Consciousness & Altered States: Sleep, Dreaming, Learning, Memory, Problem Solving - Prof., Study notes of Psychology

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February 17, 2011 Consciousness Awareness of: 1. external events 2. internal sensations 3. self as the unique being having these experiences 4. your thoughts about the experiences (self-evaluation) Altered States... consciousness changes for many reasons-- ● natural vs. artificial --- (sleep vs. drugs) ● unpredictable vs. predictable --- (pop quizzes vs. daily rhythms) caffeine is the single most popular drug in the world Alcohol Biological Effects ● depresses neural activity ● disrupts reticular formation and cerebellum (coordination/movement/balance) ● causes pituitary gland to decrease anti-diuretic hormone Behavioral Effects ● > dosage ● > individual factors: weight, sex, tolerance, rate of drinking blood alcohol level decreases by .015% per hour average male can metabolize ~0.33 oz. pure alcohol per hour average female can metabolize ~0.25 oz. pure alcohol per hour .399 when 200 lbs. person takes 21 shots in an hour .08 legally drunk in NJ and most states In NJ, legally speaking, age and occupation matter: .08 & 21+, non-commercial driver = legally drunk .04 & commercial driver = legally drunk .01 & under 21 = legally drunk FTFTTFTT Stages of sleep changes in brain wave patterns ---> become increasingly synchronized & longer “hypnagogic state” stage 1 = light sleep 1-7 mins stage 2 = 10-25 mins ...respiration and heart rate decrease stage 3 ----> REM stage 4 = deep sleep (total synchronized) REM (rapid eye movement) ---> paradoxical sleep brain waves look alert, but body is asleep ---> characterized by: ● rapid eye movements ● increased pulse and respiration ● muscular inhibition READ CHAPTER 6 February 22, 2011 Sleep Sleep Disorders: ● sleep apnea-- temporary interruption in breathing during sleep-- pause in breathing that exceeds 20 seconds ○ can be caused by a physical biological issue of too much relaxation in the muscles of the throat. ● insomnia-- 35% of adults have some form of insomnia, 16% have severe cases. difficulty falling asleep and difficulty staying asleep. ● narcolepsy-- no control of falling asleep. affects 0.5-1% Dreaming ● Mary Whiton Calkins, 1st systematic study of dreams --> 1893 Today: 1. Spontaneous recall --> sleep diaries 2. Recall when awakened in labs 40 percent of dreams are visual 25 percent auditory 20 percent bodily sensations who do we dream about? 75 percent you 10 percent of the time you dont dream about you 50 percent of remaining characters are people you know 50 percent of remaining people are strangers 4 percent of the time, animals are your dreams mostly........ emotional content happy sad scary Why do we dream? Theories: ● wish-fulfillment (FREUD) often language based types of encoding -- structural (how it looks) -- phonemic (how it sounds) -- semantic (what it means) deep vs. shallow processing (encoding) II. Storage sensory memory ----> short term memory ----> long-term memory read chapter 8- skip a section March 3, 2011 1. Sensory Memory-- memory is reconstructive not reproductive ● capacity = large ● duration = very brief ● maintenance = not possible ● memory loss = due to decay 2. Short term memory (STM) ● duration = temporary ● capacity = limited > magic number 7 + 2 > chunking ● maintenance = rehearsal ○ favors acoustic encoding ● memory loss = largely due to displacement 3. Long term memory (LTM) ● capacity = virtually unlimited ● duration = relatively permanent ○ favors elaborative encoding ● memory loss = interference … or lack of appropriate clues. Two major categories of LTM ● procedural = actions (how to do things) [motor memory] ● declarative = facts/information ○ episodic = autobiographical (encoded without effort) [riding a bicycle] ○ semantic = general information (bicycles have 2 wheels) II. Retrieval encoding --elaborative rehearsal (overlearning) --> use of mnemonic devices --> create distinctive memory cues storage --organization e.g., schemas = > lead to expectations > influence understanding Problem Solving ● factors influencing problem solving: ○ mental set ○ functional fixedness (low) [macgyver] --- see many functions of objects Decision Making choosing between alternatives Decision strategies 1. Compensatory-- positive characteristics can make up for negative e.g., additive -- every characteristic had same value weighted -- some pros outweigh others 2. Non-compensatory-- any negative characteristic disqualifies that choice e.g., elimination by aspects Sources of bias in decision-making ● The use of heuristics: --representativeness heuristic -- availability heuristic read chapter 8 focusing in on problem solving, decision making, skipping language about intelligence: is intelligence one thing or is it something much more complex? what has a greater impact on intelligence? nature or nurture? both. find examples of both EXAM 3 March 24, 2011 Intellectual Development Piaget Intellectual development comes down to: 1) Brain maturation 2) Practice Assimilation --> Add to schema Accomodation → Change/create schema 4 stages and major milestones\ 1. Sensorimotor a. Object permanence -- the understanding of the fact that an object still exists even when it is not there. 2. Preoperational a. centration, ego-centrism, animism 3. Concrete Operational (you can see the porblem in forward and in reverse) a. decentration, reversibility, understands conservation 4. Formal Operational a. abstraction Emotional Development: Attachment ● affectionate, close and enduring relationship ● not immediate ● depends on experience with caregiver Studying Attachment (with humans) Margeret Ainsworth attachment in human infants (1-2 yrs.) often measured using “Strange situation” factors that affect attachment: - parents sensitivity and responsiveness Becoming You: Personality Development Erik Erikson (1963) ● epigenetic principle ● eight stages spanning the lifespan ● psychosocial crises/tasks (e.g. trust vs. mistrust) ● optimal time... (chapter 9/10) ● result: ● agreeableness ● neuroticism Psychodynamic Perspectives → Attempts to explain shameful , guiltiness -- mother married father while she was pregnant with Freud Freud’s psychoanalytic theory: ● everything has meaning ● levels of awareness ○ conscious ○ preconscius ○ unconscious April 19, 2011 Clinical Psychology Pt I/II Abnormal vs. Normal What does it mean to be ‘insane’? What is abnormal behavior? Behavior that is infrequent and maladaptive Insanity = legal term. → inability to disinguish right from wrong. Insanity (non-legal criteria) 1. statistical frequency 2. deviation from social norms 3. maladaptive 4. causes personal distress → matter of degree (using all criteria): not just presence / absence Assessment 22.1% of Americans age 18+ suffer from a treatable disorder in any given year. Three Primary Forms of Assessment ● clinical interview ● psychological testing ○ MMPI; Rorschach; TAT ● Neurological Exam Diagnosis DSM- provides guidelines for diagnosis strengths → focus on symptoms, standardization, multi-dimensional (includes both medical and environmental conditions) weaknesses → labeling, Rosenhan study, possible there is a fine line between sanity and insanity? “On Being Sane in Insane Places” 8 pseudopatients/12 hospitals lessons learned: 1) power of a label. 2) awareness → permits correction 3) myths re:persons w/ disorders Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- 4h ed. (DSM 4) ● Axis I -- clinical syndromes ● Axis II -- personality disorders or mental retardation ● Axis III -- general medical conditions ● Axis IV -- psychosocial and environmental problems ● Axis V -- global assessment of functioning (GAF score) Antiety Disorders: General Symptoms physiological arousal increased heart and respiration rate, muscle tension, dry mouth cognitive effects difficulty concentrating. worry and apprehension. vigilance DSM IV criteria show at least 4 symptoms in at least 2 areas of life anxiety persists longer than 6 months anxiety out of proportion to cause, or cause not apparent.