psych quiz chaps 5 + 6

• consciousness - our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental persepctives
• altered states of consciousness - a condition of awareness distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness, ex hypnosis, meditation, sleep and dreams, effects of drugs
• circadian rhythm - cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24hr basis in many biological processes
• biological clock - term for the area of the hypothalamus responsible for controlling our levels of alertness
• the stages of sleep are stage 1, stage 2, stage 3+4, and stage 5 (REM)
• stage 1 sleep - light sleep, slower brain waves than when awake, hypnagogic imagery, myoclonic jerks
• stage 2 sleep - slower than stage 1, with the exception of sleep spindles (sudden bursts of electrical activity), majority of adult sleep
• stage 3 and 4 sleep - deep sleep, very slow brain waves, suppressed by alcohol consumption
• REM sleep - rapid eye movement (eyes dart underneath closed eyelids), stage of sleep when brain is most active and most similar to wakefulness, vivid dreaming occurs, important biological fxn (REM rebound)
• repair/restorative theory - lowering body and brain activity and metabolism during sleep may help conserve energy and lengthen life, as sleep deprivation has very serious effects (microsleeps, sleep-deprivation psychosis, filial fatal insomnia)
• nREM sleep calms the brain, while REM sleep sorts through experiences to sharpen memories
• dreams - images that mostly occur during REM sleep, while everyone does this not everyone remembers
• lucid dreaming - experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming
• Freud's Dream Protection Theory - theory that dreams serve the purpose of wish fulfilment
• dreams have both manifest and latent content
• manifest dreams - what you actually see in the dream
• latent dreaming - the dream's hidden meaning
• the problem w/ Freud's dream protection theory is that most dreams are straightforward, and we can't explain nightmares as wish fulfillment
• activation synthesis theory - theory that dreams are simply our brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity, thus dreams have no meaning
• neurocognitive theory - dreams are a meaningful product of our cognitive capacities, which shape what we dream about. uses the same neural pathways that are involved in imagination when awake
• sleep paralysis - state of being unable to move just after falling asleep or right before waking up
• REM sleep behavior disorder - REM paralysis doesn't occur, but the sleeper acts out their dreams while in bed. not the same as sleepwalking
• insomnia - difficulty falling and/or staying asleep
• narcolepsy - disorder characterized by the rapid and often unexpected onset of REM sleep, might be the result of a disrupted sleep-wake cycle
• cataplexy - sudden loss of muscle posture caused by strong emotions
• hypnosis - a state of consciousness characterized by focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility, people are still in control of their actions
• sociocognitive theory - a person's experience w/ hypnosis is affected by their beliefs and expectations about hypnosis
• dissociation theory - hypnosis is an induced state of separation between cognitive functions that are usually well integrated
• there are two major types of learning, associative and cognitive
• within associative learning, there is classical and operant learning
• classical learning/actions - automatic, always happens if the stimulus is present
• operant learning/actions- more voluntary that respondent behavior, does not have to happen even if the stimulus is present. occurs because of the consequences of the behavior
• unconditioned responses (URs) - all typically developing members of a species have certain behaviors that occur without being taught, they occur to help the individual survive
• unconditioned responses are elicited by unconditioned stimuli (US)
• classical conditioning - a form of learning that occurs from pairing two stimuli, such that a previously neutral stimulus now elicits a conditioned response
• placebo analgesia - when administration of a placebo leads to pain relief because of previously associated relief with the non-placebo
• if the conditioned stimulus repeatedly occurs without the unconditioned stimulus, the association will go away
• extinction (classical conditioning) - the repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus, such that the conditioned response no longer occurs
• operant conditioning - learning controlled by the consequences of the organism's behavior
• smelling food and salivating is an example of classical conditioning