NMAT SocSci

• Psychology


  Scientific study of the behavior of living organism (human)
• Psychological Theories


  • Psychoanalytic
  • Behaviorism
  • Cognitive
  • Humanistic
  • Biological
• Psychoanalytic theory


  Unconscious mental processes influence behavior in various indirect ways
• Psychoanalytic theory keywords


  • unconsciousness, sex, aggression, childhood experiences, dreams
• Psychoanalytic theory goal


  Confronting past issues
• Psychoanalytic theory example

  • Girls liking older men → longing for a father figure
• Behaviorism


  Stimulus-response approach
• Behaviorism keywords


  Conditioning, learning
• Behaviorism goal


  Learning and unlearning
• Behaviorism example


  • Girl wearing a jacket
• Cognitive theory


  Thoughts and mental processes, analyzing how people acquire, store and process info
• Cognitive theory keywords


  Attention, knowledge, info
• Cognitive theory goal


  Positive thoughts
• Humanistic theory


  Personal growth, freedom of choice and decision-making
• Humanistic theory keywords


  Freedom, self-actualization, phenomenology
• Biological theory


  Bodily structures and biochemical processes
• Biological theory keywords


  Neuroscience, brain structures
• Biological theory goal


  Normal function of CNS
• Depressed person example


  • Psychoanalytic - abused as a child
  • Behaviorism - his mother just died
  • Cognitive - he thinks negatively of himself
  • Humanistic - he does not know what to do in the future
  • Biological - low levels of serotonin
• Sympathetic (Fight or Flight)

  • Dilate pupils
  • Inhibit salivation
  • Increase heartbeat
  • Relax airways
  • Inhibit stomach activities
  • Secrets epinephrine/ noreph
• Parasympathetic (Rest or Digest)


  • Contract pupils
  • Stimulate saliva
  • Decrease heartbeat
  • Constrict airway
  • Stimulate digestive system
• Neurotransmitters


  • Adrenaline - fight or flight
  • Noradrenaline - concentration
  • Dopamine - pleasure; regulating actions
  • Serotonin - mood; depression
  • Gaba - calming; anxiety disorders & seizures
  • Acetylcholine - learning; Alzheimer's; arousal, memory and movement
  • Glutamate - memory; main excitatory neuron
  • Endorphin - euphoria; pain modulation
  • Enkephalin - inhibits pain sensation
• Spinal Chords


  31 pairs of nerves
• Spinal Chord Divisions


  • Cervical - 8
  • Thoracic - 12
  • Lumbar - 5
  • Sacral - 5
  • Coccygeal - 1
• Spinal Chord Nerve Divisions

  • Ventral/Anterior - front; motor
  • Dorsal/Posterior - back; sensory
• Brain Stem


  • Midbrain - eye movement
  • Pons - paralysis of face
  • Medulla - breathing; heart rate
• Cerebellum


  Balance; muscle tone coordination
• Cerebellum Divisions


  • Vestibulocerebellum - balance
  • Spinocerebellum - coordination of voluntary movement
  • Cerebrocerebellum - planning and initiation of voluntary activities; storage of procedural memories
• Cerebrum


  Left side: language; analytical thinking

  Right side: artistic; visual
• Cerebrum Lobes


  • Frontal - higher mental processes

  Parietal - touch, pain

  Occipital - vision

  Temporal - hearing, smell
• Limbic System


  Emotions; inside cerebrum
• Limbic System Structures


  • Amygdala - anxiety, fears

  Hippocampus - consolidates short term to long term memories

  Hypothalamus - head of endocrine system; homeostasis
• Sensation


  Stimulation of sense organs
• Perception


  Recognizing and interpreting sensory stimulus
• Localization


  Determining where objects are
• Recognition


  Determining what objects are
• Consciousness


  Awareness; sentience; executive control system of the mind
• Altered states


  • Dreams
  • Sleep
  • Meditation
  • Hypnosis
  • Use of drugs
• Sleep Levels


  • NREM (4 levels) - idle brain in a very relaxed body

  REM (1 level) - brain appears to be wide awake in a virtually paralyzed body; dreams

  Awake (β), Stage 1 (α), Stage 3-4 (Δ)
• Dreams


  Remembered images and fantasies temporarily confused with external reality