the words in the blanks/answers

1. Inattention to details produces encoding failure.

2. Storage decays over time.
3. Inaccessibility of stored information.
4. Confusing the source of information.
5. The lingering effects of misinformation.
6. Belief-colored recollections.
7. Unwanted memories.
8. Famous for the “Forgetting Curve”.
9. The _______ shows how much we learn, yet how fast we forget the info.
10. _______ Interference is the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new
information.
11. _______ Interference is the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old
information.
12. When old and new information compete with each other that interference occurs.
13. In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-
arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.
14. Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read
about, or imagined.

123
124
125
Answers

Module 24

1. learning
2. flashbulb
3. encoding
4. storage
6. retrieval
7. sensory
8. forgotten
9. permanent
10. active

Module 25
Answers: 1-g, 2-e, 3-a, 4-h, 5-b, 6-l, 7-k, 8-j, 9-c, 10-f, 11-I, 12-d.

Module 26

Module 27
1. The persistence of learning
2. a. Recall b. Recognition c. relearning
3. c. priming
4. recognition
5. state dependent memory affects how well you remember things while mood
congruent memory affects what type of things you remember.

Module 28

1. Inattention to details produces encoding failure. (absent mindedness)

2. Storage decays over time. (transience)

3. Inaccessibility of stored information. (blocking)

4. Confusing the source of information. (misattribution)

5. The lingering effects of misinformation. (suggestibility)

6. Belief-colored recollections. (bias)

7. Unwanted memories.(persistence)

8. Famous for the “Forgetting Curve”.

(harry bahrick)

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 9. The forgetting curve shows how much we learn, yet how fast we forget the info.
10. Proactive Interference is the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new
information.
11. Retroactive Interference is the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of
old information.
12. When old and new information compete with each other that interference
occurs.(positive transfer)

13. In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-
arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.(repression)

14. Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read
about, or imagined.(source amnesia)

Module 29, Thinking

Cognition=thinking; refers to all mental activities associated with processing,
understanding, remembering, and communicating.
Concepts- mental groupings of similar objects, events, and people.
Prototypes- mental image or best example that incorporates all the features we associate
with a category.
Algorithm- Step by step procedure
Heuristics- Thinking strategy that allows us to make judgments and solve problems
efficiently.
Insight- Sudden realization of the solution to a problem.
Confirmation bias- Tendency to search for the information that confirms one’s
preconceptions.
Fixation- the inability to see a problem from a new perspective
Functional fixedness- to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.
Belief perseverance-clinging to our ideas because the explanation we once accepted as
valid lingers in our mind even after it has been discredited.

TEST YOURSELF!

Questions-
1. If you were told to find another word using all these letters, SPLOYOCHYG, by
excluding letter combinations, how would you be solving the problem?
a. Prototypes b. Heuristics c. concepts d. algorithm
2. While you are trying to figure out the above word, you finally figure out that the
answer is psychology. How did this happen?
a. Confirmation bias b. Fixation c. Insight d. Déjà vu
3. When someone does not consider seeing a problem in a completely different
perspective, this person is being…
a. Stereotypical b. Dyslexic c. Fixated d. Dumb
4. Most of us see the number sequence 2-4-6 as “counting by two’s” while the actual
rule is any three ascending numbers. How do we come to the conclusion that we

127
 are counting by two’s?
a. Functional fixedness b. insight c. cognition d. confirmation bias
5. Our tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence is…
a. Belief perseverance b. confirmation bias c. fixation d. concepts

Answers:
1. d
2. c
3. c
4. c
5. a

30.1 Language Structure

pg. 412
Phonemes:
Definition: A set of basic sounds
There are 869 different phonemes total in all
languages.

English contains 40. Changing phonemes changes the

meaning.
Ex: Feat/feet, fete, fit, fight
Consonant phonemes give us more information than vowel
phonemes. People that grow up with one set of phonemes
don’t easily pick up another set, which explains why people
speaking a new language have trouble pronouncing some

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words. Sign language also contains phonemes.

Morphemes:
Definition: The smallest unit of language that carries
meaning.
Some morphemes are also phonemes. Many
morphemes contain two or more phonemes. Morphemes
are sometimes words, and are also prefixes are suffixes –
ex. The “ed” in watched or “pre” in prenatal.
Grammar:
Definition: A system of rules in a given language that
enables us to communicate with and understand others.
Grammar contains syntax (the rules we use to order
words into sentences) and semantics (the set of rules we use
to derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences).
A rule of English syntax is that adjectives come before
nouns, but in other languages like French and Spanish,
adjectives come after nouns. Semantics helps us know that
when an “-ed” is added to a word like “jump” that the event
happened in the past.

30. 2 Language Development

pgs. 413-415
Summary of language development:
Approximate age (in months) Stage
4 Babbles speech sounds
10 Babbling resembles household
language
12 One-word stage
24 Two-word stage

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24 + Language develops rapidly into
complete sentences

One-word stage:
During this stage, children learn to associate words with
images. They begin to use sounds to communicate meaning. They
generally learn a new word once a week and will use single words
in place of a sentence. For example, if a one-year-old says
“Cookie!” instead of “Can I have that cookie?”.
Two-word stage:
Children learn at a pace of one word per day. Their speech is
characterized as “telegraphic speech”, containing mostly nouns and
verbs. They are able to put words in an understandable order.
Once children move on from this stage, they rapidly engage
in sentence-making and soon understand complex sentences and
basic humor conveyed by double-meanings.
B.F. Skinner: Operant Learning
He believes language development can be explained through
three principles: association (an image with a sound), imitation (of
words and syntax modeled by others), and reinforcement (smiles
and encouraging words when the child says the correct word).
Hearing children with deaf parents do not learn to speak with as
much ease and quickness as those with hearing parents, but do
learn to sign at a normal pace.

Chomsky: Inborn Universal Grammar

Chomsky believed that environment had a larger effect on

130
language development. Children learn to make up sentences they
have never heard before and arrange words in different orders.
They do tend to overgeneralize grammar, however. For example,
once they learn past-tense words generally end in “-ed” they will
apply that to every word in the past tense (holded instead of held).
Chomsky believed language would just naturally occur. He
believes all languages are similar in that they have universal
grammar (they all contain nouns and verbs, subjects and objects,
etc.). All people start to speak mostly in nouns rather than
adjectives and verbs.
If children are raised in isolation, they will not learn
language. But if a group of children are raised alone, they will
create a language of their own. Deaf children will also create their
own language if not exposed to signing.
Chomsky believes we are born with a “language acquisition
device” that allows us to develop language quickly and naturally.
We learn the surface structure of our home language, which
consists of phonemes, morphemes, sentences, words, and rules
with which we combine them. We then learn deep structure – the
meaning of the words and sentences.

+
It takes both environment and genes to speak language.

131
Cognitive Scientists: Statistical Learning and Critical Periods
Infants are able to discern word breaks in speech by
recognizing how often syllables are grouped. Babies as young as
seven months will detect a difference in phrases by the pattern of
syllables within them.
The best years to learn a new language are during your
childhood and early adolescence. Grammar and accents are learned
with much greater ease. This is why implants for deaf children are
much more effective when implanted from age two to four.
Both hearing children of hearing parents and deaf children of
deaf parents learn language in the same way. But deaf children of
hearing parents often learn signing later, and thus can never sign
like native signers. They also show less brain activity in the right
hemisphere in comparison to native signers.

Test Yourself!
Multiple Choice:
1) When Suzie’s mom asks her, “What happened to all the
cookies?”, Suzie replies “I eated them.” What principle of
language development is she employing?
a) telegraphic speech
b) overgeneralization
c) linguistic determinism
d) syntax

2) Which group has the most difficult time acquiring language?

a) hearing children of hearing parents
b) deaf children of deaf parents
c) hearing children of deaf parents
d) deaf children of hearing parents

3) Deaf children of hearing parents show less activity in which part

of the brain?

132
a) the left hemisphre
b) the right hemisphere
c) the parietal lobes
e) the frontal cortex

Short Answer:
1. Compare and contrast Skinner and Chomsky’s
views on language development.
2. Describe the various stages of language
development.

ANSWER KEY:
Multiple Choice:
1)B
2)D
3)B
Short Answer:
1. See B.F. Skinner: Operant Learning and
Chomsky: Inborn Universal Grammar.
2. See Summary of Language Development table.

Thinking, Language and Thought Modules 30.3 – 30.4

30.3 Explaining Language Development

Language Acquisition Debate: behaviorist view of the malleable organism versus the view
that each organism comes biologically prepared to learn certain associations (nature-
nature debate)

Behaviorist B.F. Skinner believed language development is explained through nurture

using familiar learning principles, such as:

• Association (using the relationship between sight and sound)

• Imitation (modeling others' word and syntax)
• Reinforcement (positive rewards when said correctly)

133
He believed "verbal behavior came into existence when the vocal musculature became
susceptible to operant conditioning."

Linguist Noam Chomsky believed behaviorists' view of how language develops was
oversimplified.
He believed that language occurs naturally, stating that we have the capacity for
developing language natural and quick, because we are born with a language acquisition
device.

Chomsky argued part of his stand by citing evidence that there is a sort of universal
grammar that underlies all human language and statistical learning.
Statistical Learning – ability to detect speech patterns

The critical period for learning language is during childhood.

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

30.4 Language Influences Thinking

Thinking or language, which comes first?

Linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf argued that language determines thought and that different
languages impose different conceptions of reality.
Linguistic determinism – Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

Bilingual people are more prone to Whorf's theory, who has shown that two different
languages can embody two different ways of thinking or two different personalities.

Most psychologists today, however believe that language influences what we think.
Language transforms experience.

Review Questions

1. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner believed language development is explained using

association, imitation and _________.

A. Generalization
B. Reinforcement
C. Classical Conditioning
D. None of the Above

2. Statistical Learning is the ability to:

A. Analyze critically
B. Advance the critical period

134
 C. Understand the relationship between sight and sound
D. Detect speech patterns

3. Linguistic determinism is:

A. Whorf's hypothesis that language determines thought

B. Chomsky's belief in universal grammar
C. Whorf's hypothesis that thought determines language
D. Whorf's belief that bilingual people embody two different ways of thinking

Review Answers

1. (B) Reinforcement

2. (D) Detect Speech Patterns

3. (A) Language determines thought

Modu le 31 : Intr o to • Two controversies in research on intelligence:

1. if there is one general intelligence or
inte ll igence ( p.430 -441) multiple intelligences
2. whether neuroscientists can locate
and measure intelligence within the
31.0 Intr oduction brain

• Most psychologists now define intelligence as  What are the three qualities that define a
the ability to learn from experience, solve being as “intelligent”?
problems, and adapt to new situations.
1.__________________________________

135
 2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
_________________________________________
• To reify intelligence is to treat it as though it _
were a real object, not an abstract concept.

o i.e We commit reification when we refer

to someone's "IQ" (intelligence quotient) • L.L Thurstone’s theory:
as a real trait. o identified seven clusters of primary
mental abilities
• In research studies, intelligence is whatever 1. fluency
intelligence tests measure, which historically 2. verbal comprehension
has tended to be school smarts. 3. spatial ability
4. perceptual speed
5. numerical ability
6. inductive reasoning
7. memory
o Thurstone did not rank his subjects on a
31.1 Is intelligence one gener al single scale of general aptitude.
abilit y or se veral specific
abilitie s?
• Traditional intelligence tests assess academic
• Factor analysis is a statistical procedure used to intelligence.
show that mental abilities tend to form clusters o They predict school grades reasonably
o Charles Spearman (a developer of factor well but predict work success more
analysis) named this general mental modestly.
ability the g factor, short for general
factor or general intelligence.
o The g factor said that we have a common
level of intelligence that can predict our • Howard Gardner’s theory:
abilities in all other academic areas. o Gardner argues that we do not have an
o G factor scores intelligence, but instead have multiple
- do correlate with ability to solve intelligences.
various problems (in academic
and work situations)
- do not much correlate with
individuals' skills in
"evolutionarily familiar" Gardner's Eight Intelligences
situations—such as marrying and
Ability Example
parenting, displaying social
competence, and navigating 1. Linguistic poet
without maps.
- 2. Logical-mathematical scientist
 Give another example of an evolutionarily 3. Musical composer
familiar situation:

136
 4. Spatial artist  List one major difference between Gardner’s
and Sternberg’s theories:
5. Bodily-kinesthetic dancer
6. Intrapersonal (self) psychiatrist
7. Interpersonal (other people) leader _________________________________________
_
8. Naturalist naturalist

• Critics of Gardner’s theory:

o Argue that Intelligence is a mental
ability; other abilities are better
classified as talents.
• Sternberg’s triarchic theory:
31.2 Emotional intelligence
• Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability
to perceive, understand, manage, and use
emotions

• A person with high emotional intelligence is

self-aware
1. Analytical assessed by o Can more easily control his or her own
(academic problem- intelligence tests emotions
solving) intelligence:  avoids overwhelming anger or
being manipulated.
2. Creative demonstrated in
intelligence: reacting adaptively to
novel situations and
generating novel ideas.
 What else might someone with more control
over their emotions avoid?
3. Practical often required for
intelligence everyday tasks; ill-
defined with multiple ____________________________________________
solutions. _

• Critics of Sternberg’s theory: • Mayer, Salovey, and David Caruso’s four

o Argue that all three intelligences share
an underlying general intelligence
components to emotional intelligence
1. The ability to perceive emotions
o to recognize them in faces,
music, and stories
2. To understand emotions

137
 o to predict them and how they  Your Turn: Summarize the intelligence
change and blend theories in this chart to the best of your
3. To manage emotions ability
o to know how to express them in Theory Summary
varied situations
4. To use emotions to enable adaptive or Spearman's
creative thinking. general
intelligence
(g factor)
Thurstone's
• Although the academic ability revealed by primary
intelligence tests is important, our skill in mental
everyday living cannot be measured by abilities
traditional intelligence tests
o This is where emotional intelligence Gardner's
comes in multiple
 List an activity, quality, or trait that you have intelligences
that could not be measured by a traditional
intelligence test Sternberg's
Triarchic

_________________________________________
_
31.3 Intelligence and cr ea tivi ty

• Creativity is defined as the ability to produce

• High intelligence does more to get you into a
profession than it does to make you successful
once there.
o Emotional intelligence is required to
deal with clients or employers
appropriately
• Critics of emotional intelligence:
o question whether we stretch the idea of
intelligence too far when we apply it to
emotions
ideas that are both novel (original) and valuable.
• Different brain areas are active when we engage
in
o convergent thinking
 demand a single correct answer
 the type required for intelligence
test solutions
o divergent thinking
 the type required for multiple
imaginative solutions
 Give an example of a convergent and
divergent way of thinking.

- ________________________________________

138
 intelligence
 Greater intelligence may lead to
- ________________________________________ experiences that exercise the
brain and build more connections

- This in turn increases

• There are five components of creativity beyond brain’s size
a minimal level of skill:
1. Expertise
o a well-developed base of
knowledge. The more we know • If intelligence does modestly correlate with
through accumulated learning, brain size the cause could be
the better we can create original o differing genes
ideas. o nutrition
2. Imaginative thinking skills o environmental stimulation
o provides the ability to see things o some combination of these
in new ways, to recognize
patterns, and to make
connections.
3. A venturesome personality • Experience alters the brain.
o tolerates uncertainty and risk, o Being raised in a more stimulating
persists in overcoming obstacles, environment will develop thicker,
and seeks new experiences rather heavier cortexes in the brain
than following the crowd.
4. Intrinsic motivation
o concept of focusing more on
intrinsic pleasure and challenge • Evidence suggests that highly intelligent people
of one’s work rather than the
differ in their neural plasticity
extrinsic motivators (meeting
o Neural plasticity is a person’s ability
deadlines, impressing people, or
during childhood and adolescence to
making money).
adapt and grow neural connections in
5. A creative environment
response to his or her environment.
o sparks, supports, and refines
creative ideas.

• Higher intelligence scores were linked with

more gray matter in some specific areas known
31.4 Is intelligence
to be involved in memory, attention, and
Neur ologicall y Measur able ? language

• There is some correlation between brain size

and intelligence scores.
o The direction of the relationship is not • People who score high on intelligence tests tend
clear also to retrieve information from memory more
o Larger brain size may enable greater quickly, and to perceive stimuli faster than

139
 others.

• Quick-wittedness and intelligence

o To define "quick-wittedness,"
researchers are taking a look at speed of
perception and speed of neural
processing of information.
 intelligent people being more
quick-witted is in question

• Perceptual Speed:
o The correlation between intelligence
score and the speed of taking in
perceptual information.
• Neurological Speed
o In question: do the quicker processing
and perceptions of highly intelligent
people reflect greater neural processing
speed?

Key Ter ms ( in red )

 Intelligence : mental quality consisting of the
ability to learn from experience, solve problems,
and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
(p. 431)
 Factor Analysis : a statistical procedure that
identifies clusters of related items (called
factors) on a test; used to identify different
dimensions of performance that underlie one’s
total score. (p. 432)
 General Intelligence : a general intelligence
factor that according to Spearman and others
underlies specific mental abilities and is
therefore measured by every task on an
intelligence test. (p. 432)
 Savant syndrome : a condition in which a
person otherwise limited in mental ability has an
exceptional specific skill, such as in
computation or drawing. (p. 433)
 Emotional intelligence : the ability to perceive,
understand, manage, and use emotions. (p. 436)
 Creativity : the ability to produce novel and
valuable ideas.

140

Module 32: A sse ss ing
inte ll igence ( p. 442 -453)
32.0 Intr oduction
• An intelligence test is defined as a method for
assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and
comparing them with those of others, using
numerical scores.
o Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon
started the modern intelligence-testing
movement.
o Lewis Terman of Stanford University
revised Binet's work for use in United
States.
o Terman believed his Stanford-Binet
could help guide people toward
appropriate opportunities, but more than
Binet, he believed intelligence is
inherited.
• During the early twentieth century, intelligence
tests were used to "document" assumptions
about the innate inferiority of certain ethnic and
immigrant groups.
• Intelligence test scores have been expressed as
an intelligence quotient (IQ)
o established by dividing mental age by
chronological age times 100.
 What two people started the modern
intelligence-testing movement?
1. __________________________
_ • Achievement tests are designed to assess what
2. __________________________
_  What’s the difference between aptitude and
32.1 T he origins o f intelligence
tes ting
• Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon, began by
assuming that all children follow the same
course of intellectual development but that some
develop more rapidly.
o on tests a "dull" child should perform as
does a typical younger child
o a "bright" child as does a typical older
child.
• Mental age is defined as the chronological age
typical of a given level of performance.
o Binet and Simon set out to measure the
mental age.
o The average 9-year-old has a mental age
of 9.
o Children with below-average mental
ages
 i.e 9-year-olds who perform at
the level of a typical 7-year-old
 struggle with schoolwork
considered normal for their age.

 Review: Fill in the missing words
Mental age is the
__________________ age typical of a
given level of __________________.
32.2 Modern tests of mental abilities
• Aptitude tests are designed to predict what you
can learn.
o The WAIS (Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale), an aptitude test, is
the most widely used intelligence test for
adults.
o The SAT is an aptitude test
you have learned.
achievement tests?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
141
 __
32.3 Principles of test construction
• Standardizing is the process of administering a
test to a representative
o Sample of future test-takers to establish
a basis for meaningful comparisons of
scores.
o The distribution of many physical and
psychological attributes forms a normal
curve (also known as a bell-shaped
curve)
 a roughly symmetrical shape
- most scores cluster
around an average,
- increasingly fewer fall at
the extremes.
 Intelligence test scores form a
normal curve
- In past six decades, the
average score has risen 27
points—a phenomenon
known as the Flynn
effect.
• A test is reliable when it yields consistent
results.
o researchers establish reliability through:
 comparing the consistency of
test-takers' scores on two halves
of the test
 alternating forms of the test
 retesting on the same test.
• A test can be reliable but not valid.
o A valid test measures or predicts what it
is supposed to.
o Content validity is the extent to which a
test samples the pertinent behavior
- as a driving test measures driving
ability
o Predictive validity is the extent to
which the test predicts a behavior it is
designed to predict
- aptitude tests have predictive
ability if they can predict future
achievements
 Give one example of how a researcher might test
reliability
____________________________________________
_
32.4 T he dynamics of
intelligence
• The stability of intelligence test scores increases
with age.
o By age 4, scores fluctuate somewhat but
begin to predict adolescent and adult
scores.
o At about age 7, scores become fairly
stable and consistent.
• Mental Retardation:
o Marked by people with intelligence
scores below 70, the cut-off mark for the
diagnosis of mental retardation,
- Vary in their abilities
- Vary from near-normal, to
requiring constant aid and
supervision.
• Down syndrome is a form of retardation with a
physical cause—an extra copy of chromosome
21.
o High-scoring people tend to be healthy,
well-adjusted, and unusually successful
academically
 Circle the right answer:
The consistency of test scores testing
intelligence, decreases / increases with age.
Key Ter ms ( in red )
 Intelligence test a method for assessing an
individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them
with those of others, using numerical scores.
 Mental age a measure of intelligence test
performance devised by Binet; the chronological
age that most typically corresponds to a given level
of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as
142
 the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age
of 8. (p. 443)
 Stanford-Binet the widely used American revision
(by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s
original intelligence test. (p. 443)
 Intelligence quotient (IQ) defined originally as the
ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca)
multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On
contemporary intelligence tests, the average
performance for a given age is assigned a score of
100. (p. 444)
 Achievement test a test designed to assess what a
person has learned. (p. 444)
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) the
WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test;
contains verbal and performance (nonverbal)
subtests. (p. 445)
 Standardization defining meaningful scores by
comparison with the performance of a pretested
standardization group. (p. 446)
 Normal Curve the symmetrical bell-shaped curve
that describes the distribution of many physical and
psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the
average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the
extremes. (p. 447)
 Reliability the extent to which a test yields
consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of
scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms
of the test, or on retesting. (p. 448)
 Validity the extent to which a test measures or
predicts what it is supposed to. (See also content
validity and predictive validity.) (p. 448)
 Content validity the extent to which a test samples
the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test
that samples driving tasks). (p. 448)
 Criterion the behavior (such as future college
grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to
predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether
the test has predictive validity. (p. 448)
 Predictive validity the success with which a test
predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is
assessed by computing the correlation between test
scores and the criterion behavior. (Also called
criterion-related validity.) (p. 448)
 Mental retardation a condition of limited mental
ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or
below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of
life; varies from mild to profound. (p. 452)
 Down syndrome a condition of retardation and
associated physical disorders caused by an extra
chromosome in one’s genetic makeup. (p. 452)
143
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Modu le 33 : Genet ic and En vi ronmental

Inf luences on Inte ll igence

33.1 Genetic I nfluences

• Similarities in intelligence
o Twins and Siblings
 Studies show that identical twins reared together have very
similar, almost exact, intelligence levels
 analogy: “the same person taking the same test”

o Conversely, fraternal
twins differ more and the results are much less similar

o The test scores of identical twins reared separately differ

 Are similar enough to conclude that such variation can be
attributed to genetic variation

o Likewise, the test scores of identical twins reared separately.

 Similar enough to lead researcher Thomas to estimate that about
70 percent of intelligence score variation can be attributed to
genetic variation

o Identical twins share very similar gray brain matter volume

o Their brains are virtually the same in areas associated with verbal and
spatial intelligence

• Children and Parents

o Between adopted kids and adoptive families there is a decreasing tread of
similarities
 Occurs as the influence of parents decreases as the kid grows older
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o By the time of adulthood there is no correlation between adoptive parent

and adopted child

o With more time and experience, genetic influences are more significant
than environmental influences

• Heritability
o Heritability means that you can attribute genetic factors or heredity to a
certain percentage of a variation in intelligence in a study
 This refers to the extent that the differences (among those studied)
are due to one’s genes

o Conversely, there are studies where environmental influences are more

predictive than genetics

o Having a genetic advantage to be better at something (like an academic

subject or sport) solely gives an edge
 This can then lead to experiences that shape us
1. There is a correlation between genes and experience
o Genes get your foot in the door
o Experience can break the door open

2. Example: if you have

a genetic disposition
to be good at
chemistry then you
might be compelled to
take chemistry.
o Once you’re in
the class and
you’ve learned
and have lab
experience –
o You are more likely to score higher on a chemistry aptitude
test
o your talent and your experience play into part.

 Heritability attributes what two factors?

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________

Key word (as defined by the

textbook)
Heritability the proportion of
variation among individuals that
we can attribute to genes. The
heritability of a trait may vary,
depending on the range of
populations and environments
studied.
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33.2 En vir onmental Influences

• Early Influences
o The severely disadvantaged are influenced by such environmental factors
 Example: children at a destitute Iranian orphanage developed
“little sense of personal control over their environment.
 They were instead becoming passive “glum lumps.”
 Extreme deprivation was bludgeoning native intelligence.”
 After training caregivers in language-fostering techniques (like
imitating babies’ babbling and playing vocal games with them) the
infants improved their language skills and vocabulary

o Siblings within poor families have similar test scores more so than the
affluent
• This means that environmental conditions can override
genetic differences (like malnutrition and the slowing of
cognitive development)
 However, this is the only real significant difference in environment
than can influence one’s intellect. In other words, there is little
difference between a normal and an “enriched” environment
 Schooling and intelligence is conducive to prolonged schooling

 Circle the right answer:

Siblings in poor families have more similar / different scores in
comparison to the wealthy.

33.3 Gr oup Dif fer ences in I ntelligence T est S cor es

• Racial/General Differences
o Foundation of this section:
 Racial groups differ in their average scores on intelligence tests
 High-scoring people are more likely to attain high levels of
education and income

o Differences among individuals in a group reflect genetic differences but

the comparison to other groups show the environment influences
 Example: Allow some children to grow up hearing their culture's
dominant language, while others, born deaf, do not.
 Then give them an intelligence test rooted in that language, and (no
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surprise) those with expertise in the test's language will score

highest.
 Although individual performance differences may be substantially
genetic, the group difference is not.

• Gender Differences
o The textbook cites differences between the verbal and math skills of men
and women but only to acknowledge that such differences are “exciting”
and newsworthy.

Thus, the examples and studies that are cited to apparent difference

in math or verbal excellence are only for discussion and readers’
personal reference.
 This section also includes Emotion-detecting ability, which is an
Emotional intelligence that allows one to perceive, understand,
manage, and use emotions
• how to be empathetic and understand others’ emotions
 Review. Complete the statement:
High-scoring people are more likely to attain high levels of
________________ and ________________.

33.4 T he Question o f Bia s

• Inherent bias to intelligence tests
o Some argue that there is a bias in how some tested information is based on
environmental conditions and thus, there is not an equal playing for all
taking the test

o Others argue the opposite of such argument, saying that although there is a
bias the test is not responsible for the unfairness but only for uncovering it

o Scientifically, there is a bias if the test can only predict a certain portion of
the individuals (taking the test)

• Influence of labeling
o Stereotype threat is when people perform worse or better depending on
performance expectation or social influences

o People box themselves into thinking that they are only so smart or if they
feel threatened when they take a test
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 which ultimately, changes how they perform on an intelligence test

or their own self-perception

Key word (as defined by the

textbook)
stereotype threat: a self-
confirming concern that one will
be evaluated based on a
negative stereotype.

 What two occurrences happen when a person falls under stereotype threat:
1. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

Key Ter ms ( in red )

 Heritability: the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to
genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and
environments studied. (p. 102)
 Stereotype threat: a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a
negative stereotype. (p. 465)

Ans wer K ey

31.0
 The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations
31.1
 Forming close friendships
 Gardner has eight theories while Sternberg only has three
31.2
 Giving good advice/ being empathetic
 Intelligence theories:
Theory Summary
Spearman's general A basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied
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intelligence (g academic areas.

factor)
Thurstone's primary Our intelligence may be broken down into seven factors.
mental abilities
Gardner's multiple Our abilities are best classified into eight independent
intelligences intelligences, which include a broad range of skills
beyond traditional school smarts.
Sternberg's Triarchic Our intelligence is best classified into three areas that
predict our real-world success: analytical, creative, and
practical.
 Could possibly help avoid getting a ticket
31.3
 Convergent: math problem; divergent: different ways to draw the sun
31.4
 Convergent: math problem; divergent: different ways to draw the sun
32.0
 Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon
32.1
 Chronological; performance
32.2
 Aptitude is for what you can learn, achievement is for what you have learned.
32.3
 alternating forms of the test
32.4
 increases
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33.1
 genetic factors; heredity
33.2
 similar
33.3
 education; income
33.4
 changes performance and self-perception

Module 34: Introduction to Motivation
I. Instinct Theory
a. Genes predispose species-typical behavior remains as strong as ever
b. To qualify as an instinct, a complex behavior must have a fixed pattern
through-out a species and be unlearned
c. Early instinct theorists simply named instincts, not explained them

II. Drive Reduction Theory (Clark Hull)

a. The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that drives the
organism to reduce the need by, say, eating or drinking
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b. The physiological aim of drive reduction is homeostasis—the

maintenance of a steady internal state.
i. Not only are we pushed by our "need" to reduce drives, we also are
also pulled by our incentives— positive or negative stimuli that
lure or repel us.
ii. Arousal: We are much more than homeostatic systems, however.
Some motivated behaviors actually increase arousal.
c. Behavior originated from physiological needs
1. Biological needs or tissue deficits lead to the drive state
i. Need to reestablish balance or homeostasis and strengthens drive
d. Behavior is geared to reduce the need or deficit
2. Eating, drinking, and breathing
3. Above behaviors reduce the need by restoring balance or
homeostasis
4. Behaviors are reinforced and strengthened through the
reduction of needs
II. Arousal Theory: relates to differing individual preferences for stimulation in
their environment
A. Yerkes-Dodson law states the relationship between task performance and
levels of arousal
1. Participants perform low-difficulty tasks better with higher
than average arousal
2. Participants perform moderate-difficulty tasks better with
moderate arousal
3. Participants perform high-difficulty tasks better with lower
than average arousal
III. Hierarchy of Needs
a. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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i. Base needs are physiological: food, shelter, water

ii. If base needs are met, we want safety and want to satisfy the
human needs to give and receive love, enjoy self-esteem
iii. Beyond this lies the highest of human needs: to actualize one's full
potential.

Maslow’s hierarchy: The order of such needs is not universally fixed.

People have starved themselves to make a political statement. Nevertheless,
It is the simple idea that some motives are more compelling than others

Glossary of Terms

Motivation A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Instinct A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and

is unlearned.
Drive- The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a
Reduction drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
Theory
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Homeostasis A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the

regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose,
around a particular level.
Incentive A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
Hierarchy of Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with
Needs physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level
safety needs and then psychological needs become active.
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Module 34 Quiz:

Multiple Choice
1. After spending years in the ocean, a mature salmon swims up its home river to
return to its birthplace. This behavior is an example of:
a. homeostasis
b. drive
c. instinct
d. incentive
2. For someone who is hungry, eating a hamburger reduces:
a. drive
b. instinct
c. homeostasis
d. set point
3. Students work hard in school to obtain high grades. This illustrates the importance
of:
a. homeostasis
b. set point
c. refractory periods
d. incentives

Fill-in

Place the needs in order: Physiological, Self-Actualization, Belongingness and love

needs, Safety needs, Esteem needs

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Module 34 Answers:

Multiple Choice

1. (c)-Instincts

2. (c)-Drive

3. (d)-Incentives

Fill-in
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Module 35: Hunger

IV. Physiological Component

a. Glucose
i. Increased level of the hormone insulin diminishes blood sugar
ii. Hunger increases when blood glucose level drops
b. Hypothalamus
i. Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH): if stimulated, the animal will
stop eating; if destroyed the animal will overeat
ii. Lateral hypothalamus (LH): if stimulated, animal eats vast
quantities of food, even if they have just eaten; if destroyed, animal
stops eating almost entirely
iii. Set point: one theory maintains that these two hypothalamus
regions interact to maintain a set point of body weight, food intake,
or related metabolic signals (weight thermostat)
iv. Metabolic rate: resting rate of energy expenditures

A lesion near the middle

(ventromedial) area of the
hypothalamus caused this rat's
weight to triple.

V. Taste Preferences
a. Body chemistry and environmental factors together influence not only
when we feel hunger, but what we feel hungry for—our taste preference.
i. Our preferences for sweet and salty tastes: genetic and universal.
ii. Culture affects tastes too
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b. Adaptive tastes
i. Spices most commonly used in the recipes of hot climates, where
food—especially meat—spoils more quickly

Hot cultures like hot spices

VI. Obesity
a. Causes
i. Genetic predisposition
ii. Early childhood eating patterns
iii. Adult overeating
b. Set Point
i. The particular level of weight the body strives to maintain
ii. Obese people’s set points are higher than the average range
c. Metabolism
i. Human bodies regulate weight through the control of food intake,
energy output, and basal metabolic rate—the rate of energy
expenditure for maintaining basic body functions when the body is
at rest.
VII. Eating Disorders
a. Anorexia Nervosa
i. A person becomes significantly underweight
ii. Feels fat (Even though is underweight)
iii. Is obsessed with losing weight
iv. May be caused by:
1. Genetic influences
2. Cultural influences: weight conscious, western cultures
3. Media: use of ultra thin models in advertisement
4. Behavioral reasons
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b. Bulimia
i. A disorder marked by repeated binge-purge episodes of overeating
followed by vomiting or laxative use
ii. Weight fluctuations
iii. Caused by generally similar stimulants as Anorexia Nervosa
VIII. Biopsychosocial
a. We are biologically driven to eat, yet psychological and social-cultural
factors strongly influence what, when, and how much we eat.

Glossary of Terms

Glucose The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major
source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel
hunger.
Set Point The point at which an individual’s "weight thermostat" is supposedly
set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and
a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
Basal The body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.
Metabolic Rate
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Anorexia  An eating disorder in which a normal-weight person (usually an

Nervosa adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly (15 percent or
more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
Bulimia  An eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of
Nervosa high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or
excessive exercise.
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Module 35 Quiz:

Multiple Choice
1. Destruction of the _____ causes the mouse to _____
a. lateral hypothalamus; overeat
b. lateral hypothalamus; start eating
c. ventromedial hypothalamus; overeat
d. ventromedial hypothalamus; stop eating
2. Anna is extremely afraid of becoming obese even though she is underweight.
She often checks her body in the mirror for any signs of fat and refuses to eat
most foods because she insists they are fatty or high in calories. She exhibits
symptoms of:
a. anorexia Nervosa
b. bulimia Nervosa
c. abnormally High Set Point
d. abnormally Low Set Point
3. Recipes commonly used in countries with hot climates are more likely to
include _____ than those in countries with colder climates
a. carbohydrates
b. fats
c. proteins
d. spices
4. In an attempt to lose some of the weight she gained from binge eating,
Melissa uses laxatives and exercises until she is exhausted. Melissa most
clearly demonstrates symptoms of:
a. anorexia Nervosa
b. hyper-metabolism
c. bulimia Nervosa
d. high set point

Fill-in the blanks

1. Humans inherently prefer certain tastes: ____ and ____.
(salty/sweet/bitter/sour). Cultures with hotter climates prefer ____ (hotter/milder)
spices. Some taste aversions (to new foods or foods that have made us ill) have
survival value.

2. Eating disorders may have a _____ component, but cultural pressures, low self-
esteem, and negative emotions seem to interact with stressful life experiences to
produce these conditions.
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Module 35 Answers:

Multiple choice:
1. (c)-Ventromedial hypothalamus; overeat
2. (a)-Anorexia nervosa
3. (d)-Spices
4. (c)-Bulimia Nervosa

Fill-in the blanks

1. Salty and Sweet
2. Genetic
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Module 36: Sexual Motivation and the Need to Belong

IX. Sexual Response Cycle (Masters and Johnson)

a. The sexual response cycle identified four stages, similar in men and
women.
i. Excitement phase: the genital areas become engorged with blood, a
woman's vagina expands and secretes lubricant, and her breasts
and nipples may enlarge
ii. Plateau phase: excitement peaks as breathing, pulse, and blood
pressure rates continue to increase
iii. Orgasm: muscle contractions- increases in breathing, pulse, and
blood pressure rates
iv. Resolution phase:
1. the male enters a refractory phase, lasting from a few
minutes to a day or more, during which he is incapable of
another orgasm.
2. The female has a much shorter refractory period-may
enable her to have another orgasm if re-stimulated during
or soon after resolution.
b. Sexual Disorders are problems that consistently impair sexual
functioning.
X. Hormones and Sexual Behavior
a. The female becomes sexually receptive ("in heat") when production of the
female hormone estrogen peaks at ovulation.
i. Estrogen: a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females
than by males.
b. Testosterone: the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males
and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the
growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the
male sex characteristics during puberty.

Compared with our

motivation for eating, our
sexual motivation is less
influenced by biological
factors. Psychological and
socialcultural factors play a
bigger role.
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XI. Sexual Motivation: motivation to procreate or maintain the species (Note that
sexual motivation is not simply for procreation)
a. Neurological factors
i. Role of brain (hypothalamus and the pituitary gland)
ii. Role of sex glands (testes and ovaries)
iii. Hormones (testosterone and estrogen)
b. Behavioral factors: organisms seek pleasure and avoid pain
c. Cultural/social factors
i. Society determines what is sexually attractive
ii. Factors of sexual attraction differ among cultures
d. Evolutionary factors: sexual motivation as necessary for the propagation
of the species

Sexually explicit TV programs also

divert attention from TV ads, making
the ads more forgettable. Ads
embedded in nonsexual and nonviolent
programs more often produce memory
for the products

XII. Teen Pregnancy:

a. Ignorance: Half of sexually active Canadian teen girls have mistaken ideas
about which birth control methods will protect them from pregnancy and
STIs
b. Guilt related to sexual activity: In one survey, 72 percent of 12- to 17-
year-old American girls who have had sex said they regretted it
c. Minimal communication about birth control: Many teenagers are
uncomfortable discussing contraception with their parents, partners, and
peers
d. Alcohol use: Those who use alcohol prior to sex are less likely to use
condoms
e. Mass media norms of unprotected promiscuity: An average hour of prime-
time tele-vision on the three major U.S. networks contains approximately
15 sexual acts, words, and innuendos.
XIII. The Need to Belong
a. Aiding Survival
i. Social bonds boosted our ancestors' survival rate. By keeping
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children close to their caregivers, attachments served as a powerful

survival impulse.
b. Wanting to Belong
i. We spend a great deal of time thinking about actual and hoped-for
relationships. When relationships form, we often feel joy.
c. Acting to Increase Social Acceptance
i. When we feel included, accepted, and loved by those important to
us, our self-esteem rides high
d. Maintaining Relationships
i. The fear of being alone has some basis in reality. Children who
move through a series of foster homes, with repeated disruption of
budding attachments, may come to have difficulty forming deep
attachments.
e. Avoiding Ostracism
i. Sometimes, though, the need to belong is denied.
ii. If rejected and unable to remedy the situation, people sometimes
turn nasty.
f. Fortifying Health
i. People who have close friends tend to be happier. Those who feel
supported by close relationships also live with better health and at
lower risk for psychological disorder and premature death than do
those who lack social support.
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Glossary of Terms

Sexual  The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and

Response Cycle Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Refractory  A resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve
Period another orgasm.
Sexual A problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.
Disorder
Estrogen A sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males.
In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation,
promoting sexual receptivity.
Testosterone The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and
females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the
growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the
male sex characteristics during puberty.
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Module 36 Quiz:

Multiple Choice
1. During which phase of the sexual response cycle does the refractory period
begin?
a. Plateau phase
b. Resolution Phase
c. Excitement phase
d. Orgasm
2. When asked what is most necessary for a happy and meaningful life, most
people first mention the importance of satisfying their _____ needs.
a. Sexual
b. Achievement
c. Belongingness
d. Physical
3. Our ______ is said to be a gauge of how socially accepted we feel.
a. Erotic feelings
b. Set Point
c. Basal Metabolic Rate
d. Self-Esteem

Matching

Plateau Phase The genital areas become engorged with blood, a

woman's vagina expands and secretes lubricant,
and her breasts and nipples may enlarge

Excitement Phase
Muscle contractions- increases in breathing, pulse,
and blood pressure rates

Resolution Phase Excitement peaks as breathing, pulse, and blood

pressure rates continue to increase

The male enters a refractory phase. The female has

Orgasm
a much shorter refractory period
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Module 36 Answers:

Multiple Choice
1. (b)-Resolution phase
2. (c)-Belongingness
3. (d)-Self-Esteem

Matching
Excitement phase: the genital areas become engorged with blood, a woman's vagina
expands and secretes lubricant, and her breasts and nipples may enlarge
Plateau phase: excitement peaks as breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates
continue to increase
Orgasm: muscle contractions- increases in breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates
Resolution phase: The male enters a refractory phase. The female has a much
shorter refractory period
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Module 37: Motivation at Work

XIV. Working Experience

a. Flow: a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with
diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement
of one’s skills.
i. Csikszentmihalyi (chick-SENT-me-hi) formulated the flow concept
after studying artists who spent hour after hour painting or
sculpting with enormous concentration.
b. Industrial-organizational psychology (I/O): the application of
psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in
workplaces.
i. Personnel psychology: a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses
on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal,
and development.
ii. Organizational psychology: a subfield of I/O psychology that
examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and
productivity and facilitates organizational change.
iii. A third subfield, human factors psychology, explores how
machines and environments can be optimally designed to fit
human abilities
XV. Interviews
a. Interviewer Illusion
i. Interviewers often overrate their discernment, a phenomenon
psychologist Richard Nisbett (1987) has labeled the interviewer
illusion.
b. Structured Interviews
i. Unlike casual conversation aimed at getting a feel for someone,
structured interviews offer a disciplined method of collecting
information.
ii. The interviewers then put the same questions, in the same order, to
all applicants, and rate each applicant on established scales.
iii. To reduce memory distortions and bias, the interviewer takes notes
and makes ratings as the interview proceeds
XVI. Appraising Performance
a. Performance Appraisal Methods
i. 360-degree feedback: You will rate yourself, your manager, and
your other colleagues, and you will be rated by your manager,
other colleagues, and customers.
1. The net result is often more open communication and more
complete appraisal.
ii. Checklists: supervisors simply check behaviors that describe the
worker
iii. Graphic Rating Scales: supervisor checks the extent to which a
worker is dependable, productive, and so forth.
iv. Behavior Rating Scales: a supervisor checks behaviors that best
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describe a worker's performance

360-degree feedback: With multisource 360-degree feedback,

one's knowledge, skills, and behaviors are rated by self and surrounding
others. Professors, for example, may be rated by their department chairs,
their students, and their colleagues. After receiving all these ratings,
professors discuss the 360-degree feedback with their department chair.

XVII. Achievement Motivation (Murray)

a. Achievement Motivation: a desire for significant accomplishment: for
mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard.
i. People with high achievement motivation do achieve more.
b. Motivating achievement
i. Great managers:
1. Start by helping people identify and measure their talents.
2. Match tasks to talents and then give people freedom to do
what they do best.
3. Care how their people feel about their work.
4. Reinforce positive behaviors through recognition and
reward.
ii. Leadership Style:
1. Task leadership: goal-oriented leadership that sets
standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals.
2. Social leadership: group-oriented leadership that builds
teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support.
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Glossary of Terms

Flow A completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with

diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal
engagement of one’s skills.
Industrial­ The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing
organizational  human behavior in workplaces.
psychology
Personnel A subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment,
Psychology selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development.
Organizational  A subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences
Psychology on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational
change.
Structured  Interview process that asks the same jobrelevant questions of all
Interviews applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales.
Achievement  A desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people,
Motivation or ideas; for attaining a high standard.
Task Leadership Goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and
focuses attention on goals.
Social  Group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict,
Leadership and offers support.
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Module 37 Quiz

Multiple Choice
1. After studying artists who would spend hour after hour painting or sculpting
with enormous concentration, Csikszentmihalyi formulated the concept of:
a. Strength based selection
b. 360-degree feedback
c. flow
d. personnel psychology
2. Mr. Walters has many years of experience as a personnel officer for a large
corporation. He does not review most job applicant's reference files because
he is confident of his ability to predict their future work performance based on
his direct face-to-face conversations with them. Mr. Walter's confidence best
illustrates:
a. Interviewer Illusion
b. 360-degree feedback
c. Personnel psychology
d. Task leadership
3. Managers who build teamwork and effectively mediate employee conflicts are
said to excel in:
a. Structured Interviews
b. Social Leadership
c. Achievement Motivation
d. Direct Management Style

Fill-in the blanks

1. Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology studies behavior in the workplace
through the three subfields of ______ psychology, _______psychology, and human
factors psychology.
2. _______ is the desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of things,
people, or ideas; and for attaining a high standard.
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Module 37 Answers:

Multiple Choice
1. (c)-Flow
2. (a)-Interviewer Illusion
3. (b)-Social Leadership

Fill-in the blanks

1. Organizational psychology, personnel
2. Achievement motivation

AP Ψ Chapter 13: Emotion

Review

Emotions have three components:

(1) physiological activation, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
Example:
Scenario: An attractive person approaches you and you feel excited.
(1) Physiological activation: heart rate increases
(2) Expressive behaviors: you smile
(3) Conscious experience: feeling excited

YOUR TURN…
Scenario:
_____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(1) Physiological activation:

___________________________________________

(2) Expressive behaviors:

_____________________________________________

(3) Conscious experience:

_____________________________________________

I Theories of Emotion
 James-Lange Theory
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 Emotion comes from awareness of physiological responses to a stimulus.

▪ e.g. Heart rate increases, you feel fear
 Criticism: are the body’s responses so distinct so as to evoke different
emotions. How would one distinguish between a racing heart due to fear from
a racing heart due to love.
 Criticism: physiological reactions are too slow to trigger sudden emotion.
 One can control emotions through outward behaviors
▪ e.g. Act cheerful and cheerfulness will follow
Perception of
Stimulus

(1)

(2)

 Cannon-Bard Theory
 Arousal and emotion occur together in response to a stimulus.
▪ Heart starts pounding AS you feel fear
 Stimulus is simultaneously routed to brain’s cortex, causing subjective
awareness of emotion, and to sympathetic nervous system, causing body’s
arousal.

(4)

(3)

(5)

 Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory

 Two ingredients for emotion
▪ physiological arousal
▪ (6) ______________________________
 Like James-Lange, experience of emotion grows from awareness of arousal;
like Cannon-Bard, experience of emotion requires a conscious interpretation
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of arousal
 Sometimes arousal from one event spills over into next event.
▪ Schachter & Singer, 1962: Subjects “caught” the emotion of another after
being unwittingly aroused by an injection. Subjects who were aware of
the effects of the injection were not affected by the emotion of the other.
 e.g. Sam and Diane from the TV show Cheers kiss passionately after
fighting.

Perception of
Stimulus

(7)

(8)

Emotion

 Other Theories
 Robert (9)_________________________
▪ Emotional reactions can be quicker than our interpretations of a situation
 Feel, then think (on some occasions)
 Subliminally flashed smiling or angry face can prime us to feel better
or worse about a follow-up stimulus
▪ Emotional shortcuts exist through the brain, which bypass the cortical
areas involved in thinking; Brain comes in later and can take over.
▪ Enables quick, precognitive emotional response
 Richard Lazarus
▪ All emotion requires some sort of cognitive appraisal of the situation, even
if we are not consciously aware of it.
 Dimensions of emotion
 Emotions seem to be placed on two dimensions:
▪ Valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant)
▪ Arousal (high vs. low)
+ Valence

Pleasant
relaxation
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Joy
Low High
Arousal Arousal
SadnessFear
Anger

- Valence

II The Physiology of Emotion

 Arousal – controlled by autonomic nervous system
 (10)___________________________ division – activates arousal by
directing adrenal glands to release stress hormone epinephrine (adrenaline)
and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
 (11)___________________________ division – after crisis passes,
inhibits further release of stress hormones
▪ Arousal diminishes gradually, as hormones already in bloodstream linger
 Prolonged arousal (sustained stress) = (12) good/bad?
 Usually perform best when arousal is moderate
▪ Easy or well-learned task: (13)_________ level of arousal = optimal
▪ More difficult or unrehearsed tasks: (14)_________ arousal = optimal
 Physiological States
 There are real, if subtle, physiological differences in emotion
▪ Negative emotions (e.g. disgust) – (15)_____________ hemisphere of
brain becomes more active
 Man loses part of right frontal lobe and becomes less irritable and
more affectionate
▪ Positive emotions – (16)_____________ hemisphere activates
 Rich supply of dopamine receptors in left hemisphere may help
explain
 Lie Detection
 Polygraph measures several arousal responses that accompany emotion (e.g.
changes in breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, perspiration)
▪ Assumption is that only guilty become agitated when denying a crime
 Problem: innocent person may also respond with heightened tension –
the fear of being disbelieved physiologically looks a lot like the fear of
being caught lying
 Many rape victims similarly “fail” lie detector tests when reacting
emotionally while telling the truth about their assailant
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▪ Polygraph cannot distinguish between anxiety, irritation, and guilt

▪ Err about 1/3 of the time
▪ Savvy criminals can “beat” the test
III Expressing Emotion
 Nonverbal Communication
 Kestenbaum (1992)
▪ Fear and anger are read mostly from (17)_____________
▪ Happiness is read mostly from the (18)_____________
 Rosenthal and Hall (1979)
▪ Introverts are better at reading others’ emotions
▪ Extraverts are easier to read
 Gender and nonverbal behavior
▪ Females identify themselves as empathetic more than do men, though
physiologically there is only a slight difference
▪ Kring and Gordon (1998) – women reacted more visibly to witnessing
emotion in a film
▪ Coats and Feldman (1996) – women express (19)_______________
more effectively and men convey (20)_______________ more
effectively
 Detecting and computing emotion
▪ Specific facial muscles are linked to varying emotions, but it is difficult to
detect deceiving expressions
▪ Ekman and O’Sullivan (1991, 1999)
 “Expert” lie-detectors guessed near chance (50%) when trying to
detect liars
 With training and skill, however, some groups can detect—reasonably
well—liars based on microexpressions
▪ We DO communicate nonverbally, so one must be aware of WHAT one is
communicating… (think about your frosh/soph Communications class:
stand up straight, speak clearly, dress nicely, etc…)
 Culture and emotional expression
▪ Izard (1977, 1994) and Ekman & Friesen (1975, 1987, 1994) discovered
that regardless of culture and background, most people (21) are/are
not? universally able to identify the meaning of a facial expression
▪ Seems to be inborn and adaptive
▪ Cultures may differ in how much emotion is acceptable to express
 Effects of facial expression
▪ Laird, et al. (1974, 1984, 1989) – found that (22)
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_______________________
___________________________________________________
_______
▪ Strack, et al (1988 – simply activating smiling muscles by holding a pencil
in one’s teeth is enough to make one enjoy cartoons more
IV Experiencing Emotion
Izard (1977) isolated 10 basic emotions (joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness,
anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt)
 Fear
 Fear is adaptive = alarm system that prepares body to flee danger
 Can learn to fear almost anything through conditioning and observation
 Biologically prepared to learn some fears more quickly than others
▪ Adaptive (for our ancestors) to learn quickly to fear that which can
realistically cause harm (spiders, snakes, etc)
▪ There are things now (cars, bombs, etc) that we are less predisposed to
fear
▪ AMYGDALA – limbic system neural center deep in brain
 Plays key role in associating various emotions with situations and
(23)_____________________________________________
_________
 If damaged, individual may understand association, but will
demonstrate no emotional effect
▪ Genes and experience help shape fearfulness or fearlessness
 Anger
 Individualistic societies encourage “venting” of anger, called
(24)_______________ (emotional release); Collectivist societies view
anger as maladaptive/threat to the group
▪ Catharsis can be temporarily calming if it does not leave one feeling guilty
or anxious; but ultimately it usually fails to fully eliminate the anger OR it
may even amplify the anger and underlying hostility.
 Think about a time when you’ve been mad at someone. Does talking
about that person and venting your frustration make you feel better or
worse about it? It may make you feel better in the short-run, but
ultimately it may make you think about it even more and thus dwell on
it.
▪ To deal with anger:
 Wait… bring down physiological arousal
 Deal with anger directly by either confronting source of anger,
exercising, playing an instrument
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 If you approach the source of anger, look to promote reconciliation

rather than retaliation
 Happiness
 People who are happy, perceive the world as safer, make decisions more
easily, rate job applicants more favorably, are more cooperative, and report
greater satisfaction with their whole lives. (Not a bad deal!)
 When we feel happy we are more willing to help others
▪ (25)_________________________________ – a mood-boosting
experience make people more likely to do something helpful/nice for
another
 Subjective well-being – self-perceived happiness or satisfaction of life
 People tend to rebound from bad days with a better-than-usual good mood;
overall, our ups and downs tend to balance
 Those who suffer tragedy recover near-normal levels of day-to-day happiness
 Same is true to dramatically positive events… once rush of euphoria wears
off, overall happiness is unchanged (e.g. lottery winners)
▪ People with money (in affluent countries) are not dramatically happier
than those without
 Those who value love over money report much higher satisfaction
with life than do money-hungry peers
 ADAPTATION-LEVEL PRINCIPLE:
▪ Happiness is Relative to Our Prior Experience: we judge everything
relative to what has happened to us before
 If one’s financial situation increases, she would feel an initial surge of
pleasure, but eventually she would settle into (adapt to) her new
financial situation and come to consider it normal
 RELATIVE DEPRIVATION PRINCIPLE:
▪ Happiness is Relative to Others’ Attainments: we also compare our
situation to those around us
 Relative Deprivation –
(26)______________________________________
________________________________________________________
___________
 Every famous person wants to be paid as much as “the other guy,”
even if the first guy is being paid way too much in the first place
 Could explain why middle- and upper-income people tend to be
slightly happier than lower-income in a given country
▪ Predictors of happiness
 Satisfying tasks and relationships affect happiness, but genetics matter,
too.
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 50% of the difference among people’s happiness ratings is heritable

Happy People Tend to… Happiness seems not related to…

Have high self-esteem (in Age
individualistic countries
Be optimistic, outgoing, and Gender (women are more often depressed, but
agreeable also more often joyful
Have close friendships or a satisfying Education levels
marriage
Have work and leisure that engage Parenthood (having children or not)
their skills
Sleep well and exercise

▪ Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion (Solomon, 1980) (Recall a similar

theory for viewing color in the Sensation chapter)
 Every emotion triggers an opposing emotion
 e.g. Parachute jump: first experience immense fear, which gives
way to elation
 Once opposing emotion activates, you experience a diminishing of
initial emotion’s intensity
 Repetition strengthens experience of opposing emotion
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Answers

1) Physiological Arousal
2) Emotion
3) Perception of stimulus
4) Physiological Arousal
5) Emotion
6) Cognitive label
7) Physiological Arousal
8) Cognitive label
9) Zajonc
10) Sympathetic
11) Parasympathetic
12) Bad
13) High
14) Low
15) Right
16) Left
17) Eyes
18) Mouth
19) Happiness
20) Anger
21) Are
22) … forced facial expressions will lead to feelings that reflect that
expression
23) … producing the physiological responses
24) Catharsis
25) Feel-good, do-good phenomenon
26) perception that one is worse off than those to whom he compares
himself

AP Review: Stress and Health

Henry Becker, Allen Au, Joshua Marcum
Module 41
• ___________ integrates behavioral and medical study
o Health Psychology is how psychology contributes to the field
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• Definition of stress
o Stress is a way in which people appraise and cope with a situation, or
stressor
o Stress therefore depends on how the individual interprets a situation
• Walter Cannon discovered in the 1920’s systematic responses to stress
o Adrenal gland secret hormones __________ and ____________
o This is considered a part of the sympathetic nervous system, called “fight
or flight”
• Hans Selye developed his theories regarding what he called General Adaptive
Syndrome, GAS, and its three faze
o 1) Alarm Reaction (mobilization of body’s resources during stress)
o 2) _______ (coping with stressor, the longest phase)
o 3) Exhaustion (after long periods of Resistence, the body has depleted its
resources and can result in serious health problems)
PROVIDE YOUR OWN EXAMPLES OF EXHAUSTION DURING GAS

• Catastrophes, or disturbing events out of personal control, significant life changes,

such as divorce, and continued exposure to daily hassles increases stress and may
cause disease

• Stress also leads to __________, where ventricles to the heart close or are
obstructed, by helping build up plaque on ventricle walls
• Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman during stress research and experiementation
classified people as:
o Type A (who take on obstacles and consequent stress when faced by a
challenge)
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o Type B, who are more relaxed

o They found that Type A people, under challenging situations develop
stress much more easily and are more susceptible to illness therefore
• Both pessimism and depression can cause higher susceptibility to heart disease

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES

Provide examples from your own life when stress or depression caused illness or
hindered physical healing.

• Psychophysiological diseases are termed as diseases directly related to a

psychological condition
• White blood cells, called lymphocytes, are grouped in _ lymphocites (for bone
marrow) and _ lymphocytes (for thymus)
• Stess has been found to obstruct the process of fighting disease by obstructing
lymphocytes
• AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome caused by HIV is an enormous
killer worldwide and also stress-related
o Stress can cause acceleration of AIDS, whereas a happy temperament can
slow and ease the symptoms of AIDS
• Stress’ affect on cancer has been mixed
o Some research has found stress to accelerate the rate of cancer in patients,
whereas other studies have found no adverse effects
o Some patients, however, can become more stressed by over-emphasizing
the importance of stress to disease
• Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen disocovered conditioning can affect the human
body by administering inumodepressing drugs with sugar water and then water
alon
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o Since then, psychologists have been looking for means to positively

condition the immune system
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Module 42

Key terms

Problem-Focused Coping__________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Emotion-Focused Coping___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_

Biofeedback_____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Aerobic Exercise__________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_

Key Concept Review

• Low stress ____1___ life expectancy.
o Reduces
o Increases
• Uncontrollable threats trigger the ___2___ stress responses.
o Strongest
o Mildest
• Losing control increases output of stress hormones, blood pressure rises, and
immune responses drop, causing the person to be more succeptable to sickness or
disease.
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• Optimists tend to lead less stressful and longer lives

o Mirthful humor reduces stress
o Laughter reduces stress
• Social support is extremely helpful in dealing with hardships
o Family can ________3_______, but can help more when dealing with
serious sickness
 Cause stress
 Relieve stress
 Cause stress and relieve stress
• Talking about a stressful event can calm people in the long run
o Holocaust survivors who talked about their experiences tended to be
shocked at first, but then lived longer than
those who had not relived their experiences
• Aerobic exercise increases life expectancy
o Aerobic exercise can benefit ____4____
 Mood
 Life expectancy
 Stress levels
 All of the above
o 3/10 Americans who exercise more than 3 times a week manage stressful
events better and exhibit higher self confidence
o Every 10-minute walk stimulates two hours of increased well-being by
raising energy levels and lowering tension
o Many studies show that exercise reduces depression and anxiety.

• There seems to be a correlation between stress levels and the amount of religious
attendance
o Frequent religious attendees tend to live longer
o Although there is a correlation, it does not mean that being religious
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directly affects life expectancy

Answers to questions:
Problem-Focused Coping: attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor
or the way we interact with that stressor.

Emotion-Focused Coping: attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor

and attending and attending to emotional needs related to one’s stress reaction

Biofeedback- a system of recording amplifying, and feeding back information

Aerobic Exercise: sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness

1) increases
2) strongest
3) Cause stress and relieve stress
4) All of the above
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Module 43

Smoking

Section Summary
Risks
• Tobacco kills about 5 million people per year
• You have a 50% chance of dying from smoking if you start
• Eliminating smoking would increase life expectancy more than any other
preventative measure
• Smoking harms nearly every organ of your body
• Smoking correlates with ____1____, ____2_____, and _____3____.
• Smoking’s bad mkay
Why do people start?
• More common among those who:
o 4
o 4
o 4
o 4
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• If you make it to college without smoking you probably won’t start

• Want to be cool/accepted-peer pressure
• Allure of ads
• Hollywood has a large influence
• Gene and social influence
Why don’t they stop?
• Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine
• People initially sensitive, who get sick or dizzy will develop a tolerance quickly
and become addicted more strongly
• Withdrawal is miserable when you try to quit
• Smoking is reinforcing, nicotine gets into blood within 7 seconds
• Triggers release of____5____ and _____6____which diminish appetite and
increase alertness and mental efficiency
• Nicotine stimulates CNS to release neurotransmitters to calm anxiety and reduce
sensitivity to pain
• Stimulates ____7____ and opiod release
How can you quit/ prevent it?
• Treated with counseling, drug, hypnosis, ave4rsive conditioning, operant
conditioning, cognitive therapy and support groups
• 1/5 of people who quit go back to smoking
• Withdrawal symptoms can go on for up to 6 months
• Smoking has dropped in US, Canada, and UK, especially in upper socioeconomic
groups, while it has skyrocketed in Asia and developing countries like Kenya and
Zimbabwe.
• To stop smoking-educate people, raise taxes-Work best on those in low
socioeconomic statuses and teenagers
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Key Terms
Pediatric Disease-Usually begins during adolescence
Dependent-Need for a drug to avoid withdrawals
Tolerance-Needing Larger and larger doses to get the same effect
Nicotine Withdrawal-Craving, insomnia, anxiety, and irritability associated with a lack of
nicotine in the blood stream
8) Which of the following is the most noticeable nicotine withdrawal symptom?
a) Insomnia
b) Atherosclerosis
c) Increased Serotnonin Levels
d) Reduced Appetite for Carbohydrates
9) Smoking triggers ________ levels of epinephrine in the blood and ________ levels of
dopamine in the synapses.
a. increased; increased
b. decreased; decreased
c. increased; decreased
d. decreased; increased

Obesity
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Risks
• Fat is an ideal form of stored energy, high in calories for when food is scarce
• Being slightly overweight is only a slight health risk-Fitness matters more
• Significant obesity especially in children can increase risk of diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart disease, gallstones, arthritis and types of cancer
• Greater risk in people with potbellies than those with fatty thighs and hips
• Being overweight takes off average of 3 years
Social Effects
• Stereotyped-slow, lazy, sloppy
• Many see as a matter of choice/lack of self discipline
• Obese women make average $7000 less per year
• Obese people are less likely to be hired
Physiology
• Typical adult has 30-40 billion fat cells-range from deflated to full
• Obese people, twice normal size and divide, up to ___10__ billion fat cells
• Dieting causes fat cells to shrink not disappear
• Once fat, less food is required to maintain weight, fat has a lower metabolic rate
• Set-weight increases, body tries to keep weight steady
• Dieting/Starvation causes increase in hunger decrease in metabolism body adapts
to burn fewer calories
• After first 3 weeks of dieting, weight loss slows way down
• Overweight people predisposed to sit still, eat more, and have a higher set-point
• Genetics play a huge part. Adopted kids have closer body types to birth parents
than adopted
• ___11___ is protein produced by brain to eat less and be more active
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• Car’s, lack of exercise/walking, and high calorie food also contributes

• People eat 250 calories more per day since 1971 and 3X fast food since’97
• The average American since ’60 has grown an inch and gained 23lbs.
• Theaters, subways etc. have begun to put on wider seats

Losing Weight
• Most people regain weight that has been lost
• Surgery is an option
• Accepting weight is OK too.

Key Terms
Set-Point-Body weight thermostat, tries to regulate body weight through hunger and
metabolism

12) A classic experiment, obese patients whose daily caloric intake was dramatically
reduced lost only 6 percent of their weight. This limited weight loss was due, at least in
part, to the fact that their dietary restriction led to:
a) A proliferation of their lymphocytes
b) The inhibition of their dopamine reuptake
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c) A sharp decrease in their metabolic rates

d) A dramatic surge in their cholesterol levels

Answers
1. Depression,
2. Disabilities
3. Divorce
4. Get low grades
Drop out of school
Feel less in control of their future (locus of control)
Have parents/friends who smoke
5. Norepinephrine
6. Epinephrine
7. Dopamine
8. a
9. a
10. 75
11. Leptin
12. c

Brook Seaman
Contemporary Research on Personality
Module 46
46.1 The Trait Perspective
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Traits are a way of classifying different types of people. Psychologists have been
working with traits for years to help put people into groups based on their personalities.
The simplest form of this is categorizing people into two main groups, introverts and
extroverts, and sometimes adding stability as a second divide (as seen in image). It has
been shown that extraverts seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is
relatively low. Biological factors play a big role in personality traits, especially between
boldness and shyness. Trait inventories are used to test a wide range of traits and more
specifically classify people. These are also useful because they can be scored objectively
by a computer, unlike many modern psychological tests. Today the “Big Five” traits are
more commonly used to characterize people. These five traits are: conscientiousness,
agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion. Many people have different
personalities depending on the situation however, but this stabilizes as one grows older.
Overall, personality traits waver, but dominant traits are present in everyone and can be
seen most of the time in a familiar atmosphere.

Key Terms:
Traits-Characteristic
behaviors and unconscious
motives by which people are
grouped and categorized
Factor Analysis- A
statistical procedure that has
been used to identify clusters
of related items.
Introversion-The tendency toward being predominantly concerned with ones own
mental life
Extraversion-The tendency toward being predominantly concerned with what is outside
the self
Temperament- Our emotional reactivity
Personality Inventories- Long questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings and
behaviors

46.2 The Social-Cognitive Perspective

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The social-cognitive perspective looks at how people work depending on their

environment. There are three specific ways in which individuals and environments
interact; we choose the environment and then it shapes us, our personalities shape how
we interpret events, and our personalities help create situations to which we react (we are
mean to people we consider mean, worsening the problem). Many people are split upon
the question of how much control one has over their own fate. Studies show that those
who believe that they can control over
their fate do better in school are more
successful. It is shown that with
more control people live happier,
such as those under democracy
instead of communism. Optimism
helps people stay healthy and happy
through life, but some amount of
pessimism is important to stay
realistic and safe. The most effective
way to predict future behavior in a
given situation is to look at past
behavior or to simulate the behavior
desired.
Key Terms:
Reciprocal Determinism- The process of a person interacting with their environment.
Personal Control- How much control one has in his/her relationship with their
environment.
External Locus of Control- The perception that outside forces determine their fate.
Internal Locus of Control- The perception that we control our own destiny.
Learned Helplessness- The feeling that one has no control over his/her life and becomes
hopeless, usually due to uncontrolled bad events in the past.
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46.3 Exploring the Self

It is important to have a true sense of self to set a foundation for future
aspirations. A person with high self-esteem tends to live a happier life and respond better
to happy news. High self esteem is important, but many psychologists think that success
causes high self-esteem and not the other way around, so it is worthless to encourage high
self-esteem in unsuccessful children. It is seen however, that people with low self-esteem
tend to be more judgmental and critical of others. Three ways that people that are
discriminated against can raise self-esteem is by valuing the things that they excel at,
attributing problems to prejudice, and comparing themselves to their own group. It is
shown that even those who have low self-esteem still think decently of themselves.

Overall, people tend to perceive themselves favorably by accepting more responsibility

for good deeds than bad. But why do people have low self-esteem if they consider
themselves above average (as nearly everyone does). It is to prepare themselves for
failure, get sympathy, or criticize their past self, which is much easier to do.

Key Terms:
The Spotlight Effect- The false idea that everyone notices and evaluates everything that
we do.
Self-Esteem- The feeling of self worth.
Self-Serving Bias- Our readiness to perceive ourselves favorably
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Module 46 Review
1) Which is NOT one of the “Big Five” traits used today? (pg 619)
A) conscientiousness
B) agreeableness
C) optimism
D) openness
E) extraversion

2) What would be an example of a trait inventory? (pg 618)

A) The IQ Test
B) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
C) The Introversion/Extroversion Test
D) A Free Association Test

3) People with a(n) _______________ can more easily suffer from

_______________.(pg 627)
A) Internal Locus of Control/Learned Helplessness
B) Internal Locus of Control/Reciprocal Determinism
C) External Locus of Control/Reciprocal Determinism
D) External Locus of Control/Learned Helplessness

4) Which is NOT a significant influence on behavior according to the Social-Cognitive

perspective? (pg 626)
A) Biological influences
B) Physiological influences
C) Psychological influences
D) Socio-Cultural influences

5) Most people with low self-esteem think of themselves as worse than average people.
(pg 635)
A) True
B) False

6) How do people with low self-esteem view others? (pg 634)

A) Critically
B) Empathetically
C) Happily
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D) None of the Above

Answers: c, b, d, b, b, a

Introduction to Psychological Disorders

Module 47 (p.642-653)
Mika Ben-Shaul and Sahar Raz

This module focuses on:

(1) Defining psychological disorders
(2) Understanding psychological disorders
(3) Classifying psychological disorders
(4) How Prevalent are psychological disorders

1. Defining Psychological Disorders

Psychological Disorders are defined as: “persistently

harmful thoughts, feelings and actions.” A person who acts
especially differently from what is considered the norm
would be regarded as “disordered” by psychologists and
psychiatrists (deviant behavior = disordered behavior).

The standards for deviance vary according to:

a. culture and context (certain customs may be trivial in
some cultures and obscene in others)
b. time (society often adjusts to what was once
considered deviant)

Disorder differentiates from simply deviance because it also

causes distress (those different the norm, athletes for
examples, are not disordered- those who cannot sleep at
night, also different from the norm, are distressed and
therefore most likely disordered.)
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Disorders are more likely to be detected if symptoms cause

dysfunction (if a person’s irrational behavior seriously
impairs his lifestyle he is more likely to be identified as
disordered.)

2. Identifying Psychological Disorders

The medical model (which was first discussed in the 1800s

after decades of dark beliefs regarding the basis of
psychological disorders) states that psychological disorders
are diseases with physical causes that can be diagnosed,
treated, and, in most cases, cured.
Mental
illness Cure

Symptoms Therapy

The Biopsychosocial Approach claims that all human

behavior (normal and abvnormal) results from the constant
interaction of nurture and nature. This approach argues that
a disorder is the product of biological, cultural and
psychological influences.
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3. Classifying Psychological Disorders

Diagnostic psychology aims to:

- describe the disorder
- predict its future course
- imply appropriate treatment
DSM-IV: A worldly used manual for classifying psychological
disorders. Some psychologists believe it is accurate and
reliable, while others believe it is too general. The five
questions psychologists look to answer when using the DSM-
IV are:
1. Is a clinical syndrome present?
2. Is a personality disorder or a mental retardation
present?
3. Is a general medical condition also present?
4. Are psychological or environmental problems also
present?
5. What is the global assessment of this person’s
functioning? (ranging from 0-100, 100 being superior
functioning)

4. Labeling Psychological Disorders

Critics of the DSM claim that classifying people into

categories creates a false label that sticks and affects
judgment of others. Labels, some claim, alter our true
perceptions and create biases and presumptions. Various
experiments have also showed that the DSM is easy to
“cheat” and being diagnosed is a very easy task.

The stigmatizing power of labels has slightly decreased over

the past few years as the understanding that disorders are
actually diseases of the brain and not personality flaws has
come into light.
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5. Rates of Psychological Disorders

- 450 million people suffer from psychological disorders

world wide (according to World Health Association)

- Research shows that 1 in 6 has or has had a

psychological disorder by early adulthood

- 1 in 7 Americans has suffered a clinically significant

mental disorder over the year of 2002 (according to US
national mental institute)

- Immigrants or people who have moved from a culture

they knew well to another are more likely to develop a
psychological disorder.

- Poverty is a predictor of a mental disorder (rates of

psychological disorders have shown to be twice as
high). It is unclear, though, whether the disorders
cause poverty or whether poverty causes disorders.

Review Activities

1. labeling people with disorders can lead to

a. false assumptions about their personalities
b. brain diseases
c. immediate violence

2. The DSM-IV is
a. a personality disorder
b. a common manual used to identify disorders
c. a new technique used to detect brain waves of
people with schizophrenia
d. another name for the DMV

3. The standard for deviance do NOT vary according to

a. Time
b. The person
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c. Culture
d. Context

4. Disorder, unlike deviation, causes _______.

Answer key: a, b, b, distress

Anxiety Disorders
Module 7 (pgs 654-661)
Mika Ben-Shaul and Sahar Raz

Anxiety Disorders: psychological disorders characterized

by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors
that reduce anxiety.
There are 5 anxiety disorders covered in this module:
(1) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

(2) Panic Disorder

(3) Phobias

(4) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

(5) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: an anxiety disorder

in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive,
and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

a. People with this condition (2/3 are women) are

continually tense and jittery, worried about various
bad things that might happen, and plagued by
muscular tension, agitation, and sleeplessness.

b. Characteristics

i. Physical Symptoms: furrowed eyebrows,

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twitching eyelids, fidgeting, trembling, or

perspiration. May lead to ulcers and high
blood pressure.

ii. Other Symptoms: concentration is difficult,

unable to identify the cause (anxiety is free-
floating)

2. Panic Disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by

unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread
in which a person experiences terror and
accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening
sensations.

a. For the 1 person in 75 with this disorder, it strikes

suddenly, wreaks havoc, and then disappears.

b. Characteristics

i. Physical Symptoms: heart palpitations,

shortness of breath, choking sensations,
trembling, or dizziness

3. Phobia: an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent,

irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or
situation.

a. Disrupts behavior because it leads to some

people’s incapacitating efforts to avoid the feared
situation.
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4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): an anxiety

disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts
(obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).

a. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors

cross the fine line between normality and disorder
when they become so persistent that they
interfere with everyday living and cause the
person distress.

b. Common obsessions (repetitive thoughts):

i. Social Phobia – an intense fear of being

scrutinized by others

ii. Fear of germs, dirt, or toxins

iii. Fear of natural disasters causing death (fire,

flood)

iv. Symmetry, order, or exactness

c. Common compulsions (repetitive behaviors):

i. Excessive hand washing, bathing

ii. Repeating rituals (in/out of a door, shutting

lights)

iii. Checking doors, locks, appliances,

homework.

d. Effective functioning becomes impossible for 2-3%

of the people who have this debilitating disorder.

i. Recovery – although only 1 in 5 people

completely recover from OCD, obsessions
and compulsions gradually lessen as you get
older.
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ii. Example - The Aviator: Howard Hughes,

and his lifelong struggles with obsessive-
compulsive disorder, was portrayed in this
2004 film starring Leonardo Dicaprio.

1. Hughes compulsively dictated the

same phrases over and over again.
Under stress, he developed a phobic
fear of germs, which led to compulsive
behaviors. Hughes became reclusive
and insisted his assistants carry out
elaborate hand-washing rituals and
wear white gloves when handling any
document he would later touch. He
ordered tape around doors and
windows and forbade his staff to touch
or even look at him. "Everybody
carries germs around with them," he
explained. "I want to live longer than
my parents, so I avoid germs.”
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5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: an anxiety

disorder characterized by haunting memories,
nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or
insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a
traumatic experience.

a. Symptoms: lingering symptoms including haunting

memories and nightmares, a numbed social
withdrawal, jump anxiety, fearful wariness,
troubled sleep, nightmares, hopelessness, and
insomnia.

b. The more frequent and severe the assault

experiences are, the more adverse the long-term
outcomes tend to be.

c. A sensitive limbic system that floods the body with

stress hormones also increases vulnerability.

d. Common victims of PTSD - many combat

veterans, accident and disaster survivors, and
sexual assault victims, including an estimated
two-thirds of prostitutes, have experienced the
symptoms of PTSD.

i. Examples

1. Toxic trauma: Stressed soldiers, such

as these in Northern Ireland, are at
risk for being diagnosed with PTSD.

a. "Debriefing" survivors right after a

trauma by getting them to revisit
the experience and vent emotions
has actually proven generally
ineffective and sometimes harmful
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e. Post-traumatic growth: Tedeschi and Calhoun

have found that the struggle with challenging
crises often leads people later to report an
increased appreciation for life, more meaningful
relationships, increased personal strength,
changed priorities, and a richer spiritual life.

Explaining Anxiety Disorders

A. The Learning Perspective

a. Fear Conditioning: When bad events happen

unpredictably and uncontrollably, anxiety often
develops. Researchers have linked general anxiety
with classical conditioning of fear.

i. Conditioned fears may remain long after we

have forgotten the experiences that produced
them

ii. Stimulus generalization occurs, for example,

when a person fears heights after a fall and
later develops a fear of flying in an airplane
without ever having flown. Once phobias and
compulsions arise, reinforcement helps
maintain them. Avoiding or escaping the
feared situation reduces anxiety, thus
reinforcing the phobic behavior. Feeling
anxious or fearing a panic attack, a person
may go inside and be reinforced by calmed
anxiety.

1. Example - If washing your hands

relieves your feelings of unease, you
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may wash your hands again when the

feelings return.

B. Observational Learning

a. We might also learn fear through observational

learning—by observing others' fears.

i. Example – Parents often transmit their fears

to their children.

C. The Biological Perspective

a. The biological perspective does help explain why

we learn some fears more readily and why some
individuals are more vulnerable.

D. Natural Selection

a. We humans seem biologically prepared to fear

threats faced by our ancestors.

b. Just as our phobias focus on dangers faced by our

ancestors, our compulsive acts typically
exaggerate behaviors that contributed to our
species' survival.

E. Genes

a. Some people more than others seem genetically

predisposed to particular fears and high anxiety.
Pair a traumatic event with a sensitive, high-
strung temperament and the result may be a new
phobia.
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F. The Brain

a. Anxiety disorders are biologically measurable as

an over arousal of brain areas involved in impulse
control and habitual behaviors.

b. Fear-learning experiences can traumatize the

brain, by creating fear circuits within the
amygdala. Thus biology is part of anxiety.

c. An Obsessive Compulsive Brain

i. Neuroscientists used fMRI scans to compare

the brains of those with and without OCD.
The fMRI scans showed elevated activity in
the anterior cingulate cortex of those with
OCD.

Review Questions for Anxiety Disorders:

1. Anxiety is a part of our everyday experience. It is

classified as a psychological disorder only when it becomes
distressing or _______, or is characterized by maladaptive
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behaviors intended to reduce it.

2. How do generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and

obsessive-compulsive disorder differ?

3. How do phobias differ from the fears we already have?

4. Give 2 examples of someone with Obsessive-Compulsive

Disorder.

5. What are the chances of people eventually completely

recovering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

a. 25%

b. 50%

c. 20%

d. 90%

6. Can you recall a fear of yours? What role, if any, was

played by fear conditioning and by observational learning?
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Answers for Anxiety Disorders Review:

1. persistent

2. Generalized anxiety disorder is unfocused tension,

apprehension, and arousal. Phobias focus anxiety on specific
feared objects or situations. Obsessive-compulsive disorders
express anxiety through unwanted repetitive thoughts
(obsessions) or actions (compulsions).

3. Phobias are more extreme and more disabling than

normal fears. People with a phobia experience such
persistent and irrational fears that they may be
incapacitated by their attempts to avoid a specific object,
animal, or situation.

4. 1. A woman is concerned with dirt and germs so much

that when one single thing in her kitchen is dirty, she
cleans the entire kitchen all over again.

2. A man is terrified of lightning so much that he is

overwhelmed with anxiety when hearing on the news
that a storm is ahead. Every time lightning starts, he
hides in the basement to not see or hear anything.
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5. C. 20%
nd
2  Period AP Psych
4/10/08
Philip Homnack
Hilary Taber
Laurence Varda

Dissociative, Personality, and Mood Disorders  + 
Schizophrenia

Bulleted Summaries 

Mod 51­ Schizophrenia

• Nearly 1 in 100 people are schizophrenic.
• 24 million people worldwide have the disorder.
• It is typically found in teenagers and people in their early twenties.
• Schizophrenia includes disorganized thinking, disturbed perceptions, and 
inappropriate emotions/actions.
• Disorganized thinking contains fragments of thought, thoughts out of context, 
and delusions.
• Delusions are most commonly false thoughts of persecution or a heightened 
sense of grandeur.
• Insignificant stimuli can easily distract those with schizophrenia from important 
situations.
• Schizophrenic hallucinations are normally auditory hallucinations.
• They take the form of domineering voices.
• They can tell people to hurt themselves or that they have hurt others.
• Also, hallucinations can come in the forms of vision, touch, taste, and smell, but 
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they are not as common and hearing voices.
• Schizophrenia can make people have inappropriate emotions, such as crying 
when others laugh or sudden bursts of anger.
• It can also make the people have loss of emotion and become apathetic.
• It can bring on compulsive actions like rocking, swaying, or rubbing of an arm.
• Catatonic schizophrenics can go for hours without moving and then become 
suddenly agitated.

Mod 50­ Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders present themselves in two different forms, Major Depressive 
Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.
• Depression is said to be the “common cold” of psychological disorders.
• It is in response to loss of something important,
• Lasting two weeks or more, Major Depressive Disorder presents itself with 
symptoms such as lethargy, feelings of worthlessness, or loss in interests.
• Lasting two years or more, Dysthymic Disorder is the “down in the dumps” 
mood that continues daily.
• Bipolar Disorder is a disorder filled with extreme highs and lows.
• Mania is the state in which the person is filled with temporary extreme euphoria 
and optimism.
• Going back and forth to depression and mania is what defines Bipolar disorder.
• Unlike major depressions, this disorder affects women as much as men.
• Accompanying depression are many behavioral and cognitive changes.
• Women are twice as vulnerable to major depression as men.
• Preceding depression is often stressful events related to work, family, or other 
relationships.
• Although scientists realize that there is a connection between mood disorders 
running in people’s genes, they haven’t found what exactly that link is.
• Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that, while it increases arousal and boosts 
moods in normal people, is scarce in those with depression and prosperous in 
those in mania.
• Serotonin is also scarce in those suffering from depression.
• Studies have recently shown that there are neurological signs of depression.
• There is less activity going on while the subject is depressed.
• The frontal left lobe, while active in positive states, is inactive while in negative 
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states.
• Depressed people are likely to explain bad events in terms that are stable, 
global, and internal.
• Depression comes about in a circle, something triggers it and the subject goes 
through four phases.
• Stressful experience, negative explanatory style, depressed mood, and 
cognitive and behavioral changes.
• If that first trigger comes back, then the cycle starts over again.

Mod 49­ Dissociative and Personality Disorders

• In dissociative disorders, the subject experiences a sudden loss in memory or 
change in personality or identity.
• This happens when a situation becomes too stressful or overwhelming.
• A sense of being detached from one’s body is not uncommon, also feelings that 
the situation is “unreal”.
• Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is defined as the presumed massive 
dissociation of self from ordinary consciousness.
• This can result in people having two or more personalities that control that one 
person.
• Most of the time, memories fail to transfer from one personality to the next.
• The psychoanalytic and learning perspectives see this as a method of dealing 
with anxiety.
• Another theory about DID is that it is a form of post­traumatic stress disorder, a 
way of coping with the trauma of another event.
• Personality disorders are ones that impair a person’s social functioning.
• There are three clusters of disorders all expressing different things. 
• Anxiety, eccentric behaviors, and dramatic or impulsive behaviors are the three 
different types of disorders.
• Known as sociopaths or psychopaths, a person with antisocial personality 
disorder displays symptoms such as lying, stealing, fighting, or uncontrollable 
sexual behaviors.
• Made up of biological and psychological strands, antisocial personality disorder 
does not yet explain why these people act the way they do.

Key Terms
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Chapter 49

dissociative disorders: disorders in which conscious awareness becomes 
separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

dissociative identity disorder: a rare dissociative disorder in which a person 
exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Also called multiple  
personality disorder. 

Dissociative amnesia: a disorder characterized by abnormal memory 
functioning in the absence of structural brain damage or a known neurobiological 
cause; severe cases are very rare.

personality disorders: psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and 
enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Somatoform disorder: is characterized by physical symptoms that mimic 
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disease or injury for which there is no identifiable physical cause or physical 
symptoms such as pain, nausea, depression, and dizziness.

Conversion disorder is a condition where patients present with 
neurological symptoms such as numbness, paralysis, or fits, but where no 
neurological explanation can be found. It is thought that these problems arise in 
response to difficulties in the patient's life, and conversion is considered a 
psychiatric disorder

antisocial personality disorder: a personality disorder in which the person 
(usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends 
and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

Chapter 50

mood disorders: psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes. 
See major depressive disorder, mania, and bipolar disorder.
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major depressive disorder: a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in 
the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly 
depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure 
in most activities.

mania: a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.

bipolar disorder: a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the 
hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. 
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(Formerly called manic­depressive disorder.)

Explanatory style and 
depression: 
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Chapter 51

schizophrenia: a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and 
delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and 
actions.
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delusions: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany 
psychotic disorders.

Hallucinations: A sensory impression in the absence of any external stimuli; can 
arise in respect to any sensory modality ­ visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile or 
gustatory. 
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1) Psychological Therapies
a) Psychoanalysis
i) Aims
(1) Uncover repressed feelings/confront them
(2) Releases energy from id-ego-superego conflicts
ii) Methods
(1) Free association
(a) Resistance > interpret it
(2) Dream interpretation
(a) Latent content
(b) Censored meaning
(3) Problems
(a) Lengthy
(b) Transference
(c) Not a science/ interpretations
iii) Psychodynamic Therapy
(1) Examines past and present relationships
(2) Confronts feelings and thoughts
(3) Shorter than analysis
(4) Interpersonal psychotherapy
(a) Current relationships is the focus
(b) Even shorter than psychodynamic therapy
b) Humanistic Techniques
i) Boosts self-fulfillment, awareness, and acceptance
ii) Focuses on the present and future, not the past
iii) Conscious thoughts
iv) We are responsible for our feelings
v) Promotes growth instead of “curing” the illness
(1) Clients not patients
vi) Client-centered Therapy
(1) Carl Rogers
(2) Non-directive therapy
(a) Active listening
(b) Therapist gives unconditional acceptance
c) Behavior Therapies
i) Ones behavior/response is the problem and self-awareness alone is not a cure
ii) Classic Conditioning techniques
(1) Counter conditioning
(2) Exposure therapies
(a) Calm response is paired with a stimulus that provokes an inappropriate response
(b) Systematic desensitization
(c) Virtual reality exposure therapy
(d) Progressive relaxation therapy
(3) Aversive Conditioning
(a) Substituting a negative response for a positive one to a harmful stimulus like alcohol
iii) Operant Conditioning
(1) Token economy
(a) Rewards for doing good things
(b) To unlearn problems
d) Cognitive Therapies
i) Thinking colors feelings
ii) Depression
(1) Think happy > are happy
iii) Stress inoculation training
(1) Restructure thinking in stressful situations
(2) Attitude is everything
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iv) Cognitive behavior therapy

(1) Aware of negative thinking and behaviors
e) Group and Family Therapy
i) No person is an island
ii) Problem behaviors from wanting to connect and differentiate from your family
iii) Opens up communication within the family
2) Evaluating Psychotherapies
a) Is it effective?
i) Clients perspectives
(1) People often enter therapy in crisis
(a) Attribution of improvement to therapy when crisis has passed naturally
(2) Want to believe therapy was worth effort
(a) Self-justification
(3) Speak kindly of therapist
ii) Clinicians Perspectives
(1) Clients justification for leaving
(2) Therapist is only aware of other therapists failures when their clients search for a new
therapist
iii) Outcome research
(1) Randomized clinical trials (therapy vs. no therapy)
(a) Meta-Analysis- shows results of studies
(b) Fig. 53.1
(c) Those not undergoing therapy often improve, but those undergoing therapy are more
likely to improve
b) The relative effectiveness of different therapies
i) Empirically supported therapies
(1) Depression: cognitive, interpersonal, and behavior therapies
(2) Anxiety: cognitive, and exposure therapies, stress-inoculation training
(3) Bulimia: Cognitive-behavior therapy
(4) Bed-wetting: Behavior Modification
ii) Behavior conditioning is helpful with specific behavior problems (ex phobias)
iii) More specific problems are more effectively treated
c) Eve movement desensitization and reprocessing
i) While imagining traumatic scenes the therapist triggers eye movements, enabling them to
unlock and reprocess frozen trauma memories
ii) It is the combination of exposure therapy and the placebo effect
d) Light exposure therapy
i) Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
ii) Give patients a daily dose of intense light
iii) Morning bright light is proven to help
e) Commonalities among Psychotherapies
i) All offer benefits
(1) Hope for demoralized people
(2) A new perspective
(3) An empathetic, caring, and trusting relationship with ones therapist
3) The Biomedical Therapies
a) Used to treat serious disorders by altering the brains chemistry
b) Drug Therapies
i) Psychopharmacology (study of drug effects on mind/behavior)
ii) Researchers must subtract rates of
(1) Normal recovery among untreated patients
(2) Recovery due to the placebo effect
iii) Antipsychotic drugs
(1) Dampen responsiveness to irrelevant stimuli
(2) Patients with negative symptoms don’t respond well
(3) Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) used mostly to treat schizophrenia
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(4) Clozapine (Clorazil) also used for schizophrenia

(5) Blocks dopamine receptors
(6) Can produce sluggishness, tremors, and twitches
(7) Long term use > tardive dyskinesia (involuntary movements of facial movements,
tongue, and limbs)
iv) Antianxiety Drugs
(1) Depresses CNS activity
(2) Reduces symptoms without the person learning to cope with the stimuli
(3) Negative reinforcement >dependency
(4) Withdrawl symptoms
v) Antidepressent drugs
(1) Increases availability of Seratonin or norepinephrine
(2) Selective-Seratonin-Reuptake-Inhibitors (Prozac) partially blacks reabsorbtion and
removal of Seratonin from synapses
(3) Dual action drugs (block both seratonin and norepinephrine)
(4) Take s four weeks to have full effect
(5) Increased seratonin might promote neurogenesis
(a) The birth of new brain cells, reversing stress- induced loss of neurons
(6) Drugs reduce lethargy before effecting emotions
(a) Can, and has led to suicide
vi) Mood Stabilizing Medications
(1) Lithium for manic depression
c) Brain Stimulation
i) Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
(1) Limited to severly depressed paitens
(2) 80% show marked improvement in 2-weeks
(3) Reserved for those who don’t respond to medications
ii) Alternitives to ECT
(1) Chest implant that simulates to ragus nerve
(a) Stimulated limic system
(2) Electrodes implanted in brain
(3) Repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
(a) Magnetic pulses surge through a magnetic coil held close to paitents skull, these
magnetic pulses penetrate the skull to stimulate neurons
(b) No immediate side effects
(i) Long term potentiation
1. when repeatedly stimulated nerve cells in the left frontal lobe form
functioning circuts
d) Psychosurgery
i) Removes or destroys brain tissue
(1) Most drastic form of treatment, used in cases of EXTREME rarity
ii) Lobotomy
(1) Cuts nerves connecting frontal lobes, disconnecting emtions from thought
(2) Produces a lethargic immature impulsive personality

AP Chapter 55 & 56
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Social Thinking & Social Influences

Michael Fortune, Geng Wang, Rafy Cahill

55-1) Three main focuses of Social Psychology

a) How people think about one another

b) How people influence one another
c) How people relate to one another

55-2) Important terms:

Define Attribution theory:

Fundamental attribution error:

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior,
to underestimate the impact of the situation and to
overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Write an example from your own experience of Fundamental

Attribution Error:

A) Tolerant
Reaction
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Negative
Behavior

Dispositional B)
Attribution

55-3) Define attitudes:

55-4) How do our attitudes influence our behaviors and

perceptions? How might the external situation affect our
behaviors and perceptions?

55-5) People often stand up for what they believe in, but more
surprisingly, people will often come to believe in an idea they
stand up for.

Actions

A)
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55-6) Foot in the door phenomenon:

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small

request to comply later with a ________ request.

An example you may be familiar with is Milgram’s experiment

(the experiment with a line of switches that supposedly
delivered increasing levels of electric shock in increments of 15
all the way up to 450 volts.)

55-7) “What we do, we gradually become.”

While adopting a new role does not feel real at first, it will
eventually become part of you. An example of this is when
you first start working at a job somewhere, and eventually the
employee behavior you acted at first becomes part of your
personality.

Another example is what happened to the people in the

Stanford Prison Experiment.

Write an example of this from your life:

55-8) Cognitive Dissonance Theory: the theory that we act to

reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our
thoughts (cognitions) are __________. For example, when our
awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can
reduce the resulting dissonance by ___________ our attitudes.
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56-1) Behavior is contagious.

IE: when one person laughs or yawns, others will do the same.

The chameleon effect: we often unconsciously _______ others’

expressions, postures, and voice tones

More serious instances of mimicry include clusters of suicides

together, and there was a huge spike in threats of violence in the
wake of the Columbine Massacre.

56-2) Conformity: adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to

coincide with a group standard.

Asch’s conformity experiment:

Although it seems clear that line 2 is the same size as the

standard line, if the subject of the experiment hears 5 people
before them (not actually real subjects) say that they think
line 3 is the same size, they will often change their mind and
say that line 3 is actually the same size in order to avoid
disagreeing with the rest of the group.
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Factors in Strengthen Conformity:

One is made to feel incompetent or insecure
The group has at least three people
Group is unanimous
One admires the group’s status
One has made no prior commitment to any response
Others in the group observe one’s behavior
One’s culture strongly encourages respect to social standards

normative social influence: influence resulting from a

person’s desire to gain _________ or avoid _____________.

informational social influence: influence resulting from

one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

56-3) Situational Power

• People are more likely to conform to wrong answers when

the decisions are important ones.

• People are more likely to obey orders when the person

giving the orders is near by and perceived as a legitimate
authority figure.

• In the case of Milgram’s experiment, when the victims were

depersonalized or at a distance, the subjects were more
likely to continue increasing the voltage, but the opposite
would be true were the victims visible or audible while
being shocked. This is evidenced by soldiers being more
willing to fire a missile into a populated area than to aim at
and shoot someone.
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• In Milgram’s experiment as well as other situations, if no

one models defiance, the subject is less likely to object to
orders

• If the authority figure is supported by a prestigious figure or

group, people are more likely to obey. People were more
likely to obey in Milgram’s experiment when he said it was a
Yale study

56-4) Social Influence

• Randomly chosen people obeyed instructions to deliver

punishments that if real would have harmed strangers.

• People who resisted instructions did so early

56-5) Group Behavior

Presence of observers or co-actors increases arousal, which
strengthens our most likely response. This is called ______.

Social Facilitation improves performance on easy or well-

learned tasks, but makes performance worse on difficult or
newly learned ones.

Social Loafing often occurs when many are working towards

the same goal. Social loafing is:

Deindividuation is a psychological state where people

become _______ self aware and self-restrained, and this may
happen when people act as part of a group and feel
anonymous or less accountable. This also occurs because
people view their contribution as insignificant.

56-6) Polarization and Groupthink

When people in a group with similar points of view talk, group
polarization occurs, which is an enhancement of the group’s
prevailing opinions.
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This fosters groupthink: alternative options are often not

found, as the group pressures members to conform and
suppress dissenting ideas.

56-7) Group members that sway majority opinion usually

express their views consistently.
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ANSWER KEY

55-2)
A) situational attribution
B) unfavorable reaction

55-5)
A) attitudes

55-6)
Larger

55-8)
Inconsistent
Changing

56-1)
Mimic

56-3)
Approval
Disapproval

56-5)
Social Facilitation
Social Loafing: letting others in your group do the work for you
Less
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Module 57.1-57.5
The three components of prejudice:
It is an attitude with three parts: beliefs, emotions, predispositions to action.
Beliefs are the stereotypes, usually vastly overgeneralized.
Emotions are fear, hostility and envy
Action is discrimination which is considered unjustifiable negative behavior.

The difference between overt and subtle forms of prejudice:

Overt prejudice is blatant such as segregation, some form of discrimination which is not
hidden whatsoever. Subtle prejudice is based on the beliefs and emotions and is much
harder to root out. An example is someone who feels very uncomfortable around a certain
ethnic group. They will most likely not voice their discomfort but rather try to distance
themselves entirely from the group. This is mostly an unconscious act.

Social factors contributing to prejudice:

Inequality contributes to prejudice. In societies, the “haves” would develop
rationalizations as for why they are more affluent than the “have-nots”
“Have-nots” in turn develop their own prejudices against those who have more than
them.
As humans we like to belong to a group, or culture of sorts. We all like to relate to people
so that we can be in the “in crowd” and be a part of “we.” That is where “ingroup bias” is
created, because we like to think favorably of our own and discriminate those who are not
members of our society.

Scapegoating:
Bad times always lead to scapegoating. We as humans like to find ways to justify and
rationalize everything that happens. During turbulent situations ingroup bias and out-
group prejudice spike and the result is a scapegoat. Bill Buckner a Red Sox first baseman
during the 1980s, let a groundball go through his legs in the 10th inning of game 6 of the
1986 World Series allowing the winning run to score. The Red Sox lost the game and
game 7, losing the series. Red Sox fans quickly blamed Buckner as the reason for their
team’s loss. Buckner was the scapegoat so Red Sox fans could boast their self-esteem and
live with the fact the Sox had lost the World Series yet again.

Ways that create and maintain prejudice:

Humans love to categorize and organize everything they can to make things easier to
comprehend. As a result, groupings are made for not just objects and thoughts, but for
people as well. We use stereotypes, generalizations of characteristics and the
underestimation of differences to help separate everyone into different sects of society.
We also can misjudge the frequency of events by readily remembering things that stood
out more than those that didn’t. The just-world phenomenon also adds to prejudice
because it is the belief that people will in the end get what they deserve. Finally, hindsight
bias and blaming the victim also contribute to prejudices as they serve to assure people
that bad things will not happen to them because they know better.
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57.6 – 57.10
57.6- Aggression:
Any verbal or physical behavior intended to hurt or destroy, whether done reactively out
proactively. Aggression stems from a combination of biological and external influences.

57.7- Biology of Aggression:

Genetics- Twin studies show that twins often have similar temper dispositions. Also,
human males are much more likely to exhibit aggression than females because of
increased testosterone.
Neural Influences- Electrodes implanted in the brain of patients are able to activate
random acts of aggression in normally mild-mannered people. Studies of death-row
inmates have shown that a vast number suffered head injuries at a younger age, and most
have reduced frontal lobe activity.
Biochemical Influences- Testosterone is a proven aggression-inducing agent. Violent
criminals tend to be muscular young males with lower-than-average intelligence scores,
low levels of serotonin, and higher-than-average testosterone levels. Testosterone can
induce aggressiveness, and aggressive actions can cause the body to secrete testosterone.
Drinking alcohol also increases aggression.

57.8- Psychology of Aggression:

Aversive Events- Misery often breeds people who wish to make others miserable through
aggressive actions. Frustration at being stopped short of a goal has been proven to cause
aggression. In addition, stress causes a fight-or-flight response and causes aggressive
actions. Heat can cause aggressiveness as well as ostracism, foul odors, and cigarette
smoke.
Learning that Aggression is Rewarding- Social attitudes toward violence can cause
individuals to continue their aggressive nature or can encourage people to forget
aggressive impulses altogether. Once established however, aggressive behavior is
difficult to change. Modeling violence is more likely to produce violent behavior in
others, while positive, aggression free approaches to problems, reduce aggression in
others.
Observing Models of Aggression- Media, including films and videogames, affects our
outlook on the acceptability of certain levels of aggression. A study of sex-offenders
showed an unusually high appetite for sexually explicit and violent material. It has been
shown that repeated watching X-rated films makes a monogamous partner seem less
attractive, transforms simple friendliness into sexual advances, and desensitizes the
viewer to sexual aggression.
Acquiring Social Scripts- By giving us social scripts by which to live our lives, media
deeply affects how we act and react to situations. The more violent and sexual media we
watch, the more highly probable we are to act in an aggressive manner due to our
perceived societal position to do so.

57.9 - Do Videogames Teach or Release Violence?:

Young adults have reenacted violent scenes that occurred in their videogames. And,
while most people do not follow the social scripts provided by these violent games, it has
been proven that playing violent games increases levels of arousal and that people who
ZZPD 236 of 246 Social Relations

spend prolonged amounts of time playing violent videogames are generally more
aggressive. Most research has disproved that videogames are an outlet for release of
tension and aggression.

57.10 Conflict:
Destructive human interactions that have the potential to produce negative results for
both parties.
Social Traps- A situation in which we harm the collective well-being by pursuing our
own personal interests. This can be seen in global warming, where each individual car
owner emits greenhouse gases and doesn’t cut back consumption, and the sum total of
emissions causes a huge problem. Psychologists are exploring ways to improve
communication, regulations, and awareness so that people can more easily cooperate.
Enemy Perceptions- Humans have a tendency to demonize our adversaries. “They” are
evil and untrustworthy. This view of enemies helps fuel aggression.
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Module 58 Prosocial Relations

Guide Outline:
- 58 introduction summary
- 58.1 Attraction summary
- 58.2 Altruism summary
- 58.3 Peacemaking summary
- Key Terms

Summaries:
- Introduction
o Prosocial Psychology is the study of our positive social interactions,
namely attraction, altruism, and peacemaking
- Attraction
o Proximity is one of friendships greatest predictors. The more you see and
get to know someone, the more likely you are to befriend them.
o Sometimes known as the mere exposure effect, within limits mere
familiarity breeds fondness.
o Curiously enough ones similarity to you also increases your fondness of
that person. Evolution could be a culprit in this phenomenon because in
early times one must only associate with its own kind for survival.
o Physical attractiveness does play a role in what we think of people. First
impressions are often greatly influenced by attractiveness; many studies
have proven this as fact.
o Beauty is in the eye of the culture
o Beauty has some things that remain constant through time and culture
(such as a young appearance) and some things that don’t.
o The more you see a loved one the more the physical imperfections are not
noticed
o Similarity in personality is generally the norm, opposites do not usually
attract.
o We like people who like us
o Emotions have two ingredients physical arousal plus cognitive appraisal.
Thus if aroused before we see someone we may think different of them
than if we were in a usual state.
o In relationships equity is important. Both sides need to share their time
o In relationships Self Disclosure Is also important the more intimate details
you share the closer you feel to that person.
- Altruism
o Altruism is the unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
o When people are in big groups they are less likely to help someone in
distress, possibly because they think others will do it.
o When some situations are present, it is more likely that someone will help,
for example: the victim appears to need help, the victim is similar to us,
we have just observed someone helping someone else, we are not in a
ZZPD 238 of 246 Social Relations

hurry, we are in a small town, we feel guilty, we are focused on others, we

are in a good mood.
o We help if the benefits outweigh the cost (think do treat others as you
would like to be treated.)
o Interestingly religious people often donate 3 times as much as their
counterparts
- Peacemaking
o Cooperation increases the chance of peacemaking, if two competitive
teams are forced to work together to achieve a common goal, hostilities
dissipate.
o Communication is key in settling differences. Mediators are even hired to
give advice and to focus on creating a win-win situation.
o Conciliation is also a good way to create peace, parties should act politely
to one another, and slowly bring pressure down. Both parties should keep
retaliatory capability in order not to scare the other party away
- Key Terms
o Superordinate Goals- shared goals that override differences among
people and require their cooperation.
o Social-Responsibility Norm- An expectation that people will help those
dependent upon them.
o Social Exchange Theory- The theory that our social behavior is an
exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize
costs
o Self-Disclosure- Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others
o Reciprocity Norm- an expectation that people eill help, not hurt, those
who have helped them
o Passionate Love- An aroused state of intense positive absorption in
another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship
o Mere Exposure Effect- The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel
stimuli increases liking of them
o GRIT- Graduated and Reciprocated Initiative in Tension-Reduction- a
strategy designed to decrease international tensions.
o Equity- a condition in which people receive from a relationship in
proportion to what they give to it
o Companionate Love- the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those
with whom our lives are intertwined
o Bystander Effect- the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely
to give aid if other bystanders are present
o Altruism- unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
 ZZPD 239 of 246 Social Relations

57 & 58 Key Terms Social Relations

Term Definition
Reactance the reaction when we feel our
freedom is threatened; often
single-minded and irrational
Frustration-Aggression Principle frustration – blocked attempt
toward a goal – creates anger
which creates aggression
Altruism unselfish regard for the wellbeing
of others
Bystander Effect tendency for a bystander to be
less likely to help if other
bystanders are present
Social Exchange Theory our social behavior is a series of
exchanges – all trying to max
benefits + min costs
Ingroup “us”; others who share your
identity
Outgroup “them”; perceived people who
are different
Ingroup Bias tendency to favor your own
group
Just-World Phenomenon tendency to believe the world is
fair and people should get what
they deserve
Equity people receive proportionately to
what they give in the relationship
Prejudice unjustifiable attitude toward a
group (typically negative)
Scapegoat Theory theory that prejudices offers an
outlet for blame
Social Traps situation where conflicting
parties, rationally acting in self-
interest, are caught in mutually
destructive behavior
Mere exposure effect repeated exposure to novel
stimuli increases liking it
Companionate love deep affectionate love for
persons involved in our lives
Passionate love aroused state of intense positive
interest in other; present at
beginning of relationship
 ZZPD 240 of 246 Social Relations

How the following affect attraction:

Similarity despite Hollywood, opposites
often retract, shared interested
breeds satisfaction
Proximity most important factor –
determines if you’re likely to
come into contact with the
person
Physical attractiveness important factor despite our
denial of it – appearance often
determines first impressions
Self-disclosure revealing intimate secrets;
builds/strengthens connection
 ZZPD Social Relations 57 + 58

ACROSS minimize costs

1 Action when a freedom is threatened
3 Unjustifiable belief
5 Unselfish regard for others
7 Revelation of intimate details to another
9 Slant toward favoring your own group
11 Increased preference toward a stimulus
13 When you are less likely to help someone
because of those around you
14 Love for intertwined members of our lives
17 “Them”
18 Often affects first impressions
19 The love present at the start of a
relationship
20 System that tries to maximize benefits and
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 ZZPD Social Relations 57 + 58
DOWN when a goal is not attained
2 Proportionality of given and 10 Belief that the universe should be
received emotion in a fair
relationship 11 Most significant component in
3 “Us” attraction
6 Idea that love is best sustained 15 Situation where rational behavior
when the couple shares many of parties leads to mutually
commonalities destructive results
7 The explanation of emotions 16 The blame outlet

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ACROSS
1 Action when a freedom is threatened
3 Unjustifiable belief
5 Unselfish regard for others
7 Revelation of intimate details to another
9 Slant toward favoring your own group
11 Increased preference toward a stimulus
13 When you are less likely to help someone because of those around you
14 Love for intertwined members of our lives
17 “Them”
18 Often affects first impressions
19 The love present at the beginning of a relationship
20 System that tries to maximize benefits and minimize costs
DOWN
2 Proportionality of given and received emotion in a relationship
3 “Us”
6 Idea that love is best sustained when the couple shares many commonalities
7 The explanation of emotions when a goal is not attained
10 Belief that the universe should be fair
11 Most significant component in attraction
15 Situation where rational behavior of parties leads to mutually destructive results
16 The blame outlet
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246