Psych 100 Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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Comprehensive Exam 1 Study Guide for Tamara Medina's PSYCH100! All lectures and lecture note material is included....

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01 The Big Blob in Your Head pages 89-103 · Identify the basic structures of the brain (in a picture) and associate them with the various functions they are associated with: the corpus callosum, the four lobes (and their primary receiving areas) of the cerebral cortex, and the subcortical structures relevant to understanding psychological functions.

Corpus Callosum: Connects brain hemispheres and allows information to flow between them Lobes Frontal Lobe: Thought, planning, movement (Pink) Temporal Lobe: Hearing, memory (Green) Parietal Lobe: Touch, spatial sensations (Purple) Occipital Lobe: Vision (Orange) Primary Receiving Areas-information is organized Prefrontal cortex: Important for attention, working memory, decision making, social behavior, and personality Primary motor cortex: Motor information Primary somatosensory cortex: Groups nearby sensations Primary auditory cortex: Auditory information Primary visual cortex: Visual information Subcortical Structures Hypothalamus: Regulation of bodily functions (body temp., blood pressure, etc.). Also influences basic motivated behaviors. Amygdala: Learning to associate things with emotional responses and in processing emotional information. Responds strongly to stimuli that elicit fear. Cerebellum: Back of brainstem; essential for coordinated movement and balance. Motor learning and motor memory. Thalamus: Receives almost all sensory information (except for smell).

Hippocampus: Formation of memories. Basal Ganglia: Planning and production of movement. · How do the different brain imaging methods allow researchers to observe and record the brain’s activity? What can we learn from observing brain activity? The brain's electrical activity is associated with changes in the flow of blood carrying oxygen/nutrients to the active brain regions Imaging measures changes in rate or speed of flow of blood to different regions Can monitor which brain areas are active when people perform particular tasks EEG: Measures the brain's electrical activity PET: Assesses metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance injected into the bloodstream ERP: Conducting many trials with an individual and averaging the trials to observe patterns associated with specific events MRI: Uses magnetic field to produce high-quality images of brain fMRI: Measures changes in the blood's oxygen levels TMS: Use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt brain activity as a way to study brain regions · What does the performance of “split brain patients” on naming tasks reveal about coordination between the brain’s left and right hemispheres and lateralization of certain brain functions? · Images from left side go to right hemisphere · Images from right side go to left hemisphere · Corpus callosum allows the hemispheres to communicate so each side knows what the other side is doing · In split brain patients, communication cannot take place

02 Neurons and Networks pages 76-88 ·

Identify structures of the neuron.

Site where chemical communication occurs between neurons is called the synapse Neuron is covered with a membrane. Ion channels located on membrane - Allow ions to pass in and out of the cell when the neuron transmits signals down the axon ·

In what ways are neurons similar to / different from other cells in the body?

They carry an electric charge whereas other cells do not

· What is involved in an action potential? How do neurons “communicate” with one another? Is the electrical signal that passes along the axon and subsequently causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons The action potential refers to the transition inside the neuron from a negative charge to a positive charge, followed by a quick return to a negative charge A neuron receives chemical signals from nearby neurons through dendrites Neurons communicate through the dendrites by excitatory and inhibitory signals. -Excitatory: Depolarize the cell membrane, increase the likelihood of neuron to fire -Inhibitory: Hyperpolarize the cell membrane, decrease the likelihood that the neuron will fire ·

What are neurotransmitters?

Chemical substances that transmit signals from one neuron to another

They bind to receptors across the synapse

03 Remembering pages 266-288 ·

What is memory?

The nervous system's capacity to retain and retrieve skills and knowledge · What brain regions are involved in storing memories? What is the standard model of consolidation and what does it predict about memory/forgetting in the case of brain damage? Prefrontal Cortex: Working memory Temporal lobe: Declarative memory Hippocampus: Spatial memory. Also important for the formation of new memories Amygdala: Fear learning Cerebellum: Motor action learning and memory

Consolidation is the neural process by which encoded information becomes stored in memory -When memories for past events are retrieved they can be affected by current circumstances -Reconsolidation happens each time a memory is activated and placed back in storage, which may explain why our memories for events can change over time.

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How might long-term potentiation be the neural basis of memory?

Long-term potential: Strengthening of a synaptic connection, making the postsynaptic neurons more easily activated by presynaptic neurons

Neural basis of memory because it enhances the building of new memories and keeps memories in your long-term memory for longer because of stronger connections LTP changes the postsynaptic neuron so that it is more easily activated by the presynaptic neuron Memory results from the strengthening synaptic connections among networks of neurons **Memory is distributed throughout the brain rather than confined to any specific location is called equipotentiality ·

Distinguish between sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory: Very briefly stores sensory information in close to its original sensory form -Lasts a fraction of a second -Memory of a sight, sound, odor, taste, etc. leaves a vanishing trace on the nervous system (Visual sensory memory=iconic memory) (Auditory sensory memory=echoic memory) Short-term Memory: Briefly holds a limited amount of information in awareness -Short term retention of info is working memory -Retains and manipulates multiple pieces of temporary info. From different sources. -Remains in working memory for about 20-30 seconds Long-term Memory: The relatively permanent storage of information -Longer duration and far greater capacity ·

What are some ways to keep information in working memory?

-Rehearsal -Chunking · What is some evidence that long-term memory is something different from working memory? Serial Position Effect: The idea that the ability to recall items from a list depends on the order of presentation, with items presented early or late in the list remembered better than those in the middle When research participants study a long list of words, they rehearse the earliest items the most→ info. Is transferred into long term memory On the other hand, last few items are still in working memory when the participants have to

recall the words immediately after reading them Another example: H.M Study→ Patient had surgery and his working memory was fine. Long term memory also in tact. He was unable to transfer new info. From working memory into long term memory, however · Generally, under what situations is information transferred from working memory to longterm memory (as opposed to being lost)? **After rehearsal?------>ENCODING ·

What are some ways to facilitate retrieval of information from long-term memory?

-Rehearsal -Practice retrieval -Retrieval cues -Mnemonics Schemas: Cognitive structures that help us perceive, organize, process, and use information

· Distinguish between the different types of long-term memory systems and be able to recognize examples of each. Explicit Memory (declarative): Requires conscious effort and often can be verbally described (CONSCIOUS MEMORIES) -Episodic Memory: Personally experienced events (recall from past) -Semantic memory: Facts and knowledge (about world/also from personal experience) Implicit Memory (nondeclarative): Does not require conscious effort and often cannot be verbally described (UNCONSCIOUS MEMORIES) -Classical conditioning: Associating two stimuli with a response -Procedural memory: Motor skills and habits Prospective memory: Remembering to do something at some future time

04 Forgetting pages 289-292, 295-301 · How does the standard model of consolidation account for memory loss at various times after damage to the hippocampus?

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What are the “seven sins of memory” (from the book)? 1. Transience- reduced memory over time 2. Blocking- inability to remember needed information 3. Absentmindedness- reduced memory due to failing to pay attention 4. Persistence- the resurgence of unwanted or disturbing memories one would like to forget 5. Misattribution- assigning a memory to the wrong source 6. Bias- influence of current knowledge on memory for past events 7. Suggestibility- altering a memory because of misleading information · What is amnesia? Recognize the difference between retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia and understand how they both are problems of long-term memory. Amnesia: a deficit in long-term memory - resulting from disease, brain injury, or psychological trauma- in which the individual loses the ability to retrieve vast quantities of information Retrograde Amnesia: a condition in which people lose past memories, such as memories for events, facts, people, or even personal information Anterograde Amnesia: a condition in which people lose the ability to form new memories * Both are problems are long- term memory because they disrupt past long-term memory and future long-term memory. · What are some reasons to doubt the accuracy of long-term memories? (How are longterm memories distorted? What are false memories and when do they occur?) ·

In what ways was Ben Carson’s description of memory incorrect?

05 Learning pages 222-225 · Why did early learning theorists such as B.F. Skinner treat learning as the acquisition of behaviors and not as the development of mental representations of knowledge?

They saw learning as adapting one’s preexisting behaviors not learning new material, like the acquisition of knowledge. They saw learning as only to do with behavior and nothing about new information, that we technically could not “learn”. ·

What is the difference between non-associative and associative learning?

Non-associative learning- responding after repeated exposure to a single stimulus, or event. Associative learning- linking two stimuli, or events, that occur together ·

Recognize examples of habituation vs sensitization.

Habituation:decrease in behavioral response after repeated exposure to a stimulus ● Where you live, you tend not to notice the background noise ● You tend to notice less and less the smell of the place you work (especially food places) each day you go to work Sensitization:increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus ● Phobias ● Drug use (dependency)

06 Conditioned Behavioral Responses pages 226-238 · What does it mean for a behavior to be “conditioned”? · What is a “stimulus” vs a “response”? Stimulus: a thing or event that evokes a specific reaction/response Response: a reaction to something · What is “unconditioned” vs “conditioned”? Uncontitioned: instinctive beahviors Conditioned: behaviors after learning has taken place · Recognize examples of classical conditioning. Identify the components of classical conditioning. · How do we learn predictive associations according to the Rescorla-Wagner model? · How does the relative timing of the presentation of the US and the CS relate to the success of learning? · How could phobias and drug addiction be acquired via classical conditioning? · Why is it that both humans and animals show some limitations in the behaviors they can learn? · How can a learned behavior be extinguished? What does spontaneous recovery of an extinguished behavior reveal about memory for the extinguished behavior? 07 Operant Conditioning pages 239-260

· What does it mean for a behavior to be “reinforced”? · What is a “consequence”? What are positive vs negative consequences? How do you know if a consequence is a “reward” or a “punishment”? · Recognize examples of operant conditioning. Identify the components of operant conditioning. · Distinguish between schedules of reinforcement and how they affect how often the learned behavior is demonstrated. · Why do some consequences intended to function as “punishments” sometimes fail to reduce the undesired behavior?...