Psychology

• What is psychology?


  The scientific study of thoughts, feelings and behaviour
• Biopsychosocial Model:

  •Biological (in the body)•Drugs, alcohol, medication•Nervous system (fight or flight response)•Genetics (genetic predisposition)•Brain structures and neurochemistry•Psychological (in the mind)•Thoughts, beliefs and attitudes•Learning and memory (eg., past experiences)•Emotions•Self-esteem•Personality•Social (relating to others/society)•Family•Friends and peer pressure•School/work•Societal expectations / norms
• Emotion definition:

  Emotion is the simultaneous experience of 3 components:

  •Physiological response (changes in the body)•Subjective feelings (inner personal experience of emotion including the way we think about it)•Expressive behavior (observable behaviors or actions that convey emotions)
• Branches of the Autonomic Nervous System:

  •Sympathetic Nervous System:

  •Activates the body to prepare for action

  •Expends energy

  •Fight or Flight

  Parasympathetic Nervous System:

  •Calms the body down•

  Conserves energy

  •Rest and Digest
• Explain Paul Ekman's research and findings, including naming and identifying the seven basic emotions:

  Paul Ekman conducted a cross cultural studies on facial expressions to examine whether emotional expressions are universal across cultures. the seven basic emotions are joy, sadness, fear discussed anger, surprised, and contempt.
• The Brain


  • Complex structure of billions of neurons and trillions of synaptic connections
  • Weighs on average about 1.5kg in adults
  • Has two hemispheres
• The brain has a complex structure of billions of neurons and trillions of synaptic connections
• The brain weighs on average about 1.5kg in adults
• The brain has two hemispheres
• Cerebrum


  Divided into two major parts: the right and left cerebral hemispheres
• Corpus callosum


  A bundle of fibers between the hemispheres that allows them to communicate with each other
• Each hemisphere controls muscles and glands on the opposite side of the body
• Experiencing a positive emotion


  Greater electrical activity in the left hemisphere
• Experiencing a negative emotion


  Primarily processed in the right hemisphere
• Experiencing a positive emotion


  Primarily processed in the left hemisphere
• A man had part of his right hemisphere removed in brain surgery and was reported to be less irritable and more affectionate after the procedure
• Clinically depressed patients have greater electrical activity in the right hemisphere than people who do not have depression
• Limbic System


  A series of structures within the brain that process emotions and coordinate emotional responses
• Structures of the Limbic System


  • Hypothalamus
  • Thalamus
  • Amygdala
  • Hippocampus
• Hippocampus


  Plays an important role in memory, transferring short term memories to long-term storage, and episodic memory
• Hippocampus receives information about emotion from the amygdala


  The amygdala determines the importance to place on memories by considering how a specific memory would aid survival
• Amygdala


  Plays an important role in learning, memory and emotion, involved in fear and stress response, responsible for the 'distress signal' being sent to the hypothalamus to initiate fight or flight
• Thalamus


  Responsible for relaying information from the sensory receptors to areas of the brain where it can be processed
• Hypothalamus


  Converts emotions into physiological reactions, responds to input from the amygdala by activating the adrenal gland to secrete adrenaline and cortisol (triggering fight or flight response)
• A person with an intact amygdala


  Would interpret a facial expression as angry
• A person with a damaged amygdala


  Would interpret the same facial expression as approachable and trustworthy
• When the amygdala is stimulated electrically, animals respond with aggression
• When the amygdala is removed, animals become tame and indifferent to stimuli that would have otherwise caused fear and even sexual responses
• People who suffer from major depression disorder release larger amounts of cortisol than the average person
• The long-term exposure to high cortisol levels can cause parts of the brain, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, to shrink
• Women with a history of depression have between 9-13% smaller hippocampi than someone who never struggled with depression
• An overactive amygdala may be one contributor to depression
• Tailgater's physiological response


  HR increase, BP increase, BR increase, face is red due to increased blood flow, clenched facial muscles causing forehead to contract
• Tailgater's expressive behaviour


  Overt behaviors communicating his anger and frustration including aggressive driving (tailgating), fist shaking, yelling, eye contact to intimidate
• Recipient's physiological response


  Fight or flight response, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, cortisol and adrenaline release, increased BR, BP, HR