Chapter 1: introduction

Psychological science is the study of the mind, brain and behaviour

Mind refers to mental activity, like the perceptions, feelings, thoughts and
memories of individuals. Mental activity results from biological processes, the
actions of nerves and neurones and their associated chemical reactions
occurring within the brain.
Behaviour is used to describe a wide variety of actions from the subtle to the
complex that occur in every organism.
The seven themes of psychological science
1. Psychology is an empirical science
Psychological scientists use the scientifc method to understand how people
feel and act. The scientifc method is the use of obective, systematic
procedures that lead to an accurate understanding of what is being studied. !t
involves careful observations of our world. "nderstanding that psychology is
an empirical science can lead us to be better consumers of scientifc
literature.
2. Nature and nurture are inextricably entwined
#ature$ psychological characteristics that are biologically innate
#urture$ psychological characteristics that are ac%uired through education,
experience and culture
!t is now know that both nature and nurture are important for human&s
psychological development and in'uence each other in shaping the brain,
mind and behaviour.
. The mind and brain are inseparable
The mind(body problem is perhaps one of the greatest psychological issue$
are the mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the
physical brain)s subective experience*
+or theological reasons ,humans possess a divine and immortal soul-, many
earlier scholars believed that the mind is indeed separate and in control of
the body.
.a /inci)s dissection of the human body led him to think that all sensory
messages arrived at one location in the brain, in the region called the sensus
communis ,common sense0-
.escartes developed the dualism theory which states that mind and body are
separate yet intertwined. The body is an organic machine governed by
re'exes and the rational mind controlling voluntary acts is divine and
separate from the body.
!. " new biological revolution is energi#ing research
!n the last 12 years, there has been tremendous growth in the understanding
of mental activities, biological bases. There are 3 main developments that
have set the stage for the biological revolution.
Brain chemistry
The brain works through the actions of neurotransmitters, chemical that
communicate messages between nerve cells. The better understanding of the
chemical processes occurring in the brain lead the researchers to
comprehend both mental activity and behaviour which allowed them to
develop treatments for various disorders.
4uman genome
5fter mapping the human genome, scientists were able to connect a certain
behaviour to genes. By indentifying the genes new forms of therapies and
treatments can be developed. They also begin to understand that situational
contexts can in'uence the expression of genes.
6atching the working brain
Being able to watch the working brain allowed scientists, using the methods
of neuroscience, to answer some of the most fundamental %uestions such as
how di7erent brain regions interact to produce perceptual experience etc.
+inding that consistent patterns of brain activation are associated with
specifc mental tasks suggests that the 1 are connected to each other. 6e
know that there is some locali8ation of functions but many brain regions
participate to produce behaviour and mental activity.
$. The mind is adaptive
The brain has evolved after years of problem solving, during that time9
genetic mutations occurring lead us to new adaptation, physical
characteristics that increased our odds of survival
.arwin frst presented the mechanism of evolution called natural selection$
those who inherit characteristics that help them adapt to their environment
have a selective advantage over those who do not.
:olving adaptive problems
5daptive behaviours and speciali8ed mechanism have been built into our
body and brain through evolution. ;volution theory is useful for considering
whether they are adaptive, in other words whether they a7ect survival and
reproduction
Modern minds in :tone 5ge skulls
:ome of our behaviours are still tainted of our ancestor)s survival instincts
Culture provides adaptive solutions
The complexity of living in groups gives rise to culture whose various aspects
are passed on through generations. <ulture evolution occurs much faster that
brain evolution and plays a central role on how people view and reason about
the world. +or culture psychologists, observing behavioural phenomena in
their cultural context is important.
%. Psychological science crosses levels of analysis
Behaviour can be analysed on many levels from chemical processes occurring
in the brain to how culture in'uences one)s behaviour. There are = main
levels
Biological$ how the physical body contributes to mind and behaviour, as in
the neurochemical and genetic processes occurring in the body and brain.
!ndividual$ di7erences on personality and in the mental processes that a7ect
how people perceive and know the world
:ocial$ how group contexts a7ect people)s ways of interacting and in'uencing
each other.
<ultural$ the in'uence of culture on people)s behaviours.
&. 'e are often unaware of the multiple in(uences on how we thin)*
feel and act
:ome factors in'uence us at an unconscious level and leave us without
knowledge of them. This is often associated with +reud)s theory. ;vents can
prime ,activate- our minds so that we act in response to the priming stimuli
even though we don)t even know that we are being in'uenced.
+ow did the scienti,c foundations of psychology develop-
!n the mid >?22s in ;urope, psychology arose as a separate feld of study
using the experimental method
@ohn :tuart Mill declared in A System of Logic (>?=3- that psychology should
leave the realm of speculation and philosophy and become a science of
observations and experiments. 4e defned psychology as science of the
elementary laws of the mind and declared that only through science would
the processes of the mind be understood.
.xperimental psychology begins with /tructuralism
6undt ,>?AB- established the >
st
psychological laboratory and institute. 4e
measured reaction time to study psychological processes. !n order to
measure conscious experience he developed introspection$ a systematic
examination of subective mental experience that re%uires people to inspect
and report the content of their thoughts. The problem with this techni%ue is
that experience is subective and was abandoned later on.
Titchener used methods such as introspection to pioneer structuralism which
is based on the idea that conscious experience can be studied when it is
broken down in its underlying components. 4e believed that understanding
the basic element of consciousness would provide the scientifc basis for
understanding the mind.
0unctionalism address the purpose of behaviour
@ames ,>?A3- wrote Principles of Psychology ,>?B2- that became the most
in'uential book of his time. 4e critici8ed structuralism and argued that the
mind was more complex than its elements and can not be broken down. 4e
noted that the mind consisted of an ever changing, series of thought that he
called stream of consciousness and can)t be fro8en in time. The mind)s
elements mattered less than the mind)s function as a whole. 4e stated that
the functions must be observed and developed functionalism which is
concerned with the adaptive purpose ,evolution of mind for life preservation-,
or function of mind and behaviour.
+unctionalists stated that if behaviour serves a purpose, that purpose is
ought to be re'ected in daily human life. The broad ranging subects touched
by this approached lead to criticism for lack of seriousness.
1estalt psychology emphasises patterns and context in learning
The theory was founded by 6ertheimer ,>B>1- and expanded by Cohler,
among others. This theory is based on the idea that the whole of personal
experience is di7erent from simply the sum of its constituent elements.
!n experimentation they relied not on the reports of trained observers, but on
ordinary people)s observations. This unstructured approach was called the
phenomenological approach that refers to the totality of subective conscious
experience. This movements re'ected that the perception of obects is
subective and dependant on context. ,Take an image, what do you see-
'omen made pioneering contributions to psychology
Mary <alkins studied philosophy and classics at :mith <ollege and was
invited to become a professor of philosophical psychology at 6ellesley
<ollege. :he studied with 6illiam @ames at 4arvard "niversity as a guest at
his seminary. !n >?BD she completed all the re%uirements for her Ph.. with
Munsterberg, but 4arvard denied her degree, o7ering instead a Ph. from
Eadcli7e that she denied. :he wrote in >B2> an introductory psychology
book, published more than >22 articles, and in >B2D was elected the >
st
woman president of the 5merican Psychological 5ssociation. 4er maor
interest was the self and she was disenchanted by the rise of behaviourism
and its dismissal of the concept of the self.
Margaret 6ashburn was the >
st
woman to be oFcially granted a Ph. in
psychology, in >B1> from <ornell "niversity, where she studied with
Titchener. !n >B1> she became the 1
nd
woman president of the 5P5 and spent
most of her life at /assar <ollege. :he set up a scholarship fund for women.
0reud .mphasi#ed the Power of the 2nconscious
+reud began working with a patient with neurological disorders and found out
that his patient)s paralysis was not always caused by medicinal reason and
came to believe that they were caused by psychological factors. 4e deduced
that much of the human behaviour is determined by mental processes
operating below the level of conscious awareness, at the level of the
unconscious. 4e believed that these unconscious mental forces, often sexual
and in con'ict, produced psychological discomfort and in some cases,
disorders.
+reud pioneered the clinical case study approach and developed
psychoanalysis that attempts to bring the contents of the unconscious into
the conscious awareness so that con'icts can be revealed and dealt with. 4e
analysed the content of dreams and used free association, a techni%ue in
which patients would simply talk about what they wanted for the times that
they wanted, believing that patients would reveal the unconscious con'icts
causing them problems. 4e extended his theory for general psychological
functioning.
The problems with his method are that they are extremely diFcult to analyse
using the scientifc method. +reud)s theories are no longer accepted, but the
idea that mental processes occur below the level of consciousness is widely
accepted.
3ost behaviour can be modi,ed by reward and punishment
6atson ,>B>3- disapproved of methods like free association and introspection
and believed that if psychology was to be a science, it had to stop trying to
study mental events that could not be observed directly. 4e developed
behaviourism, an approach that emphasi8es environmental e7ects on
behaviour. !n'uenced by Pavlov, the most important issue was the
nature(nurture %uestion. +or him, nurture was all and he believed that
animals ac%uired all behaviours through environmental factors$
understanding the stimuli was all that was needed to predict the behavioural
response.
:kinner denied mental states) existence, writing in his provocative book
Beyond Freedom and Dignity ,>BA>- that concepts referring to mental
processes were of no scientifc value in explaining behaviour. 4e wanted to
understand how repeated behaviour were shaped or in'uenced by the events
or conse%uences that fallowed them
Behaviorism was popular well through the >BG2)s. 5lthough some of their
theories help the understanding of the mind, brain and behaviour, evidence
shows that thought processes in'uence outcomes.
Cognition a4ects behaviour
4uman)s perceptions can in'uence behaviour and that learning was not as
simple as the behaviourists believed.
!n >B1>, Cohler ,Hestalt theorist- found out that monkeys could solve the
problem of how to get a banana that was out of reach by fguring out how to
connect 1 sticks together. 5fter trying a few methods, the animals succeeded
and used this method thereafter.
Tolman, a learning theorist, showed that animals could learn by observation,
which made little sense according to behaviourism, because the animals were
not rewarded, the connection was all being made in their heads.
Ither psychologists showed that the laws of behaviourism were not suFcient
to explain why cultural experiences alter a person)s way of remembering a
story, how grammar develops systematically, and why a child goes through
stages of development during which they interpret the world di7erently
Miller ,>BAD- launched the cognitive revolution. #eisser ,>BGA- integrated a
wide range of cognitive phenomena in his classis book <ognitive Psychology,
which named and defned the feld. <ognitive psychology is the study of how
people think, learn and remember. Eesearch has shown that the way people
think about things in'uence their behaviour.
#ewell and :imon applied the functioning process of a computer to how the
mind works. The information processing of the cognitive theories viewed the
brain as the hardware that ran the mind that was the software. 5 lot preferred
to focus only on the software. !n >B?2, cognitive psychologists oined forces
with neuroscientists...and developed an integrated view of the mind and
brain. !n >BB2, cognitive science was created which is the study of the neural
mechanisms that underlie thought, learning and memory.
/ocial situations shape behaviour
!n the >B22s social psychology emerged which is defned as the study of
group dynamics in relation to psychological processes. The #a8i cases were
studied.
!n the >B32 and >B=2)s Jewin ,Hestalt- emphasi8ed a scientifc, experimental
approach to social psychology. 4is feld theory emphasi8es the interplay
between people and their environments, such as social situations and group
dynamics. This science recogni8es the importance of fully considering a
situation to predict and understand the behaviour within it.
Psychological therapy is based on science
!n the >BD2s, a humanistic approach to the treatment of psychological
disorders led by <arl Eogers and 5braham Maslow, emphasi8ed how people
can come up to know and accept themselves in order to reach their uni%ue
potential. The techni%ues involved %uestioning and listening in a certain type
of way. !n the last =2 years, a scientifc approach to treating the disorders
arose.
Today 1 key factors are important in the treatment$ a clinically recogni8ed
treatment is re%uired and recogni8ing that each person is a uni%ue individual
with specifc issues and needs.
Chapter 2 : research methodology
<ritical thinking skill$ identifying the need for control groups, recogni8ing that
large samples are more reliable than small samples
'hat is scienti,c in5uiry-
!t is a way of fnding answers to empirical %uestions that can be answered by
observations or measure. !t has = goals$ describing what happened,
predicting when it happened, controlling what causes it to happen, and
explaining why it happened. The scientifc method is used.
The scienti,c method depends on theories hypotheses and research
5 theory ,model of interconnected ideas and concepts that explains what is
observed and makes predictions about future events- should generate a
hypothesis ,a specifc prediction of what should be observed in the world if
the theory is correct-. !f the theory is accurate the hypothesis should be
supported. Ince hypotheses have been developed research, which involves
the systematic and careful collection of data, or obective information that
provides a test of the hypothesis, and ultimately says if the theory is likely to
be supported. Ince the research fndings are in, you return to the original
theory to evaluate the implications of the data that were collected. The
fndings either support or re%uire modifcations of the theory. The study must
be replicated and the results must be the same. Theories must give rise to a
wide variety of hypotheses to allow evaluation.
+ocus on a theory, formulate a hypothesis, conduct research, analy8e
whether the data supports or refutes the theory, report results and embark
on further in%uiry.
Many scientifc discoveries are the results of serendipity$ when researchers
unexpectedly discover something important.
'hat are the types of studies in psychological research-
There are 3 main types of study design$ descriptive, correlational and
experimental which di7er in the extent to which the researcher has control
over the variables in the study and therefore in the extent to which the
experimenter can make conclusions about causation. The variables must be
defned in a precise way that re'ects the method used to assess them. This is
done by using operational defnitions, which identify and %uantify variables so
they can be tested.
6escriptive studies involve observing and classifying behaviour
6escriptive studies ,observational studies- involve observing and noting
behaviour to analyse it obectively. 5dvantages$ valuable in early stages of
research, when trying to determine whether a phenomenon exists and takes
place in a real world setting. .isadvantages$ errors in observations can occur
because of an observer)s expectations ,observer bias- ,4awthorn e7ect-.
Ibserver)s presence can change the behaviour being witnessed. There are 1
main types$
#aturalistic observation$ the observer remains separated and makes no
attempt to change the situation.
Participant observation$ the observer in directly involved. They need to
minimi8e their impact on a situation in order to avoid problems.
7ongitudinal studies are one type of developmental design that involve
observing and classifying developmental changes that occur in the same
people over time, either with or without intervention form the observer.
5dvantages$ provide info on the e7ect of age on the same people, allowing
the researchers to see developmental changes. .isadvantage$ expensive,
takes a long time, and may lose participants over time.
Cross8sectional studies involve observing and classifying developmental
changes that occur in di7erent groups of people at the same time.
5dvantages$ faster and less expensive than longitudinal studies.
.isadvantage$ unidentifed variables may be involved in di7erences between
the groups ,di7erent level of education between the old adults and young
adults.-
9bserver bias$ systematic errors that occur in observation because of the
observer)s expectations ,in'uenced by culture and stereotypes-. !t can even
change the behaviour being observed, a phenomenon called experimenter
expectancy e4ect. To counter that e7ect it is better that the person doing
the experimentation is blind to, or unaware of the study)s hypothesis.
,Eosenthal study with the students training the rats$ half were told that their
rats were trained to run a ma8e faster and the other half was told nothing.
The >
st
group of rats did fnish the ma8e faster because the students cave
them cues which change their behaviour.-
Correlational designs examine how variables are related
<orrelation study$ a research method that examines how variables are
naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to
alter them. These methods are sometimes re%uired for ethical reasons.
<ertain problems are associated.
>. #o known causality$ they don)t tell what causes behaviour, but can enable
the researcher to make predictions that the same pattern in the association
will be reproduced in further cases. ,6e can say that the horrors of war are
associated with learning diFculties, but can)t say they cause them because
the soldier)s wartime experiences were not controlled-.
1. They don)t allow the knowledge of the direction of the causeKe7ect relation
between variables. This ambiguity is called the directionality problem. ,.oes
less sleep cause more stress, or more stress cause less sleep*-
3. The 3
rd
variable problem$ when the experimenter cannot directly
manipulate the independent variable, and can)t be confdent that another
unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of di7erences in the dependent
variable. !nstead of 5 causing B, < ,3
rd
variable- caused 5 and B. ,5 genetic
predisposition to smoke or to develop cancer interfere is the causality of
smoking and cancer.- Eandomi8ing the sample sometimes helps, but
sometimes diFcult for ethical reasons.,picking up random children that will or
will not go to preschool in order to see if going the preschools betters
children)s reading ability-. By showing that a relationship between 1 variables
still holds even if a 3
rd
variable can come into play is meaningful.
"n experiment involves manipulating conditions
5n experiment is a study in which the researcher manipulates one variable to
examine the variable)s e7ect on a second variable.
<ontrol ,or comparison- group$ the participants in a study that receive no
intervention or a di7erent intervention from the one being studied.
;xperimental ,or treatment- group$ the participants in a study that receive
the intervention.
!ndependent variable$ the variable being manipulated by the experimenter to
examine its impact on the dependent variable$ the measure that is a7ected
by manipulation of the independent variable.
The beneft of an experiment is that the researcher can establish that causal
relationship between the 1 variables. 5lthough they can infer case the link is
often criticised is being artifcial. Eesearch design often involves a series of
choices$ it means balancing the problems of taking people as they come with
the problems of creating an artifcial environment for the experiment.
.stablishing causality
5n experiment must be controlled9 the possibility that anything other than
the independent variable may a7ect the experiments) outcome must be
minimi8ed. 5 confound is anything that a7ects a dependent variable and may
unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study, making
it impossible to discern what caused a change. 5lternative explanations for
the observed data must be ruled out so that only the independent variable
varies.
Eandom assignment is used to establish e%uivalent groups
Population$ everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in
:ample$ a subset of a population undergoing the experiment.
:ampling$ process by which people from the population are selected for the
sample. !n order for the sample to re'ect the population the best method is
to use random sampling. 5 likely confound is preKexisting di7erences between
groups that are assigned to di7erent conditions.
<onvenience sample$ a sample of people conveniently available for the study
:election bias$ when participants in di7erent groups in an experiment di7er
systematically.
Eandom assignment$ the procedure for placing research participants into the
conditions of an experiment in which each participant has an e%ual chance of
being assigned to any level of the independent variable. !t balances out
known and unknown factors.
MetaKanalysis$ a L)study of studies)) that combines the fndings of multiples
studies ,the same type- to arrive at a conclusion.
'hat are the data collection methods of psychological science-
The %uestion the researcher wants to answer dictates the appropriate
method for collecting data. The >
st
step in selection is determining the level of
analysis a particular %uestion is addressing.
<ross cultural studies$ compares groups of people from di7erent cultures.
5dvantages$ examine the e7ect of culture on some variable of interest,
thereby making psychology more applicable around the world.
.isadvantages$ some situations and some specifc words do not convey the
same meaning when translated across cultures and can leave room for
alternative explanations, such as misunderstanding during the research
process.
<ulturally sensitive research$ studies that take into account the ways culture
a7ects thoughts, feelings and actions. <ulture is adaptive ,modifes in
function of survival- and has a shared system of meaning.
9bserving is an unobtrusive strategy
Ibservational techni%ues$ involve the systematic assessment and coding of
overt behaviour. 3 %uestions must be asked.
>. :hould the study be conducted in the lab or in the environment*
1. 4ow should the data be collected* 5s a written description of what was
seen or as a running tally of pre specifed categories of behaviour*
3. :hould the observer be visible* The concern here is that observations
might alter the behaviour being observed, an e7ect known as
reactivity. The 4awthorn e7ect refers to changes in the behaviour that
occur we people know we are observing them.
Case studies examine individual lives and organi#ations.
5 case study$ special type of observation(descriptive study that involves the
intensive examination of a person or a few individuals ,clinical case studies-
or one or few organi8ations ,organi8ational case studies-, typically people or
organi8ations that are somehow unusual. They reveal a lot on the person
being observed but can)t generali8e to all similar people ,troubled people-.
5dvantages$ can provide extensive data about one or a few individuals ,brain
inured- or organi8ations ,success(failure of a procedure-. .isadvantages$ can
be very subective$ if a researcher has a causal theory ,for example, people
who are loners are dangerous-, this theory can bias what is being observed
and recorded ,<an)t know why some people react di7erently to a similar
situation-. !t is not possible to generalise the results from an individual to the
population.
"s)ing ta)es a more active approach
!ncludes surveys, interviews, %uestionnaires, and other selfKreports. 5 critical
issue in asking researchKbased %uestions is how to frame the %uestions, there
are several options. IpenKended %uestions$ allow respondents to provide any
answer they think of and to answer in as much detail as they feel
appropriate. <loseKended %uestions$ the respondents must select among
fxed options.
:elf report methods$ method in which people are asked to provide
information about themselves, such as %uestionnaires or surveys.
;xperience sampling$ method used when the researcher wants to understand
how thoughts, feelings and behaviours vary through a period of time. :everal
samples are taken overtime.
:elfKreport bias$ when people introduce bias in their answers, making it
diFcult to discern an honest and true response. :pecially present when the
%uestion produces socially desirable responding, or faking good. There can
also be the better than average e7ect in which people describe themselves
more positively than they should. ,might not be conscious-
!nteractive methods involve asking %uestions to participants, who then
respond in any way they feel is appropriate or select from a fxed number of
options. 5dvantages$ selfKreport methods such as %uestionnaires can be used
to gather data from a large number of people. They are easy to administer,
cost eFcient and a relatively fast way to collect data. !nterviewing people
face to face gives to researcher the opportunity to explore new lines of
%uestioning. ;xperience sampling allows researchers to examine how
responses vary overtime. .isadvantages$ people can introduce biases into
their answers ,selfKreport bias- or may not recall information accurately.
:cientifcs can be more comfortable with their fndings when they use
di7erent types of methods, because we can get di7erent results when we use
di7erent methods.
:esponse performance measures information processing
:esponse performance$ a method in which researchers %uantify perceptual
or cognitive processes in response to a specifc stimulus. Eesearchers
measure reaction time ,based on the fact that the brain takes time to
process information9 the more processing a stimulus re%uires, the longer the
reaction time-, response accuracy can also be measured, response
performance by asking people to make stimulus ;udgments regarding
di7erent stimuli with which they are presented. 5dvantages$ relatively simple
way to study cognition and perception, less a7ected by observer bias or
subect reactivity. .isadvantages$ can be costly and time consuming, less
likely to be useful in realKworld settings.
The :troop e7ect$ it takes longer to name the colors of words that are printed
in con'icting colors.
<ody=brain activity can be measure directly >biological level of
analysis?
Psychophysiological assessment$ Eesearchers examine how bodily
functions change in associations with behaviours or mental states.
,Polygraph$ lie detector-
.lectrophysiology$ data collection method that measures electrical activity
in the brain. ;lectrodes are fxed in the person)s scalp. The device measuring
brain activity is an electroencephalogram ,;;H-. .i7erent behavioural states
will produce di7erent and predictable ;;H patterns, but is limited because
the recordings cover all brain activity and therefore are too noisy or imprecise
to isolate specifc response to particular stimuli.
Brain imaging$ a range of experimental techni%ues that make brain structures
and brain activity ,blood 'ow- visible. , brain)s electrical activity is associated
with changes in the blood 'ow carrying oxygen and nutrients to the active
brain regions-
Positron emission tomography ,P;T-$ computer aided reconstruction of the
brain)s metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance inected into the
bloodstream that enables to fnd the brain areas that are using glucose.
<orrelation between two relatively similar tasks, because the brain is
extremely active.
Magnetic resonance imaging ,ME!- produces high %uality image of the brain.
Eesearchers momentarily disrupt the magnetic forces and energy is released
from the brain tissue. +unctional magnetic resonance imaging ,fME!-$ makes
use of the brain)s blood 'ow indirectly by assessing changes in the blood
oxygen levels to map mental activity, scanning the brains of participants as
they perform tasks.
5dvantages$ map the brain in various ways to show brain regions involved in
di7erent tasks.
.isadvantages$ show only the brain regions active while tasks are performed9
we don)t know whether, for example, a particular brain region is necessary
for a particular task because these data are correlational ,third variable
problem, directionality problem-
Transcranial magnetic stimulation$ uses strong magnets to brie'y interrupt
normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions. Hood method to
examine which brain regions are necessary for specifc functions. !t can be
used shortly to examine brain regions close to the scalp.
Eesearch with animals can provide important data
!van Pavlov)s observation of a salivating dog inspired @on B.6atson to launch
the behaviourist movement$ humans are subects to the same laws of nature
as animals. +or research purpose transgenic mice are produce by
manipulating the genes in developing mice embryos.
There are ethical issues to consider
!nstitutional review boards ,!EBs-$ groups of people responsible for reviewing
proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science
and provides for the physical and emotional wellKbeing of research
participants.
Participants must be ensured privacy. !s it okay that people are unaware*
They must be ensured confdentiality so that personal information is not
linked publicly to the study)s fndings. Ir else participants may bias their
responses in order for them to be more socially acceptable. +or studies that
are concerned with extremely sensitive topics, the participants) response
should be anonymous, meaning that no personal information is collected, so
that responses can never be traced to the individuals ,not the same as
confdentiality-.
!nformed consent$ people must be provided with all the relevant information
that might a7ect their willingness to become participants, and must make a
knowledgeable decision to participate. !t is often obtained in written form. !n
the case of observational studies done publicly, the individuals will remain
anonymous. Minors, intellectually incapacitated and the mentally ill can)t
provide legal informed consent, therefore, a legal guardian must do it for
them. .eception$ when participants are mislead of the studies) goals to avoid
that participants alter their behaviour knowing the true goals. "sed in last
resort. 5fter a deception is used a careful debriefng ,explanation of the
study- must be done to explain why the deception was done.
Eelative risk of participation ,mental or physical health of participants-$
researchers can)t make their participants endure pain.
+ow are data analysed and evaluated-
1ood research re5uires valid* reliable and accurate data
/alidity$ the extent to which the data collected addresses the research
hypothesis in the way intended. The data)s validity depends on the %uestion
being studied. !t is essentially the extent to which the data is really
measuring what you want to measure.
Eeliability$ the extent to which a measure is stable and consistent over time
in similar conditions.
5ccuracy$ the extent to which an experimental measure in free from error
,random and systematic-
6escriptive statistics provide a summary of the data
The >
st
step in evaluating data is to inspect the raw values, looking for errors
in data reporting. The 1
nd
step is summari8ing the basic patterns using
descriptive statistics, which provide an overall summary of the data.
<entral tendency ,simplest descriptive stat-$ a measure that represents the
typical behaviour of a group as a whole.
Mean$ a measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of a set
of numbers.
Median$ a measure of central tendency that is the value in a set of numbers
that falls exactly halfway between the lowest and the highest values.
:ometimes a better estimate than the mean because doesn)t include
extreme values.
Mode$ most fre%uent score in a set of values.
/ariability$ in a set of numbers, how widely dispersed the values are from
each other and from the mean
:tandard deviation$ a statistical measure of how far away each value is, on
average, from the mean.
Eange$ the distance between the largest and the smallest value.
Correlation describes the relationship between variables.
The >
st
step in examining the relationship between 1 variables is to create a
graph known as a scaterplot. !n analysing the relationship, researchers can
compute a correlation coeFcient ,K>$ perfect negative correlation, to M>$
perfect positive correlation-
@nferential statistics permit generali#ations
!nferential statistics$ a set of procedures used to determine if di7erences
,between means- actually exist in the population from which the sample are
drawn. 6hen the results obtained by a study would be very unlikely to occur
if there were no di7erences between the groups of subects, the scientist
conclude that the results are statistically signifcant$ it would have to occur
less than DN of the time.
Chapter : biological foundations
'hat is the genetic basis of psychological science-
Henetics refers not only to characteristics, but also to the process involved in
turning genes on and o7. #ature(nurture is related and in'uences each other.
,122>$ 4uman genome proect whose >
st
task was to map out the entire
structure of .#5. 6e have fewer than 32 222 genes.- The genome provides
the option, and the environment determines which option is taken.
<hromosomes$ ,13 pairs- structure within the cell body made out of genes$
the unit of heredity made of .#5 that code for a specifc protein, which
carries a specifc task. The environment decides which proteins are produced
and when they are produced
+eredity involves passing along genes through reproduction
Mendel ,>?GG- developed selective breeding that strictly controlled which
plants bred with other plants. 4e establish the basis of genetics$ dominant
and recessive genes
Henotype ,organism)s genetic constitution- and phenotype ,physical
appearance resulting from genetic and environmental in'uences-
Polygenic e7ects$ in'uenced by many genes ,intelligence, behaviour-
1enotypic variation is created by sexual reproduction
!n each parents, reproductive cells separate and form gametes, each of which
contain half the chromosome pair. The resulting fertili8ed cell is a 8ygote,
which has a uni%ue genotype and grows trough cell division. :ometimes
mutations occur through mitosis, if it is an advantage, it might spread.
,!ndustrial melanism$ 'ies went darker to hide from predators-. !f
disadvantaging they still stay in the gene pool ,recessive genes tend to stay
because don)t cause harm when not expressed- unless causes infertility.
1enes a4ect behaviour
Behavioural genetics$ the study of how genes and environment interact to
in'uence psychological activity.
Behavioural genetics methods$
Twin studies$ compare similarities between di7erent types of twins to
determine the genetic basis of specifc traits. Mono8ygotic twins$ result from
one 8ygote splitting in 1, both having the same genetic background, the .#5
is not perfectly the same. .i8ygotic twins$ 1 separately fertili8ed eggs.
5doption studies$ compare the similarities between biological relatives and
adoptive relatives. ,Jiving in the same home has no e7ect or very little on
behaviour however, identical twins raised together or apart or very likely to
be similar
4eritability$ a statistical estimate of the variation, caused by di7erences in
heredity, in a trait within a population. ,!f within a population a trait such as
height has a heritability of 2.G, that means G2 percent of height variation
among individuals within that population is hereditary.-
/ocial and environmental contexts in(uence genetic expression
:tudy with >222 #ewKOealanders. M5I is important in determining
susceptibility to the e7ect of maltreatment, because low levels of M5I have
been implicated in aggressive behaviours. Hood example of how
nature(nurture is entwined.
Henetic expression can be modifed
Cnockouts$ research mice from which genes have been knockout or rendered
inactive by being removed from or disrupted within the genome
<ritical thinking skill$ seeking disconfrming evidence.
+ow does the nervous system operate-
Neurones are speciali#ed for communication
#eurones are the basic units of the nervous system9 they operate through
electrical impulse and communicate with other neurones through chemical
signals. They have 3 functions$ taking in information from neighbouring
neurons ,receptions-, integrating those signals ,conduction-, and passing
signals to other neurones ,transmission-.
:ensory ,a7erent-$ detect information from the physical world and pass that
information to the brain. The sensory nerves that provide information form
muscles are called somatosensory.
Motor ,e7erent-$ neurones that transmit signals from the brain to the
muscles, causing them to move.
!nterneurones$ communicate within shortKdistance or local circuits and
integrate neural activity within a single area rather than transmitting
information to other brain structure or to the body organs.
Neurone structures
.endrites$ branchlike extensions of the neurone that detect information from
other neurons.
<ell body$ where the information of other neurones is collected and processed
5xon$ a long narrow outgrowth of the neurone by which information is
transmitted
Terminal buttons$ small nodules, at the end of the axon that release chemical
signals from the neurone to the synapse
:ynapse$ the site for chemical communication between neurones which
contain extracellular 'uid.
Myelin sheath$ a fatty material made up of glial cells that insulate the axon
and allows for rapid electrical impulses along the axon.
#odes of Eanvier$ small gaps of exposed axon, between the segments of
myelin sheath, where action potential are transmitted.
The resting membrane potential is negatively charged
6hen a neurone is not active, the inside and outside di7er electrically
because the ratio of negative to positive ions is greater inside the neurone
than outside it. <hanging this di7erential electrical charge, polari8ation,
creates the electrical energy necessary to power the fring of the neuron.
The roles of sodium and potassium$ contribute to the neurone)s resting
membrane potential. !ons pass through the cell through ion channels,
specifed pores located at the nodes of Eanvier that control the 'ow of ions
by a gating mechanism. 6hen the gate is opened the ions 'ow in and out of
the membrane. !on 'ow is also a7ected by membrane selective permeability$
more CM is inside the neurone than #aM, an imbalance that contributes to
polari8ation.
"ction potential cause neural communication
5ction potential ,neurone fring-$ electrical signal that passes along the axon
and causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons.
<hanges in electrical potential lead to action$ the signals, which work by
a7ecting polari8ation arrive at the dendrites and are of 1 types$ excitatory
,depolari8e the cell membrane, increasing the likelihood of it fring- and
inhibitory. !f the total amount of excitatory input from the other neurone
reaches the neuron)s threshold, an action potential is generated. 6hen a
neurone fres, the sodium gates in the cell open, allowing sodium ions to rush
into the neuron that becomes slightly more positively charged than the
outside. 5 fraction of a second later, a potassium channel opens, allowing CM
to rush out of the cell.
"ction potential spread along the axon
6hen a cell fres, the membrane)s depolari8ation moves along the axon like a
wave, an action called propagation. Jike dominoes, sodium ion channels open
successfully, always moving down the axon away from the cell body to the
terminal buttons. ,multiple sclerosis$ deterioration of the myelin sheath-
5ll or none principle$ the principle whereby a neuron fres with the same
potency each time, although fre%uency may vary9 it either fres if it receives
enough signal to raise the voltage or doesn)t fre at all. 4ow often the
neurons fre depends on the strength of the signal.
Neurotransmitters bind to receptors across the synapse
The neurone that sends the signal is call preKsynaptic, and the neurone that
receives the signal is call postsynaptic.
#eurotransmitter$ a chemical substance that carries signal from one neurone
to the other, and are released once the vesicles of the terminal buttons once
the potential reaches them.
Eeceptors$ speciali8ed protein molecule, on the postsynaptic membrane that
neurotransmitters bind to after passing across the synaptic cleft.
#eurotransmitters bind with specifc receptors$ more than G2 chemicals
transmit information
Ince neurotransmitters are released, they continue to fll and stimulate that
receptor, and they block now signals until their in'uence is terminated. The 3
maor events that terminate the transmitter)s in'uence in the synaptic cleft
are reuptake, en8yme deactivation and autoKreception.
Eeuptake$ occurs when the neurotransmitters are taken back into the preK
synaptic terminal buttons.
;n8yme deactivation$ occurs when an en8yme destroys the transmitter
substance in the synaptic cleft.
5utoKreceptors$ receptors to which the neurotransmitter can bind to on the
preKsynaptic neurone, they monitor how much neurotransmitter has been
released into the synapse. 6hen in excess, the autoKreceptors signal the preK
synaptic neurons to stop the release.
5ll neurotransmitters trigger or inhibit action potentials, their e7ect are a
function of the receptors to which they bind, which in return determine which
neurons will fre or less likely to fre.
Neurotransmitters in(uence mind and behaviour
5gonist$ drugs and toxins that enhance neurotransmitters) action
5ntagonist$ drugs and toxins that inhibit these actions.
.rugs and toxin can also bind to the receptors, mimicking neurotransmitters.
,4eroin, cocaine-
Types of neurotransmitters
5cetylcholine ,5<h-$ responsible for motor control at the unction between
nerves and muscles9 also involved in mental processes such as learning,
memory, sleeping and dreaming. Botulism ,inhibits the release of 5<h, also
used as Botox, paraly8ing muscles that cause wrinkles- 5l8heimer)s disease is
associated with diminished 5<h. .rugs that are 5<h antagonist may enhance
memory. +our of these are called monoamines ,epinephrine, norepinephrine,
serotonine, and dopamine-. Their maor function is to control states of arousal
and a7ect feelings and to motivate behaviour.
;pinephrine$ neurotransmitter responsible for adrenaline rushes, bursts of
energy caused by its release throughout the body
#oreinephrine$ involved in states of arousal and awareness. !t inhibits the
response to weak synaptic inputs and strengthens or maintains
responsiveness to strong one.
:erotonin$ important in a wide range of psychological activity, including
emotional states, impulse control, and dreaming. Jow levels of serotonin are
associated with sad and anxious moods, food cravings, and aggressive
behaviour. "sed to treat I<., depression, eating disorders ,Pro8ac hello-
.opamine$ involved in reward, motivation and motor control
Parkinson)s disease$ a neurological disorder that seems to be caused by
dopamine depletion ,the dopamine producing neurones slowly die o7-
marked by muscular rigidity, tremors and diFculty initiation voluntary
actions. Treated with JK.IP5. !mplantation o7 foetus cells in the brain can
help.
H5B5 ,gamma aminobutyric acid- is the primary inhibitory transmitter in the
nervous system. 6ithout it, synaptic excitation might get out of control
,epileptic sei8ures-. By a7ecting H5B5 receptors, alcohol produces a relaxed
feeling and interferes with motor coordination.
Hlutamate$ the primary excitatory transmitter in the nervous system, opening
sodium gates, and is involved in fastKtransmission throughout the brain.
Hlutamate receptors aid in learning and memory by strengthening synaptic
connections.
;ndorphins$ involved in natural pain reduction and reward.
:ubstance P$ involved in pain perception as well as mood states and anxiety.
,chilli peppers-
'hat are the brain structure and their functions-
<entral nervous system ,<#:-$ the brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system ,P#:-$ all the other nerve cells in the body that are
not part of <#:.
The 1 systems are anatomically di7erent but their functions are
interdependent$ the P#: transmit a variety of information to the <#:, which
organi8es and evaluates that information and then directs the P#: to perform
specifc behaviours or make bodily adustments.
The brain: a brief history of understanding its functions
Phineas Hage$ a huge road went through his head resulting in mood changes.
4is recovery help argue that the entire brain works uniformly and that the
healthy parts had taken over the damaged parts. The medical community
eventually recogni8ed that Hage)s psychological impairments had been
severe and that some areas of the brain in fact have specifc functions. 4is
inuries to the frontal region of the brain lead researchers to think that this
regions is particularly concerned with social phenomena, such as following
social norms, understanding what other people are thinking, and feeling
emotionally connected to others
;gyptians thought that the heart was the mind)s home. Hreeks and Eomans
recogni8ed that it was the brain. By the beginning of the >B
th
century,
anatomists understood the brain)s basic structures reasonably well. But
debates about how mental activity is generated still occurred.
;%uipotentiality$ all areas of the brain are e%ually important in cognitive
activities
Phrenology ,Hall, :pur8heim-$ the brain operates though functional
locali8ation. !t is the practice of assessing personality traits and mental
abilities by measuring bumps on the human skull. Psychographs were used to
tell about participants) personalities based on the location and si8es of bumps
on their heads.
Jashley set out to identify the places in the brain where learning occurs. 4e
believed that specifc regions were involved in motor control and sensory
experiences, but that all other parts contributed to mental activity.
The >
st
strong evidence that the brain regions perform speciali8ed functions
came from the physician and anatomist Paul Broca ,performed an autopsy on
Jeborgne who could only say the word tan, but could still understand
language. 6hen he observed, he found out that there was a large lesion on
the left side, which lead him to conclude that this region is important for
speech
Broca)s regions$ the left frontal region of the brain, crucial for the production
of language.
The invention of brain imaging methods in the late >B?2s has lead to great
breakthrough.
The brainstem houses the basic programs of survival
:pinal cord$ a rope of neural tissue that runs inside the hollows of the
vertebrae from ust above the pelvis up to the base of the skull. !t coordinates
each re'ex and carries out sensory information up to the brain and carries
signal form the brain to the body parts below. !t is composed of 1 di7erent
tissues$
The gray matter$ dominated by neurones) cell bodies
6hite matter$ consists of mostly axons and the fatty sheaths that surround
them
!n the base of the skull, the spinal cord thickens and becomes more complex
as it transforms into the brainstem, consisting in the medulla oblonda, the
pons and the midbrain, it houses the nerves that control the most basic
functions of survival, such as breathing, swallowing, vomiting, urination and
orgasm. !t performs functions for the head similar to those that the spinal
cord performs for the body. Many re'exes emerge from here analogous to the
spinal re'exes. The brainstem also contains a network of neurones, known
collectively as the reticular formation that proect up into the cerebral cortex
and a7ect general alertness, and is also involved in terminating the di7erent
stages of sleep.
The cerebellum is essential for movement
<erebellum$ large protuberance connected to the back of the brainstem. !t is
extremely important for proper motor function, and lesion to its di7erent
parts produce very di7erent e7ects.
.amage to the little nodes at the bottom causes a head tilt, balance
problems, and a loss of smooth compensation of eye position for head
movement. .amage to the ridge that runs up its back$ a7ects walking.
.amage to the bulging lobes on either side$ cause a loss of limb coordination.
!ts most important role is in motor learning$ it seems to be trained by the rest
of the nervous system and operates independently and unconsciously. Eecent
studies indicate that it is involved in various cognitive processes such as
making plans, remembering events, using language, and experiencing
emotion ,even empathy-
/ubcortical structures control emotions and basic drives
+orebrain$ consists of 1 cerebral hemispheres and includes the cerebral
cortex, subcortical regions which contain the hypothalamus, thalamus,
hippocampus, amygdala, and the basal ganglia. :ome of these structures
belong to the limbic system that separates brainstem and cerebellum from
the cerebral cortex. The structures in the limbic system are important for
controlling basic drives ,eating, drinking, and emotions-
4ypothalamus$ brain)s master regulatory structure that receives input from
almost everywhere in the body and brain and proects its in'uence
throughout the body. !t a7ects many internal organs) functions, regulating
body temperature, rhythms, blood pressure and glucose. !t is also involved in
many basic drives ,thirst, hunger, aggression, and lust-
Thalamus$ the gateway to the cortex$ almost all sensory information goes
through it before reaching the cortex, except for the sense of smell that has a
direct route to the cortex. .uring sleep, it shuts the gate on incoming
sensations while the brain rests
4ippocampus$ plays an important role in the storage of new memories by
creating new interconnections within the cerebral cortex with each new
experience. 5 new hypothesis suggests that it may be involved in how we
remember the arrangements of both places and obects in space. ,Maguire
found that the hippocampus was more developed in taxi drivers than other
drivers, 1223-. Thus, it changes with experience.
5mygdala$ serves a vital role in our learning to associate things in the world
with emotional responses, enabling the organism to overrule instinctive
responses by connecting memories of things to the emotions engendered by
those things. !t also intensifes memory)s function during times of emotional
arousal. !t plays a special role in responding to stimuli that elicit fear
,evolution$ protection of animals from danger- and is involved in evaluating a
facial expressions) emotional signifcance ,activates specially in response to a
fearful face-. Eecent studies show that it is involved in the processing of more
positive emotions ,sexual arousal-.,:tudy 4amman, amygdala activity
increases when people view sexual things and its activity is greater in men,
because men are more responsive to visual sexual stimuli9 this suggest that
the amygdala may play a role in greater responsiveness.
Basal ganglia$ a system of subcortical structures crucial for planning and
producing movement. They receive input from the cortex and proect to the
motor centers of the brainstem and, via the thalamus, back to the cortex)s
maor planning areas.
#ucleus accumbens$ structure within the ganglia that provides a good
example of how environment interacts with the brain. !t has been shown that
it is important for experiencing reward. ,5 study shows that viewing pictures
of sports cars lead to greater activation in men-
The cerebral cortex underlies complex mental activity
<erebral cortex$ the outer layer of the brain tissue, which forms the
convoluted surface of the brain. !t is the site of all thoughts, detailed
perceptions and consciousness. !t is also the source of culture and
communication that allow us to learn fne distinctions and intricate details of
the outside world. ;ach cerebral hemisphere has = lobes$ occipital, parietal,
temporal and frontal. The corpus callosum$ a massive bridge of millions of
axons that connects the 1 hemispheres together and allows information to
'ow between them.
Iccipital lobe$ back portion of the brain devoted mainly to vision. !t consists
of many visual areas. The primary visual cortex is by far the largest and is the
maor destination for visual information which is typically organi8ed for the
cerebral cortex in a way that preserves spatial relationships. :urrounding the
primary visual cortex is a patchwork of secondary visual areas that process
various attributes of the visual image ,colors, forms and motions-
Parietal lobe$ devoted partially to touch and includes the primary
somatosensory cortex. The left hemisphere receives touch information from
the right side of the body and the right hemisphere, from the left side of the
body. This information is represented by the somatosensory cortex in a way
that groups nearby sensations. The result is a distorted ,because more
cortical area is devoted to the body)s more sensitive areas ,face and fngers--
representation of the body$ the somatosensory homunculus. ,hemineglet
,damage to right side of the parietal lobe- patients would only draw the right
side of an obect-
Temporal lobes$ holds the primary auditory complex, speciali8ed visual areas
,for recogni8ing detailed obects such as faces-, the hippocampus and
amygdala.
+usiform face area$ at the intersection of the temporal and occipital cortices,
it is much more active when people look at faces than anything else.
+rontal lobes$ essential for planning and movement. The rearmost portions of
the frontal lobes are the motor areas including the premotor cortex and the
primary motor complex. !t includes neurones that proect directly to the
spinal cord to move the body)s muscles. !ts responsibilities are divided down
the middle of the body, like those of sensory areas, the left controls the right
and the right controls the left.
Prefrontal cortex$ a region of the frontal lobes ,32N of brain- responsible for
directing and maintaining attention, keeping ideas in mind and developing
and acting on plans. !ndispensable for rational activity, it is especially
important for many aspects of human social life, such as understanding what
other people are thinking, behaving according to norms, and even
contemplating our own existence. !t provides both our sense of self and our
capacity to empathi8e with others or feel guilty about harming them.
+ow are neural messages integrated into communication systems-
This section describes the interaction of the nervous system and a di7erent
mode of communication, the endocrine system, in the production of
psychological activity.
The PN/ includes the somatic and the autonomic systems
:omatic nervous system$ transmits sensory signals to the <#: via nerves and
the <#: sends signals through the somatic nervous system to initiate,
modulate, or inhibit movement,
5utonomic nervous system$ regulates the body)s internal environment by
stimulating glands and by maintaining internal organs. #erves in the 5#:
carry somatosensory signals to the <#:, providing information about the
body)s condition.
1 types of signals travel from the <#: to organs and glands in the P#: that
control most of our internal organs$
:ympathetic division of 5#:$ prepares the body for action
Parasympathetic division of 5#:$ returns the body to its normal resting state
The endocrine system communicates through hormones
;ndocrine system$ a communication system that uses hormones to in'uence
thoughts, behaviours and actions.
4ormones$ chemical substances released into the bloodstream by the
endocrine glands ,thyroid, testes, ovaries- and travel until they reach their
target tissues, where they bind to receptor sites and in'uence those tissues.
They can take hours or minutes to a7ect tissues and once they are active
their a7ects can last for a long time and a7ect multiple targets.
+ormonesA e4ect on sexual behaviour
The main endocrine glands a7ecting sexual behaviour are the gonads. The 1
maor gonadal hormones are identical in males and females, but the %uantity
di7ers$ androgens ,testosterone- are more predominant in males and
estrogens ,estradiol and progesterone- are more prevalent in females. These
hormones in'uence both the development of secondary sex characteristics
and adult sexual behaviour.
;strus$ period of the year when nonhuman females are sexually receptive
and fertile. Eemoval of the ovaries ends the estrus. !n female humans,
removal of the ovaries has no e7ect on their sexual behaviours.
"ctions of the nervous system and endocrine system are coordinated
"ltimately the endocrine system is controlled by the <#:. The brain interprets
external stimuli, and then sends signals to the endocrine system, which
responds by initiating various e7ects on the body and behaviour. Most of the
central control of the endocrine system is done by the hypothalamus.
Pituitary gland$ located at the base of the hypothalamus, it governs the
release of hormones form the rest of the endocrine glands. #eural activation
causes the hypothalamus to secrete a particular releasing factor that causes
the pituitary to release a hormone specifc to that factor. The hormone then
travels through the bloodstream to endocrine sites throughout the body. Ince
the hormone reaches the target area, it touches o7 the release of other
hormones, which a7ect bodily reaction of behaviour. By releasing hormones
in the bloodstream, it controls other glands and governs maor processes
,development, ovulation, and lactation-
+ow does the brain change-
Plasticity$ a property of the brain that allows it to change as a result of
experience, drugs or inury. !t re'ects the interactive nature of our biological
and psychological in'uence. The connections in the brain can change with
experience.
The brain fallows predictable developmental patterns, with di7erent
structures and abilities progressing at di7erent rates and maturing at
di7erent points in life.
The interplay of genes and environment wires the brain
6hich cells express which genes, and to what extent is determined by
environment. The constant interaction of nature and nurture a7ects our
.#5)s activity and the products of that activity.
Cell identity becomes ,xed over time
:tamp cells can take whatever functions depending on the nature of its
surroundings and the signals received. .uring the development of the
embryo, each cell becomes more and more speciali8ed and its functions
become crystalli8ed. <ell transplantation is very promising.
;xperience fneKtunes neural connections$ connections form between brain
structures when growing axons are directed by certain chemicals that tell
them where to go. The maor connections are given by chemical messengers,
while the detailed connections are given by experience.
<ritical periods$ time during which certain experiences must occur for
development to proceed normally. ,;xperience$ 1 groups of rats, the ones
with the luxury cage were the most developed-
Culture a4ects the brain
<ultural neuroscience$ studies cultural variables) e7ect on the brain, the
mind, the genes and the behaviour. !t consists of bringing information about
brain functions, analysing social and emotional processes, examination of
perceptual processes.
;vidence shows that cultural experiences in'uence perception and cognition
to the extent that cultural di7erences contribute to di7erent patterns of brain
activity. ,westerners focus more on obects than easterners- 6ithin cultural
contexts people learn which features in the environment merit more attention
because they are more important.
;vidence suggest that people are better at recogni8ing emotional expression
from people of their own culture, because they have more experience in
interpreting emotional expressions among those with whom they interact
regularly.
The amygdala shows increased activity when they view fearful expressions of
members of their own social groups
The brain rewires itself throughout life
The rewiring of the brain through life represents learning)s biological basis
<hanges in the strength of connections underlies learning. 5ll our memories
are re'ected in the brain)s physical changes in the strength of existing
connections ,not in its general arrangement-. Ine possibility is that when 1
neurones fre simultaneously, the synaptic connections between them
strengthens, making them more likely to fre together in the future. This
theory accounts for both the burning in of an experience and the ingraining of
habits.
"ntil recently, scientist believed that the brain couldn)t grow new neurones,
but it can and this process is called neurogenesis ,a lot in the hypocampus,
perhaps neurones can be lost and replaced without disrupting memory- which
plays a maor role in recovering from brain inury
;li8abeth Hould and her colleagues have shown that environmental
conditions play a large role in neurogenesis. !n some animals, stress is a
factor. .ominant animals show increase in new neurone formation. Thus,
social experiments can strongly a7ect brain plasticity, a dynamic process we
are only beginning to understand. #eurogenesis may underlie plasticity,
through that process, we could eliminate mental decline ,due to aging-.
Changes in the brain
The portions of the cerebral cortex shift in response to activity, wiring in the
brain is a7ected by amount of use.
<ortical reorgani8ation can have bi8arre results. +or example, phantom limb
,an amputee still feels as if his limb was there. This phenomenon suggests
that the brain has not reorgani8ed in response to the inury and that the
missing limb)s cortical representation remains intact. Eamachandran
discovered that an amputee who has lost a hand may when his eyes are
closed, perceive a touch on the cheek as if it were the missing hand. The
unused part of the amputee)s cortex assumes to some degree the function of
the closest group representing the face. The brain hasn)t kept pace with the
somatosensory area enough to fgure out these neurones) new ob, so the
neurones are activated by a touch on the amputee)s face.
The pu##le of synesthesia
Eamachandran inferred that the genes involved were related to brain
formation. 4e concluded that people with color(number synesthesia have the
region associated with seeing colors and the one associated with
understanding numbers connected or crossKwired. Ine portion of the brain
would have adopted the role of the other. 4e found evidence of neural
activity in the brain associated with color vision in synesthetes that were
presented black and white numbers. :ynesthesia remained in the gene pool
because it is advantageous, it allows creativity. More creactive people are
synesthetes.
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing unstated assumptions
0emalesA and malesA brain are similar and di4erent
:exual dimorphism$ the study of the di7erences in anatomic structures of the
brain.
Eichard 4aier found that females show greater use of languageKrelated brain
regions and that males show greater use of spatialKrelated brain regions,
even when participants are of matched intelligence.
Males generally have larger brains than females ,BN bigger-, this is not
better ,one developmental process in the brain involves disconnecting
neurones so that only the most useful connections remain-
+emales) brains are more bilaterally organi8ed for language$ the brain areas
used for processing language can be found in both hemispheres. The halves
of women)s brains are connected by more neural fbres than men)s are. There
is a portion of the corpus callosum that is larger in women.
The brain can recover from in;ury
The brain can reorgani8e in response to inury. +ollowing an inury in the
cortex, the surrounding gray matter assumes the role of the damaged area.
This remapping seems to begin immediately, and it continues for years. :uch
plasticity involves all levels of the nervous system. !t is much more prevalent
in children than adults.
Eadical hemispherectomy$ the surgical removal of an entire cerebral
hemisphere. ,!n children-
:tem cells transplantations into the brain to repair damage.
Chapter $: sensation and perception
+ow do we sense our world-
:ensation$ our sense organs) detection of and responses to external stimuli
and the transmission of these responses to the brain.
Perception$ the process in the brain, organi8ation and interpretation of
sensory signals$ it results in an internal representation of the stimulus.
:timulus$ a green light emits physical properties in the form of photons
:ensation$ sensory receptors in the driver)s eye detect this stimuli
:ensory coding$ the stimulus is transducted ,translated into chemical and
electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain.
Perception$ the driver)s brain processes the neural signals and constructs a
representation of a green light ahead, which is interpreted as a sign to
continue driving
Perception is often based on our prior experiences, which shape our
expectations about new sensory experiences. 6hat we sense is the result of
our brain processes that actively construct perceptual experiences and, as a
result, allow us to adapt to our environments) details.
/timuli must be coded to be understood by the brain
:ensory coding$ our sensory organs) translations of stimuli)s physical
properties into neural impulses. The di7erent features of the physical
environment are coded by di7erent neural impulse patterns
The brain cannot process raw stimuli, so the stimuli must be translated into
chemical and electrical signals the brain can interpret. :ensory coding begins
with transduction, in which receptors, speciali8ed neurones in the sense
organs, pass impulses to connecting neurones when the receptors receive
physical or chemical stimulation. <onnecting neurones than transmit
information to the brain in the form of neural impulses.
Most sensory information goes to the thalamus. #eurones in the thalamus
then send information to the cortex, where incoming neural impulses are
interpreted in smell, sight, sound, touch or taste.
The brain needs %uantitative ,sensory neurones respond to %ualitative
di7erences by fring di7erent combinations- and %ualitative ,sensory
receptors respond by fring at di7erent rates- information about a stimulus.
<oarse coding$ sensory %ualities are coded by only a few di7erent types of
receptors, each of which respond to a broad range of stimuli. The combined
responses by di7erent receptors fring at di7erent rates allow us distinction.
Psychophysics relates stimulus to response
.eveloped in >B
th
century by 6eber and +echner examines our psychological
experiences of physical stimuli. !t assess how much physical energy is
re%uired for our sense organs to detect a stimulus and how much change is
re%uired before we notice that change.
/ensory thresholds
5bsolute threshold$ minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before
we experience a sensation, or the stimulus intensity detected above chance.
,the level of intensity at which participants correctly detect a stimulus D2N of
the time-
.i7erence threshold$ the ust noticeable di7erence between 1 stimuliK the
minimum amount of change re%uired for a person to detect a di7erence. !t
increases as the stimulus becomes more intense.
6eber)s law$ the ust noticeable di7erence between 1 stimuli is based on
proportion of the original stimulus rather than on fxed amount of di7erence.
.elta ! ( ! P a constant.
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing the e7ects of context on udgments
:ignal detection theory ,:.T-$ based on the idea that the detection of a faint
stimulus re%uires a udgment, it is not an all or none process.
Eesearch is based on a series of trials in which a stimulus is presented in only
some trials. !n each trial, participants must state if they sensed the stimulus,
it has = outcomes. !f the signal is presented and the participant detects it, the
outcome is a hit. !f the participant fails to detect the signal, than the outcome
is a miss. !f the participant L)detects)) a signal that was not presented, the
outcome is a false alarm. !f the signal is not presented and the participant
doesn)t detect it, the outcome is a correct reection. The participant)s
sensitivity to the signal is usually computed by comparing the hit rate with
the false alarm rate, thus correcting for any bias the participant may bring to
the testing situation.
Eesponse bias$ a participant)s tendency to report detecting the signal in an
ambiguous trial.
:ensory adaptation$ sensory systems are tuned to detect environmental
changes because they might re%uire response. !t is a decrease in sensitivity
to a constant level of stimulation. !f a stimulus is present constantly the
response of the sensory system that detects it is diminished over time.
'hat are the basic sensory processes-
Inly the neurones in the sensory organs respond directly to events in the
world. The other neurones respond to inputs of other neurones.
@n taste* taste buds detect chemicals
Hustation$ the sense of taste
Taste buds$ sensory receptors that transduce taste information. 6e have from
D22 to >2222. 6hen food stimulates them they send signals to the brain,
which then produces the experience of taste.
!n all the senses a near infnite variety of perceptual experiences arises from
the activation of uni%ue combination of receptors.
;very taste experience is composed of a mixture of D basic %ualities$ sweet,
sour, salty, bitter, umami ,yummy-. The last category arises from the
detection of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter that occur naturally in
foods such as meat, some cheese and mushrooms. Hlutamate is the sodium
salt of glutamic acid ,M:H-
Taste alone does not a7ect how much we like or dislike a certain type of food9
it also relies on the sense of smell. +ood)s texture matters as well. The entire
taste experience occurs in the brain, not in our mouth.
:upertasters$ particularly sensitivity to bitter foods, they have G times the
amount of taste buds.
Iur individual taste preferences come partly from our di7erent number of
taste receptors. <ultural factors in'uence as well, it can even begin in the
womb9 mothers pass their eating preferences to their o7spring.
@n smell the nasal cavity gathers odorants
Ilfaction$ the sense of smell, which occurs when receptors in the nose
respond to chemicals. !t has the most direct route to our brain. !n the nose
and nasal cavity the particles come in contact with the olfactory epithelium.
Ilfactory epithelium$ a thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity in which
thousands of receptors are embedded, and each category respond to
di7erent chemical groups. ;ach odour stimulates receptors and the activation
pattern across several receptor types determines the olfactory perception.
These receptors transmit information to the olfactory bulb$ the brain center
for smell, located below the frontal lobes. +rom here smell information goes
to other brain areas. :mell signals bypass the thalamus.
5reas in the prefrontal cortex process information about whether a smell is
pleasant or not, whereas the smell intensity is processed in the amygdala.
The prefrontal cortex is also involved in emotion and memory, thus olfactory
sensation can invoke feelings and memories.
+emales are better at perceiving and identifying odours than men are. They
also have better memories for odours. This is related to their capacities to
excel at certain verbal tasks$ they are more likely to label a smell giving them
mnemonic devices for retrieving particular smells. !t can also be because
women are more likely to feed infants and thus need to indentify spoiled
foods.
5s we age, our sensory perception becomes less acute. Eecent studies have
found that an impaired sense of smell is associated with an increased risk of
mental decline and of 5l8heimer)s disease.
@n touch* sensors in the s)in detect pressure* temperature and pain
4aptic sense$ sensation of temperature, pressure, pain and a sense of where
our limbs are in space. 6e really have ? senses because of the haptic sense)s
= parts ,hot, cold, pressure and pain- that are encountered separately.
5nything that makes contact with our skin provides tactile stimulation which
gives rise to an integrated experience of touch.
The haptic receptors for temperature and pressure are sensory neurones that
terminate in the skin)s outer layer. Their long axons enter the <#: by way of
spinal nerves. +or sensing temperature, there are separate receptors for
sensing cold and hot, although both can be triggered at the same time by
intense stimuli which can produce strange sensory experiences such as a
false feeling of wetness. :ome receptors for pressure are nerve fbbers at the
bases of hair follicles that respond to movement in the hair. Ither pressure
receptors are capsules in the skin that respond to continued vibration, to
sudden movements, and to steady pressure. Pain receptors are found
throughout the body, not ust in the skin.
The integration of various signals and higherKlevel mental processes produce
a tickling sensation, which can be pleasant or unpleasant depending on the
mental state of the person. :ome areas in the brain respond less to self
produced tactile stimulation than to external stimulations.
1 types of pain$ pain signals that we should stop from continuing harmful
activities. The actual experience of pain is created by the brain.
Most experiences of pain result when damage to the skin activates haptic
receptors. The nerve fbbers that convey pain information are thinner than
those for temperature or pressure and are found in all body tissues that sense
pain$ skin, muscles, membranes around both bones and oints, organs and so
on.
1 kinds of nerve fbbers for pain have been identifed$ fast fbbers for sharp
immediate pain and slow fbbers for chronic, dull steady pain. 5n important
distinction is the myelination ,fast fbbers- or nonmyelination ,slow fbbers- of
their axon, which travel from pain receptors to the spinal cord.
1ate control theory$ the brain regulates the experience of pain, sometimes
producing it, sometimes repressing it. Theory from Mel8ack and 6all ,>B?1-
that states$ for us to experience pain, pain receptors must be activated and a
neural gate in the spinal cord must allow the signals though the brain. Pain
signals are transmitted by small diameter nerve fbbers, which can be
blocked at the level of the spinal cord by the fring of larger sensory nerve
fbbers. Thus sensory nerve fbbers can close a gate and prevent or reduce
the sensation of pain. .istraction can also close the gate whereas worrying or
focusing on the pain seems to open the gate. Because pain is processed in
the same brain area as stress, fear and anxiety, it is a sensory experience,
and an emotional response.
Pain perception is complex and depends on biological, psychological and
cultural factors. !t has been shown that women are more sensitive to pain
than men are9 the evidence comes from autonomic QinvoluntaryK responses.
Thus there might be sexKrelated pain treatments.
Ine new method in treating pain takes advantages of advances in brain
imaging that allow us to see which parts of the brain are active when we feel
pain . Pain perception is divided in 1 areas in the brain. The >
st
area$ responds
to sensory input from the part of the body that is in pain. The 1
nd
area
registers the emotional aspect of pain. 6hen we feel pain both areas are
active. /isualising pain positively helps to reduce it.
Pain medication blocks the signal transmission of pain to the brain. Heneral
anaesthesia slows down the fring of neurones throughout the nervous
system.
@n hearing* the ears detect sound waves
5udition$ is second to vision as a source of information about the world, it is
the perception of sound.
4earing results from the movements and vibrations of obects caused by
displacement of air molecules. .isplaced molecules produce a change in air
pressure. 5nd that change travels through the air.
:ound wave$ pattern of changes in air pressure throughout time. The
amplitudes determines loudness ,higher is perceived is louder- and the
fre%uency ,48$ vibration(sec- determines the pitch ,higher fre%uencies
correspond to higher pitch-. 6e can detect fre%uencies from 12 to 12222 48.
Ince again, it is perceived in the brain.
4earing is based on interactions of various regions of the ear, which convert
sound waves into brain activity, producing the sensation of sound. <hanges in
air pressure produce sound waves that arrive at the outer ear and travel
down the auditory canal to the eardrum, a membrane stretched tightly across
the canal and marking the beginning of the middle ear. The sound waves
make the eardrum vibrate. These vibrations are transferred to ossicles ,3
tinny bones$ hammer, anvil, stirrup-. The ossicles transfer the eardrum
vibrations to the oval window, a membrane of the cochlea, or inner ear, a
'uidKflled tube. Eunning through the center of the cochlea is the thin basilar
membrane. The oval window)s vibrations create pressure waves in the inner
ear)s 'uid that prompt the hair cells to bend and cause neurones on the
basilar membrane to fre. These hair cells are the primary auditory receptors.
Thus the mechanical signal of a sound wave hitting the eardrum is converted
into a neural signal that travels to the brain via the auditory nerve.
Jocating sounds$ the sensory receptors don)t code where the events occur.
The brain integrates the di7erent information coming from the ears.
"nderstanding comes from the observation of barn owl which locates an
obect using 1 cues$ the time the sound arrives in each ear and the sound)s
intensity in each ear. 6e use a similar process.
@n vision* the eyes detect light waves
Jight >
st
passes though the cornea ,the clear outer covering of the eye-. The
cornea focuses incoming light in a process called refraction. Jights rays then
enter and are bent farther inward by the lens, which focuses the light to form
a single image on the retina, the inner surface of the back of the eyeball.
5lthough more refraction occurs at the cornea than at the lens, the lens is
adustable whereas the cornea is not.
The pupil is a small opening in front of the lens that determines how much
light can enter by dilating or contracting. The iris is a coloured muscular circle
on the surface of the eye that changes shape to let in more or less light by
controlling the pupil)s si8e.
Behind the iris, muscles change the shape of the lens, 'attening it to see
distant obects and thickening it to see close obects, this process is called
accommodation.
The lens and cornea work together to collect and focus light rays re'ected
from an obect, to form on the retina an upsideKdown image of the obect. The
eyes send information to the brain not as a complete picture but as bits of
information transmitted through neural signals. The visual system uses
patterns of neurones that fre at di7erent rates and in di7erent combinations
to represent the external world.
Eods and cones$ the retina)s receptor cells
Eods$ respond to low levels of illumination and result in black and white
perception, good for night vision and resolve details poorly. >12 M
<ones$ respond to higher level of illumination and result in color and detail
perception. GM
6ithin the rods and cones, light sensitive chemicals called photopigments
initiate the transduction of light waves into electrical neural impulses.
+ovea$ region in the center of the retina where cones are densely packed.
<ones are scarce near the outside edge, whereas rods are all located at the
retina)s edge, none are in the fovea
Transmission from the eye to the brain
;lectrical signals are generated by the photoreceptors in the retina. Jight is
transduced into neural impulses by the rods and cones. Ither cells in the
retina ,bipolar, amacrine, hori8ontal- perform on those impulses a series of
sophisticated computations that help the visual system process the incoming
information. The outputs from these cells converge on about >M ganglion
cells, the >
st
cells in the visual pathway to generate action potentials.
The ganglion cells send their signals along their axon form inside the eye to
the thalamus. The axons bundle up to form the optic nerve, which exits the
eye at the back of the retina. The point at which the retina has no cones or
rods and is called the black point. The brain can fll in so that there are no
discontinuations. 5t the optic chiasm half the axons in the optic nerves cross.
!nformation from the left side of the visual space is proected into the brain)s
right hemisphere and vice versa. The >
st
synapse of the maority of the
ganglion cells lies within the visual areas of the thalamus, and visual
information is transmitted from there to the primary visual cortex, cortical
areas in the occipital lobe. The pathway from the retina to this region carries
all the information that we consciously experience as seeing.
The detection of visual information
;ach neurone has a particular tuning. 5 given visual neuron)s tuning specifes
its receptive feld, the population of sensory receptors that in'uence activity
in a sensory neurone.
Ine of the most popular receptive felds is a circle that consists of a center
region and a surrounding region. Jight directed toward the center region
causes the cell to become more active, whereas light directed toward the
surrounding region inhibits the cell)s fring.
7ateral inhibition
Iur visual system is especially sensitive to edges because they tell us where
obects end.
Jateral inhibition$ process by which adacent photoreceptors tend to inhibit
one another, emphasi8ing the changes in visual stimuli. ,an obect will look
lighter against a black background-
The color of light is determined by its wavelength
6e are seeing light waves ranging from =22 to A22 nm. The color of light is
determined by the wavelengths of the electromagnetic waves that reaches
the eye. There are 3 kinds of cones9 each kind is most receptive to specifc
wavelengths.
<olors are categori8ed along 1 dimensions$ hue ,distinctive characteristics
that place a particular color in the spectrum-, brightness ,intensity or
luminance- and saturation ,color)s purity, the vividness of the hue, and varies
according to the mixture of wavelengths in a stimulus. Jightness is
determined by its brightness relative to its surroundings. Pure colors have
only > wavelength.
/ubtractive color mixing
5 color is determined by the mixture of the wavelengths from a stimulus. 5ny
given color may be produced in either 1 ways, depending on the stimuli$
subtractive and additive mixture of wavelengths.
:ubtractive$ a way to produce a given spectral pattern in which the mixture
occurs within the stimulus itself and is actually a physical process
Paint is determined by pigments that absorb wavelengths and re'ect the
wavelength that corresponds to the color we perceive. Eed, yellow and blue
are subtractive primary colors.
5dditive$ a way to produce a given spectral pattern in which di7erent
wavelengths of light are mixed. The percept is determined by the interaction
of these wavelengths with receptors in the eye and is psychological. Primary
additive colors are red, green and blue. 6hen added, they yield white light.
.xplaining color vision
<olor is a property of our visual system9 it doesn)t exist in the physical world.
Ine type of cone is more sensitive to green light ,medium wl-, another to red
light ,long wl- and another to blue light ,short wl-. The cones are named
:,M,J. Rellow looks yellow because it stimulate the J and M cones and barely
the :. Iur perception of di7erent colors is determined by the ratio of activity
among the 3 types of receptors.
:ome colors seem to be opposites$ when we stare at a red image, we see a
green afterimage when we look away. 6e also have trouble imagining
di7erent color mixtures. This cannot be explained by the responses of the
di7erent cones in the retina. 6e must turn to the second stage of visual
processing, which occurs at the ganglions cells. .i7erent combinations of
cones converge on the ganglion cells. Ine type of ganglion cell may receive
input from J cones, but may be inhibited by M cones. These cells create the
perception that red and green are opposites. This process was discovered by
Mc<ollough, but is not fully understood yet.
:imultaneous contrast$ an optical illusion in which identical stimuli appear
di7erent when presented against di7erent backgrounds. There is lateral
inhibition in the retina that emphasises the di7erence between an obect and
its background.
+umans and animals have other sensory systems
6e have internal sensory systems that send information to the brain.
Cinesthetic sense$ perception of our limbs in space which helps us coordinate
movement.
/estibular sense$ perception of balance and uses data from the receptors in
the semi circular canals of the inner ear which contains a li%uid that moves
when the head moves, generating nerve impulses that inform us of the
head)s position.
5nimals have sonar senses and electroreception. These animals produce calls
and then respond to the echoes of those calls9 the system is bisonar because
the sound waves emanate from the animal. ;lectroreception operates in a
similar way$ some fsh emit an electrical feld and then analyse disruption in
the feld to avoid predators or fnd pray.
The evidence form extrasensory perception >./P? is wea) or
nonexistent
4oward 4ughes in :ensory ;xotica ,1222- points out that humans and other
animals have several internal sensory systems in addition to the D primary
senses. The evidence for a G
th
sense is purely anecdotal and isn)t scientifc.
4onorton ,>BB=- in his study, a L)sender)) in a soundproof booth focused on
randomly generated images, and a receiver in another room tried to sense
the sender)s imagery. The receiver was asked to choose among =
alternatives, one of them being correct. They were right about 33N of the
time.
'hat are the basic perceptual processes-
Perception occurs in the brain
4earing$ auditory neurones in the thalamus extend their axons to the primary
auditory cortex ,5>-, in the temporal lobe. #eurones in this region code the
fre%uency of auditory stimuli. #eurones toward the 5> respond best to lower
fre%uencies, whereas those in the front of the 5> respond to higher
fre%uencies.
Touch$ touch info from the thalamus is proected in the primary
somatosensory cortex ,:>-, in the parietal lobe. Penfeld discovered that
electrical stimulation of the :> could evoke sensation of touch in di7erent
regions of the body and found that neighbouring body parts tented to be
represented next to one another in the :>, so that the body is e7ectively
mapped out there according to physical proximity. Most sensitive body parts
have more cortical tissue dedicated to them.
/ision$ some estimates that up to half the cerebral cortex may participate in
visual perception in some way. The primary visual cortex ,/>- is in the
occipital lobe. The neural pathway from the retina to the occipital lobe
preserves spatial relationships, so that adacent areas of the retina
correspond to adacent areas in the />. 4ubel and 6iesel ,>BG1- began
exploring the properties of neurons in /> by recording activity from single
cells. They discovered that some neurones in the /> respond more to lines in
particular orientations. The fring of these cells, termed simple cells
decreased as the orientation of the line segment is rotated away from their
preferred orientation. !t was also found that there are neurones that
specialise in detecting colors, end of lines, or more complex visual features.
'hat versus where
#eurones in di7erent parts of the brain tend to have di7erent types of
receptor felds. These areas appear to process specifc aspects of visual
stimulus ,color and motion-.
Ine theory proposes that visual areas beyond /> form 1 parallel processing
streams$ the lower ventral stream that is speciali8ed for the perception and
recognition of obects ,color, shapes- and the upper dorsal stream that is
specialised for spatial perception. These 1 streams are known as the what
pathway and the where pathway. :tudies have shown that brain regions in
the upper pathway are activated by tasks that re%uire decisions about spatial
relationship, whereas regions in the lower pathway are activated by tasks
that re%uire identifying obects.
..+. had obect agnosia, the inability to recogni8e obects. 4er conscious
visual perception of obects was impaired.
9b;ect perception re5uires construction
!llusions reveal the operation of the mechanism that helps our visual systems
determine the si8e and distances of obects in the visual environment.
1estalt >shape or form* organi#ed whole? principles of perceptual
organi#ation
5 series of laws explain how we perceive features of a visual scene are
grouped in organi8ed wholes. Iur brain uses innate principles to organi8e
sensory information.
Proximity$ the closer obects are, the more likely we are to group them and
view them as the same obect.
:imilarity$ we group fgures according to how closely they resemble each
other
5ccording to both of these principles, we tend to cluster elements of the
visual scene, enabling us to consider them as whole rather than individual
parts.
The best forms$ how we perceive a form)s feature
Hood continuation$ tendency to interpret intersecting lines as continuous
rather than as changing directions radically. Hood contour continuation
appears to play a role in completing an obect behind an occluder, anything
that hides a portion of an obect from the view.
<losure$ tendency to complete fgures that have gaps.
!llusionary contours$ illustrates several gestalt principles and refers to the fact
that we perceive contours even though they do not exist. They appear when
stimulus confgurations suggest that contours ought to be present.
0igure and ground
Eeversible fgure illusion ,face vs. background-. #isbett ,122>- found that
easterners are more likely to be in'uenced by the background of a fgure,
whereas westerners will more likely extract the fgure from its background.
Memories of a particular shape can inform shape processing.
<ottom8up and top8down information processing
BottomKup$ a hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which data are
relayed from one processing level to the next, always moving to a higher
level of processing.
TopKdown$ a hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which information at
higher levels of processing can also in'uence lower, earlier levels in the
process, which is why context a7ects perception.
0aulty expectations can lead to faulty perceptions
+ace perception reveals more about the person than anything else. <ertain
brain regions are dedicated only to perceiving them. 5 region of the fusiform
gyrus, in the right hemisphere, may be responsible for perceiving faces. This
brain area responds strongly to upright faces. Ither brain areas are sensitive
to changes in faces, such as facial expression and ga8e direction. 5 face)s
emotional signifcance appears to be activated by the amygdala.
:tudies show that people more %uickly respond to angry faces that happy
ones. 5nger is recogni8ed faster in men whereas happy is recogni8ed faster in
women. Thus facial recognition supports the idea that the mind is adaptive.
+emales of all age more accurately recogni8e faces, and even more
accurately female faces.
Both sexes have diFculty recogni8ing upside down faces because it interferes
with the way we perceive features. ,Tatcher illusion-
People are better at recogni8ing faces of their own racial groups
:egaining vision by ,xing the eyes
Most people who become blind have lost sensory input from the retina, yet
they will remember what obects look like. Iperations on people who have
been blind for a short time, will work and they will see as before. +or
someone who has been blind for a long time, the sight might not be perfect.
,May couldn)t recogni8e faces, had problems with motion and depth-. Thus, if
a cortical region has been inactive in perception, it ceases to develop
normally.
;sref 5rmagan$ born blind, but can paint realistic paintings
6epth perception is important for locating ob;ects
4ow are we able to construct a 3 dimensional mental representation of a 1
dimensional retinal input* 5 3 dimensional array creates exactly the same
image on the retina than does a photograph of the same array. 6e are able to
perceive depth in these 1 dimensional patterns because the brain applies the
same rules that it uses to work out the spatial relations between obects in
the 3. world. To do this the brain exploits certain prior assumptions it has
about the nature of the relationship between 1. image cues and 3. world
structure. This depth cues can be divided in 1 categories
Binocular depth cue$ cues of depth perception that arise because people
have 1 eyes
Monocular depth cues$ cues of depth perception that are available to each
eye alone.
<inocular depth perception
Binocular disparity$ a cue of depth perception that is caused by the distance
between a person)s eyes, which provides each eye with a slightly di7erent
overlapping image that allows the brain to compute distance to nearby
obects.
:tereoscopic vision$ the ability to determine an obect)s depth based on that
obect)s proections to each eye.
:tereoscope$ create by 6heatstone ,>?3?-. 5llows a viewer to perceive depth
in a pair of 1. pictures taken from a slightly di7erent perspective. The
resulting 3. image is due to the brain)s reconciling the disparate image
created by each eye.
Brewster ,>?=B- invented the kaleidoscope, created the autostererogramK an
optical illusion that turns specially designed pairs of 1. images into 3.
images by presenting them in an unfocused manner.
3onocular depth perception
Pictoral depth cues$ used by artists ,.a /inci-, they include$
Icclusion$ a near obect blocks an obect that is farther away
Eelative si8e$ far o7 obects proect a smaller retinal image than close obects
do.
+amiliar si8e$ we know how large familiar obects are, so we can tell how far
away they are by the si8e of their retinal images.
Jinear perspective$ parallel lines appear to converge in the distance
Texture gradient$ as a uniformly textured surface recedes, its texture
continuously becomes denser.
Position relative to hori8on$ all else being e%ual, obects below the hori8on
that appear higher in the visual feld are perceived as being farther away.
Ibects above the hori8on that appear lower in the visual feld are perceived
as being farther away.
Culture in(uences perception
MuellerKJyer illusion provides a way of answering the %uestion of whether
people automatically use pictures) depth cues or whether they learn how to
use them. People who lived in more urban areas can identify things in the
picture better than those in rural areas. Those who were more acculturated to
larger cities identifed things better than those who were less acculturated.
People who live in uncarpented worlds, who have little knowledge of modern
technologies and are unfamiliar with 1. representation of the world, will more
likely perceive the line in the MuelleKJyer illusion as the same length.
3otion cues for depth perception
Motion parallax$ the relative movements of obects that are at various
distances from the observer. ,motion of obects passing by in a car- !t helps
the brain to calculate which obects are farther away and which are closer.
/i#e perception depends on distance perception
The si8e of a retinal image is proportional to the distance of that obect, the
further it is, the smaller it appears on the retina. Iptical illusions arise when
normal perceptual processes incorrectly represents the distance between the
viewer and the stimuliKdepth cues fools us into seeing depth when it is not
there.
5mes boxes$ <rafted by 5delbert 5mes ,>B=2-$ these boxes plays with linear
perspective and other distance cues. Ine such room makes a far corner
appear the same distance as a near corner. The child in the farthest corner
doesn)t appear further, so he looks taller.
Pon8o illusion$ described by Mario Pon8o ,>B>3-, it is another example of a
si8e(distance illusion. Monocular depth cues make the 1. image appear 3..
They make the 1 nonKparallel lines seem parallel, mimicking a railroad, so
that the 1 parallel lines appear as if they were at di7erent distances, thus not
the same length.
4ori8ontal(/ertical illusion$ hori8ontal lines look shorter than vertical ones,
either because our visual feld is wider than it is tall or because we
unconsciously interpret the vertical dimension as receding in the distance,
thus being longer, or because our eyes rest in hori8ontal sockets, so looking
up and down is more e7ortful than looking side to side.
The moon illusion$ the moon looks much bigger when it is close to the hori8on
than when it is overhead, the distance remains the same and the image on
the retina is of the same si8e. 6hen the moon is overhead, there are no
depth cues that indicate that the moon is really far away. The brain can
reconciliate this discrepancy only by assuming that the moon is larger when
overhead. 5nother theory is that we unconsciously believe that the sky is an
inverted soup bowl9 we udge the moon to be larger at the hori8on because
we unconsciously assume that it is farther away.
3otion perception has internal and external cues
The brain can perceive motion because it has some neurones that fre when
movement occurs. ,M.P. a Herman who would not see motion, rather ust
fro8en images and snapshots-
Motion after e7ects$ occur when we ga8e at a moving image for a prolonged
period of time and then look at a stationary scene, and experience a
momentary impression that it is moving in the opposite direction from the
moving image. This illusion is called the waterfall e7ect. 5fter e7ects are
strong evidence that motion sensitive neurons exist. The theory behind this
illusion combines sensory adaptation with neural specifcity. The visual cortex
has neurons that respond to movement in a given direction. 6hen we stare at
a moving stimulus for a long time, these direction specifc neurons begin to
adapt and therefore become less sensitive. !f the stimulus is removed, the
neurones responding to all the other directions are more active.
<ompensatory e7ect$ the brain calculates an obect)s perceived movements
by monitoring the movement of the eyes, and perhaps also the head, as they
track a moving obect, !n addition, motion detectors track an image)s motion
across the retina, as the receptors in the retina fre one after the other.
:troboscopic e7ect$ perceptual illusion that occurs when 1 or more slightly
di7erent images are presented in a rapid succession. 6ertheimer ,Hestalt-
,>B>1-$ 1 images 'ashed less the 32 ms, were thought to be 'ashed
simultaneously, but at intervals over 122 ms, the 1 lines were seen 'ashed at
1 di7erent times. 5t an interval of about G2ms, the lines appeared to ump
from one place to another9 at slightly longer intervals, the line appeared to
move continuouslyKa phenomenon called phi movement.
Perceptual constancies are based on ratio relationships
Perceptual constancy$ the brain correctly perceives obects as constant
despite sensory data that could lead it to think otherwise ,changing an
obect)s angle, distance, illumination doesn)t change our perception of that
obect)s si8e, shape, color or lightness-. +or si8e constancy, we need to know
how far away the obect is from us. +or shape constancy, we need to know
from what angle we see the obect. +or color constancy, we need to compare
the wavelengths of light re'ected from the obect with those re'ected from
its background. !n each case, the brain computes a ratio based on the relative
magnitude rather than relying on each sensation)s absolute magnitude,
which allows the brain to keep consistency. These constancies illustrate that
perceptual systems are tuned to detect changes from baseline conditions, not
ust respond to sensory inputs. !t is believed that the brain has builtKin
assumptions that in'uence perceptions.
Chapter %: learning
Pioneers$ :kinner
+ow did the behavioural study of learning develop-
Jearning$ an enduring change in behaviour resulting from experience. !t
occurs when animals beneft from experience so that their behaviour is better
adapted to the environments. The essence of learning is understanding how
events are related.
<lassical conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning$ a type of learned response
that occurs when a neutral obect comes to elicit a re'exive response when it
is associated with a stimulus that already produces response. 6hen we learn
that a certain event leads to a certain outcome.
Iperant conditioning or instrumental conditioning$ a learning process in
which the conse%uences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be
performed in the future. 6hen we learn that a particular behaviour leads to a
particular outcome. !t was of great interest to :kinner.
The rise of the learning theory in the earlier >B
th
century was partly due to
the dissatisfaction with the use of introspection.
6atson founded behaviourism based on Jocke)s idea of blank state, which
states that infants are born knowing nothing and that knowledge is ac%uired
through sensory information. 4is theory was of great in'uence well through
the >BG2)s
<ehavioural responses are conditioned
6atson was in'uenced by Pavlov who won the #obel Pri8e for his work on the
digestive system, the salivary re'ex. :alivation at the site of a person or a
bowl is not an innate re'ex, and must have been ac%uired through
experience.
!n a typical Pavlovian experiment, a neutral stimulus, unrelated with the
salivary re'ex, such as ringing a bell, is presented along with a stimulus that
reliably produces the re'ex, such as food. This pairing, a conditional trial is
repeated a number of times9 on the critical trial, the bell sound is presented
alone and the salivation re'ex is measured. !t was found that the sound of
the bell alone can produce salivation. This type of learning is referred to as
classical conditioning.
"nconditioned response ,"E-$ a response that doesn)t have to be learned
,re'ex-
"nconditioned stimulus ,":-$ a stimulus that elicits a response, such as
re'ex, without any prior learning.
The ": leads to the "E
<onditional stimulus$ a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has
taken place
<onditioned response$ a response that has been learned.
The <E is usually weaker that the "E
"c5uisition* extinction and spontaneous recovery
Pavlov was greatly in'uenced by .arwin)s On the Origin of Species and
believed that conditioning is the basis for how animals learn to adapt to their
environments
5c%uisition$ gradual formation of an association between the conditioned and
unconditioned stimuli
<ontiguity$ critical element in the ac%uisition of a learned association is that
the stimuli occur together in time.
+urther evidence showed that the strongest conditioning occurs when there is
a brief delay between the <: and the ":.
;xtinction$ a process in which the conditioned response is weakened when
the <: is repeated without the ":. The <E is extinguished when the <: no
longer predicts the ":
:pontaneous recovery$ a process in which a previously extinguished response
reKemerges following presentation of the <:
Thus extinction inhibits the strength of the bond but doesn)t eliminate it
Henerali8ation, discrimination and 1
nd
order conditioning
:timulus generali8ation$ adaptive process that occurs when stimuli similar,
but not identical to the <: produces the <E. :light di7erences in the <: leads
to slight di7erent perception of the <:, so the animal learns to respond to
variants of the <:
:timulus discrimination$ a di7erentiation between 1 similar stimuli when only
one of them is consistently associated with the ": and the other is not.
1
nd
order conditioning$ when a <: becomes directly associated not with the
":, but with other stimuli associated with the ":. Pavlov did studies on that
as well. Most of its in'uence occurs unconsciously.
Phobias and addictions have learned component ,classical conditioning-
Phobias and their treatment
Phobia$ an ac%uired fear that is out of proportion to the real threat of an
obect or a situation. 5ccording to classical conditioning theory, they develop
through the generali8ation of a fear experience.
+ear conditioning$ animals can be classically conditioned to fear neutral
obects. 6ithout the amygdala, this process wouldn)t happen
6atson tested this on an infant 5lbert to account for his theory that phobias
could be explained by simple learning principles, such as classical
conditioning. !n his experience, the ": ,smashing sound- lead to the "E ,fear-
and eventually the pairing of the <:,rat- and the ":,smashing sound- led to
the rat producing fear on his own ,<E-. To revert this, 6atson wanted to
present the feared obect with more pleasant ones so that a similar
association could take place ,counter conditioning-
6olpe ,>BBA- developed a formal treatment based on counter conditioning,
systematic desensiti8ation. 5fter patients are taught to relax their muscles,
they are asked to imagine the feared obect or situation while continuing to
use the relaxation exercise. <: Q <E> ,fear- this connection can be broken by
developing a <: Q <E1 ,relaxation- connection. !t has been shown that
repeated exposure to the feared stimulus has proven more useful than
relaxation.
6rug addiction: classical conditioning plays a role
The sight or smell of a drug can become a conditioned stimulus that leads the
addicts to feel aroused as though they had consumed the drug.
<ravings can be caused by the sight of certain things that are associated with
the drug. #ot satisfying this craving can lead to withdrawal, an unpleasant
state of anxiety that occurs when addicts stop using the drug.
Eelapses can occur because, once the addicts reKintegrate their environment,
they experience conditioned cravings.
<ues associated with the drugs, when presented to addicts, activates the
prefrontal cortex and di7erent regions of the limbic system, areas of the brain
involved in the experience of reward.
Jearning theorist, :hepard :iegel, has conducted research that drug
tolerance e7ects are specifc to certain situations. Tolerance e7ects are
greatest when the drug is taken in the same location as previous drug use,
because the body has learned to compensate for the drug.
Classical conditioning involves more than events occurring at the
same time
:ome conditioned stimuli would more likely produce learning than others and
that contiguity was not suFcient to create <:K": associations
;volutionary signifcance$ according to Pavlov, any obect or phenomenon
could be converted into a <: during conditioning trials. 4owever, not all
stimuli are e%ually e7ective in producing learning.
@ohn Harcia showed that certain parings of stimuli are more likely to become
associated with others.
<onditioned food aversion$ the association with eating novel food and getting
sick is very strong. !t can be produced with smell and taste, but not by light or
sound, which makes sense from an evolutionary viewpoint.
:eligman ,>BA2- argued that animals are genetically programmed to fear
specifc obects$ biological preparedness, which explains why animals tend to
fear potentially dangerous things.
!n conditioning experiences, people are more likely to associate aversive
stimuli with members of a di7erent racial group.
The adaptive value of a particular response varies according to the animal)s
evolutionary history. .i7erent types of stimuli cause di7erent reactions even
within a specie.
Hender di7erence in learning$ for most of human history, people live in
hunterKgatherer societies, in which women gathered edible vegetation,
usually returning home each day, and men traveled longer distances, hunting
for animals. :ince women spent most of their adult life pregnant or nursing,
they didn)t travel as much as men, and thus generally didn)t develop the
ability to learn their way though environment as well as men did.
Eesearchers have revealed some di7erences in how men and women
navigate$ women will more likely use landmarks and memori8e a series of
terms9 males will more likely keep track of cardinal directions. 6hen the
participants could use either strategy, men learned the task more %uickly.
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing and avoiding inappropriate association
e7ects in reasoning. 6e have a tendency to associate things that occur in
time together. ,Huilt by association or virtue by association-
The cognitive perspective$ until the >BA2s, most learning theorists were
concerned only with observable stimuli and observable responses. #ow we
try to understand the mental processes that underline conditioning. <lassical
conditioning is a means by which animals come to predict the occurrence of
events.
<ognitive perspective$ increasing consideration of mental processes such as
prediction and expectancy
Eobert Eescorla ,>BGG- conducted one of the >
st
studies highlighting
cognition)s role in learning$ for learning to take place, the conditioned
stimulus must accurately predict the unconditioned stimulus. 5 stimulus that
occurs before the ": is more easily condition than one that comes after it.
EescorlaK6agner model$ a cognitive model of classical conditioning$ it states
that the strength on the <:K": association is determined by the extent to
which the ": is unexpected. The greater the surprise of the ":, the more
e7ort an organism puts into trying to understand its occurrences, thus there
is greater classical conditioning of the event ,<:- that predicted the ":.
#ovel stimuli are more easily associated with the ": than are familiar stimuli.
Ince learned, a <: can prevent the ac%uisition of a new <: a phenomena
known as the blocking e7ect.
5 stimulus associated with a <: can act as an occasion setter, or trigger, for
the <:
+ow does operant conditioning di4er from classical conditioning-
<lassical conditioning is passive, the person ust associates things. Many of
our actions are instrumental, done for a purpose. 6e learn that certain
behaviours lead to certain outcomes, and those outcomes will determine if
we will do the behaviour again, this process is called instrumental or operant
conditioning.
6illiam @ames and his graduate student ;dward Thorndike, were in'uenced
by .arwin and were studying animals that showed signs of intelligence. 5
pu88le box was built and cats were put in it and food was placed outside the
box. 5fter >2 min the cat would accidently pull the string and the door
opened. The cat pulled the string more %uickly each conse%uent time.
The law of e7ect was determined, which states that any behaviour leading do
a Ssatisfying state of a7airs)) will more likely occur again, while any behaviour
leading to an Sannoying state of a7airsT will less likely occur again.
:einforcement increases behaviour
:kinner developed a more formal learning theory based on the law of e7ect.
4e said that states of satisfaction are not observable empirically. 4e used the
word reinforce to describe an event that produces response.
Eeinforcer$ a stimulus that fallows a response and increases the likelihood
that the response will be repeated.
4e believed that behaviour occurs because it has been reinforced.
The :kinner box$ a small chamber in which one lever is connected to a food
supply, another to a water supply. 5n animal is placed in it and learns to
operate the lever. "sed a ma8e before and later developed a recording device
that allowed the experimenter not to be present.
:haping$ a process of operant conditioning that involves reinforcing
behaviours that are increasingly similar to the desired behaviour. ,we don)t
have to wait for the animal to do the wanted task- Eeinforcing successive
approximation eventually produces the desired behaviour by teaching the
animal to discriminate which behaviour is being reinforced. "sed to teach
ama8ing skills and to teach mentally ill people appropriate social skills.
:einforcers can be conditioned
Primary reinforcers$ those that satisfy biological needs
:econdary reinforcers$ those that do not satisfy biological needs and are
established through classical conditioning. 6e associate money ,<:- with
reward ,":-
:einforcer potency
Premack$ a reinforcer)s value could be determined by the amount of time an
organism engages in a specifc associated behaviour when free to do
anything. !t can account for di7erences in individual)s values
Premack principle$ a more valued activity can be used to reinforce the
performance of a less valued activity.
<oth reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative
Positive reinforcement$ the increase in the probability of a behaviour being
repeated following administration of a stimulus ,involves reward-
#egative reinforcement$ the increase in the probability of a behaviour being
repeated through the removal of a stimulus. ,close the door to shut o7 noise-
Positive punishment$ punishment that occurs with the administration of a
stimulus and thus decreases the probability of a behaviour)s recurring.
#egative punishment$ punishment that occurs with the removal of a stimulus
and thus decreases the probability of a behaviour)s recurring.
.4ectiveness of parental punishment
!t is often applied ine7ectively and it may have unintended and unwanted
conse%uences. +or punishment to be e7ective it must be reasonable,
unpleasant, and applied immediately so that the relationship between the
unwanted behaviour and the punishment is clear.
:kinner pointed out that the one thing we learn from punishment is how to
avoid it.
<an lead to negative emotions which may become associated through
classical conditioning, and often fails to o7set the behaviour.
Better to reinforce good behaviours, compliment them, rather than punish
:panking$ ine7ective, done by ADN of 5merican parents, may lead to poor
parentKchild relations, weaker moral values, mental health problems,
increased delin%uency and future child abuse. !t teaches the child that violent
behaviour is appropriate for adults.
9perant conditioning is in(uenced by schedules of reinforcement
<ontinuous reinforcement$ a type of fast learning in which the desired
behaviour is reinforced it time it occurs
Partial reinforcement$ a type of learning in which behaviour is reinforced
intermittently9 it is more common and depends on schedule. !t can be
administered according to either the number of behavioural responses or the
passage of time. !t can be given on a fxed or variable schedule.
Eatio schedule$ in which reinforcement is based on the number of times the
behaviour occurs, leads to a greater responding that interval.
!nterval schedule$ in which reinforcement is available after a specifc unit of
time.
+ixed schedule$ in which reinforcement is consistently provided upon each
occurrence.
/ariable schedule$ in which reinforcement is applied at di7erent rates or at
di7erent times. ,commission-
Behavioural persistence$ the schedule of reinforcement also a7ects the
persistence of behaviour. <ontinuous reinforcement is highly e7ective for
teaching behaviour, but if the reinforcement is stopped, the behaviour
extinguishes %uickly. Machines sometimes provide monetary rewards, so
people continue using them, which can be explained by the e7ect of a
variableKratio schedule reinforcement.
PartialKreinforcement extinction e7ect$ refers to a greater persistence of
behaviour under partial reinforcement than continuous reinforcement ,we
know when reinforcement stopped-. Thus the less fre%uent the reinforcement,
the greater the resistance in extinction. <onditioning a behaviour so that it
persists involves conditioning it continuously in the early stages and then
slowly changing to partial reinforcement.
Behavioural modifcation$ use of operant conditioning techni%ues to eliminate
unwanted behaviours and replace them with the desired ones. ,good for
depression and anxiety disorders-. .raws on the principles of secondary
reinforcement. ,token economy-
<iology and cognition in(uence operant conditioning
Biology constrains learning, and reinforcement doesn)t always have to be
present for learning to take place.
Biological constraints$ we have a hard time learning things that run counter
to our evolutionary adaptation.
Marian and Celler Breland used operant conditioning techni%ues to train
animals for commercials. Many of their animals refused to perform the
behaviours
Bolles$ animal have builtKin defence reactions to threatening stimuli.
<onditioning is most e7ective when the association between the behavioural
response and the reinforcement is similar to the animal)s builtKin
predispositions.
Hallistel$ various learning mechanisms have evolved to solve specifc
problems, often adaptive ones.
"c5uisition=performance distinction
Tolman ,cognitive theorist- argued that reinforcement has more impact on
performance than learning
<ognitive maps$ a visual(special mental representation of an environment
and begins to be used when reinforcement occurs. ,3 groups of mice-
Jatent learning$ learning that takes place in the absence of reinforcement
!nsight learning$ a form of problemKsolving in which solution suddenly
emerges after a period of inaction or contemplation of the problem.
The presence of reinforcement doesn)t ade%uately explain insight learning,
but it predicts whether the behaviour is subse%uently repeated.
The value of reinforcement follows economic principles >supply and
demand?
5dults with lower incomes discount bigger future payments and accept lower
ones right now more than people with higher income.
People and animals often need to choose between reinforcers, and that a
particular reinforcer)s worth is a7ected by the likelihood of its payo7 and how
long the payo7 might take.
Bickel found that smokers and heroin addicts discount future rewards more
greatly than nonKaddicts.
5nimals are highly sensitive to the relative rates of reinforcement among
di7erent patches and will sometimes take risk in fnding food.
Iptimal foraging theory$ describes how animals in the wild choose their own
reinforcement schedules.
;ven simple behaviours, such as eating, involve a series of calculations to
detect the cost and benefts associated with di7erent behavioural options.
+ow does watching others a4ect learning-
6e learn much behaviour by watching others
7earning can be passed on through cultural transmission
Meme$ a unit of knowledge transferred among generations within a culture,
they can spread %uickly, by watching other)s behaviours.
!moKmonkey washing his potatoes
Cultural believes about learning
.i7erences in learning between 5sians ,knowledge is a must, if we work hard
we can get it- and 5mericans ,some have it, some don)t-
7earning occurs through observation
Ibservational learning$ occurs when behaviours are ac%uired or modifed
following exposure to others performing the behaviour. Powerful adaptive tool
for humans. !t is even possible to ac%uire beliefs
Bandura)s observational studies$ work on observational learning done in the
>BG2s. Preschool children were showed a flm of an adult playing a doll called
bobo. <hildren who watched adults play aggressively with the doll were 1x
more likely to play aggressively with it. This means that exposing children to
violence may encourage them to act aggressively.
/ocial learning of fear
Mineka$ monkeys trained in the lab aren)t afraid of snakes, but when they see
the wild monkeys) reactions of fear9 they begin to fear as well. !t is the same
thing for human, thus social forces play an important role in the learning of
fear.
Teaching through demonstrations$ we can learn by other)s exaggerated
gestures
"nimals and +umans imitate others
Modeling$ imitation of behaviour through observational learning.
6e will more likely imitate models that are attractive, have a high status, or
are similar to us. The model)s in'uence will often occur implicitly.
5dolescents and smoking ,those from nonKsmoking parents are more likely to
be in'uence by the media-
Bicarious reinforcement
5nother factor that will determine if we fallow a certain model is if the model
is reinforced for performing the behaviour.
Bandura$ here all the children learned the ,aggressive- behaviour, but only
those who saw the model being rewarded performed the behaviour.
/icarious learning$ occurs when people learn about an action)s conse%uences
by observing others being rewarded or punished for the behaviour
Mirror neurons$ neurons that are activated during observations of others
performing an action. They are activated in the observer, and the person
doing the actual behaviour. They might be the neural basis for empathy.
4umans have mirror neurons for mouth movement, so that when we see the
mouth move in a particular way, those neurons become activated which
means that mirror neurones might also be involved not only for imitation
learning, but also for humans) ability to communicate through language
Ei88olatti and 5rbib$ the mirror neuron system has evolved to give rise to
language, because speech evolved mainly from gestures.
;vidence indicates that listening to sentences that describe actions activates
the same brain regions active when those actions are observed. ;ven reading
words that represent actions lead to the activation of brain regions relevant
to motor, as the word like activate brain regions that control tongue
movement.
3edia and violence:
"s$ T/ is on for DKG hours per day, 3h for children. :aturday morning cartoons
watched by G2N of us kids contain 12 aggressively violent acts per hour.
Media violence has been shown to increase the likelihood of long or short
term violence. There is a desensitisation to violence taking place, showing
fewer helping behaviour and increased aggressively.
5dolescents who played certain kinds of video games showed decreased
activation in the prefrontal region and more activation of the amygdala.
The in'uence can be compared to the linking of smoking and cancer, the
in'uence is nearly as large.
+reedman$ a number of aggressive behaviours in children could be
interpreted as playful. The clips used in labs are very brief and extremely
aggressive, which is not the same as normal T/ watching. ;xtra variables
could also lead to the violent behaviour. :tudies failed to prove that T/ is the
cause of the violent behaviour.
:tatement$ a number of studies point overwhelmingly to a causal relation
between media violence and aggressive behaviour in some children. They are
lead to think that violence in the real world is common and inevitable.
<ritical thinking skill$ avoiding the association of events with others that
occur at the same time
'hat is the biological basis of learning-
6opamine activity underlies reinforcement
The neural basis of this reinforcement is the release of the neurotransmitter
dopamine, which plays an important role in the experience of reward and is
crucial for positive reinforcement.
Pleasure centers
Milner and Ilds ,>BD2s- were testing whether electrical stimulation to a
specifc region would stimulate learning$ a rat pressed a lever connected to
electrodes implanted in its brain, the electrodes stimulates pleasure centers
in the brain, the rat learns that pressing the lever will lead to pleasure
,intracranial selfKstimulation-
The brain regions that support the !<:: were referred to as pleasure centers
!t is believed that !<:: acts on the same brain regions as those activated by
natural reinforcers, in fact, the same neurotransmitter system, dopamine is
used in both cases.
.epriving an animal of food and water leads to an activation of the !<::
#ucleus accumbens activation$ the experience of pleasure results for
activation of dopamine neurones in this region.
!n operant conditioning, dopamine release sets a reinforcer)s value
:econdary reinforcers also rely on dopamine
Through a classical conditioning process, neural stimuli that at frst fail to
stimulate a dopamine release do so readily after being paired with ":
+abituation and sensiti#ation are simple models of learning
:emon ,>B2=- memories are stored through changes in the nervous system.
4e called the storage of learned material an engram ,term populari8ed by
Jashley-
4ebb ,>B=?- learning results from alterations in the synaptic connections.
6hen one neurone excites another, the synapse between the 1 strengthens.
Ine neuron)s fring becomes increasingly likely to cause the other)s fring.
<ells that fre together, wire together.
:tudied learning with the aplysia ,contains few neurons, some large enough
to be seen without a microscope- Candel used it to study the neural basis of
habituation and sensiti8ation.
4abituation$ a decrease in behavioural response following exposure to
nonthreatening stimuli
Irienting response$ when an animal encounters a novel stimulus, it pays
attention to it.
:ensiti8ation$ an increase in behavioural response following exposure to a
threatening stimulus, can lead to heightened responsiveness to increased
stimuli.
+or both types of learning, presynaptic neurones alter their neurotransmitter
release$ a reduction lead to habituation and an increase leads to
sensiti8ation.
7ong term potentiation is a candidate for the neural basis of
learning
JongKterm potentiation ,JTP-$ the strengthening of a synaptic connection so
that postsynaptic neurones are more easily activated. !t occurs when the
intense electrical stimulation increases the likelihood that stimulating one
neuron leads to an action potential in the second neuron.
JTP e7ects are most easily observed in brain sites known to be involved in
learning and memory such as the hippocampus. The drugs that improve
memory lead to increased JTP. Behavioural conditioning produces
neurochemical e7ects nearly identical to JTP
#eurons that signal the ": are active at the same time than those that
activate the <:
7TP and the N36" receptor >a type of glutamate receptor?
The #M.5 receptor is re%uired for the JTP and has a special property$ it opens
only if a nearby neurone fres at the same time, a phenomenon supporting
4ebb)s rule. 6ith this fnding, scientists examined genetic processes that
might in'uence learning.
Tsien$ modifed genes in mice to make the genes #M.5 receptors more
eFcient. 6hen tested, the mice learn new tasks more %uickly and showed
increased fear conditioning. .oogie mice.
Many pharmaceuticals are exploring drugs that enhance the learning
processes by manipulating gene expression or activating #M.5 receptors. !f
successful, such treatment might help for 5l8heimer)s
+ear conditioning$ it may induce JTP in the amygdala ,crucial for fear
conditioning- we free8e when we are afraid
Je.oux$ auditory fear conditioning and JTP induction lead to similar changes
in the amygdala, which suggests that fear conditioning, might produce long
lasting learning through JTP induction.
The social learning of fear also relies on the amygdala. :imilar mechanisms
are involved in conditioned and observational fear learning.
Chapter & : "ttention and memory
Memory$ the nervous system)s capacity to ac%uire and retain usable skills
and knowledge, allowing organism to beneft from experience. They are often
incomplete, biased, and distorted.
+ow does attention determine what is remembered-
Pay attention$ the word L)pay)) indicate that costs are associated with
attending to some forms of information and not to others. 5ttention is limited.
Bisual attention is selective and serial
Treisman$ advances in the study of attention$ we automatically identify
L)primitive features)) ,colors, shape, movement- within an environment.
:eparate systems analy8e obects) di7erent visual features. Through parallel
processing, these systems all process information at the same time, and we
can attend selectively to one feature by blocking the further processing of
others.
/isual search task$ search for target among distracters.
:erial$ searching for 1 features, we need to look at the stimuli one at a time.
<onunctions task$ the stimulus looked for is composed of 1 simple features
"uditory attention allows selective listening
Talking on a cell phone while driving is more ha8ardous than talking with a
passenger because the person on the phone isn)t aware of the route
conditions.
<herry ,>BD3- cocktail party phenomenon$ you can focus on a single
conversation in the midst of a chaotic party, yet a particularly pertinent
stimulus mentioned in another conversation can capture our attention. 4e
developed selective listening studies to examine what people)s minds do with
the unattended information when people pay attention to one task.
:hadowing$ a participant wears head phones that deliver one message to one
ear, and another message to the other. The person is asked to pay attention
to one ear only and shadow it by repeating it aloud. The subect will notice
the unattended sound, but won)t be able to know its content. :ome important
information might get through the flter of attention, but it needs to be
personally relevant information, or particularly loud or di7erent in some
manner.
/elective attention can operate at multiple stages of processing
Broadbent ,>BD?- developed the flter theory to explain the selective nature
of attention. People have a limited capacity for sensory information and thus
screen for incoming information, letting in only the most important.
:ome stimuli demand attention and virtually shut o7 the ability to attend
anything else. 4igh pitch sounds are hard to ignore, because they signal pain
or fear.
:ome evidence says that decisions about what to attend to are made early in
the perceptual process, unattended information is processed to some extent.
<hange blindness$ the common failure to notice large changes in the
environment, which shows that we can attend to a limited amount of
information and that large discrepancies exist between what most people
believe they see and what they actually see. !t also shows how attention
a7ects memory.
'hat are the basic stages of memory-
Jike a computer, memory)s multiple processes can be thought of as operating
over time in 3 phases$
>. ;ncoding phase$ the processing of information, that occurs at the time
of learning, so that it can be stored
1. :torage phase$ the retention of encoded representations over time
that corresponds to some changes in the nervous system that registers
the event.
3. Eetrieval phase$ the act of recalling or remembering stored information
to use it.
!nvolves$ sensory memory, shortKterm memory, and long term memory. This
modal memory model was proposed by 5tkinson and :hi7rin ,>BG?-, and
although incomplete, still prevails.
/ensory memory is brief
:ensory memory$ memory for sensory information that is stored brie'y close
to its original sensory form, lasts only for a fraction of a second. Iccurs when
a sound or light leaves a vanishing trace on the nervous system
:perling ,>BG2- initial empirical evidence for :M ,series of letters 'ashing, we
recall only 3 or =-$ when a sound was produced very shortly after the letters
were shown, the participants would recall the letters, but the longer the
delay, the worst the participants did. The visual memory persists for >(3 of a
second, after which the sensory memory trace faded progressively until it
was no longer accessible.
Iur :M allows us to see the world as a continuous stream rather than in
discrete sensation, much like a movie
'or)ing memory is active
!nformation attended to is passed from sensory stores to short term memory
,:TM-, a limited capacity system that holds information in awareness for a
brief period of time, but longer than the :M. !t is called the working memory,
to indicate that it is a memory system that combines information from
di7erent sources and can work on the information we have in memory. !t is
also called immediate memory ,i.e. E5M- !nformation remains in 6M for
about 12 to 32 sec, and then disappears if not rehearsed.
3emory span and chun)ing
6M can hold a limited amount of information. Miller noted that it is generally
of A items, a fgure referred to as memory span, which varies among
individual
<hunking$ organi8ing, breaking down information in meaningful units to make
it easier to remember. The greater our expertise with the material, the more
eFciently we will chunk.
6orking memory)s four parts$ it is an active processing unit that deals with
multiple types of information ,sounds, images, ideas-
Baddeley$ developed a model of an active memory system that they called
working memory. The 3 components of 6M are$
phonological loop $ encodes auditory information and is active when a person
tries to remember words. 6ords are processed by how they sound, not by
how they look.
visuospatial sketchpad$ processes visual information
episodic bu7er$ holds temporary information about oneself, drawing heavily
on episodic memory.
The central executive presides over the interactions among the 3
components. !t encodes information from the sensory systems and then
flters the information that is suFciently important to be stored in the JTM. !t
relies on the other 3 subcomponents, which temporarily hold auditory or
visuospatial information or personally relevant information.
7ong term memory is relatively permanent:
4uman JTM is virtually limitless
.istinguishing JTM for 6M$ duration and capacity
;vidence of the JTM and 6M can from research at the individual level of
analysis, that re%uired people to recall a long list of words. !tems presented
early or late in the list were remembered better than those in the middle.
:erial position e7ect$ the ability to recall items from a list depends on order of
presentation, with items presented early ,in JTM- or late ,still in 6M- in the
list remembered better than those in the middle. !t involves two separate
e7ects$ primacy e7ect and the recency e7ect.
The recency e7ect might not be completely attributable to the 6M.
:ome case studies indicate that the JTM can be dissociated from 6M9
however, the 1 systems are highly interdependent.
'hat gets in 7T3
!nformation enters permanent storage by rehearsal9 however, simply
repeating things is a poor way to store. Iver learning is good, and distributed
practice is better that massed practice ,cramming-.
Inly information that helps us adapt to the environment is transferred in the
JTM. ;volutionary theory helps explain how we decided in advance what
information will be useful
'hat are the di4erent long8term memory systems-
,>BA2K?2- Tulving, :chacter, :%uire argued that memory is not ust one
entity, but rather a process that involves several interacting systems, that
encode and store di7erent information in di7erent ways
.xplicit memory involves conscious e4ort
The maor division between memory systems is the division of the memories
that we are consciously aware of from memories that we ac%uire without
conscious e7ort or intention.
!mplicit memories$ the system underlying unconscious memories
;xplicit memories$ the processes involved when people remember specifc
information
.eclarative memory$ the cognitive information retrieved from explicit
memory9 knowledge that can be declared
Tulving ,>BA1-$ explicit memory can be divided in episodic and semantic
memory
;pisodic$ memories from one)s personal life
:emantic$ memory for knowledge about the world
@mplicit memory occurs without deliberate e4ort
<lassical conditioning involves implicit memory
;7ortless, occur without us knowing they occur, but can in'uence our lives.
5dvertisers rely on it
@acoby$ the false fame e7ect
!nvolved in repetition priming, the improvement in identifying a stimulus that
has been experienced previously ,some words have been primed$ activated
in the memory-.
Procedural or motor memory$ a type of implicit memory that involved motor
skills and behavioural habits
Prospective memory is remembering to do something
Prospective memory$ remembering to do something, sometime in the future.
!t involves both automatic and controlled processes
+ow is information organi#ed in 7T3
7ong term storage is based on meaning
Iur perceptual images are transformed into representation or codes, which
are then stored. 5ll this information is stored in networks of neurones in the
brain. Eetrieval often involves an explicit e7ort9 it is involved in explicit or
implicit memory systems. They are stored by meaning.
<raik and Jochkart$ theory of memory based on depth of elaboration.
5ccording to their level of processing model, the more deeply an item is
encoded, the more meaning it has and the better it is remembered. .i7erent
types of rehearsal lead to di7erential encoding.
Maintenance rehearsal$ repeating the item over and over again
;laborative rehearsal$ encodes the information in more meaningful ways,
such as thinking of the obect conceptually$ we elaborate on basic information
by linking it to knowledge from JTM.
;ncoding$ participants are asked to consider a list of words according to how
the words are printed, how they sound and what they mean. !t turns out that
words processed at the semantic level are remembered better, because it
activates more brain region, and the more brain regions are activated, the
better the memory.
/chemas provide an organi#ational framewor)
:chema$ a hypothetical cognitive structure that helps us perceive, organi8e,
process and use information. They are structure in the JTM. They can also
lead to biased encoding, especially in culturedKin'uenced schemas.
Bartlett$ asked British people to listen and repeat an 5merican folktale. They
altered it so that it made sense form their viewpoint and even left the parts
that didn)t make sense to them.
6hen we retrieve information about a certain person or event, everything we
know will be retrieved along with the story we try to remember
@nformation is stored in association networ)s
+rom 5ristotle$ our knowledge of the world is organi8ed so that things related
in meaning are linked in storage
<ollins and Joftus$ an item)s distinctive features are linked so as to identify
the item. ;ach unit of information in the network is a node and each node is
connected to many other nodes. 5ctivating one node increases the likelihood
that other close related nodes will be activated. The closer the node, the
stronger the association between them and the more likely that activating
one will activate the other. :timuli in 6M activate the specifc nodes in JTM9
and this activation increases the ease of access to that material, facilitating
retrieval.
Their organi8ation is based on hierarchically structured categories, which
provide a clear an explicit blueprint for where to look for needed information.
:etrieval cues provide access to 7ong8term storage
Eetrieval cue$ anything that helps the person sort through the data of the JTM
to access the right information. They explain why it is easier to recogni8e
than to recall information
;ncoding specifcity principle$ any stimulus that is encoded along with an
experience can trigger memory from the experience ,Tulving-.
6hen participants studied and were tested in the same room, they
remembered better than those who studied in one room and were tested in
another. This is known as context dependent memory, which can be based on
things like physical location, odour or background music.
!nternal mood states or inebriation can facilitate the recovery of information
from JTM. ;nhancement of memory when internal states match during
encoding and recall is known as state dependant memory.
;ich ,>BAD- study of stateKdependent memory on mariuana use
'hat brain processes are involved in memory-
+ocus on the biological level of analysis
There has been intensive e4ort to identify memoryAs physical
location
Jashley ,engram- spent much of his time trying to locali8e memory. 4e
trained mice to run a ma8e, and then removed di7erent parts of their
cortices. 4e found out that the si8e of the area removed rather than its
location was most important in predicting retention. 4e concluded that
memory was distributed throughout the brain rather than in one localised
region ,e%uipotentiality-. 4e didn)t examine subcortical regions.
Memories are stored in multiple regions of the brain and linked to memory
circuits ,4ebb-. #eural speciali8ation occurs such that di7erent brain regions
are responsible for storing di7erent aspects of information. ,declarative and
procedural memories use di7erent brain regions-. Eegions in the temporal
lobes are important for the ability to encode new memories, and are
important for declarative memory, but not so much for implicit memory. The
cerebellum plays a role in how motor actions are learned and remembered.
The amygdala is responsible for fear conditioning.
The medial temporal lobes are important for consolidation of
declarative memories
The medial region of the temporal lobe includes the amygdala and the
hippocampus ,damage to it causes anterograde amnesia$ the inability to
store new memories-.
<onsolidation$ a hypothetical process involving the transfer of contents from
immediate memory into JTM.
5ll learning leaves a biological trail in the brain which results from changes in
the strength of neural connections that support memory and from the
construction of new synapses.
Medial temporal lobes are important for coordination and strengthening the
connections among neurons when something is learned, but that the actual
storage most likely occurs in the particular brain regions engaged during the
perception, processing and analysis of the material being learned. Memories
from sensory experiences involve retrieving the cortical circuits involved in
perceiving them. Medial temporal lobes form links between the di7erent
storage sites and directs the gradual strengthening of those links.
Eeconsolidation$ once memories are activated they need to be consolidated
again to be stored back into memory.
Eesearchers found evidence for such a process by giving a drug that
interferes with memory storage after a memory has been activated$ when
memories for past events are retrieved, they can be a7ected by new
circumstances, so that the newly reconsolidated memories may di7er from
their original version. This reconsolidation process occurs every time we
retrieve a memory and put it back in storage.
:patial memory$ function of the hippocampus that consists of memory for the
physical environment ,location of obects, directions and cognitive maps-. The
role of the hippocampus is supported by place cells$ neurons that fre when a
rat returns to a specifc location, and fred again during their E;M sleepK rats
were dreaming about the ma8e they had ust learned. :leep is important to
consolidate memories.
Morris water ma8e test p. 32A
The frontal lobes are involved in many aspects of memory
;xtensive neural networks connect the prefrontal cortex with other brain
regions involved in memory, such as medial temporal areas. The frontal lobes
are crucial for encoding. .eep encoding tasks will more likely lead to frontal
activation than shallow ones. +rontal activation is a good predictor for which
events will be remembered and which will not. +urther activity in frontal brain
regions involved in processing specifc types of information is associated with
better memory for that type of information.
The medial prefrontal cortex is selectively active when people think about
themselves, thus activity in this region predicts memory for information
encoded about the self, but not for information encoding about others.
The frontal lobes might also play a role in 6M, because patients with damage
to this region have diFculty following plans or goals, and monkeys with
frontal lesions have impaired 6M.
+rontal regions become active when info is retrieved from the JTM into 6M or
encoded from 6M into JTM. The frontal lobe and medial temporal lobes work
together to consolidate storage of the lecture in our JT declarative memory.
Neurochemistry underlies memory
5s memories are consolidated, neurones link into distributed networks, and
those networks become linked. /arious neurotransmitters, known as memory
modulators, can weaken or enhance memory.
Neurochemistry indicates the meaningfulness of stimuli
!mportant events lead to neurochemical changes that produce emotion,
which make those events likely to be stored in memory. ;pinephrine olts tells
us to remember ,excitement-. This hormone is secreted in the bloodstream
from adrenal glands, located near the kidneys, thus it doesn)t a7ect memory
directly. Eesearchers initially believed that it a7ected memory because it
causes glucose release, which then enters the brain and in'uences memory
storage.
6hen we learn something new, we drain glucose from key parts of the brain
,hippocampus- that are associated with memory and learning. ,elderly people
who drank lemonade-it is complex carbohydrates that improve the brain)s
glucose availability.
The amygdala and the neurochemistry of emotion
5ny arousing event causes greater activity of norepinephrine receptors,
which strengthens the memory of that event. The amygdala contains such
receptors. ;motional memories a7ect the right amygdala in men and the left
one in women, who have a better memory for emotional events.
<anli$ showed men and women picture$ women remembered emotional
pictures better and their emotional amygdala response was also greater.
6omen are more prone then men to depression.
6hy sex matters in neuroscience lists many reason for studying sex
di7erences in brain structure and function to understand brain disorders and
normal brain functioning. Men and women perform e%ually well on the
memory test that regarded tasks in which their brain activity patterns di7ers.
Posttraumatic stress disorder ,PT:.-$ a mental disorder that involves fre%uent
nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and 'ashbacks related to an earlier trauma.
:u7erers often have chronic tension, anxiety, and health problems, and may
experience memory and attention problems in that daily lives.
PT:. is associated with an attentional bias$ people are hyper vigilant to
stimuli associated with their traumatic events, which leads to activation of
the amygdala.
In ethics$ altering memory for su7erers of PT:., or even more people, what
would it lead to and is it acceptable to alter our memories, for they make who
we are and our society advances. !f we didn)t remember traumatic events, we
would be somewhat deKsensitised to such events.

'hen do people forget-
+orgetting$ the inability to retrieve memory from JTM. 6e forget far more
than we remember.
#ot being able to forget is maladaptive ,as well as not being able to
remember-. #ormal forgetting helps us better remember and use important
information.
;bbinghaus$ forgetting occurs rapidly in the >
st
few days but then leaves o7.
4e used the methods of savings to examine how long it took people to reK
learn a list of nonKsense syllables. Eelearning past learnt subects would take
us less time to learn than the >
st
time
.avid :chacter$ the A sins of memory ,p.3>3-
Transience is caused by interference
Transience$ the pattern of forgetting overtime. "nused memories are
forgotten overtime. Most forgetting occurs because of interference from other
information. 6e can forget because of proactive and retroactive interference.
!n both cases, competing information displaces the information we are trying
to retrieve.
Proactive$ old information inhibits the ability to remember new information
Eetroactive$ when new information inhibits the ability to remember old
information
<loc)ing is temporary
Blocking$ the temporary inability to remember something that is known. Tip
of the tongue phenomenon ,Brown and Mac#eil- and can be produced in the
laboratory ,5.Brown-. !t often occurs because of the interference of similar
words
"bsentmindedness results from shallow encoding
5bsentmindedness$ the inattentive or shallow encoding of events. ,Hroups in
the change blindness experiment-There are cultural di7erences in patterns of
attention.
"mnesia is a de,cit in 7T3
5mnesia$ a defcit in JTM, resulting from disease, brain inury or psychological
trauma. There are 1 types$ retrograde and anterograde. Iften occurs from
damage to the temporal lobes, sometimes to the thalamus. Corsako7)s
syndrome$ longKterm alcohol abuse can lead to vitamin defciencies that
result in thalamic changes and subse%uently, amnesia.
Eetrograde$ pastKmemories are lost, such as memories for events, facts,
people, or personal information.
5nterograde$ inability to form new memories
+ow are memories distorted-
0lashbulb memories can be wrong
+lashbulb memories ,Brown, Culik-$ vivid memories for the circumstances in
which one >
st
heard a surprising, conse%uential and emotionally arousing
event.
,<onway- better memory for the 'ashbulb experience occurs among those
who found the news surprising and felt the event was important.
/on Eestor7 e7ect$ a distinctive event might simply be recalled more easily
than trivial events, however inaccurate the result.
People ma)e source misattributions >identi,ed by /chacter?
:ource misattributions$ the misremembering of the time, place, person, or
circumstances involved with a memory. ,+alse fame e7ect, sleeper e7ect
,arguments that come from a %uestionable source become more persuasive
overtime--
<ryptomnesia$ when a person thinks she has come up with a new idea, but
really has retrieved an old one from memory and failed to attribute it to the
proper source.
People are bad eye witnesses
6ells$ 3G out of =2 cases in which .#5 studies have shown that a person had
been falsely accuse came from eye witness testimony ,6illiam @ackson)s
case-
<rossKethnic identifcation$ we have better memories for same race faces
,fusiform face area-, we see categories, not individuals.
:uggestibility and misinformation$ Joftus ,>BA2- people can develop biased
memories when provided with misleading information, a phenomenon known
as suggestibility. ,6hen we hear a car smashed into, we tend to think it went
faster than if we had heard, the car collided- This phenomenon is more
prevalent in a laboratory than in real life situations, because, due to the
increased stress hormones, the memories may be more vivid.
;yewitness confdence$ those that are wrong are ust as confdent as those
who are right, perhaps even more so. 5ccurate witnesses tend to pay no
attention to details.
:imon$ the !nnocents proect$ police oFcers and prosecutors in'uence
memory through the way in which they conduct the identifcation process.
People have false memories
:ource amnesia$ a type of amnesia that occurs when a person shows memory
for an event but cannot remember where he encountered the information.
<hildhood amnesia$ most people can)t recall anything before the age of 3.
This may be due to a lack of linguistic capacity as well as an immature front
lobe
Creating false recognition
<onfabulation$ the false recollection of episodic memory. Moscovitch
described it as an honest lying ,4.6.- <apgras syndrome$ patients delusionaly
believe their family members have been replaced by impostors, even when
presented with contradictory evidence. :uch patients often have damage to
their frontal lobes and the limbic brain regions. The brain regions involved in
emotion is separated from the visual input.
:epressed memories are controversial
JongKrepressed memories can resurface during therapy. Joftus points out that
there is little evidence that recovered memories are genuine or at least
suFciently accurate to be believable.
:chacter alludes to the frightening possibility that repressed memories might
have been introduced by misguided therapists. 4ypnosis, age regression, and
guided recall can create false memories.
4albrook$ in a group therapy, she thought she had been abused in satanic
rituals and killed a baby.
!t would be a mistake to dismiss all adult reports of early abuse. !n the latter
half of the >BB2, there have been much less recovered memories
People reconstruct events to be consistent
Memory bias$ the changing of memories over time in ways consistent with
prior beliefs.
+estinger$ ! prefer to rely on my memory. ! have lived with that memory long
enough, ! am used to it, and if a have rearranged or distorted it, surely that
was done for my own beneft.
People tend to recall their past attitudes and past beliefs as being consistent
with their current ones, often revising their memories when they change
attitudes and beliefs. They also tend to remember events as casting them in
the predominant roles or favourable lights, and other thing the like.
Irwell$ we can change the past, not the future
Neuroscience may ma)e it possible to distinguish between true and
false memories
6hen we remember something, the brain areas activated are the same ones
that were activated when we learned them. !f the memory is true, the brain
areas activated should be the same as those activated when the event
occurred. !f the memory is false, unrelated brain areas would be activated.
+alse memories tend to be similar to true memories, especially when there
are true and false components in the same global memory.
Iver the next scientists will debate if using fME! is reliable.
+ow can we improve learning and memory-
3nemonics are useful strategies for learning
Practice$ the more time you repeat an action, the easier it gets. Memories are
strengthened with retrieval. Eepeated testing is a good way to improve
memory.
;laborate the material$ the deeper the level of processing, the more likely we
will remember the material later. 6hy critical thinking skill is important. Try to
organi8e the material in a way that makes sense to us, form concepts about
it. Hood when the material is made relevant to us.
Iverlearn$ recognition is easier than recall$ rehearse the material, when we
think we have learned it. .istribute our study overtime
:leep$ it may help with the consolidation of memories and disturbing sleep
interferes with learning
"se verbal mnemonics$ slogans, acronyms
/erbal imagery$ engage both systems in 6M, creating a more lasting one.
Method of loci visuali8es ourselves placing obects. Pegs, visuali8e the new
words hanging on pegs.
Chapter C: thin)ing and intelligence
Higeren8er$ low probability events that are highly published have dire
conse%uences$ dread risk can profoundly a7ect reasoning
+ow does the mind represent information-
!ntelligence$ some people seem to be better than others at using information
Hladwell$ The Power of Thinking without Thinking$ the ability to use
information rapidly is a critical human skill
<ognitive psychology$ originally based on the notions that the brain
represents information and that the act of thinking$ cognitionK is directly
associated with manipulating these representations.
"nderstanding the nature of our everyday mental representation is diFcult.
5nalogical representations$ 4ave some of the physical characteristics of an
obect9 it is analogous to the obect. ,images-
:ymbolic representations$ an abstract representation that doesn)t correspond
to physical characteristics of an obect or idea. ,words-
3ental images are analogical representations
The L)E)) studies showed that the time it takes to say whether a stimulus is a
mirror image will increase as a function of how far the stimulus is rotated
from its original position.
5re representations of obects analogical or could they be simple
representations based on factual knowledge about the world* Q 5t least,
some thoughts take the form of mental images.
Cosslyn$ visual imagery is associated with activity in visual perception related
areas of the brain$ the same brain areas activated when we view something
are active when we think in images. 6hen we retrieve information from
memory, the representation of that recalled picture in our mind)s eye
parallels the representation in our brain of the >
st
time we saw it. ,eye facing
into the brain-
Jimits of analogical representations$ if something can)t be perceived wholly
by our perceptual system, we can)t form a complete analogical
representation of it ,mental maps P analogical M symbolic-. 6e often
regulari8e irregular shapes as shortcuts.
Concepts are symbolic representations
4ow we use knowledge about obects eFciently.
<ategori8ation$ grouping things based on shared properties, reduces the
amount of knowledge we must hold in memory and is therefore an eFcient
way of thinking
<oncept$ a category, or class, that includes subtypes and (or individual items.
5n abstract representation that groups or categori8es obects, events or
relations around common themes.
.efning attribute model$ that idea that a concept is characteri8ed by a list of
features that are necessary to determine if an obect is a member of a
category. !t fails to capture many key aspects of how we organi8e things in
our minds. !t implies an allKorKnon categori8ation, and that all the given
category)s attributes are e%ually salient in terms of defning this category,
and the model posits that all the members of a category are all e%ual in the
category
Prototype model$ an approach to obect categori8ation that is based on the
premise that within each category, some members are more representative
than others. 5 particular prototype can be chosen for di7erent reasons
;xemplar model$ information stored about the members of a category is used
to determine category membershipK any concept has no single best
representation, instead all the examples of category members form that
concept. 5ccounts for the observation that some category members are more
prototypical than others$ the prototypes are simply members we have
encountered more often
/chemas organi#e useful information about environments
;nable us to interact with the complex reality. Cnowledge regarding situations
and social contexts di7er from the knowledge associated with obect
classifcation.
Ine theory is focused on schemas about the se%uences of events in certain
situations. :hank and 5belson ,>BAA- have referred to those schemas as
scripts which operate at the unconscious level. ,gender role P schema-
6e can employ schemas because common situations have consistent
attributes, and people have specifc roles in specifc contexts.
:cripts dictate our appropriate behaviours, and what we view as appropriate
is shaped by culture. Their adaptive value is that they minimi8e the amount
of attention re%uired to navigate familiar environments, and to avoid unusual
or dangerous information. They can lead into thinking in stereotypical ways.
+ow do we ma)e decisions and solve problems-
Eeasoning$ using information to determine if a conclusion is valid or
reasonable
.ecision making$ attempting to select the best alternative amongst several
options
Problem solving$ fnding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal
People use deductive and inductive reasoning
.eductive$ reason from the general to the specifc, using a belief or rule to
see if a conclusion is valid
!nductive$ reason from the specifc to the general, using examples or
instances to determine if a conclusion is likely to be true.
.eductive reasoning$ we use logic to draw specifc conclusions under certain
assumptions, or premises. .eductive reasoning tasks are often presented as
syllogisms ,logical arguments containing premises and a conclusion-.
<onditional$ if 5 is true, then B is true. The conclusion may or may not be
true
<ategorical$ the logical argument contains 1 premises and a conclusion,
which can be determined to be either valid or invalid. ,5ll 5s are Bs, all Bs are
<s, therefore all 5s are <s-
'e are in(uenced by our experiences
!nductive reasoning$ after a number of instances, we might induce a general
conclusion. The use of the scientifc method is an example. !n everyday life, it
might not be as accurate9 we are often in'uenced by anecdotes-
6ecision ma)ing often involves heuristic
Eesearch on decision making has been in'uenced by normative ,humans are
optimal decision makers- and descriptive ,account for human)s
misinterpretations, and irrational acts- models
;xpect utility theory$ normative model of how humans should make decisions.
!t views decision making as a computation of utility, the overall value of each
possible outcome in a decision making scenario.
Tversky, Cahnemann$ importance of both reasoning and decision making in
economics. They identifed several common heuristics
4euristics$ in problem solving, mental shortcuts used to reduce the amount of
thinking that is needed to move from an initial state to a goal state. #ot the
same thing as algorithm ,a procedure that, if followed correctly, will always
yield the correct answer-. 4euristic thinking often occurs unconsciously, it
allows us to focus on other things, since the conscious mind)s processing
capacity is limited. They re%uired minimal cognitive resources, but can also
result in bias
<ritical thinking skill$ understanding how the availability and
representativeness heuristics can a7ect thinking
5vailability heuristics$ making a decision based on the answer that most
easily comes to mind
Eepresentativeness heuristic$ a rule for categori8ation based on how similar
the person or obect is to our prototypes for that category. ,Bias$ not enough
base rate-
+raming e7ects$ the e7ect of presentation on how information is perceived
Tversky, Cehnemann$ prospect theory$ we need to take into account people)s
wealth in predicting their choice and we need to consider the fact that
because losses feel much worse than gains feel good, people try to avoid
situations that involves losses. ,loss aversion-
57ective forecasting ,Hilbert, 6ilson, 122A-$ people aren)t good at knowing
how they will feel about something in the future, and generally don)t reali8e
how bad they are at predicting their future feelings ,overestimate the
negative feelings, we are unaware that we can fnd positive outcomes from
tragic event- 6e have excellent strategies of coping in order to protect our
mental health.
57ective forecasting can also in'uence our perception of positive events.
6inning a silver medal might be more negative than winning a bron8e.
Hood decision makers$ ,Bruin, Parker, +ischo7- found that good decisions lead
to a better life. 5pplying critical thinking skills can positively a7ect multiple
areas of a person)s life.
Problem solving achieves goals
Irgani8ation of subgoals$ process from one step to the next ,tower of 4anoi-.
5 problem must be broken down into subgoals. :ometimes it is diFcult to fnd
the order in which to do them-
:udden insight$ the sudden reali8ation of a solution to a problem ,Cohler$
chimpan8ee and banana- ,Maier$ strings on the ceiling-
<hanging representations to overcome obstacles$ revise a mental
representation
Eestructuring$ a new way of thinking about a problem that aids its solution
,:cheerer$ = lines, B dots-
Mental sets$ a problem solving strategy that has worked in the past, we tend
to follow them ,Juchins$ bottles of water-
+unctional fxedness$ sticking with our mental representation about obects)
typical functions. !t must be overcomed. ,.unker$ candle and matchbox-
<onscious strategies$ working backward ,water lily-, fnding an appropriate
analogy$ transferring a problem solving strategy that works in one context to
solve a similar problem. 5nalogous problems enhance our ability to solve
each one, provided that we see the structural similarities. ,:emmelhack, a
software designer who played Jego with his son-
The paradox of choice$ the more choices the better* Q no too many choices
can be frustrating. 6hen we remove our freedom of choice, we feel wronged9
we want the sense of having control over our life
:chwart8$ having too many choices make some people miserable, it might
even lead to the increase of clinical depression, because if the choice we
make always fails us, we are likely to become depressed. 4e believes that if
decisions aren)t crucial, we should settle for choices that match our needs
even if they aren)t the absolute best.
4e divides the world into satisfcers ,from #obel laureate :imon- and
maximi8ers. :atisfcing$ choosing an option that suFciently satisfes our
needs. :atisfcers do not lack standards, they choose whatever matches the
most closely what they want and buy it regardless if there are better or
cheaper things. Maximi8ers always seek to make the best possible choices
and devote time. +or them, making the wrong choice can have catastrophic
conse%uences. They are hesitant in their choice and keep on %uestioning it
after it has been done9 they feel more disappointed with their decisions.
Paradox of choice might have an impact on the cultural shift in age of
marriage and settlement. They want to maximi8e their choices.
+ow do we understand intelligence-
Jarge debate as to what extent is our intelligence determined by our genes or
our environment.
!ntelligence$ the human ability to use knowledge, understand complex ideas,
learn %uickly, and adapt to environmental challenges.
In ethics$ cognition enhancing drugs
.rugs to prevent normal slow loss of brain functionK yes
"naware of the side e7ects, might bring to a loss of values such as
perseverance, people might be cohered into taking them, because they
present such an advantage. 6hat will happen if memories are intact*
:ir +rancis Halton$ ,>?22- earliest e7orts to study intelligence. 4e believed
that intelligence was related to the speed of neural responses and to the
sensitivity of the sensory(perceptual systems
Psychometric approach$ general approach to understanding intelligence at
di7erent levels of analysis focuses on how people perform on standardi8ed
achievement tests, examining what people know and their problem solving
skills.
<ognitive approach$ how information is processed, speed of reaction, amount
of info held in memory, focus on tasks.
Biological approach$ how information is processed by the brain, and how
genes and environment a7ect brain activity.
@ntelligence is assessed by psychometric tests
5chievement assess tests$ current levels of skills and of knowledge
5ptitude tests$ examine whether people will be good at various obs in the
future and may predict what obs people will be good at
Binet$ intelligence is best understood as a collection of high level mental
processes ,verbal, mathematical, and analytical abilities-
BinetK:imon !ntelligence :cale$ measuring children)s abilities. Iver the entire
test, good results by luck aren)t a factor.
:tanford ,Terman- revision$ adapted version of 5merican children ,>B>B-
6echsel ,>B3B- test for adults 65!:$ 6echsler 5dult !ntelligence :cale. 65!:
!!!$ verbal part, performance part
!ntelligence %uotient
Mental age$ introduced by Binet, it is an assessment of a child)s intellectual
standing relative to that of his or her peers9 determined by a comparison of
the child)s test score for children of each chronological age
!U$ the number computed by dividing a child)s estimated mental age by the
child)s chronological age and then multiplied by >22. The average !U is >22.
#ot so good for adults.
/alidity$ do they really measure what they need to measure
Miller analogy test$ results predicted academic performances, productivity,
creativity.
Modest correlation between !U and work, skill... They only predict 1DN of the
variation in school or work. People from privileged backgrounds seem to have
higher !Us.
<ultural bias$ they may penali8e people for belonging to certain cultural
groups ,we must speak the language and know the culture-. :ome tests try to
avoid this problem, but seem to be biased as well. :ometimes they favour
who wishes to do well.
6hat it means to be intelligent varies amongst cultures
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing and avoiding reifcation$
the tendency to think about complex traits as though they have a single
cause and obective reality. 6e must recogni8e the complexity of concepts
such as intelligence.
1eneral intelligence involve multiple components
.oes intelligence re'ect one overall talent or multiple individual ones*
+actor analysis$ statistical techni%ue that clusters items similar to one
another9 the clusters are referred to as factors.
:pearman ,>B2=-$ most intelligence test items tended to cluster as one factor
and that people who scored highly one on type of item also tended to score
highly on other types of items. 4e viewed general intelligence or L)g)) as a
factor that contributes to performance on intellectual task.
Most scientists agree that some form of intelligence of g exists, they also
recogni8e that intelligence comes in various forms.
0luid versus crystalli#ed intelligence$ <attell ,>BA>- H consists of 1 types
of intelligence
+luid$ information processing in novel or complex circumstances. Iften
assessed in nonverbal, more cultureKfair intelligence tests
<rystalli8ed$ knowledge ac%uired through experience and the ability to use
that knowledge
Throughout the adult years, crystalli8ed intelligence grows steadily, while
'uid intelligence declines steadily.
3ultiple intelligences:
Hardner ,>B?3- theory of multiple intelligences
Multiple intelligences$ people can show di7erent skills in a variety of di7erent
domains, independent from one another. ,Musical, bodilyKkinesthetics,
linguistic, mathematical(logical, spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal-
Hreenberg$ average boy, but outstanding musical prodigy.
;ach person has a uni%ue pattern of intelligence and no one should be
viewed as smarter than others, ust di7erently talented. 4e feels that the
current tests fail to capture the true essence of intelligence.
:ternberg ,>BBB- theory of 3 intelligences$ analytical, creative, practical
.motional intelligence ,:alovey, Mayer, populari8ed by Holeman- ;U
;U$ a form of social intelligence that emphasises the ability to perceive,
understand, manage, and use emotions to guide thoughts and actions.
<onsists of = abilities$ manage our own emotions, use emotions to facilitate
activities, recogni8e other)s emotions, and understand emotional language.
Eegulating our mood, resisting impulses and temptation, and controlling our
behaviour are all important components of ;U. !t is correlated with the %uality
of social relationships.
@mportance of 1$ it predicts not only performance in school, and at work,
but also longevity.
Jow H is related to early death ,heart attacks, diabetes, stroke, 5l8heimer)s,
traFc accidents, drowning-. !t may a7ect health, people with higher H better
analyse.
H)s main value is in allowing people to adapt %uickly to environmental
challenges.
Cana8awa suggests that H is important only in novel situations. Ine)s level of
intelligence doesn)t matter for recurring adaptive challenges
@ntelligence is associated with cognitive performance
Halton ,>?11K>B>>-$ intelligence is related to our brain)s eFciency as well as
to keen perceptual skills9 intelligent people have larger, more eFcient brains.
Ither psychologists$ believe that intelligence is supported by low level
cognitive processes, such as mental processing, 6M, and attention
/peed of mental processing:
Test of simple reaction time$ easy
<hoice reaction time$ more representative of intelligence scores
!nspection time test$ if a stimulus is presented, and covered up, how much
time is re%uired to identify if stimulus 5 is longer than stimulus B. The results
are proportional to psychometric test results.
The fact that highly intelligent people)s brains work faster was found by
measuring brains) electrical activity in response to stimuli presentation.
The relationship between reaction time and longevity is somewhat stronger
than that between scores on intelligence tests and longevity.
6orking memory$ H intelligence scores are closely related to 6M. Memory
tests that have dual components, show a strong relation between 6M and
intelligence.
The link may be attention9 the ability to stay focused is important.
<rain structure and function
Brain volume, as assessed by ME!, explained about >2N of the di7erence in
people)s intelligence scores. People with autism tend to have larger brains. 5
small but signifcant correlation has been found between the si8e of selected
brain structures and intelligence.
The volume of neuronal cell bodies in the frontal lobes and in other brain
regions that support attentional control is related to 'uid intelligence, but not
to crystalli8ed intelligence.
:andra 6itelson$ <anadian neuroscientist who has >1D brains including
;instein)s. 4is brain is unremarkable in overall si8e or weight, but his parietal
lobe is >DN larger than average.
:avants$ Cim Peek, savant who inspired the character played by .ustin
4o7man in Eain man, who can memori8e impressive things, but can)t
manage the daily chores of daily life. 6ith a score of ?A on an intelligence
test, he was born in >BD> with several brain anomalies, especially in his left
hemisphere. ,enarlged head, missing corpus callosum-
6iltshire$ autism, can reproduce paintings of images he only glanced at years
ago.
1enes and environment in(uence intelligence
#ature and nurture both play a role in development of intelligence. ,parent)s
brain si8e, nutrition in'uences brain si8e, intelligent people might seek out
activities that will increase the volume of their frontal lobe, heritability of
vocabulary si8e, the amount of schooling...-
Behavioural genetics$ genes do play a role, but the extent of their in'uence
remains unknown. #o intelligence has been found. ,study in mice, removed
genes, knockout genes, or replacing them with other, knockin genes, lead to
increase intelligence for a few hours-. !U chart p.3G?.
.nvironmental factors: prenatal and post8natal factors in(uence
intelligence.
:tudies show that frstborns often have higher !Us, psychologist disagree with
these fndings. Jaterborns often have a lower !U than frstborns. This could be
because parents devote more time and attention to older siblings, who grow
up with fewer children.
5dopted children had higher !Us and better school performances than their
biological sibling who hasn)t been adopted. Their !Us were similar to nonK
adopted siblings, but school performances lagged behind.
;nriched environment enhances learning and memory as well. ;nvironment
in'uences how genes involved in brain development are expressed, including
the formation of new synapses.
The intellectual opportunities that a child receives also in'uence their
intelligence$ starting school early.
+lynn e7ect$ rise of the !U scores during the last century, since every
generation needs more education than the preceding, and work and leisure
re%uire more complex cognitive processing. !t could also be related to better
nutrition, health care system, better educational methods, longer school
years, smaller families with more parental attention, exposure to technology.
1roup di4erences in intelligence have multiple determinants
1ender$ @ensen found that no evidence was found for sex di7erences in the
mean level of g or in the variation of g. Males excel on some factors, females
on others. There are di7erences between males and females$ males tend to
do better on math and visuospatial processing, females get better grades and
have advantages on measures of writing and languages.
:tudies have shown that females tend to estimate their intelligence lower
that males estimate theirs, because females receive modesty training and
underestimate their intelligence. +emales and males tend to attribute higher
!Us to their fathers than mothers.
:ace$ @ensen said that 5frican 5mericans are, on average, less intelligent
than ;uropean 5mericans9 they score about >2 to >D points higher. 6hy*
6e must consider if race is a biologically signifcant concept, many believe it
isn)t. !t is wrong to conclude that genes in'uence those groups when there
are environmental factors at stake.
Jewontin ,>BAG- provided a good analogy for this. 5frican 5mericans tend to
make less money and are more likely to live in poverty, they have fewer
years of education, and are targets of discrimination, which may lead to
lowerKself esteem.
5frican 5merican children who wrote about what mattered to them as a racial
group had better grades ,=2N reduction of the racial gap in grades.-
:tereotype treat$ apprehension about confrming negative stereotypes
related to one)s own group. ,it could interfere with the good performances of
55-
6e tend to do as the stereotype predicts we will do. :5T scores can be
a7ected by that, but it is still debated. Because according to brain imaging
techni%ues test takers resulting anxiety reduced the capacity of their 6M,
more arousal in brain areas related in emotion.
Chapter 1D: +ealth and well8being
Can psychological factors a4ect health-
4ealth psychology$ concerned with the events that a7ect physical wellKbeing.
!t arose 32 years ago when psychologists reali8ed the importance of lifestyle
factors to physical health
6ellKbeing$ a positive state that includes striving for optimal health
Psychologists rely on experimental and statistical data to understand the
correlation between thoughts, actions, and physical and mental health. They
also study the inverse of these relationships.
The biopsychosocial model of health incorporates multiple
perspectives for understanding and improving health.
Biopsychological model$ model of health that integrates the e7ects of
biological, behavioural, and social factors on health and illness. !t is a circular
model p.=1B. #ot like the traditional medical model in which patients are
passive and the doctor knows best.
<ehaviour contributes to the leading causes of death
Most people fear the wrong things
6e are more likely to die from causes that stem from our own behaviours,
which we can learn to modify. Jifestyle behaviours that begin in childhood
and teenage years have a great impact on health. ,in teens =BN of deaths
are from accidents-
Behaviours in'uence environments, which in turn in'uence the biological
bases of behaviours.
<ritical thinking skill$ indentifying regression to the mean
;n extreme event will likely be followed by a less extreme event
Placebos can be a powerful medicine
Placebo e7ect$ a drug or treatment, unrelated to the particular problem of the
person who receives it, may make the recipient feel better because the
person believes that the drug or treatment is e7ective. +or a placebo to work,
the patient must believe it will, i.e. they mustn)t know it is a placebo. !t can
be attributable to decreased anxiety, partly. 6e can)t separate the e7ects
from our mind from those of our bodies. !t is an experimental control
5 drug that made the analgesics ine7ective also made the placebo
ine7ective. ME! studies showed that when patients have a positive
expectation about a placebo, the neural processes involved in responding to
it are the same ones activated in response to a biologically active treatment.
<ritical thinking$ recogni8ing placebo e7ects when evaluating treatment
claims.
+ow do people cope with stress-
:tress$ a pattern of behavioural and physiological responses to events that
match or exceed an organism)s abilities to respond in a healthy way. ,5 little
stress may be benefcial-. !t is divided in 1 types$ eustress ,from positive
events- and distress or duress ,stress of negative events-. They e%ually put
strain to our bodies. ;xtreme distress can lead to serious health problems.
.aily hassles can build up and cause serious problems because they wear
down personal resources. 6e may accommodate to certain types, but not to
others, such as interpersonal stress.
:tressor$ an environmental event or stimulus that threatens an organism
<oping response$ any response an organism makes to avoid, escape from, or
minimi8e an aversive stimulus.
6hen too much is expected of us, we perceive a discrepancy between the
situation and what we can do.
/tress has psychological components
:tress activates a chain of events known as the hypothalamicKpituitaryK
adrenal ,4P5- axis. P.=3D !t was an eFcient model for our ancestors because
it results in increased energy. Because hormones travel slowly in the
bloodstream, stress a7ects the system much longer than stressors do.
;xcessive stress disrupts 6M, especially when the demand of 6M is high.
<hronic stress has been associated with memory impairments caused when
cortisol damages neurons in brain areas including the hippocampus.
There are sex di4erences in responses to stressors
+ightKorK'ight response$ ,<annon- the psychological preparedness of animals
to deal with danger.
Taylor says that this model has been studied using ?2N males, which means
that we have a distorted vision of stress response. This is mostly because
females) menstrual cycle level of hormones may interfere
TendKtoKbefriend response ,Taylor$ female)s tendency to protect and care for
their o7spring and form social alliances.- ;xcellent from an evolutionary point
of view. This theory can)t be applied universally to all females.
Heary and +ill$ males often engage in tending behaviours
Ixycontin$ a hormone important for mothers in bonding to newborns, it is
produced by the hypothalamus and released in the bloodstream by the
pituitary gland.
Ixycontin levels tend to be high in stressful situations, it is especially
important in women)s stress response
;strogens are also important in understanding the di7erences between male
and female stress response
Their di7erent responses may explain why they tend to live D to ? years
longer than males on average.
The general adaptation syndrome is a bodily response to stress
:elye$ e7ects of sex hormones by inecting rats with hormones from other
animals he found$ enlarged adrenal glands, decreased levels of lymphocytes
,white T or B cells that make up the immune system- and stomach ulcers.
These 3 responses were part of the nonspecifc stress response
Heneral adaptation syndrome$ alarm, resistance and exhaustion ,p.=3?-
/tress a4ects health
The prolonged action of stress hormones ,cortisol- negatively a7ects health
,high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, decline sex drive, dwarfsm-
:apolsky$ chronic stress, especially psychological stress, is associated with
the initiation and progression of a wide variety of diseases. Many coping
strategies can be damaging
@mmune system$ stress alters its function. PsychoKneuroKimmunology
studies the response of the body)s immune system to psychological
variables. :hort term stress boosts it, chronic stress weakens it, because of
decreased lymphocyte production
<ohen$ people sni7ed cold viruses9 those with the highest levels of stress
developed heavier symptoms. The more desirable events, the greater the
production of antigens.
+eart disease$ the leading cause of deaths for adults. +actors$ genetics,
health behaviours, response to stress ,personality traits, >BD2s-
+riedman ,chair- his patients were impatient and driven, they were sitting on
the front of their chairs. 4e deduced that personality could in'uence heart
disease. Today, it has been shown that negative emotions in'uence the risk
of heart diseases.
6estern <ollaborative Hroup ,>BG2- ? year study with 3D22 men free of heart
disease at the start of the study and found that a set of personality traits
were related to heart disease.
Type 5 behaviour$ competitive, goal oriented, aggressive, hostile, restless,
not able to relax, impatient with others. They are much more prone to heart
disease, such behaviour is as strong a predicator of heart disease as is high
blood pressure.
Type B behaviour$ easygoing, relaxed, non competitive, accommodating.
.epression can also lead to heart disease. !n contrast optimistic people tend
to have lower risks.
.uke "niversity found out that hostility was the worse, because such a state
of arousal puts a strain on the body ,impact on pulmonary health also-
5llostatic load theory of illness$ when people are continuously stressed, they
are unable to return to bodily states that characteri8e normal stress levels.
5llostatic load is similar to homeostasis. The body of more positive people
should return more easily and often to their allostatic load.
Coping is a process
Ja8arus ,>BB3- conceptualised a 1Kpart appraisal process$ people use primary
appraisals to decide whether a stimulus is stressful, benign, or irrelevant. !f
they fnd the stimuli stressful, they use secondary appraisals to evaluate
response options and choose coping behaviours.
5nticipatory coping$ coping that occurs before the onset of a future stressor.
Types of coping$ +olkman and Ja8arus outline 1 categories of coping
;motionKfocused coping$ people try to prevent having an emotional response
to a stressor, adopting often passive strategies ,avoidance, minimi8ing the
problem, distanciation from outcome, eating, drinking- that don)t solve the
problem. ;7ective only in the shortKrun. .epending on the situation, it might
be the best option.
ProblemKfocused coping$ people take direct steps to confront or minimi8e a
stressor, generating alternative solutions. Method when we perceive the
stressors as controllable
+olkman and Moskowit8$ in addition to problem focused coping, 1 strategies
can be adopted to help people use positive thoughts to deal with stress. They
involve positive reappraisal, a process in which a person focuses on possible
good things in his situation, looking for the silver lining.
.ownward comparison$ comparing oneself to those who are worse o7
<reation of positive events$ infusing ordinary events with positive meaning
!ndividual di7erences in coping$ some people are stressKresistant9 they are
able to adapt to life changes by viewing events constructively. 4ardiness
,Cobasa-$ commitment, challenge, control. They experience a high blood
pressure when faced with stress, a sign of coping, and they have an increase
in positive thoughts about themselves.
+amilyKfocused interventions$ including family members in a treatment plan
for chronically ill doesn)t help$ the patient may feel as though family
members are controlling their life rather than providing help. Being in control
of essential decisions reduces stress and promotes wellKbeing.
Motivate that patient to make his health and life choices, carry the daily
activities
Modelling healthy behaviours
Providing reward
Pointing out the positive conse%uence of caring for one)s illness
'hat behaviours a4ect mental and physical health-
Iur daily habits contribute to nearly every maor cause of death in developed
nations. 4igh stress is associated with more problems than fat intake, less
exercise, and heavier smoking.
9besity results from a genetic predisposition and overeating
6hy some people can control what they eat and some can)t remains unclear.
:ociety has a negative attitude towards overweight people and tends to think
they are ust la8y pigs.
Travis former president of #55+5$ provide support for discrimination. 5fter a
life time of failed diets, they reali8e they will probably always be fat and they
must learn to accept themselves and to educate society about obesity.
Ibese$ when 12N over ideal body weight.
BM!$ body mass index. 5ccording to it, >(3 of 5mericans are clinically obese
Henetic in'uence$ half the variability in body weight. G2 to ?2N heritability in
fraternal twins. ;nvironment has far less e7ect than genetics. !t determines
whether a person can become obese, but environment determines if a person
will become obese ,:tundark-. More than 322 genetic markers play a role
:tudy by Bouchard of twins being overfed$ di7ered weight can amongst pairs,
similarity within the pairs.
The stigma of obesity: can give rise to psychological problems. !n some
cultures, obesity is appreciated.
Jow selfKesteem might cause the weight gain. ,girls rating themselves = or
less can gain 1 BM! points 1 years after rating themselves as such. -
!n western cultures, being overweight is associated with lower status,
especially for women. !deal D)>>)) and >>2. G) >=D. 5t odds against men)s
bodies whose si8es increased.
:estrictive dieting doesnAt wor)$ because of the body)s self defence
against weight loss. 6eight is regulated around a setKpoint determined
primarily by genetic in'uence.
>BGG, study with inmate to increase body weight by 1DN, few did it
>BD2, study to challenge men to reduce body weight by 1DN, very hard,
became obsessed with food. :imilar outcomes to those with eating disorders.
The body responds to weight loss be slowing down metabolism, after the
body has been deprived of food, it needs less food to maintain a given body
weight9 weight gain occurs much faster when previously starved
<lose friends tend to have similar body weights, because of the social
transmission9 the implicit agreement on what body weight is acceptable or
normal.
:estrained eating$ chronic dieters ,restrained eaters-, are prone to
excessive eating in some situation ,Polivy, 4erman- !f they think they have
blown their diets, they will indulge in eating more. :tress can also lead them
to abandon their diets. Their binge eating depends on their perception of
when their diets are broken. They rely on cognitive control of food intake
rather than eating according to body states of hunger.
6isordered eating$ chronic dieting may promote it, they feel it diFcult to
lose weight ,cycles of yoyo alters the metabolism and makes it more diFcult
to lose- and have low selfKesteem. Tend to run in families, are due partially to
genetics. Bulimia seems more culture bound, but 5norexia is prevalent in
every country where there is abundant food.
5norexia$ excessive fear of becoming fat and refusal to eat. >N of the
population meet the criteria$ obective measures of thinness and
psychological characteristics that indicate abnormal obsession with food and
body weight. <an lead to loss of bone density and >DK11N die.
Bulimia$ alternate between binging and dieting. >K1N of girls meet the
criteria9 they tend to be average or overweight. BingeKeating disorder$ no
purging
In ethics$ obesity and public policy p.=D>
/mo)ing is a leading cause of death
.ata from 6orld 4ealth Irgani8ation, increasing numbers of people are
smoking in lowKincome countries. D.=M deaths are caused by tobacco every
year. >H of people will die in this century. > in = 5merican are smokers, ==2C
deaths in the ": per year. Most smokers begin in childhood or adolescence,
every day D222 5mericans between >>K>A years old have their >
st
cigarette9
half will continue smoking and a third will die from it. By the >1
th
grade A2N
have had experiences with tobacco products, 32N smoke regularly.
:tarting smoking$ coughing, watery eyes, bad taste, and nausea. :ocial
in'uences$ adolescents will more likely smoke if their parents or friends are
smoking. +alse consensus e7ect$ they over estimate the number of smokers.
L)being a smoker)) has an in'uence9 they are viewed as tough, sociable, good
with members of the opposite sex. <hildren take it up to look cool.
:ome people are particularly susceptible to nicotine addiction because of
genetics. #icotine may lead to increased activation of dopamine neurones,
which can have a rewarding e7ect.
Maintaining a healthy weight or %uitting smoking$ smokers may need to hit
rock bottom before they do something about it.
.xercise has physical* emotional and cognitive bene,ts
Eeduced depression, enhanced memory and cognition$ MiracleKHro for our
brains ,aerobic exercise promotes neurogenesis, the growth of new neurones
and neural connections- The additional neurons created through exercise
result in larger brains, a7ecting especially the hippocampus.
:tudy$ adults between G2KAB in a G months aerobic plan showed increased
white and gray matter. Makes us heal faster. 5dults with memory problems
showed increased memory and cognition. ;xercise reduces memory decline
in older adults with moderate problems.
;xercise increases the immune system and prevents certain cancers. !t
reduces stress and improves mood. Hood for the clinical treatment of
depression, addiction and alcoholism.
There are ethnic di4erences in health behaviours
Henetics, a7ordable health care, culture. 5cculturation ,extent to which an
individual accommodate to the culture- is important.
55 and 45 were less likely to smoke or drink than ;5 and 5sian5. ;5 were
better for diet and exercise.
Can a positive attitude )eep us healthy-
Being positive has health benefts
Eogers, Maslow, ;rikson$ early pioneers of positive psychology great success
in the >BD2K>BA2s. <omeback in the >BB2s. The new positive psychology
emphasises the strengths and virtue that people thrive, it tries to understand
what makes people happy.
4appiness has 3 components$ positive emotions and pleasure, engagement
in life, meaningful life. 6hen one increases the others increase as well.
5re happier people healthier$ yes
:tudy of >222, 1 years after analysing for hypertension, diabetes, and
respiratory tract infection. People who are hopeful have reduced risk in all 3,
and curious people have reduced risk of the >
st
and 1
nd
. Thus having a
positive attitude has multiple benefcial e7ects, including on the immune
system functioning and greater longevity.
/ocial support and social integration are associated with good
health
4appy people tend to have strong social networks and are more socially
integrated than less happy people. :ocial interaction is benefcial for physical
and mental health. People with large social networks will less easily get colds.
People who have more friends live longer. Men with fewer friends were 1.3N
and women 1.?N more likely to die during the B year study period. :ocially
isolated ill people will likely die sooner, in part because isolation is associated
with many health problems.
:ocial integration$ the %uality of a person)s social relationships.
:ocial support is linked to fewer health problems, because of decreased
stress. To be most e7ective, people need to care about the recipient.
Bu7ering hypothesis$ the idea that other people can provide direct support in
helping individuals cope with stress.
;motional disclosure has positive e7ects on health$ writing or talking about
our emotions has great health benefts. :tudies by Pennebaker, found those
positive e7ects
<ollege students who were assigned to write about their emotions visited
school counselling less often than those assigned to write about other things.
5nderson$ writing about emotional events helps understand the cause of the
events, and construct meaningful stories out of experiences so that they can
better understand these experiences and can move on. 5t frst, people might
experience negative feelings, but they will go away. They must start with
something that needs resolution, for >D mins.
Marriage can be good for our health$ positive relationships are good, stronger
for husbands than for wives. :ee chart p.=DB. :ame benefts for homosexual
relationships, it was found that lesbian couple work more cooperatively on lab
tests than other couples.
<ouples who fght showed a decreased immune system in the 1= hours after
con'ict. Hlaser found that people going through a divorce had compromised
immune systems.
Marital con'icts have more negative outcomes for wives than husbands$
women)s greater responsiveness to con'ict and the higher premium they
place on emotional closeness makes them more likely than men to seek
divorce when there is high con'ict.
Trust and health are related across cultures
Ixytocin is involved in trust relationships$ attachment hormone. Eeleased
when people feel empathy for others, and is involved in feelings of love. !t is
released when participants are engaged in trust relationships while playing
the trust game. Players who had oxytocin sprayed in their noses were more
trustful. Thus having more of this hormone makes people more trusting.
Moberg$ people who secrete more oxytocin have more trusting personalities
and form attachments more readily.
Oak$ studies on secreting of testosterone and distrust. Men showed increased
levels of testosterone when they didn)t trust the player. Thus men and
women respond di7erently when they distrust someone.
Trust is associated with better health and longer lives. Jess trusting people
have poorer health. !t may not be causal9 there might be a 3
rd
factor involved.
/pirituality contributes to well8being
People who are religious report greater feelings of wellKbeing than those who
aren)t.
Myers found that religious people are better at coping with crises in their
lives. Their beliefs serve as a bu7er. They can also derive meaning to their
lives. They feel they are more than ust a momentary blip in the universe.
Beliefs can help people achieve and maintain wellKbeing through the support
provided by faith communities. Eeligion supports healthy lifestyle.
"ction plan for well being
Taking care of the body and mind
;at natural foods, watch portion si8e, drink alcohol in moderation, if at all,
keep active, don)t smoke, practice safe sex, learn to relax, learn to cope,
build a strong support network, write about troubling events in your life,
consider your spiritual life, try some of the happiness exercises.
Chapter 11: human development
.evelopmental psychology$ the study of changes in physiology, cognition,
and social behaviour over the life span
'hat shapes a child-
Iur genes set the pace and order of development p.=A>. ;nvironment also
plays a role. !f a baby sleeps on his back, he will crawl later.
6evelopment starts in the womb
Oygote$ >
st
cell
;mbryo$ from 1 weeks to 1 months, internal organs, nervous system
+oetus$ physical growth
Physical development$ most of the brain)s nerve cells develop in a specifc
se%uence in the >
st
A months of gestation. Basic brain areas form by week =.
<ells that form the cortex are visible from week A, those of the thalamus and
hypothalamus by week >2, those of the left and right hemispheres, by week
>1. 5t birth the brain has cortical layers, connections among its neurones ad
myelination, yet the development continues throughout his life.
4ormones that circulate in the womb in'uence the developing foetus9 if the
mother doesn)t produce enough thyroid hormones, the baby is at risk for low
!U. The mother)s emotional state also matters9 when the baby is exposed to
high levels of stress hormones, it may have an impaired development
Teratogens$ environmental agents that harm the embryo or foetus. They can
impair cognitive and physical development. The extent to which a teratogen
impairs the development depends on when the exposure occurs and how
long it occurs.
<rain development promotes learning
#ewborns have are able to process a wide variety of sensory stimuli. Their
auditory system is much more developed than the visual system9 they have a
visual acuity of ?K>1 inches. Hrasping re'ex ,survival mechanism-. Eooting
e7ect ,sucking-. These re'exes pave the way for a more complicated
behaviour pattern such as feeding oneself and walking. Thus at birth the
brain is suFciently developed to support basic re'exes, but further
development appears necessary.
Myelination and neuronal connections$ brain circuit maturation9 it begins in
the spinal cord during the >
st
trimester and on the brain)s neurons during the
second. !t occurs in di7erent brain regions at di7erent stages of development
;arly brain growth has 1 important aspects$ specifc areas within the brain
mature and become functional, and regions of the brain learn to
communicate with one another through synaptic connections
The myelinated axons form synapses with other neurones.
:ynaptic pruning$ the fre%uently used connections are preserved9 the unused
ones decay or disappear. ,graph p.=AD-
Ince the connections are established, the brain makes them more
permanent, by increasing myelination. !nfants do not develop specifc
cognitive skills until certain brain connections are made.
The brain grows as determined by genetic instruction, but the organ is also
highly adaptable. Most neurones are formed at birth, but the brain)s physical
development continues through the growth of neurones and the new
connections they make.
By age =, the brain grows from about 3D2 grams to >,1D2 grams ,?2N of the
adult brain-. This si8e increase is due to myelination and to new synaptic
connections. ;arly childhood nutrition a7ects myelination and other
development.
/ensitive learning periods$
<ritical periods ,Jenneberg-$ biologically determined time periods for the
development of specifc skills.
:ensitive periods$ biologically determined periods when specifc skills develop
most easily.
"ttachment promotes survival
<hildren are also shaped by their early relations, especially from their care
givers9 social development begins in infancy. 4umans are born immature, but
their cries cause psychological, physiological, and behavioural reactions that
compel the caregiver to provide food.
6ithin >2 weeks infants are profoundly a7ected by their caregiver)s facial
expressions and emotional responses. Between = and G weeks of age, young
children express their >
st
social smile, which enhances powerful feelings of
attachment between caregiver and child, it is an attachment bond that will
persist throughout life
Bowlby$ infant attachment leads to heightened feelings of safety and security
and motivates infant and caregiver to stay in close contact. !nfants have an
innate repertoire of attachment behaviours that motivate adult attention,
thus attachment is adaptive. 5dults talk in high pitched voices because
infants react to such pitches.
"ttachment in other species$ some birds have a period where they
become extremely attached to adults
Joren8$ imprinting preferably on a female of their species
4arlow$ monkeys in cages with mothers one made out of wires that provided
food and one made out of cloth that looked cuddly. The monkeys were
clinging on to the cloth mother. The motherKasKfoodKtheory was no more
good. 4is fndings established the importance of contact comfort.
5ttachment style
5ttachment behaviours begin in the >
st
months of life and may vary
somewhat on cultural practices. 5t around ?K>1 months, infants display
separation anxiety, in which they become very distressed when they can)t
see or are separated from their attachment fgures.
5insworth$ the strange situation test p.=AB. 5 standard se%uence of
separation and reunions between the child and each adult. Iver the course of
? episodes, the child experiences increasing distress and a greater need for
caregiver proximity. The extent to which the child copes and the strategies
used indicate the %uality of the child)s attachment.
/ecure attachment$ a maority of infants ,GDN- are readily comforted when
their attachment fgure returns after a brief separation. 4e is distressed when
the attachment fgure leaves.
"voidant attachment$ applies to 12K1DN of children. 4e doesn)t appear
distressed when the attachment fgure leaves. !f upset, they may be
comforted by the stranger. 6hen the caregiver returns, the child doesn)t
want a reunion, but rather ignores or snubs the attachment fgure. !f he
approaches the attachment fgure he does so tentatively
5nxious(ambivalent attachment$ applies to >2K>DN of children. They are
anxious throughout the test, clings to the attachment fgure after she enters
the room, and when she leaves, they become extremely upset. 6hen the
attachment fgure returns, he will seek and reect caring attention.
6isorgani#ed attachment$ infants give mixed responses when their
caregiver leaves and returns from a short absenceV
<hildren with behavioural problems are more likely to be insecurely attached.
The caregiver)s personality also contributes to the child)s attachment style.
;motionally and behaviourally inconsistent caregivers tend to have children
with and anxious(ambivalent attachment style and reecting caregivers tend
to have children with an avoidant attachment.
<ritical thinking skill$ understanding that some doesn)t mean all
<hildren who were securely attached to their caregivers are more likely to
have a good romantic relationship.
Chemistry of attachment$ oxytocin is related to social behaviours including
infant(caregiver attachment. !t plays a role in maternal tendencies, feelings of
social acceptance and bonding, and sexual gratifcation. 4igher level of this
hormone was predicting a better maternal attachment.
+ow do children learn about their worlds-
Perception introduces the world
The infants use the information given by their senses to try to make sense of
their world.
@nfant research techni5ues$
Preferential looking techni%ue$ infants are shown 1 things9 they look at the
one that interests them the longest.
Irienting re'ex$ pay more attention to new stimuli than to stimuli to which
they have become habituated. Based on this, a lot can be measured about
the infant)s abilities.
/ision$ with preferential looking techni%ues to determine the infant)s visual
acuity. They respond more to obects with high contrasts.
+ant8$ showed black and white strands and patches of gray to an infant held
by its caregiver
/isual acuity increases rapidly during the >
st
G months, and adult level of
acuity aren)t reached until > year9 due to the development of the visual
cortex and of the cones in the retina.
+ox$ stereogram for depth perception in which one view of an image is shown
to one eye and another view to the other9 this information is then converted
into depth perception. !f infants can)t see this disparity information to
perceive depth, they will ust see random dots. P.=?=. 5bility to perceive
depth develops between 3 and a half and G months.
"uditory perception
6hen infants are presented with sounds in their right or left ear, they turn in
the direction of the sound. G months babies have nearly all the auditory
capacities of an adult. !nfants also have some memory for sounds9 they
recogni8e sounds they have heard before. ,measure the rate of nipple
sucking-
.e <asper and +ifer$ operant conditioning to determine what sounds 1 day
old infants could remember$ newborns alter their sucking rates to hear their
mother)s voices more often.
!n adults, di7erent brain regions respond to speech and nonKspeech. 5dults
and infant)s distinction between speech and nonKspeech was measured using
event related potentials ,;HH-. The patterns were similar, thus from the >
st
3
months there is a continuity in how the brain processes speech.
3emory improves over childhood
<ollier$ from a very young age, infants possess some type of rudimentary
memory p.=?D. The memory retention test$ if the baby recogni8es the mobile,
they will kick faster. Ilder infants remember better9 by >? months, they could
remember for several weeks.
!nfantile amnesia$ the inability to remember events form early childhood
,usually before = years old-. :ome suggest that the ability to form memories
arises with autobiographical memory others with language ac%uisition.
!naccurate memory$ young children often have source amnesia. ;arly
childhood memories aren)t memories of the actual event, but that of movies,
stories, picture albums... <hildren also confabulate ,they have undeveloped
frontal lobes-. !t happens more when they are asked about personal
experience rather than general knowledge. There are more disputed
memories between identical twins than fraternal twins. Most of them occur
during preschool, when source memory is developing.
Piaget emphasi#ed stages of development
4e paid as much attention to how children made errors as to how they
succeeded on tasks which provided insight on how kids make sense of the
world. 4e concluded that children go through = stages of development$
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
,p.=?A-. Their views about the world isn)t inaccurate, it is that they view it on
di7erent assumptions than those held by adults.
.uring each stage of development, children develop new schemas. 4e
believed that each stage builds on the previous one in 1 learning process$
5ssimilation$ the process through which a new experience is incorporated in
an existing schema
5ccommodation$ the process by which a schema is changed to incorporate a
new experience that doesn)t easily ft in an existing schema
/ensorimotor stage >birth to 2 years?: ac%uisition of information through
senses only. 5s they begin to control their movements, they develop their >
st
schema$ conceptual model consisting of mental representations of the kinds
of actions that can performed on certain kinds of obects. Piaget believed that
eventually all the sensorimotor schemas merge into an explanatory schema$
they learn they can act on obects, manipulate them to understand them
rather than simply reacting to them.
Ibect permanency$ the understanding that an obect continues to exist even
when it can)t be seen ,starting at B months, children search for hidden
obects-. +ull accomplishment of obect permanency is a key accomplishment
to the >
st
stage of development
Preoperational stage >28& yrs?: children can think about obects not in
their immediate view and have developed various conceptual models of how
the world works, they begin to think symbolically, but can)t think
operationally ,they can)t imagine the logical outcome of performing a certain
task on a certain obect. They base their reasoning not on logic, but on
immediate appearance. They have no understanding of the law of
conservation of %uantity
Concrete operational stage >&812 yrs?: children begin to think about and
understand operations in ways that are reversible. 6e develop logic when we
can understand operations. 5 classic operation is an action that can be
undone. <onservation of %uantity can then be understood. !t is the beginning
of logical thinking, but children reason about concrete things, they don)t yet
have the ability to reason abstractly, or hypothetically.
0ormal operational stage >12E yrs?: involves the ability to think
abstractly and to formulate and test hypotheses through deductive logic.
They can form a hypothesis and test it through deductive logic
Challenges to PiagetAs theory: it is disputed that every person goes
through the stages of development in the same order. 4is framework leaves
little room for di7erent cognitive strategies or skills among individuals. Many
children seem to move back and forth between stages. Theorists believe that
di7erent areas in the brain are responsible for di7erent skills, and that the
development of di7erent skills doesn)t have to follow strict stages.
@nfants have early )nowledge about the world
<hildren understand much more at much earlier stages about the world that
was previously believed. "sing the preferential looking techni%ue, it was
found out that 3 months old infants can remember not in sight obects.
!nfant)s reactions to novel stimuli indicate that they have early cognitive
skills. !nfants respond di7erently to impossible events than possible ones,
they demonstrate an understanding that an obect continues to exist even
when not in sight. ,Baillargeon)s apple(carrot test-
2nderstanding the laws of nature: physics
:pelke$ infants have a primitive understanding of the laws of physics, they
are born with the ability to perceive movement, and as they get older they
use information to determine if an obect is continuous. ,rod in a box, =
monthKolds looked longer at the separate rod-.
Baillargeon$ by the age of 3 months, young children begin to understand
what is necessary to support an obect in space. They seem to have in
intuitive understanding of the laws of physics.
2nderstanding the laws of nature: mathematics
Piaget$ the concept of %uantity wasn)t understood by the number of obects,
but by length.
Mehler and Bever$ 3K yrs old children can understand the concept of more
than and less than$ more than ?2N of the children picked the shortest row
containing more MWMs as the one containing more candy.
Eesearchers found that some young children have ama8ing numerical
capacities using a study with B monthKolds to which was shown computer
animation of addition and subtraction.
+umans learn from interacting with others
;arly social interactions between infants and caregivers are essential to
understanding other people and communicating with them through language
Theory of mind$ describes the ability to explain and predict other people)s
behaviour as a result of recogni8ing their mental state.
Premack$ young children aren)t very good at understanding how others feel,
they are egocentric. ,less than Piaget believed-. Roung children come to
understand that other people perform actions for reasons, that the actions
are intentional.
:tudy$ infants older than B months showed greater signs of impatience when
the adult was unwilling than when the adult was unable to hand them a toy
>3 months old, the age at which it is believed that children begin to
understand intention, expectations depended on what they believed the
caterpillar knew
These studies provide strong evidence that in the >
st
year of life, children
begin to read intentions and that by the end of the second year, by >3 to >D
months, they becomes very good at reading them.
0alse belief test$ measures children)s ability to predict actions, to complete
the test, they must understand that people can act on the basis of false
information. They can solve it by the age of =. Their success at this test and
in the full development of the theory of the mind coincides with the
maturation of the frontal lobes. Those results are culturally universal.
!n brain imaging studies, prefrontal regions become active when people are
asked to think about other)s mental states.
Jike the abilities to understand math and physics, theory of the mind might
develop independently of other brain functions. ,children with autism can)t
solve the falseKbelief problem, children with .own syndrome can- Thus theory
of the mind isn)t governed by reasoning and general intelligence.
3oral reasoning and moral emotions: moral development concerns the
way people learn to decide between behaviours with competing social
outcomes. Morality develops during childhood and into adulthood, and is
divided between moral reasoning, dependent on cognitive processes, and
moral emotions. The 1 are intertwined$ moral reasoning is enhanced by moral
emotions.
The study of cognitive processes of moral behaviour have focused on
Jawrence Cohlberg)s stage theory who tested moral reasoning skills by asking
people to respond to moral dilemmas, and look at the reason to their
answers. 4e devised a theory of moral udgments that involves 3 levels of
reasoning
Preconventional$ selfKinterest determines what is moral
<onventional$ rules and the approval of others determine what is moral
Postconventional$ decisions about morality depend on abstract principles
:ome say that moral reasoning fails to predict moral behaviour9 instead
moral actions are more in'uenced by emotion than cognitive principles.
Eesearch focused on empathy ,understanding of one)s emotions, feeling
with- and sympathy ,pity, sorrow, feeling for- which are considered selfK
conscious because they re%uire comprehension of oneself as a causal agent
and an evaluation of one)s own response. They arise later than primary
emotions, thus are called secondary emotions.
Parents) behaviour in'uence their children)s level of both moral emotions and
presocial behaviour, thus not all the same children progress at the same rate
or in the same order. !nductive reasoning promotes children)s sympathetic
attitudes, feelings of guilt and awareness of other)s feelings
Physiological basis of morality$ moral emotions are based in physiological
mechanisms that help people make decisions.
.amasio$ somaticKmarker hypothesis$ people have a visceral response to real
or imagined outcomes that help decision making. Patients with damaged
prefrontal cortex fail to become emotionally involved in decision making,
because their somatic markers are not involved.
Patients with damaged prefrontal regions showed severe defciencies in moral
and social reasoning, but scored at the preconventional level and neglected
social and emotional factors in their life decisions.
7anguage develops in an orderly fashion
5s the brain develops, the ability to speak and form sentences also develops.
5s children)s social skills develop, their language skills also improve.
Tomasello$ early social interactions between infant and caregiver are
essential to understanding other people and being able to communicate with
them through language. !nfants and caregivers attend to obects in their
environment together, which facilitates learning to speak. This ability can be
disrupted by social isolation and lack of exposure to language.
0rom D to %DDDD
Janguage is a system of using sounds and symbols according to grammatical
rules to communicate, and can be viewed as a hierarchical structure, in which
sentences can be broken down into phrases which can be broken down into
words that consist of phonemes. This structure makes sense in syntax.
#ewborns are already well on their way to language learning. Cuhl found that
up to G months, a baby can discriminate all the speech sounds that occur in
all natural languages. 4abituation techni%ue to study if babies can
discriminates sounds in their own language$ a sound was emitted bababa,
and a new sound was emitted lalala, if the baby turns its head, it means that
he discriminates between the sounds.
@apanese$ r(l in the same phonetic category, but not in ;nglish. GDN of GK?
months babies were able to discriminate between such sounds. +rom >2K>1
months ;nglish babies got better and @apanese babies got worse.
Cuhl$ experience of exposure to foreign languages p.=BA. 5 live interaction
was needed, which reinforces the importance of social interactions in
language learning
> month$ crying, fussing, eating, breathing
3KD months$ cooing, laughing
DKA months$ babbling using consonants and vowels
AK? months$ babble in syllables
> year$ syllables are mixed, sounds and rhythms of native language
Janguage)s onset is marked by the >
st
word a baby utters and appears to
understand. "tter 1 types of words$ performative ,learned in a context, might
not be used for meaning- and true words ,meant to represent concepts-.
>
st
words are those that identify things in their immediate environment such
as obects, simple actions, %uantifers, %ualities or adectives, socially
interactive words, internal states.
>? months$ put words together, rapid increase of vocabulary, rudimentary
sentences ,usually 1 words- that have a logic or syntax. The words) order
indicates what has happened or should happen.
:oger <rown: telegraphic speech$ the tendency for children to speak
using rudimentary sentences that are missing words and grammatical
markings but follow a logical syntax.
5s children begin to use language in a more sophisticated method, they may
overapply new grammatical rules they learn. Might make mistakes at 3KD
years with words they used correctly at 1K3 years. This is rare, and occurs
because children are able to use language in a generative way, thus making
more errors with words used less fre%uently.
5c%uiring language with the hands$ if perception and production of words are
key neurological determinants of early language ac%uisition, than babies
learning sign language should ac%uire this language in a di7erent manner. !f
language is learned through systematic patterns than both languages should
be ac%uired the same way.
Jaura 5nn Petitto$ deaf babies exposed to sign language from birth ac%uire
these languages on an identical maturation timetable as hearing babies
ac%uire spoken languages. 4umans must possess a biologically endowed
sensitivity to aspects of language patterns.
2niversal grammar
#oam <homsky$ language must be governed by universal grammar, or innate
knowledge of a set of universal and specifcally linguistic elements and
relations that form the heart of all human languages.
The way people combine elements to form sentences and convey meaning is
only a language)s surface structure, the sound and order of words. 4e
introduced the concept of deep structure$ the implicit meaning of sentences.
4e believed that we automatically and consciously transform surface
structure to deep structure. 6e remember the underlying meaning, not the
surface structure of a sentence. 6e are born with a language ac%uisition
device, which contains universal grammar, but exposure to a native language
narrows down the grammatical rules a person learns.
/ygotsky$ developed the >
st
maor theory that emphasi8ed the role of social
and cultural context in the development of both cognition and language.
4umans are uni%ue because they use symbols and psychological tools
through which they create culture, which in turn dictates what we need to
learn and develop. 4e distinguished between elementary mental functions
,innate sensory experiences- and higher mental functions ,language,
perception, abstraction and memory-. 5s children develop, their elementary
capacities are gradually transformed, primarily by culture.
:ocial and cultural contexts in'uence language development, which in turn
in'uences cognitive development. 5s children develop they begin to direct
speech towards themselves.
!nteractions across cultures also shape language. <reole describes a
language that evolved overtime from the mixing of existing languages. !t
develops out of rudimentary communications, languages mix in a pidgin,
informal creole that lacks consistent grammatical rules.
Bickerton$ colonists) children impose rules on their parents) pidgin,
developing it into a creole, which is evidence for a builtKin universal grammar$
the brain changes a nonconforming language by applying the same principles
to it. .i7erent creoles that form in di7erent parts of the world are more
similar to each other than longKlived languages.
7earning to read: there are 2 ma;or schools
Phonics method$ teaches an association between letters and their phonemes.
<hildren learn to spell out words by how they sound. Popular for over 122
years. They learn to make the appropriate sounds for the letters of the
;nglish alphabet. They learn a small number of simple words that teach the
sounds in ;nglish. Heneral rules are learnt >
st
and exceptions latter. !t
emphasi8es mapping between letters and their sounds
6hole language approach$ emphasi8es words) meaning and how they are
connected in sentences. !t has dominated 5merican schools for the past 12
years, because it emphasi8es children)s interest in reading. <hildren should
learn to read the same way they learnt to talk, we understand speech as a
series of connected words that have meaning in a sentence, thus breaking
down words into sounds is unnatural. Progressive philosophy that tries to
foster a love of learning.
!t was found that a phonetics instruction is largely superior that wholeK
language approach in creating profcient readers. This result applies mainly to
children who are at risk of becoming poor readers.
5nimal communication$ teaching language to chimpan8ees re%uires the use
of sign language to see if they understand words or concepts such as
causations, which they can, but it doesn)t mean that they have innate
language abilities.
Petitto tried to teach 5:J to #im <himpsky, which failed to master key
components of language syntax. 4e could communicate with a small set of
basic signs, but was never able to create creative rule governed sentences.
"sed language to make re%uests.
+ow do children and adolescents develop their identities-
5s children learn about the world, they develop a sense of identity, which is
important for social development$ the maturation of skills or abilities that
enables people to live in a world with other people, and enables to interact
with others.
6hen a child enters adolescence, he begins to %uestion his place and future
in life. ;stablishing a personal identity means breaking away from childhood
beliefs by %uestioning and challenging parental and social ideas. 6ho am !,
where am ! going* 5nswers are greatly in'uenced by environmental factor. 3
maor changes that trigger this are$
>K <hanging physical appearance$ changes in selfKimage
1K MoreKsophisticated cognitive abilities$ prompts increased introspection
3K 4eightened pressure to prepare for the future ,make career choice-
/ocial systems in(uence development
Bronfenbrenner$ biocultural system theory$ emphasi8es the way biology and
cultural systems interact to a7ect development. 6e can understand
development by considering the context in which it occurs. = levels of
systems a7ect the developing person.
Microsystem$ at the center and has the most immediate e7ect on a child
,family-
;xosystem$ less direct in'uences ,parents) workplace-
Macrosystem$ larger sociocultural context in which the child is reared
<hronosystem$ norms and rules in e7ect at the historical time when the child
is reared
4is work lead to interdisciplinary work in child development because it
hypothesi8ed that social and historical contexts are important in
development.
4e cofounded 4ead :tart ,a massive federal program in the ": designed to
help children in lowKincome families develop skills and abilities-. 4is emphasis
on larger social systems translated psychological research into public policy
and created a role for government in fostering positive development. 4is
theory emphasises cultural e7ects on the way people develop their senses of
identity.
0riends in(uence identity and behaviour
Play is the work of childhood. 5ttention to peers begins at the end of the >
st
year, when infants begin to imitate other infants, smile and make
vocali8ations and other social signals to their peers. <hildren from all ages
learn to behave from their friends, because they receive social
reward(punishment depending on their attitudes. ;arly friends are both
teachers and playmates. 4ow children and adolescents compare their
strengths and weaknesses with those of their peers also in'uences the
development of identity. Teenagers form friendships with others whose values
and world views are the same. 5dolescent groups are designated by a fairly
small set of stereotypic names.
Parents versus peers$ 4arris$ parents contribute little to children)s social
development9 they even have no longKterm e7ect on the development of
their child)s personality. 5 child)s peers are the most important in'uence
when it comes to sociali8ation.
Hroup sociali8ation theory$ children learn 1 sets of behaviours$ one for inside
the home and one for outside. The behaviours taught by parents aren)t useful
in outside social contexts. Inly the behaviours learnt outside the home have
longKterm e7ects on personality and on adult behavioural outcomes.
!n contrast to 4arris)s research, it has been shown that parents have a
substantial in'uence throughout the adult life. #either the peer nor the
parent group can be assigned to primary in'uence on development, they play
complementary roles.
Brown$ parents) in'uence can be direct or indirect. They don)t only contribute
to specifc individual behaviours, but they a7ect social development indirectly
by in'uencing the choices the child makes about what kind of crowd to oin.
Parents and teachers play a maor role in realigning social groups, so they are
consistent with family norms.
Parental style can a4ect childrenAs well being
!mportant support for the signifcance of the child(parent interaction comes
from the #ew Rork Jongitudinal :tudy, begun in >BDG by <hess and Thomas.
They focused on each child)s biological based temperament, as a
combination of typical mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity. They
found that the ft between the child)s temperament and the parents)
behaviour is most important in determining social development. Parents who
respond to a diFcult child calmly, patiently and consistently had the most
positive outcomes. Iverprotectiveness can encourage a child)s anxiety in
response to a new situation, escalading the child)s distress. The best style of
parenting takes into account the parents) personalities, the child)s
temperament, and the particular situation.
Parents have multiple in'uences on their children)s attitudes, values, and
religious beliefs. #urturing parents tend to raise children with more social
emotions.
6ivorce is diFcult for children
.ivorce is associated with numerous problems in children, although some
especially intelligent, mature and responsible children cope well with the
divorce. Those from divorced parents tend to do worse in school, have more
conduct disorders and psychological problems, and have poor social relations
and low selfKesteem. They are also more likely to get divorced as adults ,gene
passing or continued negative in'uence-
.ivorce may change a relationship with one or both parents9 the child then
loses a potentially important source of emotional support and guidance.
<hildren who stay in houses with con'icts might have psychological problems
whether the parents stay together or not.
People who get divorced di7er in important ways from those that don)t, and
these personal factors might interfere with their ability to be e7ective
parents.
>(3 of 5merican children had unwed mothers. Those who lose a parent to
death have fewer problems that child of divorce, but those who were raised
by single mothers share many of the problems as those of divorce. The
absence of a biological father is thus the source of many negative outcomes.
Hirls raised without fathers are more likely to engage in sexual activity
younger and become pregnant at a young age. 4aving a step father doesn)t
resolve this problem, in fact it may be associated with an increase in
psychological problems.
5n alarming number of single mothers live in poverty, and rely on assistance
to provide for their children. .ivorce is associated with a decline in fnancial
resources, which predicts the negative outcomes of divorce. 6hen the father
stays involved in parenting both economically and emotionally , divorce)s
negative e7ects are reduced considerably.
Jiving in a high con'ict family is associated with even greater negative
outcomes than is parental divorce
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing and avoiding either(or thinking p.D2A
1ender identity is determined by biology and cultural norms
:ex di7erences ought to re'ect di7erent adaptive problems men and women
would have faced. :ince men and women have faced similar challenges, they
are similar on many aspects.
Many of the di7erences have something to do with sociali8ation and genetics.
:ex$ refers to biological di7erences and gender to express sociali8ation
di7erences. This distinction is diFcult because the biological and
psychosocial aspects of being female or male are so entwined that they
aren)t separable.
1ender identity$ personal beliefs about whether one is male or female.
1ender roles$ the characteristics associated with males or females because
of cultural in'uence or learning.
1ender schemas$ cognitive structures that in'uence how people perceive
the behaviours of females and males.
The behaviours boys and girls display are determined in part by cultural rules
about sexKappropriate behaviours.
:ituational factors also contribute to genderKspecifc behaviour. ,Roung
women talk di7erently to their male friends than their boyfriends, and do so
consciously-
<iological bases of sexual identity
Brian and Bruce$ a bad circumcision happened to Bruce, his penis shrivel up
and disappeared. <olapinto)s book$ As ature !ade "im# The Boy $ho $as
%aised as a &irl. The parents wondered if Bruce should undergo sexual
reassignment. Money convinced them that it was the right thing to do ,it had
never been done on a kid born with normal genitalia-. Bruce was castrated,
renamed Brenda, and rose as a girl. Brenda wasn)t comfortable being a girl,
when Brenda learned what happened she was relieved. 4e changed back to a
men, got the name .avid married and had 3 children. 4is twin brother died,
he divorced and committed suicide at 3?.
Thus, gender identity isn)t solely shaped by weather a person is being treated
as a boy or a girl9 biology has a strong e7ect on whether people identify
themselves as female or male. !n the >BG2s environmental explanations were
preferred.
People de,ne themselves in terms of race and ethnicity
By 3 months, infants can discern racial di7erences in the faces of strangers.
!nfants generally looked longer at faces of their own race, which indicates a
preference for their own race. !nfants of 5frican descent living in a
predominantly <aucasian culture didn)t show that preference. This is probably
because of high levels of interracial contacts during the >
st
months of life.
P.D>2
!n the ":, where people of so many ethnicities live together, the process of
identity formation is more complicated. <hildren of ethnic minorities often
face challenges with regard to the development of their ethnic identities.
<hildren entering middle childhood have an awareness of their ethnic
identities, and know the labels that the dominant culture applies to them. !n
middle childhood and adolescence, children on minorities often engage in
additional processes aimed at ethnic identity formation.
Hrowing proportion of racially mixed individuals, and people increasingly
identify themselves as biracial and multiracial.
'hat brings meaning to adulthood-
!mportant changes in physiology, cognition, and social behaviour continue
throughout adulthood into old age. 4ow mental activity and social relations
are changing through life is studied. 6e shouldn)t e%uate growing old with
despairs9 many positive things can happen as we age.
;rikson$ proposed a theory of development emphasising ageKrelated
psychological processes and their e7ects on social functioning across the life
span. !dentity development is composed of ? stages, each of which is
associated with a crisis that can provide an opportunity for psychological
progress, if progress isn)t made, than further development is impaired. P.D>1
G
th
stage$ intimacy vs isolation$ challenge of forming and maintaining
committed friendships and romantic relationships. !t involves fnding
someone with whom to share your life.
A
th
stage$ generality vs stagnation$ productivity or giving back to society,
includes things like parenthood that brings additional meaning to life.
?
th
stage$ integrity vs despair$ integrity refers to a sense of honesty about
oneself. Ilder adults re'ect on their lives and respond either positively or
with regret.
;rikson)s theory highlights the way people care about di7erent things as they
grow older.
"dults are a4ected by life transitions
The maor challenges of adulthood re'ect the need to fnd meaning in our
lives.
Career: most people work >22 222 hours in their lives. 5 good ob not only
provides material reward, but also brings a sense of accomplishment and
purpose. Many people have midKlife crisis in which they realise that their
careers don)t fulfll them. 6e don)t need a specifc plan, but we must be
honest with ourselves$ assess strength and weaknesses and develop a
general idea of what career would be appropriate. +rom ;rikson)s point of
view, the desire for generatively inspires us to want to give something to
society. The right career allows us to pursue our interests and gain a sense of
accomplishment while balancing family and other life goals.
3arriage$ the vast maority of people marry at some point or try to fnd
someone with who they can form a permanent bond. Marriage is declining
and people marry later in most industriali8ed countries. !n 6estern culture,
the search for the right partner is very important while in ;astern cultures,
marriage is often arranged. The later type of marriage is stable and people
report being relatively satisfed.
Marriage has many health advantages9 marital partners can support each
other, and encourage healthy behaviours. !ts positive e7ects are similar in all
countries, and their benefts of marriage were e%ual for both sexes. The
benefts of being married versus being divorced was higher in collectivist
countries that individualist countries.
The vast maority of married people report satisfaction with their marriage.
Those reporting the most satisfaction have suFcient economic resources,
share decision making, and hold the same value that marriage should be a
lifelong commitment. 4alf the marriages end up in divorce.
+aving children$ having children changes the life of the couple in almost all
ways. Parents often become immersed in their child)s life. Being a parent is
central to many adult)s selfKdefnitions. <hildren can strain marriages,
especially when money isn)t there. <ouples with children, especially
adolescent children report less satisfaction from their marriage than those
who are childless. 4owever those with children have more stable marriages.
+or many people having children is about redefning their lives to re'ect the
value they place on family.
"ging can be successful
!n 6estern societies, people are living much longer, and the number of
people over ?D is increasing dramatically. By 1232, 12N of 5mericans will be
over GD, will be ethnically diverse, well educated, and ft. ;lderly contribute
much to modern society ,udges-, and many can work productively well past
their A2s.
4owever the body and mind starts deteriorating slowly at about age D2. The
frontal lobes shrink proportionally more than other brain regions. More of
older adults stay alert as they age, but do things more slowly.
.ementia$ dramatic loss in mental ability experienced by older adults. !t is a
brain condition in which thinking, memory, and behaviour deteriorate
progressively. !t has many causes such as alcohol intake and 4!/, but for
older adults, the main cause is 5l8heimer)s disease and small strokes that
a7ect blood supply to the brain.
5fter age A2, the risk of dementia increases every year. 3KDN of people from
A2KAD will develop 5l8heimer)s, and then the proportion of people with the
disease will double every D years. Henes contribute to its development. Ine
gene involved in cholesterol functioning is predictive of the disease, although
how it is related is unknown.
.espite the physical, social and emotional challenges of aging, most older
adults are healthy and happy. !ndividual with ade%uate fnancial situation and
good health especially thrive in old age. Ilder adults have fewer health
problems, including depression that younger adult and report being happy
than them as well.
<arstensen)s socioemotional selectivity theory$ as people grow older, they
perceive time to be limited and adust their priorities to emphasise
meaningful events and goals.
5ccording to ;rikson, older adults fnd meaning by looking back and
evaluating what they have done with their lives. 6hen they consider their
time well spent, they can savour their last years. The crisis can be triggered
by events that highlight the mortal nature of human life, or by changing
social and occupational roles. People come to terms with the reality of death,
and meaning of life becomes an increased preoccupation for the elderly.
Cognition changes during aging
!t is diFcult to pinpoint exactly what causes the mental decline with age.
There is a consistent slower mental speed. The increase in time it takes to
process a sensory input and react with a motor response becomes more rapid
as the individual ages. :ome sensoryKperceptual changes occur with age and
may account for some of the observed decline. 5ging also a7ect memory and
intelligence.
Memory$ they have diFculty with memory tasks that re%uire the ability to
uggle multiple pieces of information at the same time. Tasks when attention
is divided is also proven more diFcult. This re'ects a decreased ability to
store multiple pieces of information in 6M simultaneously. The frontal lobes
shrink with aging, thus cognitive skills that rely on this region show
impairment with aging.
JTM memory is less a7ected than :TM or 6M, although certain aspects of JTM
appear to su7er in advanced age. Ilder people often need more time to learn
new information, but once learned, they use it as eFciently as younger
adults. They are better at recognition than retrieval tasks. Ilder people show
better memory for positive than negative information.
Jogan examined the memory processes of adults in their 12s and adults in
their A2s and ?2s. Ilder adults showed less activation in the left hemisphere
brain areas known to support memory and greater activation in the right
hemisphere areas that don)t aid memory.
!t was found that if older adults are given a strategy to retain information
such as classifying words as concrete or abstract that leads to deeper
encoding, that is better memory and greater activation of the left frontal
regions. Thus, one reason for the decline in memory is that older adults don)t
use strategies to facilitate memory, which means that cognitive training
might be useful to prevent ageKrelated memory defcits.
!ntelligence$ !U declines with aging. +luid intelligence tends to peak in early
adulthood and decline as we age, crystalli8ed intelligence seems to increase
with age and breaks down. .eclines in other cognitive abilities prevent new
information from being processed.
!ntellectual decline doesn)t arise until people are in their G2s or A2s. People
who were healthy and remained mentally active have fewer declines. The
speed of processing may decline, but the continued ability to learn new
information may mitigate those losses in terms of daily functioning.
5ctive social engagement may help older adults maintain their cognitive
abilities9 they may be less susceptible to 5l8heimer)s and dementia.
Chapter 12: social psychology
.uring wartime, people are especially likely to view the world as consisting of
others and them. Members of the opposite group are viewed as all the same,
often as evil or inferior, and are treated in a dehumani8ed fashion.
Oimbardo and 4aney$ psychologically stable :tanford undergrads played the
role of prisoners and guards. 6ithin G days, the guards became brutal and
sadistic. :ocial context is powerful.
:ocial psychology is concerned with how people in'uence other people)s
thoughts, feelings, and actions.
+ow do attitudes guide behaviour-
5ttitudes$ the evaluation of obects, event or ideas. They are shaped by social
context. :ome we are aware of, some we don)t know we hold.
'e form attitudes through experience and sociali#ation
!n general, people develop negative attitudes about obects more %uickly
than they develop positive ones.
Mere exposure e7ect$ greater exposure to an item means greater familiarity
which causes people to have more positive attitudes about the item.
,experiment by Oaonc-
5ttitudes can be conditioned, and shaped through sociali8ation.
<ehaviours are consistent with strong attitudes
5ttitudes are adaptive and should guide behaviour, the stronger and the
more personally relevant the attitude, the more likely it will predict
behaviour, be consistent overtime, and be resistant to change. The more
specifc the attitude, the more predictive it is. 5ttitudes formed through direct
experience tend to predict behaviour better.
5ttitude accessibility$ the ease with which memories related to an attitude
are retrieved predicts behaviour consistent with the attitude.
+a8io$ easily activated attitudes are more likely to resist changing, being
predictive of behaviour, and stable.
;xplicit attitudes$ attitudes that people can report
!mplicit attitudes$ attitudes that in'uence our feelings and behaviour at an
unconscious level. !t involves brain regions associated with implicit memory.
They are assessed through behaviour rather than selfKreport. ,Hreenwald,
Banai-
!mplicit 5ssociation Test$ a reaction time test to assess implicit attitudes. !t
measures how %uickly we associate a concept with a positive or negative
word. !t is a very good predictor.
6iscrepancies lead to dissonance
7eon 0estinger$ in'uence theory of cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance$ an uncomfortable mental state due to con'icts
between attitudes or between attitudes and behaviour. ,smoking-.
.issonance causes anxiety and therefore motivates people to reduce the
dissonance and relieve displeasure by changing their attitudes and
behaviours, rationali8ing or triviali8ing discrepancies.
Postdecisional dissonance$ holding positive attitudes about 1 options, but
having to choose one of them causes dissonance. Postdecisional dissonance
causes us to emphasise the positive aspects of the chosen option, and the
negative ones of the nonKchosen option. !t occurs automatically, without
awareness. !t is prevalent even in patient with impairment to their JTM.
"ttitude change$ experiment p.D1?. Those paid >X had an insuFcient
monetary reward to lie, a dissonance was created that changes their attitude,
but those who were paid 12X had a suFcient reward for lying, thus the
dissonance wasn)t made. <hanging attitude, behaviour must be changed >
st
,
using as few incentive as possible,
Gustifying e4ort$ when people put themselves through pain,
embarrassment, or discomfort to oin a group, they experience a great deal of
dissonance which they resolve by in'ating the importance of the group and
their commitment to it.
"ttitudes can be changed through persuasion
Persuasion$ the active conscious e7ort to change attitudes through the
transmission of a message.
4ovland$ emphasised that persuasion is most likely to occur when people pay
attention to a message, understand it and fnd it convincing. The message
must be memorable, so that its impact lasts over time.
Petty and <acioppo$ elaboration likelihood model$ persuasion works in 1
routes.
;laboration likelihood model$ persuasive messages lead to attitude changes.
P.D1B
<entral route$ people pay attention to arguments, consider all the
information, and use rational cognitive process, which leads to strong
attitudes that last overtime and resist to change.
Peripheral route$ people minimally process the message, which leads to more
impulsive actions.
The cues that in'uence a message)s persuasiveness include the source ,the
ones that are both credible and attractive are the more persuasive-, the
content, and the receiver. The message is e7ective because of peripheral
processing. <redibility and persuasiveness can be increased when the
receiver perceives the source as similar to himself. :trong arguments that
appeal to our emotions are the best. Mere exposure e7ect can be used. IneK
sided arguments work best when the audience is on the side of the speaker
or is gullible. 6ith a more sceptical crowd, speakers who acknowledge both
sides of the arguments but argue that one is superior works better.
<ritical thinking skill$ making sound arguments p.D3>
+ow do we form our representation of others-
Nonverbal actions and expressions a4ect our impressions
There is a great importance of >
st
impressions on longKterm evaluation of
people. 4ow we feel initially about that person will be determined mostly by
nonKverbal behaviours ,facial expressions, gestures, mannerism, and
movements by which one communicates with others-.
+acial expression$ the >
st
thing we notice is the face which communicates a
great deal, such as emotions, interest and distrust. ;ye contact is important
in social situation, and how we perceive it depends on culture. 6esterners
make eye contact when they speak to someone. #ative 5mericans, making
eye contact, especially with the elderly, is disrespectful.
Body language$ 5mbady and Eosenthal$ people can make accurate
udgments based on a few seconds of observation, what they refer to as thin
slice of behaviour.
Hait, how people talk is important, it provides information about a7ective
state.
'e ma)e attribution about others
5ttributions$ people)s causal explanation for why events or action occurs. 6e
are motivated to draw inferences in part by basic need for both order and
predictability. People tend to prefer that things happen for a reason, so that
they can anticipate future events. @ust world hypothesis9 victims must have
done something that ustifes what happened to them, so that the world
seems safer and saner.
"ttributional dimensions$ +rit8 4eider$ attribution theory
Personal attributions$ explanations that refer to internal characteristics, such
as abilities, traits, moods and e7ort. ,internal, dispositional-
:ituational attributions$ explanations that refer to external events, weather,
luck, accidents, other people)s actions. ,external-
6einer$ attributions can vary on other dimensions, such as if they are stable
overtime, or controllable. 4is theory is used to explain depression. Those who
are depressed attribute their failure to their own personal incompetence, and
those who aren)t blame it on external factors.
"ttributional bias: we tend to overemphasise the importance of personality
traits and underestimate the importance of the situation.
+undamental attribution error$ the previously stated tendency. ,@ones, >BG2,
initially called the correspondence bias- 6e expect others to behave as we
do.
4eider, Celley$ people are intuitive scientists who try do draw inferences
about others and make attributions about events. 6e tend to be
systematically biased in our social information processing. 6e make selfK
serving attributions consistent with our personal beliefs, and fail to take into
account that other people are in'uence by social circumstances.
6hen people make attribution about themselves, they tend to focus on
situations rather than on their personal dispositions, an error that, with the
fundamental attribution error, leads to the actor(observer discrepancy, most
commonly observed for negative events. 6e tend to attribute positive events
to our own disposition, and negative events to the outside world.
People of eastern cultures use much more information when making
attributions than do 6esterners, and they are more likely to believe that
human behaviour is the outcome of both personal and situational factors.
They are also more likely to take situational forces into account, whereas
people in the 6est place overriding importance on personal factors.
<ritical thinking skill$ indentifying and avoiding the actor(observer
discrepancy
/tereotypes are based on automatic categori#ation
:tereotypes$ cognitive schemas that allow for easy, fast processing of
information about people based on their membership in certain groups. They
occur automatically and most of the time without our awareness. !n and of
themselves, they are neural and simply re'ect eFcient cognitive processes.
:ome are based in truth. They are made because of limited neural resources9
it is impossible to scrutini8e every person encountered, thus the need for
grouping. !t a7ects impression formation. They guide attention towards
information that confrms the stereotype, and away of disconfrming
evidence. Iur memories are also biased to match stereotypes, which leads to
illusory confrmations.
:ubtyping$ when a person that doesn)t match the category, she is put in a
special one that alters the stereotype and allows to maintain it.
/elf8ful,lling e4ects
:elfKfulflling prophecy$ people)s tendency to behave in ways that confrm
their own or others) expectation that can lead initially untrue stereotypes to
become true.
Eosenthal$ bloomer experiments$ bloomers were chosen randomly, but were
said to be most likely children to show increase in !U during their school year.
Teacher, believing this is true showed increase attention to them, and they
indeed showed large increase in !U because if this extra attention and special
treatment they received.
:tudy$ when men thought they were talking to an attractive women they
rated her as more pleasant, than when they believed they were talking to an
unattractive one. 6omen interacting with men who believed they were
attractive behaved more pleasantly than the ones who were believed to be
unattractive.
:tereotype threat$ applies to any group for which there is a negative
stereotype. May explain the underlying disparity between the numbers of
men and women in scientifc careers.
Mechanisms responsible for producing decreased performances following
threat$
>K physiological stress a7ective prefrontal functioning
1K a tendency for people to think about their performances, which can
distract them during the task.
3K 5ttempts to suppress negative thoughts and emotions, which re%uire a
great deal of e7ort.
!t was found that women exposed to a math stereotype threat showed
reduced activations in the brain regions associated with math performances
and increased activation in brain regions associated with social and emotional
processing, supporting the idea that stereotypes threat undermines cognitive
processes by raising performance anxiety. 6e behave according to
stereotypes.
/tereotype can lead to pre;udice
Preudice$ the usually negative a7ective or attitudinal responses associated
with stereotypes.
.iscrimination$ the inappropriate and unustifed treatment of people based
only on their group membership.
Inly certain types of people are preudiced, people treat others as
scapegoats to relieve tension, or to protect their own selfKesteem. ;volution
leads us to favour our own groups over other groups, and we tend to
stigmati8e those who pose threats.
!ngroup(outgroup bias$ ingroup$ group in which we belong9 those to which we
don)t are called outgroups. People are wary of those who aren)t part of their
group. People in low racial bias, on both implicit and explicit measures, are
less likely to ac%uire negative association to neural stimuli in classical
conditioning paradigm. The separation of people into ingroup or outgroup
appears early in development, and thereafter treat them accordingly.
3 months old recogni8e faces from their own group and that of 5fricans,
Middle eastern, and <hinese. 5t G months they recogni8e that of <hinese only
and by B months, only that of their own racial group. !5T fndings suggest that
G year olds show as much implicit bias as that of >2 year olds and adults.
Iutgroup homogeneity e7ect$ they view members of the same outgroup as
all the same
!ngroup favouritism$ the tendency for people to evaluate favourably and
privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup.
Iccurs even is the group is determined randomly. ,Tafel, Turner$ money
experiment-.
Iur group memberships are an important part of our social identity and
contribute to our overall sense of selfKesteem.
6omen show an increase ingroup bias for women than men for other men.
Eudman and Hoodwin$ men and women depend on women for nurturing,
both are threatened by male violence, and men can)t express their feelings
for other men because it challenges their sexual identities.
:tereotype and perception$ implicit social attitudes can in'uence basic
perceptual processes.
Payne)s experiment p. D=2 pictures of Blacks and 6hites, guns and tools.
Priming people with pictures of weapons leads them to pay greater attention
to black faces that to white faces. There might have been an implicit bias in
.iallo)s shooting. <omputerised training, in which race is unrelated to the
presence of a weapon can eliminate this. ;xtensive training of police oFcers
can help the bias greatly.
In ethics$ psychological testing for preudice p.D=>
!nhibiting stereotypes$ Patricia .evine$ people can override the stereotypes
they hold and act in nonKdiscriminatory ways. People low in preudice override
this automatic activation. 6e can consciously alter our automatic
stereotyping. Presenting 'attering images of a stereotyped group can
produce more favourable attitudes. Training people to respond counterK
stereotypically led to reduced automatic stereotyping. Telling people that
they hold such believes can help them correct those mistaking udgments.
!f the faces of Blacks that initially produced greater activation of the
amygdala were presented longer, there was an activation of the frontal lobes,
and a decreased activity of the amygdala. This reaction happened more for
those who showed negative attitudes about blacks in the !5T.
6hen 6hite participants had their frontal lobes activated, they showed poor
performance on subse%uent task of mental function, which implies that
controlling stereotype is mentally taxing. Those with high levels of motivation
to avoid appearing racist have an anxious arousal response when interacting
with 5frican 5mericans, a response that subse%uently can interfere with
cognition.
Cooperation can reduce pre;udice
:ocial psychology may be able to suggest strategies for promoting intergroup
harmony and producing greater tolerance for outgroups.
6hen there is a greater collective purpose, in which collaboration is needed,
then negative attitude can alleviate.
:herif ,>BD2-$ 11, >2 year old boys were in a summer camp divided in 1
groups that competed with each other. Hreat animosity arouse between the 1
groups. Then in the second phase of the experiment, they had the children
cooperate to achieve necessary goals. The boys than became friends across
the groups.
Jater research showed that only a certain type of contact between hostile
groups can lead to reduced preudice and discrimination. :hared super
ordinate goals, that re%uire people to cooperate, reduce hostility between
groups.
@igsaw classroom$ personKtoKperson interaction is the tactic that brings the
most successfully groups together. 5ronson)s igsaw classroom$ students
work together in mixed sex and mixed ethnic groups, in which each member
of the group is an expert at a particular feld. <hildren in such rooms tend to
have more positive attitudes towards others, and perform better, grow to like
each other more and develop a higher selfKesteem.
+ow do others in(uence us-
Ine way to ft in is by presenting ourselves positively, and trying not to
o7end others. There is a great desire to ft in the group that leads us to
engage in activities that we normally wouldn)t do. The power of social
situation is much greater than what people believe. The importance of social
behaviour was summed up by Philip Oimbardo, who said that it is diFcult to
remain a cucumber when those around us become pickles0
1roups in(uence individual behaviour
Triplett ,>?BA-$ >
st
social psychology experiment$ bicyclists pedal faster with
other people.
:ocial facilitation$ the presence of others enhances ,simple tasks- or impairs
,diFcult task- performance. Model by Oaonc ,>BGD- p.D=D
:ocial loafng$ the tendency for people to work less hard in a group than
when working alone. This phenomenon disappears if the individuals are told
that their performance is rated individually.
.eindividuation$ when people are part of a group, they have low selfK
awareness, lose their individuality and fail to attend personal standards. They
do things they wouldn)t do. Iccurs most when people are aroused,
anonymous, and when responsibility is di7used. People who look similar are
more likely to conform to orders.
Hroup decision making$ :toner found that groups often made riskier
decisions, a phenomenon known as riskyKshift e7ect.
Hroup polari8ation$ groups tend to enhance the initial attitudes of members
who already agree, thus, groups can be riskier or more cautious.
@anis ,>BA1-$ groupthink$ for the sake of cordiality, the group will make a bad
decision. Iccurs especially when a group is under intense pressure, facing
external threats, or biased in a certain way. Jeaders must refrain to express
their opinions too strongly at the beginning of a discussion. 5lternative ideas
should be considered.
'e conform to social norms
:ocial norms$ expected standards of conduct, which in'uence behaviour.
<onformity$ the altering of one)s opinions or behaviours to match those of
others or to match social norms.
:herif$ ,>B32- one on the >
st
researchers to demonstrate to power of norms
and conformity in social udgement based on the autokinetic e7ect ,a
stationary point of light appears to move when viewed in a totally dark
environment-. !n ambiguous situations, people often compare their reactions
with others) to udge what is appropriate.
5sch$ if there are obective perceptions, participants shouldn)t conform p.D=?.
5bout one third of the time, the participant went along with the confederates.
5sch tried to identify which factors decrease the chances of conformity$ group
si8e, ,3 or more-. <onformity tends to level o7 after A, and lack of unanimity.
:chachter$ when it became clear that the confederate with the di7erent
opinion wouldn)t conform to the group, he became ostraci8ed.
The amygdala activates, perhaps a fear response, when the participant gives
out answers that don)t conform to the group)s incorrect answer.
:imply providing descriptive norms can cause change in behaviour.
'e are compliant
<ompliance$ the tendency to agree to do things re%uested by others.
+orgas$ people in good moods are especially likely to comply. <aldani$ people
comply because they are following a mental shortcut to avoid con'ict.
+ootKinKtheKdoor e7ect$ people will more likely comply with a large and
undesirable re%uest if earlier they have agreed to a small re%uest. +reedman
and +raser$ once people commit to a course of action, they behave in ways
consistent to that course.
.oorKinKtheKface$ people will more likely comply to a small re%uest if they
have refused a large re%uest, because of the comparison between the 1.
JowKballing strategy$ a salesperson o7ers a very low price, the customer
agrees, and then the sales person says that his boss doesn)t approve. The
person will often agree to pay the extra.
'e are obedient to authority
Milgram ,>BG2-$ wanted to understand why normal Hermans would agree to
kill innocents in 66!!. 4e was interested in the determinants of obedience.
The experimenter says that you have to give a learner increasing shocks, and
that you have to choice, but to continue even if the learner screams in pains
and shout to stop the experiment. #early all the participants tried to %uit,
but 1(3 of them completely obeyed the experimenter)s directives despite
believing they were administering =D2 volts to an older man with a heart
condition. Both situation and personality in'uence behaviour. Irdinary people
can be coerced into obedience by insistent authorities, even if it goes against
the way they usually behave. Many participants were glad to have
participated, because it allowed them to learn about themselves. P.DD>
Milgram then studied how to reduce obedience. !f the participant had to see
or touch the learner, obedience was decreased. 6hen the experimenter gave
the orders by phone, obedience was dramatically decreased.
'hen do we harm or help others-
This tension between our aggressive and altruistic sides is at the core of who
we are as a species.
"ggression can be adaptive
5ggression$ any behaviour or action that involves the intention to harm
someone else.
Physical aggression is more prevalent among children, as adults, aggressive
acts often involve words meant to threaten, intimidate, or emotionally hurt
others.
Biological factors$ stimulating certain brain regions or altering
neurochemicals can lead to substantial changes in behaviour. :timulating or
damaging the septum, amygdala, or hypothalamus leads to corresponding
changes in the level of aggression displayed.
Cluver, Bucy$ removing the amygdala from aggressive monkeys lead them to
be friendly, the also began to put anything within reach into their mouths.
,CluverKBucy syndrome-
:erotonin is very important in the control of aggressive behaviour9 enhanced
activity lowers the levels of aggression. Jow levels are associated with
violence, but not necessarily criminal acts. :uicide victims, that killed
themselves in violent fashions, have extremely low levels of serotonin, but
not those who did so in passive ways. Jow levels may also interfere with good
decision making in the face of danger or social threat.
!ndividual factors$ .ollard$ frustrationKaggression hypothesis$ the extent to
which people feel frustrated predicts the likelihood that they will be
aggressive. ,>B32-
Berkowit8)s cognitiveKneoassociationistic model$ frustration leads to
aggression by eliciting negative emotions. 5ny situation that induces
negative emotions can trigger aggression, because it primes cognitive
knowledge associated with aggression. 5ggressive behaviour depends on the
situation.
"ggression has social and cultural aspects
/iolence varies dramatically across cultures and even within cultures at
di7erent times. /iolence can be prevalent because it subscribes to a culture
of honour, which supports Bandura)s social learning theory.
"niversity of Michigan$ compared :outhern 5mericans and #orthern
5mericans. 5s the participants walked by an aggressive male confederate
blocking the way, :outherners were more likely to be aggressive, and had an
increased cortisone and testosterone level.
3any factors may in(uence helping behaviour
Prosocial$ tending to beneft others promotes positive interpersonal
relationships.
Batson argue that prosocial behaviours are motivated by empathy. <ialdini
argues that most prosocial behaviours have selfsh motives. Ithers proposed
that we have an inborn disposition to help others. <hildren)s empathic
responses to other)s su7erings indicate that prosocial behaviour is hardwired.
5ltruism$ the providing of help when it is needed, without any apparent
reward for doing so. !t appears contrary to evolution.
4amilton proposed that natural selection occurs at the genetic level rather
than at the individual level. 4e created the inclusive ftness concept which
describes the adaptive benefts of transmitting genes rather than focusing on
individual survival.
Cin selection$ people are altruistic toward those with who they share genes.
5ll altruistic behaviour can)t be attributed to this phenomenon.
Trivers$ reciprocal helping to explain altruism to nonKrelatives. Benefts must
outweigh the costs, all will most likely occur among animals that live in social
groups.
/ome situations lead to bystander apathy
Citty Henovese murder in front of 3? silent witnesses.
Bystander intervention e7ect ,bystander apathy-$ failure to o7er help by
those who observe someone in need.
JatanY, .arley$ a person will less likely help if others are around. 6hen
participants were on their own, they are much more likely to go get help than
if they are in groups.
>. There is a di7usion of responsibility, we expect others to help. Thus,
the greater the number of people the less likely that any of them will
report
1. People fear making social blunders in ambiguous situations
3. People will less likely provide help when they are anonymous and will
remain so.
=. People weigh how much harm can be done to themselves before
helping others
'hat determines the 5uality of relationships-
Many of the research fndings on the subect consider the adaptiveness of
forming lasting aFliative bonds with others.
/ituational and personal factors in(uence friendships
+riendships often form among people who belong to the same groups.
Proximity might have its e7ects, because people like familiar things more
than unfamiliar ones. 4umans generally fear anything novel, a phenomenon
known as neophobia. Ret, the more familiar we are with someone, the more
we become aware of how we are di7erent.
Birds of a feather$ similarity increases liking. The most successful romantic
couples also tend to be the most physically similar, a phenomenon known as
the matching principle.
Personal characteristics$ people tend to especially like those who have
admirable personality traits and who are physically attractive, both as friends
and lovers. Table p.DG2. Henerally people like those who have personal
characteristics valuable for the group. Too perfect people make others
uncomfortable.
Physical attractiveness: rating is generally consistent across
cultures.
Janglois and Euggman used a computer program to average out various
faces, the more there are averaged faces, the more people rate the computer
image as attractive. 5veraged attractive faces are rated more attractive. Most
people like symmetrical faces, because a lack of symmetry could indicate
poor health or genetic defect. Biracial people tend to have more symmetrical
faces and tend to be rated as more attractive.
5ttractive people are seen to be happier, more intelligent, more sociable,
more successful, and less socially deviant. .ion$ what is beautiful is good
stereotype.
<hildren as young as G months old like to look at attractive faces. ;ven
mothers treat attractive children di7erently9 they are much more a7ectionate
and playful, and express slightly more positive attitudes towards those
infants.
The correlation between attractiveness and other characteristics appears
small. They are even similar to less attractive people in selfKesteem. This
could be because attractive people learn to distrust attention from others,
because they assume that people like them for their good looks. They might
also feel insecure because good looks fade overtime.
7ove is an important component of romantic relationships
4atfeld, Berscheid$ drew an important distinction between passionate and
companionate love
Passionate$ state of intense longing and sexual desire. !t is associated with
increased dopamine levels, the same reward system involved in drug
addiction.
<ompanionate$ strong commitment to care for and support a partner that
develops slowly over time. !t is based on friendship, trust, respect, and
intimacy.
Jasting relationships can go from passionate to companionate love.
5ttachment theory$ the types of relationships that adults have relate on how
their parents treated them as children. Those with warm parents ,G2N- report
having secure relationships, those with cold parents ,1DN- fnd it hard to trust
others, and are wary of those who try to become too close to them. Those
who were treated inconsistently have anxious(ambivalent attachment ,>>N-,
and worry that people don)t really love them and are bound to leave them.
3a)ing love last is diFcult
!n #orth 5merica, D2N of marriages fail, often within the >
st
few years. Miller$
married people are meaner to each other than they are to total strangers.
Passion fades away, fre%uency of sex declines by D2N in the >
st
year of
marriage, and continues to decline more gradually. "nless people develop
other aspects of their relationship, it is doomed to failure.
@ealousy and possessiveness$ infdelity is far less fre%uent than what people
believe, 1DN of men have extramarital sex and >2N of women do.
.ealing with con'ict$ a way people deal with con'ict is a determinant of
whether the relationship will last.
Hottman$ = interpersonal styles that lead couples to discord. 4e called them
the +our 4orsemen of the 5pocalypse$ being overly critical, holding the
partner in contempt, being defensive, and mentally withdrawing from the
relationship.
Most satisfed couples tend to express concern for each other even while
arguing, try to see each other)s point of view and try to stay calm. Iptimistic
people are more likely to use cooperative problem solving.
5ttributional styles and accommodation$ attributional style$ how one partner
explains the others) behaviour. 4appy couples attribute good outcomes to
each other and bad ones to external situations.
5ccommodation$ partnerKenhancing attributions in which they overlook bad
behaviour or respond constructively.
Hottman$ $hy !arriages Succeed or Fail and "ow 'ou (an !ake 'ours Last$
outlines di7erences between happy couples and unhappy ones.
<ouples that have the most sex aren)t the happiest, but those who agree on
the fre%uency are the happiest.
+ighting allows grievances to be relieved and, if done properly, can be good
for the relationship
/alidating couple$ each partner considers the other)s opinions and emotions
valid. They try to compromise and show mutual respect.
5s long as there are D positive interactions for every negative one, there are
good chances that the relationship will be stable.
:how interest in your partner, be a7ectionate, show you care, spend %uality
time, maintain loyalty and fdelity, learn to handle con'ict.
Chapter 1: personality
Personality$ the characteristic thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviours
that are relatively stable in an individual over time.
Personality trait$ a characteristic, a disposal tendency to act in a certain way
over time and across circumstances.
+ow have psychologists studied personality-
"llport defnition of personality ,>B3A-$ the dynamic organi8ation within the
individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic
behaviour. Irgani8ation means that personality is not ust a series a traits,
but a dynamic coherent whole, because it is goal seeking, sensitive to
context, and adaptive to environment. By emphasising psychophysical
systems, he highlights that psychological nature of personality while
recogni8ing that it arises from basic biological processes. Personality causes
people to have characteristic behaviours and thoughts.
Psychodynamic theories emphasise unconscious and dynamic
processes
Psychodynamic theory$ +reudian theory that unconscious forces, such as
wishes and motives in'uence behaviour. 4e referred to those psychic forces
as instincts, defning them as mental representations arising out of biological
or physical need. People satisfy the life instinct by following the pleasure
principle, which directs people to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. The energy
that drives the pleasure principle is the libido. The life instinct can be viewed
as the desire to satisfy libidinal urges for pleasure. 6hen forces are in
con'ict, mental illness arises.
" topographical model of mind$ +reud believed that most of the con'ict
between psychological forces occurs below the level of consciousness. 4e
proposed that the structures of the mind are divided into 3 mental 8ones$
conscious level, where people are aware of their thoughts, the preconscious
level, where content is not currently in awareness, but could be brought, and
the unconscious level that contains material that the mind can)t easily
retrieve to protect a person from distress. :ometimes this information leads
into the conscious mind, during a +reudian slip, where the person reveals a
hidden motif.
6evelopment of sexual instinct$ early childhood experiences have a maor
impact on the development of personality.
Psychosexual stage$ +reud believed that children go through stages
corresponding to their pursuit of satisfaction of libidinal urges. 5t each of
those stages, libido is focused on one of the erogenous 8ones ,mouth, anus,
genitals-.
Iral stage$ from birth to >? months$ pleasure is sought through the mouth.
5nal phase$ from 1 to 3 years old, toilet training leads the focus on the anus.
Jearning to control the bowels is the focus of that phase.
Phallic stage$ from 3 to D, their libidinal energy is directed toward the
genitals.
5ccording to +reud, children desire an exclusive relationship with the parent
of the opposite sex, because the sameKsex parent is considered a rival,
hostility is developed towards him. !n boys, this is known as the Iedipus
complex$ children desire to kill one parent. They resolve that phase through
identifcation with the sameKsex parent. Mostly applied for boys.
Jatency stage$ libidinal urges are suppressed or channelled into doing
schoolwork or building friendships.
Henital stage$ adolescents and adults attain mature attitudes about sexuality
and adulthood. Jibidinal urges are centered on the capacity to reproduce and
contribute to society.
<hildren can become fxated at a stage in which they receive excessive
parental restriction or indulgence. Those fxated at the oral stage develop
oral personalities$ they continue to seek pleasure through the mouth. Those
fxated at the anal stage develop analKretentive personalities$ they are
stubborn and highly regulating.
/tructural model of personality$ integrated model of how the mind is
organi8ed.
!d$ the component of personality that is completely submerged in the
unconscious level and operates according to the pleasure principle. The
innate forces driving it are aggression and sex.
:uperego$ the internali8ation of societal and parental standards of conduct.
.eveloped during the phallic phase, it is a rigid structure of morality, or
conscience.
;go$ the component of personality that tries to satisfy the wishes of the id
while being responsive to the dictates of the superego. !t operates according
to the reality principle, which involves rational thoughts and problem solving.
.efence mechanisms$ unconscious mental strategies that mind uses to
protect itself from con'ict and distress. Mostly studied by 5nna +reud. Today,
most researchers believe that they protect selfKesteem.
Eeaction formation$ occurs when people ward o7 an uncomfortable thought
about the self by embracing the opposite thought. 4omophobia might result
from repression of homosexual impulses, leading to reaction formation.
Psychodynamic theory since +reud$ many embraced the notion of
unconscious con'ict9 such neoK+reudians include <arl @ung, 5lfred 5dler, and
Caren 4orney. 5dler and 4orney strongly critici8ed +reud)s view of women.
Many neoK+reudians reected +reud)s emphasis on sexual forces, focusing
instead on social interactions. This focus is embodied in obect relations
theory$ the obect of attachment is another person. 4orney and ;rikson also
emphasised the culture.
Psychodynamic theories have largely been abandoned, because they can)t be
examined through scientifc methods.
+umanistic approaches emphasis integrated personal experience
+umanistic approach: approaches to studying personality that emphasis
personal experience and belief system9 they propose that people seek
personal growth to fulfll their human potential, a process known as selfK
actuali8ation. They focus on subective human experience, or
phenomenology, and view each person as inherently good. !t is not too
concerned about the scientifc study of personality.
Maslow)s theory of motivation$ he believed that the desire to become selfK
actuali8ed is the ultimate and most important human motive.
Carl :ogers$ personKcentered approach to personality emphasise people)s
personal understandings, or phenomenology. The therapist would create a
supportive and accepting environment and would deal with the client)s
problems and concerns as clients understood them. 4is theory highlights the
importance of how parents show a7ection for their children. 4e speculated
that most parents provide conditional love9 they love their children as long as
the children does what the parents want, this leads children to abandon their
true feelings to keep only those who pleases and accept only those part of
themselves that elicit parental love. Parents should raise their children with
unconditional love which will lead their children to become fully functioning
person.
:eligman$ the positive psychology movement that encourages the scientifc
study of %ualities.
.iener$ research on subect wellKbeing, he found that the wealthiest countries
have the highest levels of satisfaction.
Tugade and +rederickson$ people who are resilient experience positive
emotions even when under stress. 5ccording to the broad and build theory,
positive emotions prompt people to consider novel solutions to their
problems, thus resilient people tend to draw on their positive emotions in
dealing with setbacks of negative emotions.
Type and trait approach describes behavioural dispositions
Personality types$ discrete categories based on global personality
characteristic.
!mplicit personality theory$ our tendency to assume that certain personality
characteristics go well together, and therefore to make predictions about
people based on minimal evidence.
Trait approach$ focuses on the extent to which individuals di7er in personality
dispositions. Most people fall in the middle of a trait, few are at the extremes.
5llport and Idbert$ >? 222 words can be counted as personality traits
<attell$ set out to ascertain the basic elements of personality, believing that
statistical procedures would enable him to take the scientifc study or
personality to uncover the basic structures of personality.
0actor analysis$ grouping items according to their similarities. !n >BGD, he
identifed >G basic dimensions of personality.
.ysenc)As hierarchical model$ the basic structure begins at the specifc
response level, which consists of observed behaviours. There is a habituation
response level. !f a person has the same behaviour on many occasions, she is
said to possess a trait, which can be grouped as components of superordinate
traits. P.DA?
@ung$ introversion(extroversion. ;ysenck believed that this dimension re'ects
di7erences in biological functioning.
.motional stability$ the extent to which people)s moods and emotions
change. Those low in emotional stability are said to be neurotic. 4ighly
neurotic people often report feeling anxious, moody and depressed and have
very low opinions of themselves. Psychoticism$ a mix of aggression, impulse
control, and empathy. !t is now called constraint.
The big ,ve$ fveKfactor theory$ openness to experience, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. ;ach factor is a higherKorder
trait. P. DAB. <onsistent across cultures and ages. +or <hinese$ interpersonal
trait is highly important, but not for 6esterners. The factors uni%uely predict
certain outcomes.
Personality re(ects learning and cognition
:kinner who sees personality as the result of internal processes view
personality mainly as learned responses to patterns of reinforcement.
Celly$ emphasised the importance of people)s understanding, or personal
constructs, of their circumstances. 4e thought that people view the world as
if they were scientists. Personal constructs develop through people)s
experiences and represent their interpretations and explanations for events
in their social worlds.
Eotter ,>BD=- built further on the cognitive approach by introducing the idea
that behaviour is a function of people)s expectancies for reinforcement, as
well as values they ascribe to particular reinforcers. People di7er in their
beliefs that their e7ort will lead to positive outcomes. People with an internal
locus of control believe they bring about their own rewards, whereas those
with an external locus of reward believe that rewards result from forces
beyond their control.
<ognitive social theories$ incorporation of cognition into learning theories led
to the developments of cognitiveKsocial theories of personality, which
emphasise how personal beliefs, expectancies and interpretations of social
situations shape behaviour and personality.
Bandura$ humans possess mental capacities that interact with environment
to in'uence behaviour. The extent to which people believe they can achieve
certain outcomes, call selfKeFcacy, is an important determinant of behaviour.
;xpectancies develop in part through observational learning.
Mischel$ approach the study of personality at the social level. Personality
traits often fail to predict behaviour across di7erent circumstances. <ognitiveK
a7ective personality system ,<5P:-, people)s responses are in'uenced by
how they perceive a given situation, their a7ective response, their skill in
dealing with challenges, and their anticipation of the outcomes of their
behaviour. P.D?2
#orem, <antor$ defensive pessimism$ people expect to fail and enter test
situation with dread.
:elfKregulatory capacities$ people set personal goals, evaluate their progress,
and adust their behaviour accordingly.
Personality represents behaviour that emerges from people)s interpretations
of their social worlds and from their beliefs about how they will a7ect and be
a7ected by their social situations.
+ow is personality assessed* and what does it predict-
Personality refers to both uni5ue and common characteristics
5llport divided the study of personality in 1 approaches$
!diographic$ personKcentered, they focus on the individual lives and how
various characteristics are integrated into uni%ue persons. :ame metric. !t
assumes that all individuals are uni%ue. Murray did a case study with 4itler.
.an Mc5dams considers life as a narrative9 each person has a lifeKstory that
integrates selfKknowledge into a coherent whole. !t is reconstructive and
imaginative, in doing so, the person creates individual myths.
#omothetic$ focus on characteristics common to all people, but on which
individuals vary. .i7erent metric.
<entral traits$ are especially important for how individuals defne themselves.
:econdary traits are less important.
Eesearchers use obective and proective methods to assess personality.
5ssessment procedures can be grouped into proective and obective
measures.
Pro;ective measures$ personality tests that examine unconscious
processes by having people interpret ambiguous situations. People will
proect their mental content into these ambiguous situations, revealing
hidden aspects of their personality. They are used to assess psychopathology.
Eorschach inkblot test fnds many disturbances in apparently healthy
individuals.
Murray and Morgan$ Thematic 5pperception Test ,T5T- to study achievement
motivation. This method of looking at an ambiguous picture and telling a
story about it reveals traits related to achievement, power, and aFliation. !t
can determine how interpersonally dependent people are.
Ibective measures$ relatively direct assessments of personality, based on
information gathered through selfKreport %uestionnaires or observer ratings.
They re%uire people to make subective udgments. Terms can also mean
di7erent things to di7erent people.
#;I personality inventory$ assess the Big +ive personality factors according
to 1=2 items.
<alifornia UK:ort$ people sort >22 statements printed on cards into B piles
according to how accurately the statements describes them. Inly so many
cards can be placed in piles, with fewer cards piled at for the extreme ends of
the scale.
9bservers show accuracy in trait ;udgments
+under$ surprising degree of accuracy for trait udgments. <lose people can
even better describe us than ourselves, because they observe us. Iur
subective perceptions may diverge from our obective behaviours.
People are sometimes inconsistent
Mischel ,>BG?-$ situationism$ behaviour is determined more by situations
than by personality traits.
!n the person(situation debate, personality researchers argued that the extent
to which a trait predicts behaviour depends on the centrality of the trait, the
aggregation of behaviour over time, and the type of trait being evaluated. !f
personality traits are averaged in situations, traits are more predictive of
behaviour. ;.H. the trait of selfKmonitoring allows people who possess it to
alter their behaviour to match the situations.
<ehaviour is in(uenced by the interaction of personality and
situations
Being neurotic is the best predictor of marital dissatisfaction and divorce.
Personality dispositions are meaningful constructs that predict behaviour
overtime and across circumstances. People are also highly sensitive to social
context, and most conform to social norms. The situation can dictate
behaviour regardless of personality.
:ituations di7er in the extent to which they constrain the expression of
personality. There is a di7erence between strong situations and weak
situations.
!nteractionist$ theorists who believe that behaviour is determined ointly by
underlying principle and situations.
5 reciprocal interaction occurs between the person and the environment, so
that they in'uence each other. Personality re'ects both underlying
dispositions and the activation and emotional responses in given situations.
There are cultural and gender di4erences in personality
People from di7erent cultures can interpret %uestions di7erently. Ine must
also be careful about the chosen sample.
!nvestigation of personality across DG nations p.D?A
4eine$ national reputation may be correct and that people are biased when
they rate themselves, because of the average behaviour of the country.
6omen are more empathetic and agreeable than men, and also more
neurotic and concerned about their feelings. Men are more assertive. Hender
di7erences in personalities are greater in #5 and ;urope, a smaller in 5sia
and 5frican communities. This may be explained because women are allowed
a greater education and can express their individuality more. <ertain sex
di7erences emerge early in childhood.
Huimond$ people in individualistic cultures tend to compare themselves with
other groups.
'hat are the biological bases of personality-
Biological factors play an important role in the development of personality
and its determination. Hene expression underlies all psychological activity.
Henes have the e7ects only when expressed, and environment controls such
an expression.
"nimals have personalities
4umans and other animals have evolved as they solved occasionally similar
adaptive challenges9 which raises the possibility that animals might display
consistent individual di7erences in behaviour, which re'ect the biological
bases of personality.
Hosling$ 3G hyenas, == traits, = raters. The traits clustered into D factors.
:imilarities$ agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience. #o
conscientiousness, extraversion in the form of assertiveness.
@ohn$ similarity in extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness could be seen
in most species. Ipenness in animals can be compared to that of small
children. <onscientiousness could only be found in chimpan8ees.
Hosling examined personality udgments for domestic dogs and compared
those to udgments made by humans, studied = personality factors that
correspond to openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism with 3 criteria of accuracy that were respected. 5nother group of
udges rated only pictures of the dogs. .og)s personalities can be rated with
accuracy, and that animals show clear evidence of basic personality traits
which suggest that such traits are biologically based on passed along genes.
Personality is rooted in genetics
#early all personality traits have a genetic component.
Joehlin, #ichols, examined similarities in personality among over ?22 pairs of
twins. !dentical twins had much more similarities than fraternal twins. P.DB1.
Henetic in'uences about D2N of the variance in personality traits, and the
genetic basis of these traits are the same across culture.
Bouchard$ twins raised apart are as similar as twins raised together, or even
more so. !dentical twins become more alike as they age. This is because
parents emphasis their individual di7erences when children.
"doption studies$ siblings who are adopted are more similar than 1
strangers. Personality of adopted children isn)t similar to that of adoptive
parents, which means that parenting style has little in'uence on personality.
:ibling)s personalities slowly grow apart as their initial di7erences become
magnifed through their interactions with the world.
Jykken$ children raised by inade%uate parenting are much more likely to
become delin%uent or show antisocial behaviour.
"re there speci,c genes for personality-
Henes predispose certain personality traits associated with behavioural
tendencies. Multiple genes interact independently with the individual)s
environment to produce general dispositions. Henes can be linked with some
specifcity to personality traits. :ome pairs of genes can work in opposite
ways.
Jykken$ it may be the chance aggregation of genes that produces uni%ue
individuals
Temperaments are evident in infancy
Temperaments$ biologically based tendencies to feel or act in certain ways.
They are considered broader than traits.
6ork on infants, because personality di7erences early in life indicates the
action of biological mechanisms.
Buss and Plomin$ 3 personality characteristics can be considered
temperaments$ activity level, emotionality and sociability. These are the main
factors in'uenced by genes.
7ong8term implication of temperaments$ early childhood temperaments
signifcantly in'uence behaviour and personality structure throughout a
person)s development. !nhibited children are far more likely to become
depressed.
1ender and temperaments$ great di7erence in early childhood. Hirls have
a stronger ability to control their attention, and to resist their impulses. Boys
are more physically active, and experience more highKintensity pleasure.
There are no di7erences in negative emotions.
/hyness and inhibition$ the extent to which people are shy has been linked
to early di7erences in temperament. G week old children can be identifed as
shy.
Cagan$ >DK12N of newborns react to new situations or strange obects by
becoming distressed, they are said to be inhibited, a characteristic that he
views as being biologically determined. !nhibited children show greater
reactivity in brainstem measures, which are the same when they are >1 as
when they are = months. :hy people have a much greater activation when
showed unfamiliar faces. 1DN of shy children aren)t shy later childhood. This
development occurs when parents create supportive and calm environment
in which children can deal with stress and novelty at their own paces.
:hyness also varies across cultures. Thus social and cultural factors highlight
the interplay between nature and nurture.
Personality is lin)ed to speci,c neurophysiological mechanisms
Personality di7erences may re'ect di7erences may re'ect di7erences in the
relative activation of di7erent biological systems.
"rousal and extraversion
;ysenck$ founder of modern biological approach to personality, he believed
that di7erences in cortical arousal produce the behavioural di7erences
between extraverts and introverts. <ortical arousal or alertness is regulated
by the ascending reticular system ,5E5:- which di7ers between them.
;xtraverts seek continual arousal, and introverts seem to avoid arousal. ;ach
person prefers to operate at some optimal level of arousal. The resting levels
of 5E5: are higher for introverts than extraverts. ;xtraverts perform better in
noisy settings.
!ntroverts, being chronically more aroused, ought to be more sensitive to
stimuli. !ntroverts do appear more sensitive to pain, and to sourness.
;vidence for baseline di7erences in arousal is diFcult to produce, thus what
di7erentiates extraverts for introverts is their level of arousability, or
reactivity to stimuli.
Ouckerman$ arousalKbased trait of sensation seeking as similar to
extraversion, but with an impulsive element that more closely matches
psychoticism. :ensation seekers have a neurochemical defciency that
motivates them to seek arousal and tend to be easily bored and try to escape
boredom through the use of alcohol(drug.
Neurophysiology of extraversion and introversion
Hray$ incorporated the di7erentiation between approach learning and
avoidance learning in his approach(inhibition model of the relation between
learning and personality. Personality is rooted in motivational functions that
have evolved to help organisms respond eFciently to reinforcement and
punishment.
Behavioural approach system ,B5:-$ the brain system involved in the pursuit
of incentive rewards. !t is the go system
Behavioural inhibition system$ ,B!:-$ the brain system that is sensitive to
punishment, and therefore inhibits behaviour that might lead to danger or
pain. !t is the stop system. !t is associated with the activity in the frontal lobes
;xtraverts have stronger B5: than B!:, so they are more in'uenced by
rewards than by punishment. !ntroverts have a more active B!:, their chronic
anxiety often lead them to avoid social situations in which they anticipate
negative results.
+earfulness, anxiousness and shyness are associated with excessive
activation of the amygdala.
Personality is adaptive
Buss$ the Big D personality traits are fundamental because each trait provides
important information regarding mate selection.
!ndividual di7erences re'ect characteristics, perhaps resulting from random
processes, that are of trivial importance with regards to evolution.
Buss and Hreiling$ individual di7erences might re'ect the inheritance of
alternative strategies that have become activated according to situational
contexts.
;volution has allowed for multiple strategies that are di7erently adaptive
depending on environmental demands.
4uman groups whose members possess di7erent skills have a selective
advantage over other human groups
<ritical thinking skill$ avoiding singleKcause explanations
Personality traits are stable overtime
Michael "p series$ follow the development of british children and found that
they are stable overtime
<linical psychology$ people can and do change important aspects of their
lives.
Personality was the least stable for children under 1 and the most stable for
adult over D2.
@ames ,>?B2-$ for most of us, the character has set like plaster and will never
soften again.
"ge8related change$ people when older become less neurotic, less
extraverted, and less open to new experiences9 they are also more agreeable
and more conscientious. #ot large, but consistent e7ects even across
cultures which means that personality changes aren)t related to the
environment. Personality change has a genetic component.
Characteristic adaptations
Mc<rae and <osta$ important distinction between basic tendencies of
personality and characteristic adaptation. Basic tendencies are dispositional
traits determined by biological processes, thus are very stable. <haracteristic
adaptations$ adustments to situational demands, they are less consistent.
!f personality is determined partly by biological processes, some of its
changes will be associated to changes in biological makeup. The fact that the
brain develops well in adulthood explains why personality can change before
age 32. "pon adulthood situation are also less variable.
+ow do we )now our personalities-
:elf$ each person)s mental representations of personal experiences that
includes thought processes, physical body, and conscious awareness of being
separate from others and uni%ue. !t is a unitary experience continuous over
time and space.
9ur self8concepts consist of self8)nowledge
:elfKconcept$ everything we know about ourselves, it is the cognitive
knowledge structure that guides attention and information important, and
helps adapt to the environment.
:elfKawareness$ the sense of self as the obect of attention. !t is dependent of
functional frontal lobes. People without functioning frontal lobes are minimally
selfKre'ecting, and show a lack of interest in their disorders.
@ames and Mead$ di7erentiate between the self as the knower ,!- which is
involved in executive functions, and the self as the obects that is known
,me-, now called the obective self, which is the knowledge the subect holds
about himself.
.uval and 6icklund$ theory of obective selfKawareness that leads people to
act in accordance with the values they hold. .iscrepancies between personal
standards and goals can motivate a behaviour that reduces the discrepancy.
4iggins$ selfKdiscrepancy theory$ the awareness of di7erences between
personal standards and goals leads to strong emotions.
:truss$ intelligent patient with frontal lobe damage became less productive at
work even if his knowledge about the world remained intact. 4e was asked to
play the role of the boss and gave an accurate suggestion, but when in his
position again, he disagreed with it.
/elf8schema$
<ocktail party phenomenon$ information about the self is processed deeply,
and automatically.
Markus ,>BAA-$ the selfKschema is the cognitive aspect of the selfKconcept,
consisting of an integrated set of memories, beliefs, and generali8ation about
the self. May lead to enhanced memory for information processed in a selfK
relevant manner.
Eogers$ trait adective processes with reference to the self were better
recalled than comparable items processed only for their general meaning.
There is an activation of the middle of the frontal lobes when people process
information about themselves. The greater the activation of this area during
selfKreferencing, the more likely we will remember the item later during a
memory task.
6orking of selfKconcept$ the immediate experience of the self, limited to the
amount of information that can be possessed cognitively at any given time.
Thus, the sense of self varies over situation.
6e emphasise aspects of our personalities that makes us separate from
others, but at the same time we don)t want to stand out to much.
Perceived social regard in(uences self8esteem
:elfKesteem$ evaluative aspects of the selfKconcept, indicating people)s
emotional responses as they contemplate various characteristics about
themselves.
Ee'ected appraisal$ selfKesteem is based on how people view us, people
internali8e the values and beliefs expressed by important people in their
lives, adopting those attitudes as their own. <onse%uently, people come to
respond to themselves in manners consistent with how other view them.
#eed for parents) unconditional love, but in relatively strict parenting with
well defned limits.
:ociometer theory$ Jeary$ selfKesteem monitors the likelihood of social
exclusion.
:ociometer$ internal monitor of social acceptance or reection.
<ritical thinking skill$ resisting appeals to snoberry$ play on people to appear
superior.
:elfKesteem and death anxiety$ according to the terror management theory$
selfKesteem protects people from the horror associated with knowing they
eventually will die. 6e counter a sense of immortality when we have the
feeling that we contribute to our society. Eeminding people of their mortality
leads them to act in ways that enhance their selfKesteem.
/elf8esteem and life outcomes
Baumeister$ people with high selfKesteem report being happier, but it is
weakly related to obective life outcomes. There is a slight correlation,
perhaps because success causes higher selfKesteem. /iolent criminal have
high selfKesteem. 6hen people with high selfKesteem believe their abilities
have been challenged, they may act in ways that cause people to dislike
them.
#arcissim$ selfKcentered people view themselves in grandiose ways, they are
manipulative, and unfaithful in their relationships. Programs design to
improve children)s selfKesteem could be responsible, and the rise in selfK
promoting sites.
'e use mental strategies to maintain our views of self
People show favouritism with everything associated with the self. B2N of
drivers believe that have better than average drive skills. P.G2A
<etter8than average e4ect$ people rate themselves as better than
average in nearly every way. People with high selfKesteem are especially
likely to do so.
Taylor and Brown$ most people have positive illusions in at least 3 domains$
they continuously experience the better than average e7ect, they
unrealistically perceive their personal control over events, and most people
are unrealistically optimistic about their futures.
The selfKevaluative maintenance, social comparisons, and selfKserving biases
help us to cope with the disappointments of life.
/elf8evaluative maintenance$ Tesser$ selfKesteem can be a7ected by how
relevant people)s performances are to their selfKconcepts, and how their
performances compare to signifcant people in their lives. People can feel
threatened when someone close to them performs better. To maintain selfK
esteem, we could distance ourselves from the relationship or fnd a di7erent
aspiration. !t causes people to exaggerate their connections to winners and to
minimi8e their connections to losers.
/ocial comparison$ when we compare to others to see where we stand.
People with high selfKesteem seem to make downward comparisons whereas
people with low selfKesteem make upward comparisons. There is a form of
downward comparison when one recalls his own past, viewing their current
self as better than their former self. P.G2B
/elf8serving biases$ the tendencies for people, especially those with high
selfKesteem, to take personal credit for success, but blame failures on
external factors.
People with high selfKesteem assume that criticism is motivated by envy or
preudice9 indeed, people in discrimination groups have high selfKesteem.
<rocker and Maor$ members of these groups maintain positive selfKesteem by
taking credit for success and blaming negative feedback on preudice.
!n thinking about our failures, we compare ourselves to those who did worse,
and think about the things we are good at.
They may even re'ect healthy psychological functioning.
There are cultural di4erences in the self
.i7erence among people regarding selfKconcept$ whether they view
themselves as fundamentally separate from or connected to other people.
Triandis$ some cultures emphasise the collective self more than the personal
self. <ollectivist cultures and more respective of social norms and of family
values whereas individualistic cultures emphasise rights of freedom of
expression.
Markus and Citayama$ people in collectivist cultures have interdependent
selfKconstruals, in which the selfKconcepts are determined largely by their
social roles and personal relationships, whereas people in individualistic
cultures have independent slefKconstruals.
Culture and self8serving bias: most non8depressed individual ma)e
self8serving biases.
4eine$ the self serving bias may be more common in individualistic cultures
than in collectivist ones
;ndo, Meier$ 5mericans listed more successes than failures, and the
@apanese)s list showed an e%ual amount of successes and failures. :elf
criticism in more common than self promotion in 5sia, and such a tendency is
preserved even when the 5sians are anonymous.
People in @apan and <hina also share a positivity bias like that of the
5mericans ,tendency to view themselves as better than others.-, which was
perceivable using an implicit measure of selfKesteem that rely on how
participants associated positive things with themselves. Thus ;asterners
value themselves e%ually as westerners but are hesitant to admit it.
5sians selfKenhance in domains particular to them$ they enhance how good
group members they are. Thus selfKenhancement is universal, but the traits
emphasised are di7erent.
Chapter 1!: 6isorders of the mind and body
Psychopathology$ a disorder of the mind AN severely a7ected
+ow are mental disorders conceptuali#ed and classi,ed-
.oes the behaviour deviate from cultural norms*
!s the behaviour maladaptive*
!s the behaviour causing the individual distress*
The symptoms of the disorder must interfere with at least one aspects of the
person)s life, such as work, social relations, or selfKcare.
3ental disorders are classi,ed into categories
;tiology$ factors that contribute to the development of a disorder
Craepelin$ ,>?22- mental disorder identifcation based on the basis of groups
of symptoms that occur together.
.iagnostic and :tatistical Manual of Mental .isorders ,>BD1- ,.:M-$ standard
Today$ multiaxial system$ the system used in the .:M that provides
assessment along D axes describing important mental health factors.
>K <linical disorders
1K Mental retardation or personality disorder
3K Medical conditions
=K Psychosocial problem
DK Hlobal assessment of how well the person is functioning
3ental disorders must be assessed
5ssessment$ examination of a person)s mental state to diagnose possible
psychological disorders. >. Make a diagnosis 1. Treatment 3. Ingoing
assessment
Mental status exam$ provide a snapshot of mental functioning$ behavioural
observation. <an di7erentiate with physical disorders ,stroke-
!n a clinical interview, the >
st
thing a psychologist asks is$ current symptoms
and recent experiences that might cause distress.
/tructured versus unstructured interviews$
"nstructured interviews are 'exible, but are too highly dependent of the
interviewer)s skill. !n structured interviews, standardi8ed %uestions are asked
in the same order. The patient)s answers are coded according to a
predetermined formula9 the diagnosis is based on the patterns of responding.
The most commonly used is the :tructured <linical !nterview for .:M ,:<!.-
Types of testing
Behavioural assessment
Psychological testing$ the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality !nventory ,MMP!-
,>B32- which consists of DGA true(false %uestions and takes into account >2
clinical scales. !t also includes validity scales. The scores considered normal
are not representative.
#europsychological testing$ each task re%uires ability such as planning,
coordinating or remembering. !t might indicate a problem with a certain brain
region. !t is followed by a ME! or P;T.
;videnceKbased assessment$ approach to clinical evaluation in which
research guides the evaluation of mental disorders, the selection of tests and
neuropsychological methods, and the use of critical thinking skill in making a
diagnosis.
<omorbity$ many mental disorders occur together.
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing when categories represent continuous
dimensions.
6issociative identity disorder is a controversial diagnosis
Milligan)s 1= personalities were found innocent in the murder and rape.
.issociative identity disorder ,.!.-$ the occurrence of 1 or more distinct
identities in the same individual. Most su7erers are women who report being
severely abused as children. ,<hildren cope by pretending it has happened to
someone else-. The identities are all di7erent. Many researchers are sceptical
of the disease9 since many diagnoses occur often when patients have
committed crimes. The number of cases has skyrocketed in the >BB2, and the
number of personalities went from 1 to 3 to 12. The therapists might even
have suggested without awareness that their patients may su7er from the
disease.
3ental disorders have many causes
.iathesisKstress model$ a diagnostic model that proposes that a disorder may
develop when an underlying vulnerability ,diathesis- is coupled with a
precipitating event.
<iological factors$ in'uence the development and the course of a mental
disorder ,foetuses are very sensitive, and disorders can arise from things
such as malnutrition-. They have an e7ect of the nervous system, and can
trigger mental disorders. There are structural di7erences in certain parts of
the brain that di7er from healthy individuals. #eurotransmitter levels can
trigger disorders.
Psychological factors$ thoughts and emotions are shaped by environment
and can a7ect behaviour.
+amily system model$ considers symptoms within an individual as indicating
problems with the family. Behaviour must be considered in a social context. !t
is very useful in determining if the family will or will not help the patient.
:ociocultural model$ views psychopathology as the result of the interaction
between individuals and their cultures.
Cognitive8behavioural factors$ strict behaviourists argue that mental
disorders result from classical and operant conditioning. Thoughts can
become distorted and produce maladaptive behaviours. !t is believed that
thought processes are available to the conscious mind, and can be analysed.
<ognitiveKbehavioural approach$ views psychopathology as the result of
learned maladaptive cognitions.
/ex8di4erences in mental disorders$ in general the disorders associated
with internali8ing are more prevalent in females, and those associated with
externali8ing are more prevalent in males. P.G1?
Culture and mental disorders$ most mental disorders are the same across
culture, especially those with a strong biological component. :ometimes
manifestations of the disorder can vary across cultures. P.G1B
Can anxiety be the root of seemingly di4erent disorders-
5nxiety disorders are characterised by excessive anxiety in the absence of a
true danger.
There are di4erent types of anxiety disorders
1DN will su7er from anxiety disorders at some point of their lives. The
su7erers feel tense, are often depressed and irritable because they see no
end to their anxiety. They have trouble falling and staying asleep. Their
arousal involves the autonomic nervous system, and can lead to bodily
symptoms such as sweating, high blood pressure... <hronic arousal can also
lead to hypertension, headaches, intestinal problems, can even cause illness
or tissue damage. :u7erers have pointless motor behaviours.
<hronic stress can damage the hippocampus that is involved in learning and
memory.
Phobic disorder
!n phobias, fear is out of proportion. :pecifc phobias a7ect >(? people are
a7ected. P.G3>
/ocial phobia$ also called social anxiety disorder, it is a fear of being
negatively viewed by others. >(? people will experience it. !t is one of the
earliest forms of mental disorder to develop, often beginning around >39 and
the more social fear, the more likely the person will develop another disorder,
particularly depression and substance abuse.
1enerali#ed anxiety disorder$ a di7used state of constant anxiety not
associated with any specifc obect or event. H5. a7ects GN of the
population. :u7erers experience distractibility, fatigue, irritability, sleep
problems, headaches, restlessness, lightKheadedness, and muscle pain.
Panic disorder$ a7ecting 3N of the population, it is characteri8ed by
sudden, overwhelming attacks of terror. They last for several minutes during
which the patient begins to sweat and tremble, his heart races...People
developing it in adolescence are more likely to develop PT:. and H5. in
adulthood.
5goraphobia$ related disease marked by the fear of being in situations in
which escape may feel diFcult or impossible.
9C6$ a7ects >K1N, and is characteri8ed by fre%uent intrusive thoughts and
compulsive actions. The most common behaviours are cleaning, checking and
counting. They anticipate catastrophe and loss of control. They fear what
they might do or have done, and checking is the only way to calm the
anxiety.
"nxiety disorders have cognitive* situational* and biological
components
<ognitive factors$ when presented with ambiguous situations, anxious people
tend to see them as threatening, and focus excessive attention on perceived
threats.
:ituational factors$ looking at one)s fear might trigger the fear reaction.
Biological factors$ children who have an inhibited temperament are more
likely to experience anxiety disorders, and are especially at risk of developing
social phobia. The inhibited group showed greater activation of the amygdale
while viewing the novel faces.
I<. su7erers are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are irrational,
but are unable to stop them. 5nxiety is paired to a specifc event, through
classical conditioning, and the person engages in the behaviour that reduces
anxiety, and therefore is reinforced through operant conditioning.
I<. is in part genetic. The specifc mechanism hasn)t been identifed, but the
neurotransmitter glutamate, which is the maor excitatory transmitter in the
brain, causing increased neural fring.
The caudate, a brain structure involved in suppressing impulses, is smaller
and has structural abnormalities in people with I<.. P;T studies show
abnormal activity in the thalamus and the caudate in those with I<..
Patients with diseases in those areas have similar symptoms to those of I<..
!mpulsions leek into consciousness and the prefrontal cortex becomes
overactive in an e7ort to compensate. ;lectrical stimulation of the caudate
can help.
I<. can be triggered by environmental factors such as a streptococcal
infection in children. .iscovered by :wedo, it strikes at night, triggering an
autoimmune response that damages the caudate.
"re mood disorders extreme manifestations of normal moods-
There are di4erent types of mood disorders
Mood disorders re'ect extreme emotions$ depressive disorders feature
persistent and pervasive feelings of sadness and bipolar disorder involve
radical 'uctuations in mood.
6epressive disorders$ can be maor or less severe.
Maor depression$ severe negative moods or lack of interest in normally
pleasurable activities.
>K .epressed mood or loss of interest in pleasurable activities.
1K 5ppetite and weight changes sleep disturbance, loss of energy,
diFculty concentrating, feelings of selfKreproach or guilt, fre%uent
thoughts of death and suicide.
Inly longKlasting episodes that impair a person)s life are diagnosed as mood
disorders. !t a7ects GKAN of the population in a given year, and >GN will
experience it at some point of their life. !t is often lasting for many years.
.ysthymia$ a form a depression that is of mild to moderate severity. 57ects
1K3N of the population. They have a depressed mood most of the day, more
days than not, for at least 1 years. Periods last from 1K12 days, and are
typically DK>2 days. !t is often seen as a personality disorder.
!n its more severe form, depression is the maor cause of disability in the ":
and worldwide. !t is the maor factor for suicide. :uicide is the leading cause
of death of young women in <hina and !ndia, and the highest rate of
depression is found in women of developing countries, especially in rural
Pakistan.
Iverwork and lack of support might explain why depression is so prevalent in
women. 6omen also respond to stressful events by internali8ing their feelings
which leads to depression and anxiety.
<ipolar disorder$ alternating periods of mania and depression. 57ects =N of
the population. !t is more common in adolescence and in early adulthood.
Manic phases$ elevated mood, increased activity, diminished need for sleep,
grandiose ideas, racing thoughts, and extreme distractibility.
4ypomanic phases$ heightened creativity and productivity, and can be
pleasurable and rewarding.
@amison$ an )n*uiet !ind. :u7ered from bipolar disorder and took lithium to
help. This drug deprives people from good moods.
3ood disorders have cognitive* situational* and biological
components
.epression has a genetic component. <oncordance rates between identical
twins are = times higher than between fraternal twins. Henetic contribution
to depression is weaker than for schi8ophrenia and bipolar disorder.
<oncordance in identical twins is of A2N, and of 12N for fraternal twins. 5ll of
those a7ected with the disease have the same defect. !ts heredity is complex
and not ust related to one gene. :uccessive generation of bipolar disorder
su7ers have more severe disorders at an early age of unset.
Maor depression involves a defciency of one or more monoamines.
Medication that increases the availability of norepinephrine alleviates
depression. :elective serotonin reuptake inhibitor ,::E!- increases the levels
of serotonin. .amage to the left prefrontal cortex can lead to depression. The
brain waves of depressed people show low activity in these same regions in
the left hemisphere. These patterns persist in people who are in remission.
Biological rhythms$ implicated in depression$ depressed patients enter E;M
sleep more %uickly and have more of it. !ndeed, depressed people sleep a lot
and always feel tired.
:5.$ seasonal a7ective disorder
Jife stressor can cause depression9 the main ones are interpersonal losses,
and the more there are, the more likely it is that depression will occur. 5
person that has close friends is less likely to have depression when faced with
stress.
<ognitive processes also play a role in depression. Beck$ depressed people
think negatively about themselves, their situation, their future ,cognitive
triad-. .epressed people attribute their failures on themselves, and successes
to luck. They also make errors of logic, such as over generali8ing, magnifying
the seriousness of bad events, and taking responsibility for bad events that
didn)t really have anything to do with them. <ognitive patterns are more a
cause than a conse%uence of depression.
Jearned helplessness model$ people feel unable to control events around
them. !t is made by :eligman$ animals that couldn)t escape situations
became passive.
'hat is schi#ophrenia-
:chi8ophrenia$ Lsplitting of the mind) refers to a split between thought and
emotion. !t is a psychotic disorder that is characteri8ed by alterations in
thoughts perceptions, or in consciousness. !t a7ects 2.DK>N of the population.
The rates are slightly lower in developing countries, and the prognosis is
better in such countries. The disorder has di7erent subtypes.
/chi#ophrenia has positive and negative symptoms
Positive symptoms$ delusions, hallucinations that are excessive in behaviour.
#egative symptoms$ defcits of functioning such as apathy, lack of emotion,
and slowed speech and movement.
:ubtypes$ paranoid, disorgani8ed, catatonic, undi7erentiated, residual
.elusions$ persecution, reference, grandeur, identity, guilt, control
Positive symptoms:
.elusions$ false personal beliefs based on incorrect inferences about reality
,#oid-. The types of delusion can be in'uenced by culture. Hermans$
delusions of guilt and persecution. @apanese$ delusions of harassment. Both
had the same delusions of grandeur.
4allucinations$ false sensory perceptions that are experienced without an
external source. They can be visual, olfactory or somatosensory, and most
often auditory. Typical auditory hallucinations involve voices telling the person
that he or she is inept or evil, or that command that person to do dangerous
things. They are associated with the activation in cortical areas that process
external sensory stimuli. :uch hallucination might be caused by an inability
to distinguish normal inner speech.
Joosening of associations$ a speech pattern among schi8ophrenic patients in
which their thoughts are disorgani8ed or meaningless.
<lang association$ the stringing together of words that rhyme but have no
apparent link
.isorganised behaviour$ acting in a strange or unusual ways, including
strange movements, bi8arre speech, and inappropriate selfKcare.
;cholalia$ repeating words they hear, occurs in catatonic schi8ophrenia
,associated with fear response-
Negative symptoms of schi#ophrenia$ more common in men
Patients are often isolated and withdrawn, often avoid eyeKcontact and seem
apathetic. They use slowed speech, reduced speech output, and a
monotonous tone of voice. Patient)s movements may also be slowed and
their overall amount of movement reduced, with little initiation of behaviour
and no interest in social participation.
6hile positive symptoms can be reduced or eliminated, the negative ones
often persist, suggesting that the 1 types of symptoms have di7erent causes.
Positive ones are thought to arise from neurotransmitter dysfunction, and
negatives ones are associated with abnormal brain regions.
/chi#ophrenia is primarily a brain disorder
;arly theories attributed the disease to mothers with contradictory behaviour.
Henetics play a role$ D2N of identical twins, >=N of fraternal twins, >3N one
parent, D2N both parents. The genetic component represents a
predisposition not a destiny. P.G=D
Patients have rare mutations of their .#5 about 3 to = times more often,
especially in genes related to brain development and neurological functions.
These mutations might result in abnormal brain development that might
trigger the disease. Multiple genes contribute9 each of at least 1= genes
might modestly in'uence. Mental disease can arise when the competition
between the mother and father)s .#5 leads to an unbalanced outcome.
The ventricle are enlarged, meaning that the actual brain tissue is reduced,
and the greater the reduction, the worse the outcome. The reductions
increase overtime. They occur in many regions of the brain, especially in the
frontal lobes and medial temporal lobes, and lead to a decrease of their
activity.
Many have speculated that it is more a problem of connection between brain
regions that the result of diminished or changed functions. !t could also result
from abnormalities in neurotransmitters such as dopamine$ drugs that block
dopamine decrease symptoms, and drugs that increase dopamine increase
symptoms. !t might also involve abnormality in the glial cells that make up
the myelin sheath which would impair neurotransmission through the brain.
!t is most often diagnosed in the 12s or 32s, however, neurological signs of
the disease can be identifed earlier. 6alker$ those who developed the
disorder displayed unusual social behaviours, more severe negative
emotions, and increasing motor disturbances, such as strange facial
expression that all went undiagnosed. Those with schi8ophrenia were more
likely to have displayed behavioural problems as children, such as fghting or
not getting along, than those who developed other disorders. D factors
predict the onset of the behaviour$ a family history, greater social
impairment, higher level of suspicion(paranoia, a history of substance abuse,
and higher level of unusual thoughts. 6hen youths had 1 to 3 of the >
st
3
factors, they are ?2N likely to develop full blown psychosis.
.nvironmental factors in(uence schi#ophrenia
;nvironmental stress seems to contribute. >3 N of adopted children placed in
disturbed families and whose biological mother had schi8ophrenia developed
the disease while =>N developed other severe psychological disorders. #one
of those placed in healthy families developed disorders.
Being born or raised in an urban area doubles the risk of developing the
disease, suggesting that urban stress contributes.
;xistence of a schi8ovirus$ living in the close %uarters of a bid city increases
the risks of the virus spreading.
5ntibodies were found in the blood of schi8ophrenics that weren)t found in
the blood of healthy individuals.
Those diagnosed with schi8ophrenia were more likely to have been born
during late winter or early spring, because their mothers were in their second
trimester during 'u season. ;vidence suggests that mothers of schi8ophrenic
children are more likely to have contracted in'uen8a during that critical
period when a great deal of brain development occurs, so at that time trauma
or pathogens can interfere with the organi8ation of brain regions.
"re personality disorders truly mental disorders-
Personality disorder$ when people interact with the world in maladaptive and
in'exible ways for long lasting periods and causes trouble in work and social
situations. They a7ect >2N of the population.
Personality disorders are maladaptive ways or relating to the world
They are classifed in axis 1 because they last throughout life without any
change. Table p. G=B
They appear to be extreme versions of personality traits, and there are
overlaps among the traits in di7erent disorders. They often don)t a7ect daily
life as much as type > disorders.
<orderline personality disorder is associated with poor self8control
BP.$ identity, a7ective, and impulse disturbances. The term borderline is
used because patients are considered to be on the border of normal and
psychotic behaviour. !t a7ects >K1N of adults, and is more than twice more
common in women than in men.
They seem to lack a strong sense of self, can)t tolerate being alone, have an
intense fear of abandonment, and thus can be very manipulative in their
attempts to control relationships. They also have emotional instability
characteri8ed by sudden episodes of depression, anxiety, anger, and
irritability that can last from a few hours to a few days. They are also
impulsive ,sexual promiscuity, physical fghting, binge eating and purging,
and selfKmutilation- and are at a high risk for suicide.
!t has a genetic component. Patients also show sleep abnormalities
characteristic of depression9 borderline disorder and a7ective disorder both
involve low levels of serotonin linked with impulsive behaviour. They have
diminished capacities in their frontal lobes, which help control behaviour.
!t may also have an environmental component9 there is a strong relationship
between trauma and abuse and borderline disorder. A2 to ?2N of patients
have reported being abused or noticed violent events. Borderline patients
may also have had caretakers that were not accepting of who they were or
were unreliable or unavailable. The constant reection made it diFcult for
children to regulate and understand emotional reactions to events.
<aregivers could also have encouraged dependence and therefore patient
couldn)t have developed a proper sense of self.
"ntisocial personality disorder is associated with a lac) of empathy
>?22, psychopath$ someone who seems willing to take advantage of others
and hurt them without concern or remorse.
<heckly ,>B=>-$ Mask of :anity$ psychopaths can be charming, rational on the
outside and insincere, unsocial, incapable of love, lack insight and be
shameless.
>B?2$ .:M$ 5ntisocial personality disorder$ marked by a lack of empathy or
remorse, often hedonistic.
Psychopaths are said to have an extreme form of this disorder. They
intentionally kill to gain something, whereas those without psychopathic
tendencies kill out of impulse. ,@e7rey .ahmer, .ennis Eader BTC strangler,
Hary Hilmore-
"ssessment and conse5uences$ 57ecting much more men than women, it
occurs if >K=N of the population. !t appears in late adolescence and early
adulthood and often improves around =2 ,at least for those without
psychopathic traits-
!t can)t be assessed under >?, but the person must have displayed antisocial
conduct before >D. They must have repeatedly performed illegal acts, lied,
and showing reckless disregard for their own or for other)s safety. Being often
bright and talkative, they can talk their way through, and punishment has
very little e7ect9 they often repeat the problem behaviour.
D2N of the prison population meets the criteria for 5P.. 5 study was
conducted out of prison, and >(3 of interviewed patients were diagnosed.
Psychopaths can hide their traits well, and can even be at an advantage in
politics and business.
In ethics$ psychopathy and crimes in youths p.GD3
The causes of antisocial personality disorder
Jykken ,>BDA-$ psychopaths don)t become anxious when subected to
aversive stimuli. They don)t seem to feel fear or anxiety.
<riminal who have the disorder have slower alphaKwaveKactivity, indicating a
lower overall level of arousal and may explain why they engage in sensationK
seeking and why they don)t learn from punishment. This pattern also occurs
in adolescent at risk for psychopathy.
There amygdala is smaller and they are less responsive to negative stimuli.
There are defcits in frontal lobe functioning which account for the lack of
forethought and the inability to consider the implications of characteristic
actions.
Henetic and environmental factors are important for 5P., and genetic
components are more important for psychopathy. !dentical twins have a
higher concordance of criminality than fraternal twins . 5dopted male children
have a higher rate of criminality is their biological father was a criminal, and
the greater his record, the greater the chances that the kid will engage in
criminal behaviour.
Jow economic statues, dysfunctional families, and childhood abuse play an
important role. Malnutrition at age 3 predicts antisocial behaviour at >A.
/hould childhood disorders be considered a uni5ue category-
Craepelin ,>??3- didn)t list childhood disorders. #ow .:M has a category in
5xis > called disorders usually >
st
diagnosed in infancy, childhood, and
adolescence. Table p.GDD. !t should be taken into account that some children
behaviour that are typical of a disorder may be normal at an earlier stage of
development.
"utism is a lac) of awareness of others
5utism$ a developmental disorder involving defcits in social interaction,
impaired communication, and restricted interest. !t varies in severity, from
mild social impairments to severe social and intellectual impairments.
Canner ,>B=3-$ >
st
to describe children as having early infantile autism.
3 to G children have autism, and 3 times more boys have it than girls. +rom
>BB> to >BBA, there was an increase of DDGN of cases diagnosed because of
greater awareness of the disease and willingness to attribute more behaviour
the disease. Hernsbacher found problems with the studies saying that there
are large increases in the number of autistic children.
5sperger)s syndrome$ highKfunctioning autism, in which children of normal
intelligence have defcits in social interactions, re'ecting an underdeveloped
theory of the mind. ,Hrandin$ sees the world from an animal)s point of view-
Core symptoms of autism
Those with severe autism are seemingly unaware of others. 5s babies they
don)t smile to their caregivers, don)t respond to vocali8ation, and may
actively reect contact with others. They don)t establish eye contact and don)t
use their ga8e to direct attention. ;arly signs of autism may be overlooked
,AAN of people identifed autistic babies by looking at video footage of their
>
st
birthdays.
There are also defcits in communication that are evident by >= months
among autistic children who show severe impairments in verbal and non
verbal communication. They have echolalia, which may cease, and do
pronoun reversal, a behaviour that will persist. Those who develop functional
language often interpret words literally, use language inappropriately, and
lack verbal spontaneity.
They also have restricted activities and interests. They are acutely aware of
their surroundings, and may focus on unimportant details. 5ny changes in
their daily routine or in the placement of furniture and toys may lead them to
throw a tantrum. They tend to be obsessive and repetitive, with a focus on
obects) sensory aspects. Their own behaviour is repetitive with odd hand
movement, body rocking, and hand 'apping. :elfKinury is also common.
<ritical thinking skill$ recogni8ing and resisting hindsight bias ,we saw it
coming-
"utism is primarily a biological disorder
Canner$ it is an innate disorder exacerbated by cold and unresponsive
mothers. Parents are insensitive, meticulous, introverted, and highly
intellectual
Henetic studies are diFcult since autistic people rarely marry and almost
never have children. !f one child is autistic in the family, there is a 1 to BN
probability that another child will be diagnosed. !f 1 siblings are autistic, the
chance of a third sibling to be autistic is of 3DN. There is a concordance of
A2N to B2N in identical twins, and of >2N in fraternal twins.
There are prenatal and or neonatal events that may result in brain
dysfunction. The brain of autistic children grows unusually large during the >
st
1 years of life, and more slowly until age D. Their brains don)t develop
normally during adolescence.
:ome mothers of autistic children have bled signifcantly during their second
trimester suggest trauma during the critical period for brain development.
5utistic children also have a higher level of neonatal complications such as
apnea, sei8ures, and delay in breathing. They are also more likely to have
minor physical anomalies, to be the product of a >
st
pregnancy, or to be born
to older mothers.
Ixytocin may be involved in some of the behaviours of autistic children.
5utistic adults who receive oxytocin shuts have improved behaviours. :uch
inections are particularly useful for reducing repetitive behaviours,
%uestioning, inappropriate touching, and selfKinury. Jevels of = proteins in the
blood involved in brain development are elevated in BAN of autistic children
and in B1N of retarded children, but in none of the healthy controls.
5bnormal antibodies were found in the blood of the mothers of >>N of
autistic children.
5maral$ inected these antibodies in monkeys who developed behaviours
characteristic of autism.
"ttention86e,cit=+yperactivity disorder is a disruptive impulse
control disorder
5.4.$ restless, inattentive, and impulsive behaviour. D2N of = year old
mothers believe that their child has it.
The etiology of "6+6$ >>N of boys and =N of girls have it. The causes
remain unknown and it is most likely a heterogeneous disorder. <hildren
might come from disturbed families, and factors such as poor parenting and
social disadvantages may contribute to the onset of the disease.
There is a genetic component$ DDN concordance in identical twins and 31N
in fraternal twins.
Oametkin$ adults who have been diagnosed with 5.4. had reduced
metabolisms in brain regions involved in selfKregulations of motor functions
and of attentional systems. The connections between the frontal lobes and
the limbic system are impaired in those with 5.4.. The symptoms of 5.4.
are similar to the behaviours of those with frontal lobe damage. Prefrontal
abnormalities were found when adolescents with 5.4. perform tasks that
re%uire inhibiting motor responses. Hreater impairments in performance on
the tasks are associated with abnormal activation of these prefrontal regions.
There are di7erences in the basal ganglia, which is involved in regulating
motor behaviour and impulse control, in the brains of some 5.4. patients.
"6+6 across the life span$ diagnoses are given when D or G year old kids
enter socially structured environments. Many preschoolers that have 5.4.
behaviour are normal. <hildren later diagnosed often have diFculty
establishing patterns for eating and sleeping.
Between 32 to ?2N of those with 5.4. continue to show symptoms
throughout adulthood. 5dults with 5.4., =N, may struggle academically and
vocationally9 they reach a generally lowerKthanKexpected socioeconomic
levels and change obs more fre%uently.