Student Resources

CONCEPT CHECK

• Define the following: science, facts, scientific knowledge, doubt, and falsification. How do they fit together?
• What is the difference between science and pseudoscience? What criteria would you use to decide for yourself whether a particular report is science or pseudoscience?
• What are the four major steps in the experimentation process?
• What is the primary value of a case study? In what situations in psychology would it be most appropriate?
• What are the four characteristics of the naturalistic observation method?
• If a research study reports that two variables are correlated, what do you know about their relationship? What don’t you know about their relationship?
• How is the experimental method different from naturalistic observation and the correlational approach?
• What is the difference between the experimental group and the control group? Why is the control group important?
• What is an operational definition and why is it important in doing research? Create at least two different operational definitions of “violence on television” and “aggression.”
• How are the independent variable (IV), the dependent variable (DV), and confounding variables related?
• Thomas Kuhn’s “culture of science” includes revolutions, normal science, and paradigms. What are they and how do they work together?

CONCEPT CHECK

• Identify and describe the two general types of validity. What is the importance of each in conducting good research?
• What are three measures of central tendency? How is each calculated, and when would you use it?
• What are three measures of variability? How is each calculated, and when would you use it?

CONCEPT CHECK

• What are four factors critical to enabling sound inference in determining the relation between the IV and the DV in an experiment?
• Why is randomization important to selecting participants and assigning them to groups in an experimental study?
• What is the difference between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics? What is the primary purpose of each?
• What is a double-blind experiment, and what are researchers trying to control for by using that design?

CONCEPT CHECK

• “Ethical considerations of psychological experimentation have at their heart the idea that people participating in research should not be harmed.” What four questions does every scientist need to consider in designing a research study?
• What are “voluntary participation” and “informed consent” in the context of scientific research? What are some of the specific issues they raise in terms of psychological research?
• How do confidentiality and anonymity figure into the experimenter’s responsibility to protect the research participant’s right to privacy?
• Why does the issue of animal research raise questions with the public? What are five reasons for conducting research with animals in biological psychology?

CONCEPT CHECK

• What are the primary structures of the brain, and what is the primary function of each?
• What is the primary function of the limbic system? What are the five major structures that make up the limbic system, and what is the primary function of each?
• Research has shown that the brains of California sea slugs and London taxi drivers were changed by experience. What evidence did the researchers present to support their conclusions?
• What structures are part of the brain stem and what is the primary function of each?
• The cerebellum interacts with many different parts of the brain and the body and is critical for performing a variety of tasks. Describe four of these tasks that are dependent on the functioning of the cerebellum.
• How is the functioning of the spinal cord related to the brain?

CONCEPT CHECK

• Describe six types of brain-imaging techniques currently being used, and identify a purpose for which each is especially valuable.
• What are some of the trade-offs that researchers and clinicians must consider when choosing a brain-imaging technique? What questions help inform their decision?
• What is brain–machine interface (BMI)? What are some ways it has been used to extend the power of an individual’s brain to enhance functioning in his or her body?

CONCEPT CHECK

• What are the three different types of material in the brain, and what is their function?
• “The brain works in terms of one basic element, the neuron.” What are the different parts that form the structure of the neuron, and what roles do they play?
• What are the defining characteristics of neurotransmitters in terms of structure and function?
• What are the steps involved in a neuron passing information on to other neurons, and how is that information encoded?
• What are white matter and gray matter? How are they related to different types of connectivity in the brain?
• How is the brain’s default or intrinsic network different from the central executive and salience networks in terms of function and region of the brain?
• How does the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, develop in the human embryo? How is the development process the same, and different, in other species?
• Paul MacLean proposed that our current brain can be viewed as having the features of three basic evolutionary formations—reptiles, early mammals, and recent mammals. What did he call his schema of the brain, and what were its primary characteristics?

CONCEPT CHECK

• Many people think that if a person has a particular gene, then whatever trait or activity is connected with that gene will be seen. What is a better description of the relationship between a gene and the trait or activity to which it is connected?
• What is the role of the environment in turning genes on and off? Give some specific examples.
• What are the concepts of genotype and phenotype, and how are they related?
• “The job of a gene is to lay out the process by which a particular protein is made.” What are four implications of this statement?
• What do genes do and how and where do they do it? What are the roles of DNA and RNA in that process?
• How do we know that genes change behavior? What kinds of research have been done with animals to identify the specific genes involved?
• Describe the human genome. In what ways is it similar to, and in what ways different from, the genome of other animals?
• How does the process of sexual reproduction ensure that you will not be a clone of either of your parents or even a 50–50 combination of the two of them? What are the mathematical odds that you ended up with the specific combination of chromosomes that you did?
• What are the two important principles of Mendelian genetics? What evidence led Mendel to their discovery? Give two examples of how Mendel’s laws have been modified since he proposed them.
• How does epigenetic inheritance work? Describe the steps in the process using the study on mother rats and their nurturing behavior. What other examples can you cite?
• What is the overall goal of behavioral genetics research? What are the three primary types of research designs used in behavioral genetics research?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are the two critical periods in terms of brain development over one’s life, and what happens that is so critical in each of these periods?
2. On the face of it, developing a fear of heights seems like a simple process. What are the critical factors in the complex interactions that actually take place?
3. Studies have shown that “when infants see something that does not behave in an expected way, they pay more attention to it.” What is the evolutionary value of this fact for humans?
4. Define the following concepts in terms of psychological processing and give an example of each:
   1. plasticity
   2. critical or sensitive periods.
5. Infants can’t fill out a questionnaire or press a button in an experiment. What are some of the methods researchers have used to assess an infant’s “answer” in experimental situations?
6. How did the dynamic system theory of Esther Thelen and Nikolai Bernstein change and expand the traditional understanding of motor development during the first six years?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What did John Watson and those tied to the behaviorism perspective believe were the critical factors in explaining a child’s development? Which factors did they think were unimportant?
2. What did Jean Piaget mean by the term “schema”? How do the processes of assimilation and accommodation work together to change schemas during development?
3. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky offered a sociocultural perspective to cognitive development. What did he consider the critical factors in a child’s development? How did Vygotsky’s concepts of “tools of intellectual development” and “zone of proximal development” play a role in his theory of development?
4. Most of us remember little of our life until we are about 3 or 4 years of age, yet aspects of memory development are very active in infants and very young children. What evidence does this chapter present on early memory processes?
5. Well, it turns out we can’t improve our cognitive performance by listening to Mozart’s music, but what three things can we learn from the “Mozart effect”?
6. What have we learned from the research of Jerome Kagan and his colleagues on the development and stability of temperament during childhood?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Describe the basic process of imitation learning in terms of actions. How have researchers extended that idea to understanding another’s internal experience and developing empathy?
2. What was the purpose behind creating the PATHS curriculum? What results have been shown with children who have gone through the program?
3. Theory of mind was initially researched by Premack and Woodruff in 1978 and continues to be an important topic in developmental psychology.
   1. How would you define theory of mind?
   2. Describe how experimental procedures have been used to study the theory of mind.
   3. What do theory and research results tell us about theory of mind’s developmental process and timeline?
4. From John Bowlby’s perspective, why is attachment so critical in human development? Is there a critical period for attachment? What are the phases of the attachment process?
5. What did Harry Harlow’s studies with infant monkeys contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of attachment? How did that, in turn, inform Bowlby’s study following World War II that focused on orphans’ psychological development?
6. Describe Mary Ainsworth’s different patterns of attachment style. How are attachment styles related to the mothering style of the caregiver?
7. From the research presented (including the Romania Adoption Study), in what ways can an individual’s attachment style in infancy impact his or her later life? Discuss this in terms of both positive and negative effects.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Changes during adolescence are seen in every domain including physical, psychological, cognitive, emotional, and relationships. Describe an example of each.
2. What has research found concerning risk-taking in adolescents and the role of peers? How do these results change for individuals in their 20s?
3. There is a debate in our society as to whether adolescents have the psycho-logical ability to understand crime in the same way as adults. Take a position pro or con and cite evidence to support your position.
4. Based on the idea of stages of cognitive development suggested by Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg asked if there are similar stages in moral development. Describe the stages and levels Kohlberg proposed, as well as the ages when individuals would typically show that type of moral reasoning.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. In the 1960s and 1970s the concept of human development was expanded to include lifespan development. What changes did this bring to the way psychologists study human development in terms of scope, theoretical research, and demographic necessity?
2. A number of people have proposed that the concept of lifespan development can be organized around the problems individuals face at different critical periods of their lives and how they solve those problems. What were the life problems and their critical periods presented by the following people:
   1. Carl Jung?
   2. Daniel Levinson?
   3. Erik Erikson?
   4. William T. Grant?
3. What are the three main components of successful aging? Cite evidence that shows the value of exercise and social relationships in successful aging. What will you consider starting now so that you age successfully?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Define the terms below including their role in the human sensory system.
1. Sensation
2. Perception
3. Transducer
2. How does psychophysics relate to our understanding of how we experience the world?
3. What is just-noticeable difference (JND), and how are difference threshold and absolute threshold related to it?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. In what specific ways has our ability to see and use visual information evolved to aid us in living in the world?
2. What is the electromagnetic spectrum, and how is it related to vision?
3. Draw your own image of the structure of the human eye. Label the important parts and describe the function of each. Be sure to include at least the following: cones, cornea, iris, lens, pupil, retina, rods, and vitreous fluid.
4. Rods and cones are both photoreceptors. What specific contributions does each provide to visual processing in humans?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. If color is not part of the external world, how do we create it?
2. What did each of the following researchers contribute to our understanding of how we process colors:
   1. Isaac Newton?
   2. Thomas Young?
   3. Hermann von Helmholtz?
   4. Ewald Hering?
3. Most humans have three different types of cones. What happens when a genetic variation causes an individual to have two types of cones? What would happen if an individual only had one type of cone?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the blind spot? Since we all have it, how are we able to see a whole scene without a hole in the middle of it?
2. Once visual information has left the eye, what are the primary structures it passes through on its way to and through the brain to be processed?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What characteristics built in to our visual system allow for us to experience illusions?
2. What is the difference between monocular cues and binocular cues for determining depth? Give an example of each.
3. Gestalt psychology is interested in the way our perceptual system organizes ambiguous stimuli in a definite manner. Identify and describe five organizational principles that are part of our evolutionary history.
4. Until the middle of the 20th century, most people thought that you learned to see by merely looking at objects. How have our views changed as a result of the kitten experiments? As a result of this research, what recommendations would you make to parents to provide an environment in which their infants develop their visual systems most effectively?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. The auditory system processes sound waves to result in our experience of hearing. How do the following components of sound waves affect what we hear:
   1. Amplitude?
   2. Frequency?
   3. Timbre/Complexity?
2. A book falls off the desk while you’re studying. What are the steps of the process that occur from the time the sound wave hits your outer ear until you identify the sound?
3. How do our two ears —and the separate parts of the brain to which they are connected —work separately and together to give us the information we need to identify what and where a sound is? And what is a “superior olive” anyway?
4. What is the function of the vestibular system and what are its important parts? How does it interact with the visual system?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What evolutionary role do the sensory processes of smell and taste provide for humans?
2. What are pheromones, and what role do they play in many animal species? Why aren’t they as relevant to humans?
3. What are the five qualities of taste that humans can detect?
4. Which three sensory processes combine to produce the human experience of flavor, and how is that different from taste?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Define active touch and passive touch. In what ways are they the same, and in what ways are they different?
2. What are the four types of touch receptors that are in your hand? What is the role of each, and how do they work together for you to experience an object?
3. Trace the touch sensory pathway from the finger through to the somatosensory cortex.
4. What is unique about the organization of the motor cortex and the sensory cortex? What advantage does that organization provide?
5. What evolutionary role does the sensory process of pain provide for humans?
6. How can a phantom limb cause pain since there are no longer any nociceptors present?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Most people think they understand what consciousness is, but few people can actually define it specifically. What are three different approaches historically that people have taken to try to study consciousness?
2. We talk about a basic level of awareness when we have sensations and create perceptions about an external or internal event. How do the concepts of meta-awareness and metacognition build on that basic level?
3. What are the three levels of awareness, and what are the distinctive differences between them?
4. What has the discovery of anesthesia taught us about how to describe the levels of consciousness and what happens as we move from one level to another?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What brain changes occur in an individual with blindsight? What specific evidence is presented that a person with blindsight is able to process information without being aware of it?
2. What brain changes occur in a split- brain individual? What specific evidence is presented that a person with a split-brain is able to process information without being aware of it?
3. What is meant by hemispheric specialization? What has research with split-brain individuals taught us about how everyone’s brain hemispheres process information differently?
4. What is the “invisible gorilla” phenomenon? What other similar examples from everyday life can you offer?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and why is it important for sleep researchers?
2. In what ways does the pattern of sleep change throughout the lifecycle?
3. With access to the sun, there is a stable sleep/wake cycle related to Earth’s day/night cycle. What happens when humans have no access to environ- mental cues in terms of sleep/wake cycles?
4. Humans are not the only species that sleeps. What factors account for similarities and differences across species?
5. Research has shown that sleep is involved in learning. List three results that support the importance of sleep for learning.
6. Briefly describe the four broad categories of sleep disorders and give an example of each.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Since the beginning of recorded history dreams have played a role in the attempt of humans to make meaning of the world and ourselves. What did the following people contribute to our historical understanding of dreams:
   1. Lucretius?
   2. Charles Darwin?
   3. Sigmund Freud?
   4. Carl Jung?
   5. Aserinsky and Kleitman?
2. What are the characteristics of a lucid dream? What significant results and possible applications came out of the research by Ursula Voss and her colleagues?
3. Brain-imaging studies suggest that a variety of brain areas show changes in activation during brain states associated with dreaming. Specifically, what happens in the different brain areas and how does this help explain the nature of dreams?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the technical definition of hypnosis?
2. What individual differences are found in experiencing hypnosis?
3. What are some examples in which hypnosis has been used as part of a clinical treatment? Are these statements about hypnosis true or false?
   1. Relaxation is an important feature of hypnosis.
   2. Hypnotized people cannot be led to do acts that conflict with their values.
   3. Hypnosis is something to do with a sleeplike state.
   4. Ability to imagine vividly is related to hypnotizability.
4. In general, meditative techniques can be thought of in terms of three broad approaches. Briefly describe each of these approaches.
5. What is mindfulness, and what are some of the benefits it can bring to the individual?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Throughout our evolutionary history, humans have ingested psychoactive substances. Give a brief timeline of what we know about that history including dates, locations, and substances.
2. What can animal studies tell us about the power of psychoactive substances on the individual?
3. What are the steps in the pattern of addiction, and what drives the process from one step to the next?
4. There is no one answer to what causes addiction, but what are three important factors that should be considered?
5. How can drugs change your brain? What is the role of dopamine in the effect of psychoactive substances?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are the three broad categories of psychoactive substances and what are their primary effects on the human central nervous system?
2. Describe the process of alcohol absorption to explain what causes the differences in how alcohol is experienced.
3. What is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis? What are its impacts on an individual’s body and brain?
4. What are some common opioids? What is it about opioids that makes them sought after as medicines as well as substances to abuse?
5. Describe the range of mental, sensory, and physiological effects related to cocaine?
6. What are some of the factors that promote the use and abuse of amphetamines?
7. What are three long-term negative impacts of methamphetamines?
8. Hallucinogens are not addictive, but in what other ways can they cause impairments to the individual using them?
9. What are endorphins, and how are they related to why our bodies seek various types of drugs?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What did Penfield’s treatment of people with epilepsy add to our understanding of memory and the brain?
2. Describe the important characteristics of each of these aspects of the temporal dimension of memory:
   1. Sensory memory
   2. Short- term memory
   3. Long- term memory
3. How is chunking used in improving short-term memory? Give an example of how you could use it in your daily life.
4. Describe the important characteristics of each of these types of long-term memory:
   1. Episodic memory
   2. Semantic memory
   3. Explicit memory
   4. Implicit memory
5. Describe the important characteristics of each of the steps in learning and the long-term memory processes:
   1. Encoding
   2. Storage
   3. Consolidation
   4. Retrieval
   5. Reconsolidation
6. What do the studies of Ebbinghaus, Bartlett, and Bransford and Johnson contribute to our understanding of the role of meaning in memory?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. How are memories stored in the brain? What has the research of Hebb and Collins and Loftus contributed to our understanding of memory networks?
2. How is the hippocampus critically involved in four different aspects of memory?
3. What four important conclusions about learning, memory, and the temporal lobes are illustrated by H.M.’s ability to successfully solve the Tower of Hanoi puzzle?
4. If we experience an event that is emotionally arousing, we remember it better. What is happening in the brain to facilitate this?
5. How is the frontal lobe involved in memory?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Define each of the following superior memory abilities:
   1. Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)
   2. Mnemonists
   3. Photographic or eidetic memory
   4. Super-recognizers
2. What are anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia, and how are they different?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are three different ways for inducing false memories? How does each of them work?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Define and describe the relationships between the following concepts in classical conditioning:
   1. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and unconditioned response (UCR)
   2. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS)
   3. Conditioned stimulus (CS) and conditioned response (CR)
2. What is the role of the following processes in classical conditioning:
   1. Extinction
   2. Spontaneous recovery
   3. Generalization
3. What do Watson’s experiments with Little Albert illustrate about the role of evolution in classical conditioning of fear? What types of experiences are we “primed” to fear? How can the concept of generalization lead to problems in human functioning?
4. What is the process of learning a food aversion? How is it different from classical conditioning? How is the process beneficial in an evolutionary sense?
5. How was it discovered that the immune system itself could be conditioned? What is an example of when that conditioning would have a negative effect? What is an example of when that conditioning would have a positive effect?
6. What roles do habituation and sensitization play in learning from an evolutionary perspective? What specifically happens in the brain as a result of these two processes?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What roles do the terms operate , environment , and consequence play in the definition of operant conditioning?
2. One of Edward Thorndike’s two major contributions to the study of learning was the law of effect. Describe his law of effect in your own terms. Can you think of an example of this working in your own life?
3. What is the concept of shaping? How is it used in learning?
4. Differentiate among the following terms introduced by B. F. Skinner in studying operant conditioning:
   1. Positive reinforcement
   2. Positive punishment
   3. Negative reinforcement
   4. Negative punishment
5. Define the concept of a schedule of reinforcement. Why did Skinner introduce the concept? Identify the four schedules of reinforcement described in this section and describe the ways in which they are different.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is ethology? How is learning understood from the perspective of ethology?
2. Describe Lorenz’s pattern of imprinting. How is it like a lock-and-key? How is it different?
3. Why do animals and humans play? What are some ways we can know that play is happening? What are three different types of play?
4. How is observational learning different from learning through classical and operant conditioning?
5. What are some of the ways the discovery of mirror neurons by Rizzolatti and colleagues extends our understanding of learning through observation?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What evidence can you point to to conclude that the chimpanzee Washoe was capable of going beyond just repeating signs she had learned?
2. What are the evolutionary stages Dunbar and Lieberman suggest language went through, beginning with grooming and basic motor processes respectively?
3. What are some critical factors to consider in defining what language is?
4. Defi ne the following terms that are important aspects of the structure of language:
   1. Phoneme
   2. Phonology
   3. Morpheme
   4. Syntax
   5. Semantics
5. What did language researcher Noam Chomsky mean by the following terms: universal grammar, surface structure, and deep structure? How were these concepts related?
6. What does it mean when we say that language is generative? Give an example.
7. If language is special for humans, what aspects of language represent this specialness? How does the research with the chimpanzee Washoe and the bonobo Kanzi relate to this question?
8. What are the parts of the structure of the vocal tract that are important to human vocalizing? What benefit does that provide humans versus other primate species in the development of language?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are the primary contributions of the following researchers to our understanding of language processing in the brain:
   1. Pierre-Paul Broca?
   2. Carl Wernicke?
   3. Philip Lieberman?
   4. Skeide and Friederici?
   5. Alexander Huth?
2. What evidence would you cite to show that reading (processing visual language) is different from processing verbal language in the brain?
3. Did human language evolve gradually over time or very quickly? What evidence can you cite to support your answer?
4. At this point in time, what can we say about the genetic basis of language using the example of the FoxP2 gene on chromosome 7?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are fast thinking and slow thinking and what are the conditions when you would use each of them?
2. How are the following terms, which help us think about and talk about what we perceive and experience, related to one another?
   1. Concept
   2. Categories
   3. Family resemblance
   4. Prototype
   5. Exemplar
3. What is an analogy and what are the conditions in which you would use it?
4. What are deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning and what are the conditions when you would use each of them?
5. We use heuristics all of the time in our thinking. What is the definition of each of these heuristics and when are they likely to occur?
   1. Availability heuristic
   2. Confirmation bias
   3. Affect heuristic
   4. Anchoring
   5. Framing
6. How are traditional economics and behavioral economics different in terms of gain and loss framing?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is an insight problem and how is it different from traditional problem-solving?
2. What is functional fixedness?
   1. What role does it play in solving insight problems?
   2. What role does it play in traditional problem-solving?
3. Which areas of the brain are involved in solving insight problems?
4. What techniques can you use to improve your ability to solve insight problems?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the broad definition of intelligence? What is the narrow definition of intelligence?
2. What contribution did Alfred Binet and his associate Théodore Simon make to the measurement of mental abilities? What are three assumptions they adopted in developing their measurements?
3. Define the concept of mental age. How is it related to IQ (intelligence quotient)?
4. What are the four major abilities covered by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)? What is an example of each of those abilities?
5. One problem with measuring intelligence in terms of mental and chrono-logical age is that chronological age continues to change, whereas mental age does not. How did Wechsler solve this problem in comparing adults?
6. Describe the theories of intelligence proposed by the following researchers: Charles Spearman, Raymond Cattell, and Howard Gardner. What unique contribution did each make to our overall understanding of intelligence?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Timothy Salthouse identified five different cognitive domains that are associated with general intelligence. For each of these domains:
   1. Give a brief description of the domain and an example.
   2. Trace the typical change in an individual’s ability level across the lifespan.
2. What are the two primary ways in which the brains of older adults are different from the brains of younger adults?
3. Describe the Scottish Mental Survey. What were two major conclusions it made about intelligence over the individual’s lifespan?
4. What conclusions can we draw from the following types of research studies about the roles of genetics and environment in developing cognitive ability:
   1. Twin studies comparing monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins?
   2. Twin adoption studies comparing MZ and DZ twins who were raised apart in different environments?
   3. Molecular genetics studies examining generations of families?
5. What are the five critical findings identified by Robert Plomin and colleagues in the genetic components related to general intelligence?
6. What are three strategies that have been shown to be important in maintaining intellectual functioning throughout life? What kinds of benefits does each of these strategies provide?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the Flynn Effect?
2. What evidence can you cite to show that stereotype bias impacts cognitive performance?
3. What can we say about group differences related to achievement and IQ for each of the following groups:
   1. Socioeconomic level (SES)?
   2. Race?
   3. Gender?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. How does having a need or drive lead to motivation?
2. What is the meaning of homeostasis? What role does it play in our functioning as humans?
3. What are the five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Give an example of each.
4. What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation? Give an example of each.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Food clearly represents a basic human need. What are some ways it goes beyond that basic level to become a motivation?
2. What are the three critical pieces in understanding how the brain, particularly the hypothalamus, controls appetite?
3. How does our evolutionary history in terms of eating pattern play a role in obesity today?
4. What are the three major eating disorders described in this chapter? What are the defining characteristics of each?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Sexuality clearly represents a basic human drive. What are some ways it goes beyond that basic level to become a motivation?
2. What are the unique contributions of the following people to our understanding of the historical perspectives of human sexuality:
   1. John Kellogg?
   2. Charles Darwin?
   3. Sigmund Freud?
   4. Havelock Ellis?
   5. Alfred Kinsey?
3. What did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey in 2016 and the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation study in 2010 contribute to our understanding of the sexual activities of Americans?
4. What are the three levels on which human sexual arousal and desire take place?
5. Describe human sexual arousal from the following perspectives:
   1. Physiological
   2. Psychological
   3. Subjective experience
   4. Gender
6. What are the four phases of Masters and Johnson’s model of human sexual response? How is it different for males and females?
7. Research has shown clear gender differences in our willingness to make ourselves available to another, especially for sexual activity. What five explanations were presented as to why this might be so?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Explain why it has been difficult for researchers to settle on a single definition for emotion.
2. Describe four methods that have been used to study emotions scientifically.
3. Charles Darwin used a categorical approach to studying emotions, while Wundt emphasized the dimensions of emotions. How can we understand emotions as both categories and dimensions?
4. What important contributions did Charles Darwin make to our study of emotions?
5. Describe Paul Ekman’s research to determine whether emotional expression is universal or culturally determined. What was his conclusion?
6. In what ways do “display rules” impact emotional expression?
7. What are the seven basic systems that Jaak Panksepp proposed for understanding how emotions evolved because of their adaptive value in dealing with fundamental life tasks?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What are the nine characteristics that Paul Ekman suggests are common to all emotions?
2. Various researchers have slightly different lists of basic emotions. What is your list of basic emotions?
3. Wilhelm Wundt introduced the concept of looking at the underlying dimensions of emotionality by specifying three dimensions: valence, arousal, and power. Over time, how have these three dimensions changed in meaning and in our understanding of how they are related?
4. Three major approaches have been suggested to describe how emotions are generated. What are they? What is the unique contribution of each of them?
5. How would you describe how different brain areas are involved with different emotions, for example, is it a one-to-one matching, all brain areas are involved with all emotions, or something else?
6. In what ways does emotionality involve our total body?
7. What system is referred to as the emotional brain? What structures are part of that system?
8. The amygdala is a central player in emotionality. List at least five processes or tasks in which it plays an important role.
9. “The complexity of the human brain has allowed for a type of emotional functioning different from that of other animals.” List at least four ways in which this is true.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. In what ways are the following seven levels directly related to our responses to stress: cultural, social, individual, cognitive/emotional, physiological, brain, and genetic?
2. Why is stress a difficult concept to define scientifically?
3. How did each of the following researchers define the term stress and our responses to it: Claude Bernard, Walter Cannon, Hans Selye, and Bruce McEwen?
4. Describe the three stages of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
5. What four particular situations or conditions does McEwen present in characterizing his concept of allostatic load?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the autonomic nervous system (ANS)? Describe the steps it goes through when you unexpectedly run into a bear in the woods. What steps does it go through when the bear runs away and you make it safely back to your car?
2. Describe how the SAM and HPA pathways work as part of the human stress response. What is the unique contribution of each pathway to that response?
3. Describe the three important characteristics of Shelley Taylor’s concept of tend and befriend, the female response to stress.
4. What is the same and what is different in the male (fight or flight) and female (tend and befriend) responses to stress on the physiological level?
5. What are three ways in which psychological factors, stress, and our immune system are interrelated?
6. Describe the two major types of immunity. What is the primary contribution of each type?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Describe three studies from this chapter that show how social relationships and bonds serve as a protective mechanism in terms of stress.
2. What brain changes have been observed in adults as a result of their exposure to early childhood stress?
3. Describe Taylor and Gonzaga’s social shaping hypothesis. What are its implications for both social support and social isolation?
4. Not everyone responds to stress in the same way. How is the fact of individual differences evidenced in the two examples given here: (1) eating and (2) our cardiovascular system?
5. What do Jay Weiss’s experiments with rats and other researchers’ studies with humans reveal about the role of individual control in how they experienced stress?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. How is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) different from a typical stress response?
2. What are some examples of events that can bring forth PTSD?
3. What are some common symptoms of PTSD?
4. How does PTSD play out on the memory and emotional levels?
5. Describe three changes seen in the brains of individuals with PTSD?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the role of psychological and behavioral components in the major causes of death today?
   1. How has that changed over the last 100 years?
   2. Currently, what are the leading health risks worldwide?
   3. What are four steps you can start taking now to improve your health and manage stress?
2. What is the placebo response? How is expectation related to it?
   1. Expectation?
3. What is mindfulness meditation? What role can it play in improving health and managing stress?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. This chapter begins with a long list of the ways in which we humans are social creatures. Which are most central to understanding our human psychology?
2. What are the definitions and interrelationships among the following concepts related to attribution:
   1. Fundamental attribution error?
   2. Internal or dispositional attribution?
   3. External or situational attribution?
   4. Self-serving bias?
3. Identify and describe the three rules by which we make internal or external attributions.
   1. How do the three rules combine to form the condition for an internal attribution?
   2. How do the three rules combine to form the condition for an external attribution?
4. What are the three categories traditionally included as part of person perception? What is the relationship between stereotyping and person perception?
5. Identify and describe the three stages that support the process of stereotyping.
6. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? What evidence does the brain provide in describing their differences?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. “The face is a critical part of social appraisal across all ages.” Describe three situations that provide evidence of the importance of the face in humans’ relations with others.
2. How is face processing represented in the structures and processes of the brain?
3. Describe the social brain hypothesis including the following aspects identified by Dunbar:
   1. What are the five measures of social complexity that are related to neo-cortex volume in primates?
   2. Which particular areas of the brain are related to group size?
4. Three processes are considered to be involved in social interactions:
   1. Describe these three processes.
   2. Where in the brain do these processes occur, and specifically what does each brain structure contribute to our experience of social interactions?
   3. According to the results in the ultimatum game study, what lies at the basis of our social interactions? How is this reflected in the brain?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is a social emotion? Describe some examples of social emotions.
2. What is a moral emotion? Describe some examples of moral emotions.
3. This section states, “Besides social emotions which we experience ourselves, we also experience social emotions when we see events happening to other people.” Describe two examples of this.
4. How does the research of social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley give us a more comprehensive understanding of the context of helping behavior? Give two specific conditions they reported in determining who would help and when.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. There are a number of terms presented in this section concerning different aspects of altruism, including weak altruism, strong altruism, reciprocal altruism, and altruistic punishment. What does each of these terms mean, and how are they related?
2. Several games have been used in research for examining the nature of cooperation—and non-cooperation. Describe each of the following games and what the research results contribute to our understanding of who cooperates, or doesn’t, and under what conditions:
   1. Prisoners’ dilemma
   2. Tit-for-tat
   3. Trust game
   4. Public goods game
3. This section states, “[T]here is evolutionary pressure to develop better means of detecting deception.” What cues has research shown to be available for detecting deception?
4. How did the camp experiments, known as the Robbers Cave Experiment, help us understand about the development, maintenance, and reduction of prejudice and conflict in intergroup situations?
5. This section states, “[T]here is continuing debate as to whether humans evolved an inclination to kill.” What evidence is presented to support the opposite point of view?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Identify and describe the four basic social-cognitive processes that Fiske pro- poses as the “grammar” of social relationships. Give an example of each from your own experience.
2. What is a script? How does its nature change as you change your focus from the universal level, to the cultural level, to the interpersonal level, and to the individual level?
3. Briefly describe the two experiments (Asch; Berns and colleagues) studying the impact of social influence. Why do individuals conform—even when they know the answer is wrong? What factors are suggested by follow- up studies to reduce the level of conformity?
4. Briefly describe Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment. What was the larger cultural question Milgram was trying to answer when he undertook this study? In what ways was he surprised at the results? Were you shocked? How could this question be studied experimentally today?
5. What unique contributions did the following researchers add to our under-standing of the distinctive characteristics of a moral judgment:
   1. Stephen Pinker?
   2. Michael Koenigs and his colleagues?
   3. Smetana, Schlagman, and Adams?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. The definition of personality has been conceptualized differently across human history. Describe the following historical conceptions of personality:
   1. The ancient Greeks’ humors and elements
   2. Theophrastus’ characters
   3. Jung’s sensitivity in four different realms
   4. Kretschmer’s and Sheldon’s body types
   5. Eysenck’s dimensions
2. What unique contribution does each of the historical perspectives above make to our understanding of personality today?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. How were Sigmund Freud’s ideas influenced by Charles Darwin and Hughlings Jackson?
2. Freud divides the mind into three parts: ego, id, and superego. Describe the role each of these parts plays in the psyche. How do the parts work together? How do they conflict?
3. Freud was interested in an individual’s psychological development.
   1. He developed the pleasure principle and the reality principle to talk about an individual’s development. Describe the two principles.
   2. He proposed stages of psychosexual development. Identify the stages and describe what is happening in each of them.
4. Freud describes three types of consciousness. Describe them and give an example of each.
5. In his book The Project for a Scientific Psychology, Freud introduced three ideas. What are these ideas, and, from Freud’s perspective, what role do they play in psychological health and psychological problems?
6. Other researchers have expanded on Freud’s psychodynamic perspective. What contributions have the following researchers made to our understanding of personality?
   1. Alfred Adler?
   2. Anna Freud?
   3. The “object relations” group?
   4. Carl Jung?
   5. Karen Horney?
7. Describe projective techniques in the study of personality including the following questions:
   1. What is their focus?
   2. How do they work?
   3. What are two well- known projective techniques?
   4. What can we learn from them?
   5. What are some pros and cons in using projective techniques?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. How is an existential-humanistic approach to personality different from Freud’s psychodynamic approach and from B. F. Skinner’s learning approach?
2. What are the fundamental characteristics of a social cognitive theory of personality?
3. How is Julian Rotter’s concept of locus of control similar to as well as different from Albert Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy?
4. If traits are the basic units of personality, how many different traits are there? Describe the process of how psychology moved from Allport and Odbert’s 17,953 to Cattell’s 170 (later reduced to 16) to McCrae and Costa’s 5 dimensions. What was the primary driver of this process?
5. Describe McCrae and Costa’s five-factor model (FFM) of personality, including:
   1. Identify the five dimensions, including a description of the range of each dimension.
   2. How it is used to assess an individual’s personality.
   3. Examples of predictive value in other areas of individual behavior.
   4. Consistency of results (1) across an individual’s lifespan; (2) across generations; and (3) across cultures.
6. Daniel Nettle was interested in whether he could explain the existence of individual personalities from an evolutionary perspective.
   1. What evolutionary advantage did he conclude that personality provides?
   2. How did he explain the existence of both individuals who readily adapt to changing conditions as well as those who remain consistent in the face of change?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What can we say about the influence of genetics and environment on personality? What kinds of studies are used to tease out these influences?
2. What have we learned from brain-imaging studies about different areas in the brain being associated with specific personality factors from the five-factor model?
3. A number of research studies have looked at personality across cultures. List three important findings from this research on the similarities and differences in personality traits in different cultures.
4. How has research characterized our ability to judge the personality of others? In what ways does this surprise you?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What can we say about the influence of genetics and environment on personality? What kinds of studies are used to tease out these influences?
2. What have we learned from brain-imaging studies about different areas in the brain being associated with specific personality factors from the five-factor model?
3. A number of research studies have looked at personality across cultures. List three important findings from this research on the similarities and differences in personality traits in different cultures.
4. How has research characterized our ability to judge the personality of others? In what ways does this surprise you?
5. The self has been an important concept in psychology. Yet, the term has been used in a number of different ways. What contributions did the following researchers make to the evolving concept of the self:
   1. William James?
   2. Karen Horney?
   3. Markus and Kitayama?
   4. Ulrich Orth and colleagues?
6. Neuroscience is just beginning to study how the brain is involved in focusing on the self. Briefly describe three findings that begin the process of under- standing the connections between the brain and the self.
7. Describe the five characteristics of a healthy self as defined by the American Psychiatry Association. What led them to develop a definition of a healthy self?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. One way to defi ne psychopathology is to consider its four important personal components. What are these four components?
2. What are four advantages of having a classification system, like DSM, to define psychological disorders?
3. There is often a stigma experienced by those with a mental disorder. What are three examples of this stigmatizing? What can be done to reduce stigmatizing?
4. What does the term comorbid refer to?
5. The modern study of psychopathology is generally dated to the late 1700s. What major changes have occurred in our understanding of psychopathology since that time?
6. Is psychopathology universal? List three pieces of evidence in support of this position.
7. What new kinds of questions does taking an evolutionary perspective allow us to ask in gaining a better understanding of psychopathology?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is anxiety? What is fear? In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
2. What are the defining characteristics of the following anxiety disorders:
   1. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?
   2. Social anxiety disorder (SAD)?
   3. Panic disorder?
   4. Agoraphobia?
   5. Specific phobia?
3. What evidence can you cite that anxiety disorders have a genetic component?
4. In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), what are obsessions? What are compulsions? What are some examples of each?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the impact of depression from a number of perspectives:
   1. Worldwide prevalence?
   2. Lifetime prevalence?
   3. Gender prevalence?
   4. Costs to economy, society, family, and individual?
   5. Other psychological disorders?
2. Changes in mood are an important aspect of bipolar disorders. How would you describe these changes in each of the different types of bipolar disorder?
3. What evidence can you cite on whether there is a scientific basis for the association between creativity and bipolar disorder?
4. In what ways are different types of mental illness related to suicide?
5. How do the following factors influence the rate of suicide:
   1. Culture?
   2. Religion?
   3. Gender?
   4. Age?
6. What are the four levels that suicide-prevention programs work on?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. In what ways are dissociative disorders similar to the types of dissociative experiences common to most people? In what ways are they different?
2. What are the defining characteristics of the following dissociative disorders:
1. Depersonalization–derealization?
2. Dissociative amnesia?
3. Dissociative identity disorder (DID)?
3. How are the four stages of the course of schizophrenia defined, and when do they typically occur? Is the course the same for each individual? If not, how does it differ?
4. The symptoms of schizophrenia are characterized as positive symptoms and negative symptoms.
   1. What is the definition of each symptom type?
   2. What are primary examples of each type?
   3. What role does each type play in the course of schizophrenia?
5. Schizophrenia typically is first noted during the transition from late adolescence to adulthood, but current research suggests that the disorder begins early in life. What evidence points to this characterization?
6. What evidence can you cite that schizophrenia has a genetic component?
7. What structural brain changes in white matter and gray matter are characteristic of those with schizophrenia?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the basic definition of a personality disorder?
2. DSM-5 has organized personality disorders into three clusters —A, B, and C. What are the defining characteristics that run through the personality disorders in each cluster? What is an example of a disorder in each cluster?
3. What is the relationship between the five-factor model of personality you read about in the chapter on personality and what you have read in this chapter on personality disorders?
4. What are the three defining characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD)?
5. What role do self-mutilating behaviors and suicide attempts play in individuals with BPD?
6. What environmental factors play a role in the development of BPD?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty in three separate areas. What are those areas and what specific types of difficulty do these individuals encounter in each area?
2. Some researchers suggest that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) offers us a way to study brain development that takes a non-normal route. Temple Grandin, who is on the spectrum, describes individuals with ASD as specialized thinkers. Give a brief description of the three types of thinking she describes.
3. What are the primary genetic, environmental, and neurological factors related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
4. Describe the two (2) primary dimensions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and give an example of each.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What were the unique contributions of the following individuals and groups to our current understanding of the treatment of mental illness —include dates and locations as well in your response:
   1. Convent of the order of St. Mary of Bethlehem?
   2. Committee on Madhouses?
   3. Benjamin Rush?
   4. Philippe Pinel?
   5. Vincenzo Chiarugi?
   6. William Tuke?
   7. Quakers of Philadelphia?
   8. Dorothea Dix?

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Describe the following three aspects of psychoanalysis including their role in treatment: free association, resistance, and transference.
2. In what ways did the work of Karen Horney expand on Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychopathology and treatment?
3. Identify and describe the three primary themes of the existential-humanistic movement.
4. Identify and describe the three key characteristics of Carl Rogers’s client-centered approach.
5. Describe the three phases of Leslie Greenberg’s emotion-focused therapy and the role that each plays in the therapy process.
6. What is mindfulness? In what ways is it effective in treating mental illness?
7. List three kinds of evidence used by a number of psychologists to point out the limitations of a strict behaviorist perspective and pave the way to a cognitive behavioral perspective.
8. What are the primary characteristics of the cognitive behavioral perspective?
9. Describe the three components of Aaron Beck’s model of a cognitive triad for depression.

CONCEPT CHECK

1. Psychotropic medications play an important role in the treatment of mental illness. Describe the circumstances that led to the discovery of three of these medications as well as their current uses in treating mental illness.
2. Some treatment approaches to mental illness seek to influence the individual’s brain by changing the underlying electrical activity. Briefly describe how each of these techniques works and indicate current applications in the treatment of mental illness:
   1. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
   2. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
   3. Deep brain stimulation (DBS)
   4. Frontal lobotomy

CONCEPT CHECK

1. What is the importance of the concept of empirically based treatments or empirically based principles to the treatment of mental disorders?
2. What medications and psychological therapies are recommended for treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)? What aspects of GAD does each type of treatment target?
3. What do we know about how specific phobias are treated?
4. What medication and psychological approaches are available for the treatment of panic disorders? Is there one approach that is the most effective?
5. If a friend or family member asked you for a recommendation of the best treatment for OCD, what would you include in your answer?
6. Currently, what are the primary classes of antidepressant medications? How does each work? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
7. All of the three psychological therapy approaches—cognitive behavioral, existential-humanistic, and dynamic—described previously have empirically supported therapies for the treatment of depression. Considering each of these approaches, what is the primary focus of the therapy in regard to depression and what course does the therapy typically follow in providing an effective treatment?
8. What is currently available for the assessment and treatment of individuals with dissociative disorders?
9. What are three critical shifts in the past 60 years that have transformed the treatment of schizophrenia from one that was institution-based to one that is community-based?
10. A variety of classes of medications have been used in the treatment of schizophrenia. What are they, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
11. What is it about personality disorders that makes them difficult to treat? What factors do effective treatments have in common to address those difficulties?
12. What are the major treatments for autism spectrum disorder and ADHD?

Learning Objective 1: Discuss the general process called science.

In general, there is no single scientific method, yet there is a general process called science. This process consists of experiencing the world and then drawing general conclusions (called facts) from observations. Sometimes these conclusions or facts are descriptive and can be represented by numbers. For example, we say that the moon is 238,000 miles from Earth or that the brain uses 20% of the energy produced by the body or that the average human heart rate is 72 beats per minute unless you exercise a lot and then it is probably about 50 beats per minute. Other times, these facts are more general and can describe a relationship or a process. For example, we say that it is more difficult to learn a second language after puberty than before or that as we age we hear fewer high-frequency sounds. Whatever the topic, the known facts about a particular subject are called scientific knowledge (see Ray, 2022 for more information).

Learning Objective 2: List the steps in the scientific method.

There are four stages to the scientific method: (1) develop an idea or expectation (hypothesis), (2) turn this hypothesis into an experiment, (3) evaluate the ideas and expectations about the world through observation and experimentation, and (4) draw conclusions or inferences about the ideas and expectations and consider the impact of the new information on theoretical conceptualizations. This is very different from the phenomenon of pseudoscience—or “fake” science—which presents information as if it is based on science when it is not. There are many research designs and which one to select begins with the question the scientist wants to answer. Some of the research designs used to study psychology include case study, naturalistic observation, correlational approaches, experimental method, and behavioral genetics designs.

Learning Objective 3: Explain how logic and inference are used to reach a conclusion.

Logic can help us answer questions of inference, which is the process by which we look at the evidence available to us and then use our powers of reasoning to reach a conclusion. Logical procedures are also important for helping us understand the accuracy or validity of our ideas and research. Using measures of two types of validity (internal and external), we logically design our research to rule out as many alternative interpretations of our findings as possible and to have any new facts be applicable to as wide a variety of other situations as possible. There is no “one perfect study”; designing and conducting research is always a trade-off between internal and external validity. Behavior can be described or measured in many ways; likewise, there are a variety of ways to measure a particular process. A useful way to begin analyzing the results of any experiment is to convert numerical data to pictorial form and then simply look at them. A second step is to calculate descriptive statistics for the sample—measures of central tendency and variability. The measure of central tendency that you use in your analysis—mean, median, or mode—depends on the question that you are asking. Measures of variability indicate how spread out the scores are. Measures of variability (or dispersion) include range, variance, and standard deviation. One characteristic of human beings is that we seek to determine what will happen next. If participants’ expectations (demand characteristics) or researchers’ expectations (experimenter effects) interfere with the influence of the independent variable, then the study could give inaccurate results. A related phenomenon is the placebo effect. To control for the placebo effect in research, various procedures have been used, the most powerful of which is to design a double-blind experiment.

Learning Objective 4: Describe the steps involved in designing an experimental study.

There are four steps to the experimental process that reflect the evolutionary nature of science: (1) the development of the hypothesis, (2) the translation of this hypothesis into a research design, (3) the running of the experiment, and (4) the interpretation of the results. Researchers take the results and interpretations of their studies and create new research studies that refine the previous hypotheses, and the cycle begins anew. One goal of experimental research is to determine the relationship between the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV). The less bias in terms of demand characteristics related to both the participant and the experimenter aids in creating a logical relationship between the IV and DV. Additional factors critical to sound inference are participant selection and assignment, the design of the experiment, and the interpretation of the relationship of the IV to the DV. The experimenter considers three hypotheses in interpreting whether the DV is related to the IV: null hypothesis, confound hypothesis, and research hypothesis. Scientists pay particular attention to research that has been evaluated by other scientists before it is published in a process called peer review, and journals that follow this procedure are called peer-reviewed journals. Replication of studies in different locations with different participants increases the certainty that the results found reflect the true nature of what is being studied.

Learning Objective 5: Discuss the ethical guidelines that psychologists follow in order to protect the rights of people participating in research projects.

Ethical considerations of psychological experimentation have at their heart the idea that people participating in research should not be harmed. In addition, research participants have a right to privacy including the right to a private personality. To protect those rights, participants must be informed of the experiment’s purpose and its potential risks (informed consent) and then voluntarily agree to participate in the experiment (voluntary participation). Confidentiality and anonymity are two additional considerations that are part of the scientist’s responsibility to the participant. Deception research and animal research are two areas of study in psychology in which specific ethical concerns have been raised. Guidelines for reconciling all conflicts between the rights of the participant to pursue happiness and the rights of the scientist to pursue knowledge are provided by such resources as the APA, and the federal government.

Learning Objective 1: Describe the basic element of the brain and its connection to behavior and experience.

The basic element of the brain is the neuron that is connected to other neurons. Since the human brain has been estimated to contain 86 billion neurons and more than 100,000 kilometers of interconnections, scientists have analyzed them in terms of networks using the small world framework. Neurons have numerous short distance local connections that taken together can be considered as a hub or module. From these hubs there are more long-distance connections to other hubs. Three specific networks have been examined in terms of psychology—the default network (also called the intrinsic network), the central executive network, and the salience network.

Learning Objective 2: List the key structures of the brain.

First, the brain has four lobes—frontal lobe (involved in planning, higher order cognitive processes, and moral and social judgments); parietal lobe (involved in spatial processes); occipital lobe (involved in the processing of visual information); and temporal lobe (involved in hearing as well as aspects of language). Two other sections are the motor strip (associated with movements of different parts of the body) and the somatosensory cortex (associated with receiving sensations from various parts of the body). Second, the limbic system is considered to be an important evolutionary system that evolved for the processing of emotional material. Five major structures composed the limbic system: parts of the thalamus, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, and amygdala. Third, the brain stem is traditionally considered to include the midbrain, pons, and medulla. These structures are involved in basic life functions. Movements related to the brain stem tend to be more of an instinctual nature. Fourth, the cerebellum, located at the base of the skull, is involved in the coordination of movement and in the automation of physical and cognitive tasks. It interacts with many different parts of the brain using an intricate set of feedback processes.

Learning Objective 3: Discuss the neuroscience methods that are being used to observe activity in the brain.

Scientists have been able to use the manner in which neurons work as a window into their function. A variety of techniques for observing activity in the brain have been developed. Currently, the major types of brain-imaging techniques are EEG, MEG, PET, and fMRI. There are a number of trade-offs that researchers and clinicians must consider when choosing a brain-imaging technique. It begins with the research or clinical question one is asking whether the appropriate measure is one of structure (spatial resolution) or how fast a process can be measured (temporal resolution).

Learning Objective 4: Describe how the networks of the brain process information.

Networks allow our brains to efficiently process information. Overall, cortical networks are influenced by experience and designed to be efficient in terms of connections between neurons in the network. This efficiency allows for less use of energy. One way energy is conserved is through not having every neuron connect with every other neuron. Neurons are neither totally random in their connections with other neurons nor totally patterned. It appears that neurons are connected to one another in the same way that all humans on this planet are socially connected. It turns out that neurons, like humans, can be connected to one another in similar ways.

Various studies have shown that the neurons in the brain can be considered within a small world framework (Sporns, 2011). Neurons have numerous short-distance local connections that, taken together, can be considered as a hub or module. From these hubs, there are more long-distance connections to other hubs. Such connections are seen in gray matter. Gray matter appears dark and can be seen in the outer shell of the brain. Gray matter contains the synapses, dendrites, cell bodies, and local axons of neurons. Some 60% of gray matter is composed of axons and dendrites.

Underlying this are the axons that transfer information throughout the brain. Their myelin sheaths are lighter in color and thus these areas are referred to as white matter. Myelin is made up of fats and proteins and wrap around axons like insulation does around electrical cables and results in an increased speed in information transmissions. About 44% of the human brain is white matter. White matter generally represents longer connections between neurons. This allows for cortical networks over larger areas of the brain.

Those neural networks that are active during internal processing have come to be referred to as the brain’s default or intrinsic network. Overall, the default network is involved during internal or private considerations that do not require processing external sensory information. In fact, it appears as if there is a negative correlation between activities in the default network versus networks associated with processing information from the environment. That is, when someone begins some cognitive activity, then new networks associated with that task become active and the default mode network becomes less active. Overall, this suggests that separate brain mechanisms evolved for dealing with information involving the external environment as opposed to considerations internal to the person.

In addition to the default network, the executive and salience networks have been identified (Menon, 2011). The central executive network is involved in performing such tasks as planning, goal setting, directing attention, performing, inhibiting the management of actions, and the coding of representations in working memory (see Eisenberg & Berman, 2010, for an overview). These tasks are also referred to as executive functions since they are involved in planning, understanding new situations, and having cognitive flexibility. The salience network, as the name implies, is involved in monitoring and noting important changes in biological and cognitive systems. There are also networks involved with vision, audition, and other sensory experiences.

Learning Objective 5: Describe the development and evolution of the brain.

The human central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord, begins to develop during the first month of pregnancy with the creation of the neural tube. The most anterior end of the neural tube becomes the forebrain, the midbrain, the cerebellum, and the hindbrain. The remaining part of the tube becomes the spinal cord. Different parts of the tube expand differently in different animals under the control of specific genes. Along with the expansion of the surface area of the brain during evolution, there was also an increase and expansion of areas involved in processing information. As evolution produced greater diversity in cortical structure, there remained a similarity in the manner in which the nervous system functioned. Mammals have evolved a brain structure different from other organisms—the six-layered neocortex. Although consistent in structure, among mammals there is great variation in cortical size and organization in terms of area devoted to different types of cortical processing and greater network connectivity.

We are just beginning to understand the manner in which human brain evolution is built upon a vast history of organic development. In the 20th century, Paul MacLean examined fossil records along with brains from a variety of organisms and proposed that our current human brain can be viewed as having the features of three basic evolutionary formations— reptiles, early mammals, and recent mammals. MacLean’s formulation—called the triune brain—suggests that through rich interconnections our brains can process a variety of information in three somewhat independent, although not autonomous, ways. In effect, these three brains—reptilian, paleomammalian, and neomammalian—intermesh and function together.

Learning Objective 6. Describe the role that genetics and evolution play in helping us understand our psychological processes.

Genes form the blueprint that determines what an organism is to become. They are found on chromosomes in every cell of the body. Within each gene, DNA—the information storage molecule—transfers information to RNA—the information transfer molecule—to produce (or encode) a particular protein. The location of the genes in the body makes a difference in that cells in the brain produce different proteins from those in the muscles, or liver, or heart. A gene is turned on (produces the protein) or turned off (does not produce the protein) relative to specific events. A basic distinction in terminology is made between the genotype (what is inherited through the sperm and the egg at the moment of conception) and the phenotype (the observed characteristics of the individual, including body structure, physiology, and behavior). The focus of psychology has largely been the study of the phenotype. In terms of evolution, one of the real scientific contributions of DNA analysis has been the realization of how similar organisms are in terms of DNA structure. Different organisms have different numbers of chromosomes—humans have 23 separate pairs of chromosomes. Males and females have partially different genomes—the sex chromosomes are inherited differently for males and females. Since the X and Y chromosomes are different and do not contain the same identical genes, this sets up the possibility for transmission of traits that can be different for males and females. Sex-linked traits also have different patterns of inheritance throughout generations for males and females.

Learning Objective 1: Discuss the brain, sensory, and motor developments that take place during infancy.

Developmental psychology is the study of the cognitive, emotional, and motor development of humans across their lifespan. This development is influenced by a number of factors including culture, parent and peer involvement, and brain processes.

There are two critical periods in terms of brain development over one’s life. The first occurs in the womb, and the second is during adolescence. During gestation and the early years of life, the brain is establishing its cortical connections and growing neurons at an amazing rate. The areas of the infant’s brain with increasing connections involve visual, auditory, and motor processing. Language and spatial orientation, which involve the parietal areas, don’t fully develop until around puberty. Executive functions involving goals, reasoning, as well as integration of information and social processes continue to develop until your 20s.

Psychologists often discuss development in terms of human processes, including motor development, cognitive development, language development, social development, and so on. However, if you watch infants through their first years of life, you will see that there is a complex interaction involving all of these systems. Not only do human infants actively search their environment, they have expectations of what should happen next. Not only do infants have expectations, but they also act as “little scientists” and try to test out their ideas. When their expectations are not met, they try to learn from what they experience.

Motor development in infants proceeds in two directions. The first is from head to toe, and the second is from the midline of the body to the periphery. At about 2 months of age, the infant develops the muscles necessary for raising his or her head. About a month later, the infant develops the muscles of the torso necessary to roll over and sit in a highchair. During the next six months, the infant can begin to crawl. At the first year of age, infants can begin to stand while holding on to a low table and take steps on their own. Likewise, development goes from the midline in which infants can move their arms and legs before they can actually use their hands to purposely grab an object.

Learning Objective 2: Discuss cognitive development based on the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky.

Cognitive development refers to the way we reason and use language, as well as traditional intellectual abilities such as memory and problem solving.

Jean Piaget is considered to have created the field of cognitive development. His work was mainly based on the observation of children at different ages. One important contribution was the idea that a child has a different schema or set of assumptions at different periods of his or her life. Through his observations of how children solve problems, as well as the mistakes they make, Piaget suggested there were four periods or stages of development that correspond with a child’s age: (1) sensorimotor, (2) preoperational, (3) concrete operations, and (4) formal operations.

Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky offered a sociocultural perspective to cognitive development. Whereas Piaget emphasized the interaction with the physical environment, Vygotsky stressed the social and cultural environment.

We all come into the world with bodily emotional responses all our own—a constellation of emotional and behavioral responses referred to as temperament. Temperament is seen as a broad set of emotional and behavioral reactions in which both genetic and environmental factors play a role.

Learning Objective 3: Describe the aspects of social development and how we make emotional and social connections with others.

Infants are able to learn important aspects of social development by watching others and making emotional and social connections, especially parents and other caregivers.

What happens in your brain when you see someone wave or clap her hands? One intriguing answer to this question comes from research that suggests the neurons in your brain fire as if you had performed the same actions. These neurons are called mirror neurons. Some researchers suggest that this brain process may lie at the basis of imitation learning, as well as other human social phenomena, including language and empathy.

Theory of mind is the capacity to infer another person’s mental state from their behavior. Mental state can include purpose, intention, knowledge, belief, thinking, doubt, pretending, liking, and so forth. Theory of mind is an important topic in developmental psychology.

John Bowlby developed a theoretical understanding of interpersonal relationships based on the interactions of a child with his or her parents, which he referred to as attachment. Mary Ainsworth described three patterns of attachment styles: (1) secure attachment pattern, (2) avoidant attachment pattern, and (3) anxious/ambivalent attachment pattern. Later researchers suggested a fourth attachment style: (4) disorganized/controlling attachment pattern. Numerous studies have shown attachment patterns to be relatively stable across the lifespan in a number of areas.

Learning Objective 4: Discuss the physical, psychological, cognitive, and emotional domains that occur during adolescence

During adolescence, there is physical growth in terms of the size of hands and feet, and height and weight. This growth spurt is the greatest change in physical growth of the person since infancy. During puberty, in both males and females, hormone levels increase throughout the body. Girls typically enter puberty about two years earlier than boys, however there is great variability in the timing of puberty for both males and females.

Adolescence has been characterized as a time in which an individual moves from a more family-oriented frame of reference to one of peer relations. Concomitant with these social and emotional changes are large changes in the brain. Research suggests that, from childhood to adulthood, the brain goes from a largely undifferentiated system to one composed of specialized neural networks.

Adolescents take more risk than either children or adults do. This risk-taking or impulsivity involves distinct brain networks related to the ability to inhibit. Peer presence makes a greater difference in risk-taking, which is also seen in brain processes in adolescents compared with those beyond adolescence. Overall, adolescents show an increased sensitivity to both positive and negative rewards than do either adults or younger children.

Learning Objective 5: Discuss the concept of lifespan development and adulthood.

In the 1960s and 1970s, psychologists began to expand the concept of human development to include lifespan development—following individuals across their lifespans in a theoretically integrated manner using psychological research.

One of the first theorists to present a map of lifespan development was Erik Erikson. He proposed that people experience eight major psychosocial stages—each stage defined by a major conflict or question that must be answered. His eight stages are: (1) trust versus mistrust; (2) autonomy versus shame and doubt; (3) initiative versus guilt; (4) industry versus inferiority; (5) identity versus role confusion; (6) intimacy versus isolation; (7) generativity versus stagnation; and (8) integrity versus despair.

At one time, aging was defined primarily in terms of loss of cognitive functions such as memory and an increase in medical problems. However, today the manner in which people age follows a number of different pathways. Some people do show mental or physical deterioration as they age. However, others retain both physical and mental abilities as they age. The study of this last group has been referred to as successful aging. Research shows an important role for exercise and social support in a healthy lifestyle and successful aging.

Learning Objective 1: Describe how psychophysics relates to our understanding of how we experience the world.

The manner in which our brain and nervous system take energy that exists around us and turns it into an experience is a critical aspect of sensation and perception. Sensation refers to the manner in which our receptor system transforms energy into activity that can be interpreted by the brain. Perception is the manner in which the brain makes sense of this activity. Simple sensations are processed differently in each of our sensory systems. Each of the sensory systems uses different biological processes referred to as transducers to initiate the sensory process. Our brain begins with information from each of the sensory systems alone. Our nervous system then processes this information, which gives us an experience that we interpret as reality. Thus, our experience of reality is based on how our nervous system is constructed.

Psychophysics (established by Gustav Fechner in the 1800s) is the study of the relationship between the physical characteristics of a stimulus and the manner in which we experience it. The relationship between the increase in the physical intensity and the subjective experience is a logarithmic rather than a linear relationship. In each sensory system, there is a constant that reflects the ability to notice differences between two stimuli. This difference is referred to as the just-noticeable difference or JND. Fechner also noticed that the JND changes as the original weights change by a constant proportion—the difference threshold. When there is just one stimulus present, the concept is the absolute threshold.

Learning Objective 2: Describe the key processes in the visual system.

Vison is our most important sense. A least half of our brain is related directly or indirectly to the processing of visual information including areas involved in the recognition of faces.

Light is electromagnetic energy. The light we see is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the visual spectrum, we refer to this light as waves, which can be described in terms of: (1) amplitude or how large it is; (2) frequency or how often it recurs; and (3) length or how much distance there is between two consecutive waves. When our eye transforms the visual spectrum, we see the lower frequencies (longer wavelengths) as red and orange and the higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths) as blue and violet. The greens and yellows are in between.

Light reaches the cornea where it is bent and the lens where it is focused. Both are located at the front of the eye. The object we see is focused on the retina at the back of the eye. The pupil is surrounded by muscles contained in the iris, which let the pupil allow in more or less light according to the intensity of the light energy. Within the eye there is a clear fluid referred to as the vitreous. Light passes through this fluid and reaches the back of the eye, which contains the receptors that change the electromagnetic energy of light into electrical energy. It is the job of this electrical energy to create information in the brain.

Rods permit nighttime vision and to see in dim light. Cones permit daytime vision and to see with high-spatial acuity, which gives you the ability to see detail. Rods and cones also differ in their location. There are many more rods in the peripheral parts of the retina, and more cones located in a more central region of the retina called the fovea. The cones in the retina are sensitive to different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that the brain is able to change into the experience of color. There are three different cone types in terms of frequency sensitivity: (1) blue, (2) green, and (3) red. Our ability to see colors requires that the signals from the different types of cones be compared in the brain. The idea that variations in three different light colors lies at the bottom of our experience of color came to be known as the Young–Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color.

Some individuals use only two of the three light sources to match colors. These individuals are commonly called color blind; some match colors to a standard color by using only green and blue light, while others use only blue and red light. Color blindness is found more often in males than females since it is caused by a recessive allele on the X chromosome.

The point at which axons leave the eye is referred to as the optic disk or blind spot. Although there are no receptors in this part of the eye to respond to light, the brain fills in the missing information by using information from the other eye and eye movement. Thus, you see a complete scene without a hole in the image.

As information leaves the eye, it travels by long axons—the optic nerve—to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), part of the thalamus. Different types of information such as color and contrast go to different areas in the brain. Your visual field is what you see in front of you without moving your head or eyes. The visual information from each eye remains separate in the LGN and is conveyed to a variety of areas in the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. Each of the areas in the primary visual cortex is involved in different aspects of visual processing such as depth perception, color, movement, and form.

If the direct pathway from the eye to the LGN is lost through brain damage, the experience of vision is lost.

The pathway continues to the temporal lobe and has been referred to as the what pathway, which is involved with knowing what a given visual object is. The other type of ganglion cell is the M or large type cells. Information moves along a separate pathway to a different part of the primary visual cortex. It then goes to the parietal lobe and is referred to as the where pathway, which is involved with knowing where an object is in space. The what pathway helps an organism know what something is and its relation to space and time. The where pathway is involved in using vision for doing things in the world.

Our visual experience of motion is a combination of muscular and position feedback of the head and eyes and the visual stimuli on the retina. The illusion of apparent motion clearly shows that the perception of motion cannot be explained by the position of the image on the retina alone and that perceiving the position of an object is performed separately from determining motion.

There are two types of information that humans use to perceive depth. The first is a set of cues that can be determined from using only one eye or monocular cues: (1) our knowledge of the object: (2) occlusion, (3) linear perspective, (4) size perspective, (5) distribution of light and shadows, and (6) motion. The second type of information for perceiving depth comes from binocular cues related to the fact that humans have two eyes that are separated from one another by about 6 cm. Thus, for distances of less than about 100 feet, each eye receives slightly different information when looking at the same scene, called binocular disparity. The greatest differences or disparity between the images on the two retinas would come from objects that are close. When looking at a distant scene, your eyes are more parallel and there is almost no disparity between the images. Whether you focus close or focus far requires different eye-movement positions. The muscle movement of the eyes gives an additional channel of feedback to the brain for determining depth.

A variety of processes in our visual system are occurring at the same time. This parallel processing allows us to create an image quickly. However, at times this results in illusions, based both on a top-down process in which our expectations help to form what we see and on a bottom-up process by which our sensory system puts together the individual features into a coherent scene. Not only do we see things that are not there, but we are also able to see a world that cannot exist, such as in the etchings by the artist M. C. Escher. We can make a static figure move. In some ways, all of what we “see” is an illusion or construction of our nervous system. For example, we do not notice the edges of our visual field. Illusions are important since they help us understand how the visual system works.

Gestalt psychology was developed in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century and emphasized the manner in which our perceptual system organizes the visual world in a predetermined manner. The parts of a visual scene become organized in a manner such that a whole image emerges and include: (1) similarity, (2) proximity, (3) closure, (4) continuation, and (5) good figure.

Individuals who become blind early in life are shown to have increased auditory abilities. Likewise, individuals who become deaf early in life are shown to have superior visual abilities. The unused visual cortex in individuals who are blind is taken over by other sensory processes such as touch or hearing. This is also true with deaf individuals with the auditory cortex being taken over by other senses.

Learning Objective 3: Explain what happens in the auditory system that allows us to hear.

Mechanical activity in the environment, such as a tree falling, produces sound waves that enter the ear, and it is the pressure of these waves that influences our hearing of sound. The components of a sound wave include (1) frequency, which determines the pitch that we hear; (2) amplitude or intensity, which determines whether we experience it as loud or soft; and (3) complexity, which determines the richness or timbre of the experience of hearing. Sound waves are picked up by the ear and channeled down the ear canal to the ear drum, which they cause to vibrate. These sound pressure vibrations move the bones of the middle ear. The third bone, the stirrup, moves the oval window in relation to the frequency and amplitude of the sound waves. This moves the fluid of the inner ear, which in turn stimulates hair cells in the cochlea. The stimulated hair cells release neurotransmitters that result in the firing of neurons that send information to the auditory areas of the brain. Sound waves move through a number of physical structures before an action potential can be produced. Why so many transformations? From an evolutionary perspective, the auditory system is built on a very old system.

Three types of information come from the hair cells in the cochlea: (1) pitch or frequency; (2) amplitude or loudness; and (3) temporal nature or duration of the sound, or complexity. This information from each ear is initially kept separate as it goes to the left and right cochlear nuclei. Using both the time at which a sound arrived at the left and right ears and the loudness of the sound, the superior olive begins to create a map of where in the external world a sound may have originated. Pathways then go from the superior olive to the inferior colliculus and then to the medial geniculate nucleus and then to the primary auditory cortex. From the auditory cortex, there are two pathways that go to two different prefrontal areas of the cortex: (1) the what pathway, which is associated with determining what a sound is; and (2) the where pathway, which is involved with determining where in space an object is located.

The vestibular system, also located in the inner ear, contributes to your experience of movement, head position, and where you are in space in relation to gravity. There are three semicircular canals located near the cochlea, as well as two other structures called the saccule and the utricle. Like the cochlea, they contain hair cell receptors related to balance that work in the same way as those related to hearing. The canals are located in different orientations. As such, each is sensitive to movement in different directions. The saccule and utricle help you experience acceleration. As you move, information from the vestibular system is sent to the brain and in turn coordinates your movement to keep you balanced. The system is also able to stabilize your vision such that moving your head does not cause the object you are looking at to become blurred.

Learning Objective 4: Summarize the role that chemical processes play in smell and taste.

Smell and taste are different from vision and hearing. Rather than photons or pressure, we experience the chemicals in our world with smell and taste. We notice the smell of good food cooking, and we are attracted to where the smell is coming from. As this is happening, our digestive system prepares to process the food we are about to eat. However, if we open a container with rotten food, that is a different story. We are repulsed just by a quick experience of the odor.

Olfaction refers to your sense of smell. In your nose are sensory neurons that are responsive to chemicals that we experience as odors. These receptors produce electrical signals and send a pattern of activity to the olfactory bulb, which processes the signal and serves as a relay station to other areas of the brain including the limbic area. Your physiological state can determine what and how you experience smells. We have a long evolutionary history of protecting ourselves through the smells and tastes that we experience. It is estimated that we may be able to distinguish more than 10,000 different chemical smells.

Taste refers to the five qualities processed by our gustatory system: (1) sweet, (2) bitter, (3) salty, (4) sour, and (5) umami. Flavor, which is more complex, refers to the combination of sensory processes that we experience in terms of taste, smell, and texture as well as our experience of chewing. Taste signals are produced in the mouth—most of our taste buds are located on the tongue—and go through the brain stem and the thalamus to the area of the brain related to taste.

Learning Objective 5: Describe the different senses of touch and what happens when we experience pain.

Touch plays a critical role in our lives. Historically, a distinction has been made between active and passive touch: (1) active touch is when you move your body, generally your hands, against another object or person; and (2) passive touch is when another person or object rubs against your skin. Both use the same receptors in the skin and the same pathways to the brain; however, there are differences: (1) the cognitive features may differ; (2) there is a close connection between active touch and the motor system; and (3) active and passive touch show different patterns of brain activation. Your hand has four types of receptors that supply information to your brain: (1) Meissner corpuscles, (2) Merkel cells, (3) Pacinian corpuscles, and (4) Ruffini endings. The four types of receptors work together to give you a sense of shape, texture, movement, and pressure; they do this by being sensitive to skin stretch, edges, lateral motion, and vibration. The information from the touch receptors goes through the spinal cord and then to the brain stem, the thalamus, and the somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe. Touch information on the somatosensory cortex is organized in terms of locations on the body. The motor cortex is organized similarly to the sensory cortex, allowing for an integration of the experience of touch with making actions.

Pain is critical for our survival. As with other sensory processes, pain is the result of a complex sensory experience interpreted by the brain. Since there is no direct measure of pain, the verbal report is the most common technique used in pain research. Like other sensory processes, there are particular receptors in our body that are sensitive to pain. The cells related to the experience of pain outside of the brain are referred to as nociceptors. These receptors connect to pathways that lead to the spinal cord and then the thalamus in the brain. The experience of pain is complex in that a number of areas of the brain are involved depending on the context in which the pain is experienced as well as the person’s previous experience of pain. The phenomenon of phantom limb pain is an exception—there is pain, but there are no receptors where we would expect them to be. Pain is this case originates from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and is referred to as neuropathic pain.

Learning Objective 1: Discuss the different levels of consciousness, including attention and awareness.

Psychologists define consciousness as being aware and knowing that you are involved in a particular event. You listen to certain music because you like the feelings it gives you. You eat certain foods for the feeling of comfort and the memories associated with such meals. Reading a book or watching videos can also change our consciousness. You may even seek to reduce your level of consciousness as when you take a nap. At times, we may perform yoga or meditation as a way to experience our internal processes.

Experiences such as spacing out while driving suggest that there must be different processes that come together to give us the experience of consciousness. We have different systems of consciousness and awareness for living life and making decisions. That is, whether at a party or driving, we are able to monitor other aspects of the environment without being aware of it. Research shows sudden EEG changes in the brain to be associated with conscious awareness. That is, during conscious awareness, more areas of the brain are communicating with one another. Further, there is no single brain area related to consciousness; rather it is the result of the interactions among a number of neural networks in our brain.

In terms of attention, we can be aware of something. This is the basic level where we have sensations and create perceptions. Another level of awareness important for humans is referred to as meta-awareness. That is, we can be aware of our awareness. As humans, we not only have awareness of our awareness (meta-awareness) but also cognition about cognition or metacognition.

Levels of consciousness can be discussed in terms of (1) coma, (2) vegetative state, and (3) wakefulness and awareness. From this perspective, consciousness can be described in terms of wakefulness and awareness. Between coma and normal consciousness, there is a continuum in which a person varies in terms of awareness and the ability to communicate. A common procedure that is designed to change the level of a person’s consciousness is the use of anesthesia. Combining the ability to control anesthesia with current brain-imaging techniques has opened up new ways to study levels of consciousness.

When we look at an object, we become conscious of what it is. However, it generally takes about half a second before our brain gives us the experience of being aware of what is there. When we shift our attention to something else, the original object leaves our consciousness. In this manner, attention and consciousness are closely related in our everyday language. This chapter considered two different long-term conditions in which a person is able to process information without being aware of it—blindsight and being a split-brain individual.

Learning Objective 2: Describe what happens when we sleep and dream.

We are just beginning to understand the various processes that go on during sleep. Sleep serves a number of functions. Our experience tells us that sleep is a strong drive and related to restoring our bodies in terms of energy and alertness. Evolutionary perspectives tell us that sleep may be protective and may keep the organism out of danger.

At some point during the night, the person’s eyes—although closed—would move quickly. This is referred to as rapid eye movement or REM sleep. After a REM period, the person goes through another series of sleep cycles. These 90-minute cycles continue throughout the night, although the deepest sleep is experienced in the early cycles. Human adults sleep for about 8 hours every 24 hours. This is a daily or circadian rhythm, which takes about 12 years to develop in humans. Across species including humans and other animals, there is a sleep/wake cycle related to earth’s day/night cycle. With access to the sun, there is a stable sleep/wake cycle. This circadian or 24-hour rhythm has been shown to be fairly stable even in species such as those that live in the Arctic with continuous daylight in part of the year.

Since sleep represents a special state of consciousness, some scientists suggest that it can give us a window into understanding consciousness. From this standpoint, the three processes of (1) wakefulness, (2) REM sleep, and (3) non-REM sleep represent three different states of consciousness. Each of these states involves different brain and other physiological processes. Over the past 100 years, studies of sleep with humans and animals have painted a consistent picture of the physiological processes involved in sleep and wakefulness. Brain-imaging techniques such as fMRI show the manner in which cortical networks are involved in sleep. (1) First, it is clear that the brain continues to be active in sleep even without external stimulation or self-control of our thoughts. (2) Second, sleep is controlled by bottom-up processes involving the brain stem and the hypothalamus. (3) Third, during sleep some of the same networks such as those involved in memory, arousal, and consciousness are active. In fact, different memory systems are seen to be active during different types of sleep. (4) Fourth, during sleep the frontal areas of the brain are not connected to other areas of the default network. The loss of connection to the frontal areas is one reason our dreams can be irrational or even chaotic. Without logic, you can dream anything you want.

Complaints concerning sleep are second only to those concerning pain in terms of physician visits. In the medical and psychological literature, more than 100 different sleep disorders have been described. However, most of these can be discussed in terms of four broad categories. These four are (1) insomnia, (2) hypersomnia, (3) circadian rhythm disorders, and (4) parasomnias.

Dreams are experienced during sleep and reflect mainly involuntary images, ideas, feelings, and sensations. In dreams, we (1) are aware of the unfolding situation in front of us; (2) experience ourselves being part of the action unlike our daydreams or mind-wandering when we are awake; (3) participate in the experiences of the dream; and (4) have emotional reactions and experience it as real although we would not say it was reality.

Learning Objective 3: Describe the techniques of hypnosis and meditation.

Although different processes, both hypnosis and meditation have been suggested to influence our consciousness as well as having numerous positive benefits. These positive benefits include reducing anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress.

Hypnosis is defined by researchers as “an individual’s ability to experience suggested alterations in physiology, sensations, emotions, thoughts, or behavior during hypnosis.” From this definition, changes during the hypnotic experience can take place on different levels. Although the nature of hypnosis is not fully understood, with the advent of EEG and fMRI researchers have been able to better describe the nature of the process. It appears that hypnosis allows the different types of information typically integrated in the brain to remain separate. For example, pain such as an electrical shock is composed of two experiences—the sensation of the shock and the negative emotional reaction. When told they will not experience pain under hypnosis, individuals still report the sensation but not the negative emotionality. Hypnosis has now been shown to be an important adjunct to a number of clinical treatments. It has been shown to be useful in controlling pain, in the treatment of anxiety, in reducing stress, and positively modifying our immune systems.

Meditation is a technique that focuses one’s consciousness away from the outer world and towards an inner sense of awareness. Historically, meditation has been a part of religious and spiritual traditions worldwide. In general, meditative techniques can be thought of in terms of three broad approaches: (1) an attempt to reduce awareness as normally experienced; (2) an approach that is more of an expressive experience as might be seen in free dancing; and (3) an approach located between these two—awareness of all activity is allowed without the attempt to reduce, modify, or react to what is being experienced. This last approach has come to be called mindfulness in current-day psychology. Mindfulness involves an increased focused purposeful awareness of the present moment. The idea is to relate to one’s thoughts and experiences in an open, nonjudgmental, and accepting manner. Nonjudgmental observing allows for a reduction in stress, reduction in reactivity, more time for interaction with others and the world, a greater possibility of feelings of compassion for another person, and a broadening of attention and alternatives. Empirical evidence using mindfulness techniques has shown positive change with a number of disorders including anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress. Overall, meditation has been shown to increase well-being. In addition, there are brain changes associated with meditation.

Learning Objective 4: Discuss the three broad categories of psychoactive substances: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.

Three broad categories of psychoactive substances are depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. Depressants such as alcohol and barbiturates reduce the activity of the central nervous system. This reduction of activity can be seen overall as when a person falls asleep after drinking alcohol or more localized as when reduction in frontal lobe activity reduces the inhibitions experienced by the person. Stimulants, on the other hand, increase the activity of the central nervous system. Common stimulants include amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and opiates such as morphine. The class of psychoactive drugs that has the most influence on the central nervous system is hallucinogens. Although hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin have strong effects on the central nervous system, they tend to be the least addictive.

In the United States, our attitude toward drug use has changed drastically over the past 200 years. Overall, drugs are rewarding to our body and give us experiences we seek, but drug use is a complex problem for a society to protect its citizens, especially those whose brains are still developing, from psychoactive substances that can be addictive, reduce productivity, and put the user and others at risk.

There is a common pattern to addiction: (1) craving characterized by drug expectation and attention bias; (2) intoxication and impaired self-awareness; (3) bingeing and the loss of control; and (4) withdrawal characterized by amotivation and anhedonia. There is no one answer as to what causes addiction, but a number of factors have been found to be involved. (1) One factor is related to timing of first use. (2) Another factor related to addiction is genetics. (3) Some drugs are more addictive than others. (4) Individuals show different sensitivities to particular drugs. (5) Environmental factors such as stress and/or low socioeconomic level are also associated with greater drug use, which can lead to addiction.

In the last century, a number of scientists began to wonder why our bodies seek various types of drugs. What became apparent was that our brains contain receptors that are sensitive to the actual drugs of addiction, in particular, to opiates such as morphine. Researchers discovered that our brains make a substance that is actually like morphine—substances that came to be called endorphins. The particular endorphin of interest to psychologists is beta-endorphin or β-endorphin, which has an analgesia effect similar to drugs like morphine and is also released during our body’s response to stress.

Learning Objective 1: Discuss memory and how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.

Memory is focused on how information is encoded, stored, and later retrieved. Before information is stored, it is encoded. That is, certain aspects of your experiences are organized and stored in the brain. Encoding includes how you store information in the brain. Although we use terms such as storing a memory, we now know that remembering an experience is more than just viewing an image of what happened. Unlike a computer that gives you back exactly the information that is stored, our brain has a logic of its own based on our evolutionary history. When we remember, we actually recreate the experience in our minds. Depending on the nature of the memory, different parts of your brain can be involved. Some memories have to do with language, some with emotions, some with events, some with sensory experiences, and many with a combination of these. Overall, memory is described in terms of two different dimensions: (1) the temporal dimension which includes short- term and long- term memory; and (2) the type of information stored.

Sensory memory lasts only a few seconds and takes place in all of our senses. If it involves the auditory system, it is referred to as echoic memory. If it involves our visual system, it is referred to as iconic memory. This is the first step of how we remember information. Sensory memory lasts just long enough for the information to be processed by our brain. However, we can’t possibly remember all of the information that is before us in this brief period.

The second step in remembering information is to transform the sensory information and work with it for a short period of time. This is referred to as short-term memory or working memory. As the name implies, short-term memory lasts for less than a minute. The concept of working memory evolved from short-term memory to reflect the systems required to keep things in mind while performing tasks. Short-term memory lasts for about 20 to 30 seconds without rehearsal. To have a memory available to us in the future, the information needs to be converted from short-term memory into long-term memory. Information available to us through long-term memory can be relatively permanent. Long-term memory can be classified in terms of the type of information that is stored.

We now know that one critical area involved in memory processes is the hippocampus, located in the temporal lobe. In the 1950s, a patient known as H.M. had his hippocampus on both sides of the brain and nearby structures removed in order to treat his severe epileptic seizures. After the surgery, his seizures were greatly improved, but there was an unexpected event. He lost the capacity to form new memories. Although a tragic event, the operation that removed H.M.’s hippocampi helped to change the way we view memory. From her studies with H.M., Brenda Milner came to four critical conclusions regarding memory: (1) the ability to acquire new memories is a distinct function of the brain located in the temporal lobes; (2) temporal lobes are not required for short-term memory; (3) the temporal lobes and hippocampus cannot be the storage sites for long-term memories; and (4) the temporal lobes are not the site for the memory of tasks. Overall, memory is described in terms of two different dimensions: (1) the temporal dimension, which includes short-term and long- term memory; and (2) the type of information stored.

Episodic memory is a collection of events that we personally experienced. Semantic memory has to do with impersonal facts and everyday knowledge. Implicit memory has the ability to influence our behavior and experiences without an awareness of the learning taking place. We also can do a number of motor tasks without consciously remembering how to do it. This type of memory is referred to as procedural memory. Other types of implicit memory include classical conditioning and priming. Priming is the situation in which previous experiences can influence present behavior.

Psychologists have described the long-term memory processes in terms of four separate steps.

1. The first step is encoding. Encoding is the process by which information is attended to and connected with other information in your memory. Following encoding, the information must be stored.
2. The second step, storage, involves those areas of the brain and neural mechanisms by which memories are retained over time.
3. The third step is consolidation. Consolidation is the process by which the information stored becomes even more stable. Consolidation takes place in the brain on two levels. The first level is structural changes at the synapse; the second level involves a reorganization of long-term memories over brain networks.
4. The fourth step is retrieval. This stage is what we think of when we say we recalled something. Typically, retrieval involves different types of information stored in different places throughout the brain.

Learning Objective 2: Describe how memories are organized and stored in the brain.

We now know that different types of memory involve different brain regions, which are connected together by cortical networks. We also know that some types of memory include conscious experiences and others do not. On the level of the neuron, we know that learning can influence connections of synapses with one another. The increase in connections can take place in all parts of the brain, which allows for greater activation in the future. Further, different brain areas connect with one another to allow for memories to involve any of the senses such as vision, hearing, and touch.

Working memory (short-term memory) is a memory process in which a limited amount of information is retained for a short time. MEG, EEG, and fMRI studies show an increase in high-frequency activity during working memory tasks. Working memory involves the frontal lobes and their connections with parietal areas. The neurotransmitter dopamine in the striatum also plays a critical role in working memory.

In essence when we remember past events (long-term memory), our brain shows a pattern of activation that is very similar to how our brain responded to the initial event. That is, it is as if every memory is a reenactment in the original event. Damage to parts of the medial temporal lobe impairs the ability to move events occurring in the present into long-term memory. In this way, it is critical to memory consolidation. Two specific areas that are parts of the medial temporal lobes are critically involved in memory networks—the hippocampus and the amygdala.

The first area is the hippocampus, which is important to memory, especially spatial memory. In fact, it has been suggested that the hippocampus is important for a spatial map of one’s world. The hippocampus is involved in four aspects of memory: (1) spatial memory; (2) the timing of events such as would be seen in autobiographical memory (that is, we know events happened in a specific order in our life and the hippocampus works with other areas of the brain to determine which events are encoded with which other events); (3) putting together sensory information—how did it smell? what did it look like? how did it feel?—with other aspects of the task —did I like it? where did it take place? and so forth; (4) as shown by the experience of H.M., the hippocampus is important in the consolidation of memories from short-term to long- term memory.

Specific emotionally arousing public events have come to be called flashbulb memories. People will report that they remember exactly where they were when they heard the news and give vivid and elaborate descriptions with great certainty. Flashbulb memories typically refer to those events that a person heard about rather than being directly involved in. Although, in the past, flashbulb memories were thought to involve special memory systems, current research suggests they are part of normal memory mechanisms. Further, although remembered with confidence, they are subject to the same types of distortions as are other memory processes.

Learning Objective 3: Describe how people differ in their memory abilities.

Clearly people differ in their memory abilities. You might have been surprised in a restaurant that even when there were ten or more people at the table, the server was able to take everyone’s order without writing it down.

Memory problems can be seen after a variety of traumas. Many people who have a concussion, for example, will not be able to remember the period during which their head was hit. This is an example of a memory problem of only a few minutes. However, those who have had a stroke in which blood is not available to specific brain areas may be unable to recall specific information that they once knew. The inability to recall information is referred to as amnesia. Retrograde amnesia refers to the situation in which a person cannot remember events prior to the trauma to the brain. Depending on the location of the trauma to the brain, different people may show different types of memory deficits. Anterograde amnesia, on the other hand, is the situation in which the person is not able to form new memories.

Learning Objective 4: Discuss the key theories of how we create false memories and misinformation.

A false memory is one that is experienced as any other memory and you believe to be true. False memory research has focused on the factors that cause us to remember an event in a manner that does not reflect a particular event accurately. If indeed when we remember an event, we reconstruct it in our brains, can we be led to perform inaccurate reconstructions? The answer to this question turns out to be yes. This has important implications for eye-witness testimony in court, how information- gathering techniques of governments are to be evaluated, and the factors that influence our memory.

Research has shown that a false memory could be induced in several ways, including (1) just by the manner in which a person is asked a question after an event; (2) by using the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) procedure. We remember things in terms of their meaning to us and each of the words in the list in the example is related to sleep, so we assume it was there. Further, we remember information in terms of networks or interconnection between different pieces of information. Remembering the words dream, nap, and drowsy activates the network that would also contain the word sleep. (3) By the use of imagination: imagining the event increases the number of individuals who reported that the event had actually happened to them. They also report more memories about this event. Thus, individuals can develop a memory of an event that did not happen simply by imagining its occurrence.

False-memory research has led to changes in legal procedures. A case was appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which resulted in the court issuing a new set of guidelines that reflected the reconstructive nature of memory and the various factors that can influence it. Specifically, jurors are now to be told that memory is not like a video recording, and it is not foolproof but can be influenced. Research has also shown that those in authority such as police officers, military personnel, and emergency responders are susceptible to memory errors during challenging incidents. In addition to problems with eye-witness testimony, police investigations at times ask leading questions, suggest events that did not happen, or pressure the person to report details that may be inaccurate. In fact, individuals may come to believe that they participated in or committed a crime that they did not.

Learning Objective 1: Describe the basic processes of classical conditioning.

Classical conditioning was first described at the turn of the last century by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Classical conditioning is the process in which two stimuli become associated with each other. One of these stimuli, such as food, will produce a natural response, such as salivation. In this case, salivation is referred to as the unconditioned response (UCR). Because the food stimulus will consistently produce a response, it is referred to as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Classical conditioning can work with any naturally occurring physiological process. The principles of classical conditioning work equally well both with emotionally positive and negative stimuli.

In studies of classical conditioning, it was noted that events that happened at about the same time as an unconditioned stimulus could themselves produce a response. After a time, the events alone will produce salivation. These types of events are referred to as conditioned stimuli (CS). Technically, we say that if the unconditioned stimulus is paired with another stimulus, the conditioned stimulus, then after a number of times of pairing, the conditioned stimulus alone will produce the natural response. This response is referred to as a conditioned response (CR). The process of pairing a UCS and a CS is referred to as acquisition. Extinction (absence of the CR) happens when the CS is repeatedly presented alone without the UCS. Spontaneous recovery (of the CR) can happen after the CS is again presented after a time delay.

Scientists have used the principles of classical conditioning to understand the experiences of those who use drugs. Initially, professionals were surprised to see physiological changes as the person was only preparing to take the drug. Even stranger was that the person showed reactions that were opposite to the normal effects of the drug. We now know that these opposite responses were the body’s way to prepare for the negative effects of the drug.

Phobias can be the result of simple conditioning. John Watson worked with a normal 9-month-old child named Little Albert. Initially, Little Albert was conditioned by pairing a white rat and a loud noise. After this, any furry animal such as a rabbit would produce the same fear response. This is referred to as generalization.

A type of learning that does not follow simple conditioning procedures is food aversion. One of the early researchers in the 1950s to study taste aversion was John Garcia. In fact, the phenomenon of taste aversion is often referred to as the Garcia effect. From an evolutionary perspective, this is a critical mechanism. To learn quickly that a food is bad for you could prevent you from experiencing a number of trials until you learned that a certain food was bad for your health.

Robert Ader was able to show that the immune system, like other physiological systems, could be classically conditioned. Dating back to Russian studies in the 1920s, it has been shown that immune system responses such as antibody production could be conditioned. That is, if a drug that produced these responses was paired with a neutral stimulus as in normal classical conditioning, the neutral stimulus alone could produce the immune system response.

We habituate to a repeated stimulus because its repeated occurrence carries with it no new information. The first time we experience it, it could be signaling danger or other information important to our existence. We may need to adapt to protect ourselves. However, once we know we are not receiving new information, there is no need to respond. This is part of our evolutionary history in which organisms use their energy for events that are important and reduce their energy expenditure for those that are not. Habituation is thus a natural response for regulating our cognitive and emotional energy. The opposite of habituation is sensitization.

Learning Objective 2: Describe the basic processes of operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is the type of learning in which the frequency of the behavior is controlled by its consequences. The behaviors that an organism performs is referred to as operant responses. The term operant is the combination of two terms, operate and environment. Thus, they are behaviors that operate on the environment to produce consequences. In the case of your dog, the behavior may be a trick and the consequence may be receiving food.

Thorndike formulated his law of effect. That is, when the cat made a response that led to the opening of the door and food (the satisfying effect), then the cat would be more likely to perform that same response again. The opposite is also true. If the response produces discomfort, then those responses will be reduced. The second way Thorndike influenced the study of learning was to graph the animal’s response, which is referred to as a learning curve.

B. F. Skinner was the person who most influenced the study of learning in psychology during the middle of the last century. Skinner coined the term operant behavior to refer to the behavior that an organism produces that influences its environment. If the behavior (for example, pressing the bar) is reinforced (for example, receiving food), then its occurrence will increase. In order to study learning, Skinner developed a simplified version of Thorndike’s puzzle box. This came to be known as a Skinner box. One advantage of the Skinner box over the puzzle box was that the animal stayed in the box and could continue learning the response.

Reinforcement and punishment influence the likelihood that behaviors will be performed. The meaning of positive in the case of both positive reinforcement and positive punishment refers to something being added, which changes the likelihood of a response. Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood that the response will increase. Positive punishment increases the likelihood that the response will decrease. In Skinner’s terminology, there is also negative reinforcement and punishment. In this case removing an event changes the likelihood that it will occur. Negative reinforcement occurs when the likelihood of a behavior is increased by the removal of an event. Typically, the event is aversive to the organism. Negative punishment occurs when the likelihood of a behavior is decreased by the removal of an event.

Skinner realized that how reinforcers are administered can determine how behaviors are emitted. If the reinforcement follows every operant response, it is referred to as continuous reinforcement. If the reinforcement only sometimes follows the operant response, it is referred to as partial reinforcement. Typically, continuous reinforcement is used to shape and train the animal to perform the desired response.

Learning Objective 3: Summarize the types of learning that occur during imprinting, play, observational learning, and imitation learning.

Ethology is the study of animals and what they do. At the heart of ethology is the naturalistic observation of behavior within an organism’s natural environment. Ethology assumes that behavioral processes have been shaped through evolution to be sensitive to environmental conditions. Thus, behavior can be understood only within the context of a particular environment. One of the pioneers in the field of ethology was Konrad Lorenz. One of the important contributions of Lorenz to psychology was the study of imprinting. Imprinting is a built-in pattern in which birds such as ducks and geese follow an object, usually their mother, which moves in front of them during the first 18 to 36 hours after birth.

Play is seen in all human cultures and across a variety of animal species. Play appears to be preparation for future developmental stages, although the participants remain unaware of its future potential. They enjoy it for what it is. Play is thought to be important and to have profound value for the individual. That is, play helps the child learn relationship roles that will be needed in adulthood. In all species, play also is important for learning physical skills.

Observational learning is when an organism watches another organism perform an activity and copies it. In this sense, it is different from other types of learning. With classical or operant conditioning, the individual organism directly experiences the events. Observational learning, on the other hand, does not involve the person doing anything but watching. Observational learning is also referred to as social learning. It is seen across a number of species as an efficient way of acquiring new information. Observational learning is also referred to as imitation learning. That is, we see an action and our brain considers how we might make it ourselves, although we don’t do this consciously.

Although the basic principles of classical and operant conditioning are seen throughout nature, not every species can be conditioned in the same way. The evolutionary history of a specific species plays an important role in determining the nature of conditioning. As we look across our own evolutionary history, we can see how the mechanisms of learning are critical for our lives. We need to know which foods are important for us. We need to know where there is danger. We need to know which people are safe to be with and which are not. We come into the world ready and willing to learn a language.

Learning Objective 4: Describe the process of how we learn a language.

Learning a language is something that is available to humans everywhere. In an amazing manner, a human infant can acquire any of the more than 6,000 languages present on earth. Environmental factors of course determine which languages any of us learns.

The human embryo can distinguish vowels in utero although grammatical complexity is not fully mastered until at least 7 years of age. Infants prefer their mother’s voice over that of other females and their native language over other languages. By the sixth month of life, infants are able to distinguish any sound (phoneme) in any language on earth. By 12 months of age, infants have more difficulty making these same distinctions in languages that are not their own (Kuhl, 2004). In terms of vocalization, during the first month of life, the human infant produces a wide variety of sounds that are assumed to be precursors to speech. By the second month, the infant produces “cooing” like sounds, especially in the context of interactions with others. It has been estimated that infants understand about 50 words in their native language by year one. They also begin to lose the ability to recognize phonemes from any language other than their own. By a year and a half, children can understand about 150 words and produce about 50 words. By two years of age, most infants have combined simple words and continue during the next year to reflect the grammatical rules of their language. By age 3, children have demonstrated implicit rules of grammar. By age 4, a child is able to have conversations and demonstrate an implicit understanding of grammar. Over time, the child’s vocabulary increases such that he or she knows about 10,000 words in the first grade and 50,000 in the fifth grade.

Language is a system of communicating with others using words that convey meaning and are combined according to the rules of grammar. When we think about language, there are at least five factors that should be considered. First, a language is regular and has rules that we call a grammar. Second, language is productive. That is to say, there are an almost infinite number of combinations of words that a language can use to express thoughts. Third, language is arbitrary in that across languages any word can refer to anything. Fourth, languages are discrete in that sentences can be divided into words and words into sounds. And fifth, languages are linear in that words are presented one after the other. Further, for psychologists, language is special in that it can help us to describe both the internal world that we experience personally and the external work that we experience around us.

The basic sound of a language is the phoneme. The study of the ways phonemes can be combined in a language is called phonology. The next level of analysis is a morpheme— the smallest meaningful unit of a language. The next level of analysis is syntax—the structure of a sentence and the rules that govern it. Syntax describes the way we string words together. Finally, semantics is the study of meaning. That is, how do we understand what is being said?

Learning Objective 5: Identify the parts of the brain that are active in language.

Spoken language is first perceived in Wernicke’s area, which is related to the processing of auditory information. This information is then transmitted by pathways to Broca’s area. Broca’s area is related to speech production. Studies from individuals with some form of brain damage suggest that Broca’s area is involved in not only the production of speech but also syntax, which includes grammatical formations involving verbs. Individuals with damage in Wernicke’s area do not have similar problems producing speech, but with those aspects related to the meaning of the words, especially nouns.

Recent brain-imaging studies have shown brain activation in the individual’s left hemisphere in those areas associated with motor responses, such as the primary motor cortex, the premotor cortex, and the supplementary motor cortex as well as areas in both hemispheres around Broca’s area.

Learning Objective 1: Describe the concepts and categories involved in making decisions.

We commonly use our concepts and categories to help us make decisions. A concept is an abstract idea or representation. We tend to use categories to organize concepts that have shared features. Researchers often use the term bounded rationality in watching humans make decisions. What this means is that our decisions are limited or bounded by a number of factors. Three information-limiting factors are (1) the amount of information we have, (2) our cognitive abilities, and (3) the amount of time available to make the decision. Fast thinking or decision-making occurs quickly with little or no effort, and little sense of you being actively involved in the process. Slow thinking requires more effort, and we experience ourselves as a part of the thinking process. Behavioral economics uses behavioral and neuroscience research to understand how humans make decisions. People do not make decisions in isolation, but in relation to other choices as well as how these choices are framed and the effort required. For example, more people accept deductions from their pay checks if they do not have to make a decision about them. That is, if given a choice to opt-in (agree to a deduction) or opt-out (agree to not take the deduction), most people will go with the alternative that does not require them to make a decision.

Learning Objective 2: Discuss the processes involved in solving problems.

An insight problem is a problem that requires a person to shift her perspective and view the problem in a different way. The solution often comes suddenly. This has been referred to as the “aha” or “eureka” moment. Suddenly, you know the answer. The answer is often a reorganization of the information available and seeing the situation in a new light. To be fixed on a limited view of how an object is used is referred to as functional fixedness. Although functional fixedness may hurt our ability to solve insight problems, it does have the evolutionary value of helping us limit our alternatives. This saves us valuable energy and time.

Learning Objective 3: Describe the different ways that intelligence is measured.

Intelligence is defined as the ability to learn from and adapt to our environment by solving problems and predicting what might happen next. This is a broad understanding of intelligence. There is also a narrower definition that refers to how we perform on tests of intelligence and compare to others.

Alfred Binet (1857–1911) and his associate Théodore Simon developed a measure of mental abilities, the Binet–Simon Intelligence Scale, in 1905. In choosing items for the scale, Binet selected tasks such as telling time from a clock, naming parts of their body, knowing the definition of words, repeating a series of numbers, and copying geometric figures. Binet helped establish the modern tradition of viewing intelligence as a composite of different abilities that relate to learning about and solving problems related to one’s environment. Binet’s test and basic ideas were brought to the United States. It was modified by Lewis Terman at Stanford University in 1916 and became known as the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales.

William Stern (1871–1938) turned the concept of mental age into a ratio by dividing mental age by chronological age. The concept of IQ or intelligence quotient is calculated by the following: Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = mental age divided by chronological age times 10.

Today, the most common intelligence measures are the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The test structure of the WAIS is directed at four major abilities. These are verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.

Charles Spearman’s research led to his development of a two-factor theory of intelligence. He suggested that each measure of intelligence is composed of two factors. The first factor is related to the specific test itself, such as the ability to do math or language. The second factor, based on the correlation between measures, is a global factor. Spearman referred to this general cognitive ability as “g” or general intelligence.

Howard Gardner sought to define intelligence within the context of different domains with his theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner suggested there are eight separate intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

Learning Objective 4: Identify five cognitive domains that are associated with general intelligence.

Timothy Salthouse identified five different cognitive domains that are associated with general intelligence. These five domains are reasoning, spatial ability, memory, processing speed, and vocabulary. Salthouse proposed that it is possible to find different measures of a particular domain such as reasoning that are highly correlated with one another. In turn, the five domains are correlated with the general intelligence factor called “g.”

Salthouse not only looked at the relationship of specific domains with “g” but also how these change with age. As one grows older, there is a decrease in processing speed (digit symbol coding) and memory (digit span). Reasoning and spatial ability tend not to change, whereas one’s vocabulary improves. It is also the case that language comprehension remains stable although language production, such as finding the right word, becomes more difficult.

Learning Objective 5: Discuss the genetic factors associated with intelligence.

Genetic factors have been associated with intelligence. In fact, intelligence is one of the most heritable behavioral traits. Research over the past 50 years has consistently shown that genes influence cognitive abilities. In terms of IQ, MZ twins show a higher correlation of IQ scores between the two twins (.86) than DZ twins do (.60). In this study, both types of twins were reared in the same household. Like DZ twins, parents and their children, as well as siblings, show the same amount of genetic similarity, which is .5. If raised in the same home, they show a correlation between IQ scores of about .42.

One particular genetic factor found in the Scottish Study of intelligence was the APOE gene. The researchers discovered that those individuals with a variant of the APOE gene, referred to as the APOE 4 allele, showed more cognitive decline even in the absence of a neurocognitive disorder.

Maintaining intellectual functioning throughout life has become a popular topic in the media. What is known is that physical exercise has a profound effect on brain function in both humans and animals. Exercise protects and restores the brain through increased blood flow and other mechanisms. This results in functional and structural changes throughout the brain.

People today perform much better on IQ tests than did those of earlier generations. Soldiers, for example, showed increases in intelligence measures between World War I and World War II. This effect has been found across the world and in all ethnic/racial groups. This has been referred to as the Flynn Effect after James Flynn who studied this effect using the major IQ tests in the United States. One of the most debated topics in relation to IQ is group differences. These groups include differences in socioeconomic level (SES), race, and gender.

Learning Objective 1: Discuss the processes that influence how people are motivated.

Motivation is defined as the process that makes a person move toward a goal-directed behavior. Psychologists focus more on the mechanisms that create the states traditionally referred to as needs and drives. One characteristic of needs or drives is that there is a goal state that is sought. We can think of experiences such as being hungry as having the goal of finding food. We can also describe the subjective experience of feeling satisfied after eating. On a physiological level, we can consider the changes that take place in the gastrointestinal system and the brain structures that interact. One term used to describe this process is homeostasis.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid describes five basic sets of needs: (1) physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, sleep, breathing, and sexuality; (2) safety needs, which include the need for security, stability, protection, and order; (3) belongingness and love needs, which include the desire to be part of a family or group; (4) esteem needs, which include the desire for achievement, mastery, competence, and independence; (4b) a subset of esteem needs, which include the desire for reputation, prestige, status, and appreciation; and (5) the need for self-actualization, representing a person’s desire for self- fulfillment.

To perform behaviors for the seeking of rewards is referred to as extrinsic motivation. We perform behaviors because we enjoy it. We play video games, listen to music, read books, or exercise for the experience itself. This is referred to as intrinsic motivation.

Learning Objective 2: Summarize the mechanisms that affect our motivation for food.

Food plays an important role in the life of humans. On a basic level, we need food to supply energy to support our daily functioning. The desire for food can be seen on a number of levels going from culture to genes. Food also plays an important role in our social and cultural life.

Feeling hungry and feeling full is also a homeostatic system that balances the intake of calories and their expenditure to perform the functions of our body. This is a complex system that monitors energy available and that involves both our gastrointestinal (GI) system and the brain. In fact, our brain is a major component of metabolism that is involved in the creation of energy. Over the past three decades, research involving appetite regulation has identified numerous hormones that influence feeling hungry and feeling full. It is also these mechanisms that keep our weight fairly stable.

There are three pillars for understanding how the brain controls appetite. The first pillar is neurons in the hypothalamus that, when activated, make us feel hungry. These are referred to as AGRP (agouti-related protein) neurons in that they produce a protein which acts to increase appetite. The activity of these neurons is more involved with food seeking rather than its consumption. The second pillar is circuits of neurons involving the lateral hypothalamus. These circuits are related to the consumption of food and the positive effects of eating. The third pillar is neurons in the hypothalamus that suppress eating when activated. They produce a protein referred to as CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide). After we eat food, hormones are released in the gastrointestinal system. These hormones signal a number of factors including the nature of the foods eaten, and, in turn, go to our brain, especially the hypothalamus. In one part of the hypothalamus, there are two different sets of neurons.

CDC data suggest that 33.9% of Americans over the age of 20 are obese and 34.4% are overweight. There is a difference in these statistics by state. All states show an increase in obesity over the past 20 years. In terms of adolescents, there has also been an increase in obesity for both boys and girls in the latest data over 20 years. The three major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.

Learning Objective 3: Explain the factors that affect our sexual motivation.

Sexuality is a driving force in many species including humans. Most primates only engage in sexual activity when there is a high probability of producing offspring. Humans, on the other hand, may engage in sexual activity at any time. Humans use the internal experience of sexual arousal and the external experience of sexual activity for a variety of purposes. This suggests that sexual activity for humans goes beyond basic motivation and has an important pair bonding and social component.

Humans have depicted sexual activities in paintings and carvings for thousands of years. Some of the more famous are Etruscan ceramic plates, showing a variety of sexual positions dating from some 2,500 years ago in Italy. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe and the United States, some cultures have seen sexual activity as a negative force in human life. Also, in the 1800s, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and Havelock Ellis began to approach sexuality from a scientific perspective. In the 1930s, Alfred Kinsey conducted a large-scale survey of some 12,000 individuals across the United States. The results of these surveys were published in two books: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). In 1947, the Institute for Sex Research was established at Indiana University with Alfred Kinsey as director. This was later renamed the Kinsey Institute and continues performing research related to sexuality.

In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed a national sample of 10,416 males and females in the United States. Among males and females 15–44 years of age, 92% of males and 94.2% of females have had vaginal intercourse. Further, 87.4% of males and 86.2% of females have had oral sex with a member of the opposite sex. Anal sex with the opposite sex was lower: 42.3% for males and 35.9% for females. In this survey, any reported same-sex contact was 6.2% for males and 17.4% for females. This included people who saw themselves as bisexual and homosexual/lesbian. This survey was updated from 2002 and 2011 surveys, which showed similar results.

In studying the sexual responses of males and females, Masters and Johnson realized that there was a similarity in how men and women experienced the sexual experience (Masters & Johnson, 1966). They identified four phases of the human sexual response, which are (1) excitement; (2) plateau; (3) orgasm; and (4) resolution.

Learning Objective 4: Discuss the scientific understanding of emotionality.

An emotion is a positive or negative feeling that is in response to a particular behavior or physiological activity. Also, emotions are not only expressed in our faces, but also in our voice and touch as when we hug one another.

One critical scientist in the study of emotions is Charles Darwin. In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Darwin portrays a careful observation of emotionality. Throughout his book, Darwin presents drawings and photographs of people and animals as they express different emotions. The common theme is that emotions are universal and represent an example of evolution through natural selection.

By the end of the 20th century, researchers such as Paul Ekman had followed Darwin’s tradition by studying facial expressions cross-culturally and demonstrating the universality of emotional expression. For example, Ekman performed interesting research in New Guinea by showing individuals different emotional facial expressions and asking them to tell a story that causes the person to look the way they were in the picture. He also performed the research in reverse manner, in which a story was told without using emotional terms. The person was then asked which of a series of emotional faces would best represent the person in the story. This type of research supported the idea that both emotional recognition and emotional expression were universal.

Learning Objective 5: Discuss the major theories of emotion.

Historically, emotions have been described in terms of three separate components. These are the physiological response, the behavioral response, and the emotional experience or feeling. Throughout the 20th century, three major approaches were suggested to describe the nature of emotion generation. These were the James–Lange theory developed in the 1880s, the Cannon–Bard theory developed in the 1920s, and the Schachter–Singer theory developed in the 1960s. One key element in these theories was the role of the brain and the role of the peripheral physiological activity.

Several brain areas play key roles in the experience of emotion. First, the medial prefrontal cortex has a general role in many emotional tasks. Second, fear specifically engages the amygdala. Third, sadness was associated with activity in the subcallosal cingulate. Fourth, if the person viewed emotional material, then the occipital lobe was activated along with the amygdala. Fifth, if memory or imagery was used to create the emotional experience, then the insula and anterior cingulate was activated. And sixth, in emotional tasks that required cognitive effort, activation was seen in the anterior cingulate and the insula. Emotional memory tasks involve the hippocampus to a greater extent than some other structures. Fear processing includes the amygdala. Seeing emotional faces includes the fusiform face area (FFA) of the temporal lobe. Overall, in research utilizing emotional stimuli and emotional responses, the limbic system has been shown to be critical.

Learning Objective 1. Defi ne stress and the ways people experience and respond to stress.

Stressis commonly defined as a response that is brought on by any situation that threatens a person’s ability to cope. Scientists speak of the stress response as a response to a critical situation that allows an organism to avoid danger or reduce other types of threat. Psychological factors play a critical role in how we experience stress. We can experience stress both from real situations and from our expectations of what might happen. Even after the event has passed, our body can continue to display characteristics of stress. If you perceive there is danger, your body immediately reacts. Adrenalin is released and blood is sent to your legs to supply biochemical substances so that you can run. To help in the process, your heart rate and lung capacity is increased. Processes that you don’t need such as the digestion of food or your sexual responses are inhibited. This has been referred to as the fight or flight response.

Learning Objective 2. Discuss the early approaches to the study of stress.

In the early 1900s, the French physiologist Claude Bernard realized that the brain had circuits that were specialized for monitoring and controlling internal events that he referred to as the internal milieu. These internal states included physiological processes such as thirst, temperature, and metabolism. This idea of an internal monitoring of bodily states underlies the development of the concept of homeostasis as described previously. In 1915, Walter Cannon at Harvard developed the concept of homeostasis to reflect the manner in which a physiological system tended to center on a set point. Homeostasis is the process in which the body keeps itself in balance. Like a thermostat, if you become too hot, your body sweats to reduce heat by processes such as sweating and if you become cold, your metabolism is increased. Another major figure in the history of stress research was the Hungarian endocrinologist Hans Selye who worked at the University of Montreal. His work in the 1930s helped to set up the connection between stress and the development of diseases. One of Selye’s early findings was that the body reacts similarly to a variety of different stressors. Selye called this response the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Bruce McEwen has begun to suggest a more flexible set of processes that involve the brain in the regulation of the body’s reaction to stress. McEwen begins by suggesting that part of the problem in understanding stress is the ambiguous meaning of the term stress. He suggests that the term stress be replaced with the term allostasis. Allostasis refers to the body’s ability to achieve stability through change. His view emphasizes the brain as the means of stability, which can be accomplished in a number of different ways. That is, there is not just one single response to stress according to McEwen.

Learning Objective 3. Describe the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) consists of the neural circuitry that controls the body’s physiology. This physiology involves the smooth muscle organs and tissues as well as the other organs such as the heart, gastrointestinal, genital, and lung systems (see Figure 11‑2). Along with the endocrine system, the ANS manages continuous changes in blood chemistry, respiration, circulation, digestion, reproductive status, and immune responses. Two branches of the ANS are the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Learning Objective 4. Discuss the research that suggests that social relationships provide a protective mechanism in improving health and managing stress.

Research suggests that people with social support live longer, whereas those who are isolated display more detrimental health problems. For example, there are a variety of studies that show a strong relationship between social isolation and subsequent cardiovascular morbidity. Overall, social support reduces cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress, and lack of social support is associated with increased resting levels of sympathetic activation. Thus, lack of social support may itself be a stressor.

Based on the studies examining social relationships and health, Taylor and Gonzaga (2006) developed a social shaping hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that early social relationships can shape the manner in which a person’s biological, social, and behavioral processes respond to a variety of situations including stressful ones. For these researchers, social shaping has three functions.

1. Early relationships can calibrate how those systems involved in stress responses will develop.
2. Social relationships help to regulate the stress response in terms of day-to-day experiences. Social relationships tend to buffer stress responses, whereas the lack of social relationships tends to exaggerate the responses.
3. Social relationships can serve as a source of information as to the nature of the present environment. The information can be presented directly or indirectly.

Learning Objective 5. Explain the role of behavioral and emotional processes in the expectation of health outcomes.

During the 20th century, psychologists became health care professionals. This represents an understanding that treatment of most disorders involves a strong behavioral and emotional component. In fact, different individuals recover differently from the same disorder. This has led to both research and treatment studies involving psychological factors and health. Overall, it became clear that culture, lifestyle, as well as physical components such as genetics needed to be considered to understand health and disease.

Learning Objective 1: Defi ne what it means to be social.

As humans, we are social creatures. There has never been a time in our history where we humans have lived alone. From the earliest times as hunter-gatherers, we have lived in social groups with strong social bonds. It is these groups that have shaped our social skills and abilities. For example, we need to know who our friends are as opposed to who might want to hurt us. We also need to be able to select mates. Further, we need to understand the dynamics of our larger group. These abilities have been passed down over evolutionary time and are part of our human social interactions today.

Learning Objective 2: Discuss the role that social cognition plays in understanding how we form opinions and make decisions.

Social cognition refers to the manner in which we understand others. Social cognition is a broad term that can include our attributions about others, how we stereotype others, as well as our prejudice of others. Humans tend to attribute trait characteristics, such as being stupid, to others while using situational explanations, such as having the sun in our eyes, for ourselves. This is referred to as the fundamental attribution error or person bias. It is also another example of how humans conserve cognitive effort by ignoring situational information when making sense of others’ actions. Humans are motivated by two primary needs: (1) to form a coherent view of the world and (2) to gain control over our environment. Attributions are one way we create a world view that makes sense to us. There are two types of attributions. The first is internal or dispositional attribution. This is the situation in which observed behaviors are attributed to the internal state of the person. Saying someone is lazy when they do not get a job would be an example of internal attributions. The second type of attribution is external or situational attribution. As the name implies, this is the case where a person’s behavior is attributed to external factors. If you said your grade on a test was low because you were not given enough time, you would be attributing your behavior to an external or situational factor.

We make internal or external attributions based on three types of information: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness.

There is a tendency for individuals to view themselves, their worlds, their friends, and other aspects of themselves in an overly positive manner. Not only do we categorize whether another individual is like us (our in-group), we also determine who is not like us (our out-group). If someone is seen to be in our out-group we tend to see them in more negative terms, as less deserving, and as more responsible for any negative event in their life. Traditional categories of person perception include age, gender, and race. When we make inferences about a group of individuals that share similar characteristics, it is referred to as stereotyping.

Three aspects describe the mechanisms that support social stereotyping: social categorizing, stereotype activation, stereotype application. Whereas stereotyping involves more of a cognitive assessment, prejudice, on the other hand, reflects a more emotional evaluation.

Learning Objective 3: Discuss the role that social emotion plays in prosocial and helping behaviors.

Social emotions are those emotions that involve our interactions with other people in a social context. Examples of these emotions are embarrassment, jealousy, envy, and pride.

Since guilt and shame involve transgression against the conventions of the group, these have been called moral emotions. Research suggests that individuals’ shame experiences are more painful and intense than guilt experiences. Feelings of sympathy and guilt have been seen to motivate cooperative behavior and altruism. Additionally, guilt appears to help individuals keep commitments and thus maintain relationships.

Altruism is defined as helping another person when it does not directly benefit ourselves.

Learning Objective 4: Explain how social influences affect behavior.

We all have ideas of what to expect in different relationships. If you are going out on a first date, you would expect a different sequence of events than if you were going out with someone for the 50th time. Likewise, when you first meet someone, the types of conversations you have are typically different than if it is a close friend. In social interactions, there are scripts for what we say to one another. These scripts have both a cultural and a universal level. Overall, cultures have developed rules for allowing individuals to be part of the culture with minimal effort and conflict.

One traditional view of the self in social psychology is that it is made up of schemas or beliefs about oneself. These schemas help us define who we are and how we see ourselves. These schemas differ for different people. As humans, we have the ability to reflect on our internal processes. This allows individuals to self-regulate their behaviors or to have their behavior remain consistent with an external set of values. Our self-concept is also influenced by cultural factors. As noted previously, some cultures, such as the United States, emphasize individualism. That leads you to define yourself in terms of your individual abilities.

Our desire to be part of the group is a strong one. We conform even when we believe that our response is actually not correct. At times, people may think they would appear foolish if they gave a different answer. Other times, people may think that the other members of the group would be angry with them for being different. Clearly being part of a group is an important aspect of our human nature. Further, we process information differently in our brain when we conform to peer pressure than when we do not.

Learning Objective 5: Describe our understanding of the distinctive characteristics of moral judgment.

Steven Pinker suggests that there are two important hallmarks of moral judgments. The first is that these judgments are felt to be universal. Someone who thinks that rape or killing is wrong does not think that this only applies to their hometown, but to the entire world. In this sense, moral judgments are experienced differently from cultural ones. The second hallmark is the belief that committing immoral acts should be followed by punishment. People often say it is wrong to let someone “get away with it.” Thus, according to Pinker, humans not only make moral judgments, but also believe that immoral behavior should be punished

Learning Objective 1: Describe the historical influences on the early study of personality.

The study of personality is the study of internal dispositions or ways of being. Personality 549 The Greeks suggested that all things in the world, including personality and temperament, can be understood in terms of just four elements—earth, air, fire, and water. In the body, they thought that these four elements were connected with the humors—yellow bile (fire), blood (air), phlegm (water), and black bile (earth). About 100 years after Hippocrates, Theophrastus wrote a series of personality sketches he referred to as “characters.” Each of the characters described one or more psychological traits. These included the flatterers, the garrulous, the penurious, the tactless, the boors, and the surly.

In the early part of the 20th century, Carl Jung invented the terms introversion and extraversion to describe a person’s approach to the world. Extraversion was seen as a flow of energy outward to the world, whereas introversion was seen as a flow inward toward a person’s inner world. Also in the 20th century, Ernst Kretschmer in Germany and later William Sheldon in the United States sought to develop a personality system that combined physical body type with temperament. Sheldon suggested that an individual could be described in terms of three types. The endomorph body type is soft and round with a relaxed and sociable temperament. The mesomorph body type is muscular, strong, and low fat with an energetic and assertive temperament. The ectomorph body type is long and thin with more of a cerebral and introverted temperament. Later in the 20th century, Hans Eysenck translated the idea of Greek humors into modern psychological language in terms of two dimensions.

Learning Objective 2: Summarize the main ideas of the psychodynamic perspective on the development of personality.

Freud divides the mind into three parts: id, ego, and superego. The id is present at birth. It represents those instinctual processes that help us to obtain our basic needs. Beginning at about 3 years of age, the child learns to mediate his or her desires. This reflects the development of an ego. The ego is seen to be part of personality, which helps us navigate the demands between external requirements and our internal experiences. At a later point, an individual develops a moral sense, which directs our behaviors with one another. The structure is referred to as the superego and reflects perspectives we learn from our parents and our culture as well as our own moral development.

Freud also suggested there are stages of development that are often referred to as psychosexual development. At each of these stages there is a physical focus and a psychological theme. The first stage is referred to as the oral stage. The second stage is referred to as the anal stage of development. The third stage is referred to as the phallic stage, which lasts from 3 and a half to 7 years of age. This is followed by the latency phase, which lasts from 7 years of age to puberty. The final stage is the genital phase and represents an understanding of one’s sexuality and the development of mature relationships.

During Freud’s time, there were a number of professionals who took a psychodynamic approach and adopted or modified Freud’s ideas in their theories and the treatment of their patients. Alfred Adler emphasized social processes, especially in childhood, as important for personality development. Anna Freud placed more emphasis on the ability of the ego to live life and adapt to the demands of life. John Bowlby believed that early relationships with significant people in one’s life constituted a powerful role in relation to many personality factors. Two others who expanded the psychodynamic perspective were Carl Jung, who emphasized the evolutionary aspects of development, and Karen Horney, who emphasized social aspects of personality development.

Projective testing techniques were formally introduced in the first half of the 1900s as a means of detecting primary process types of thinking and feeling including instinctual and motivational processes. Two of the most well-known projective techniques are the Rorschach Inkblot and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

Learning Objective 3: Summarize the main ideas of the existential-humanistic approach to personality.

The major focus of existentialism was the nature of human nature and the meaning of life. One important aspect of the humanistic tradition was an emphasis on choice. Throughout our lives, we all make critical choices that determine who we are and how we live our lives. In this way, we express our personality by the choices we make. For the humanistic psychologists, these choices can lead to positive as well as negative outcomes. One critical aspect of these choices according to the existential-humanistic approach is our ability to be true to one’s self.

Learning Objective 4: Summarize the main ideas of the social cognitive theories of personality.

Social cognitive theories of personality are also referred to as social learning theories. These theories emphasize a person’s view of the world, that is, the person’s cognitive understanding of their environment. The social aspect is that many of these beliefs are the result of our interactions with others. In this sense, they are learned through our interactions. The research related to the social cognitive theory of personality typically focuses on how a person’s cognitive views of the world interact with situational variables to produce different behaviors.

Learning Objective 5: Summarize the main ideas of the current perspectives on personality.

Current perspectives on personality have tended to focus on the stability of personality traits. This is not to suggest that we do not act differently in very different situations. What personality does focus on is our long-term ways of relating to the world. As individuals move into adulthood and become employed, for example, there are changes in approaches to one’s environment. However, like intelligence, we can note differences between individuals as these changes take place.

Gordon Allport identified traits as the basic units of personality. He saw traits as “generalized and personalized determining tendencies—consistent and stable modes of an individual’s adjustment to his environment.” McCrae and Costa used a factor analytic approach to personality, which suggested five major personality dimensions. This is referred to as the five-factor model (FFM), often called the Big 5. These five dimensions include extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Over the last 40 years, a number of studies have shown consistent results on the heritability of the major five personality traits. Twin, adoption, and family studies have convincingly shown that each of the five personality traits is heritable in the range of 33% to 65%.

Using brain-imaging techniques, an initial study examined volume of brain areas associated with each of the five factors (DeYoung et al., 2010). Extraversion was associated with the volume of the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This is an area associated with the reward value of events. Given that those who are high in neuroticism see the world in an anxious and negative manner and are sensitive to threat, it is not surprising that limbic areas show greater volume. There was also reduced volume in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This area is associated with evaluation of self and emotional regulation. Agreeableness is associated with areas of the brain associated with socialness and understanding the actions of others. Conscientiousness was associated with volume in the areas involved in planned actions and guiding behavior.

Culture plays a role in how personality is expressed. Cultural factors in behaviors are easy to see. If you travel in different parts of this country, you quickly hear different ways of speaking English, including the words that are used. Behaviors that some may see as rude, such as stepping in front of another to get into a store, would be seen as normal by others. In our popular view of the world, we see the people of some cultures such as the Southern Mediterranean of Europe as more friendly and Northern Europeans as calm and stoic. Cultures can be described in terms of being collective or individual oriented. Collective cultures emphasize the manner in which each person is related to the group. There are duties that you are expected to show to your family, people you work with, and your community. China and some South American countries emphasize the collective aspects of their culture. Individual cultures, on the other hand, place more emphasis on the individual and his or her achievements. The United States, Australia, and part of Western Europe emphasize individualism.

A recent development in the consideration of personality from an evolutionary perspective is the idea that humans have evolved an ability to judge the personality of others. Part of this idea is based on the variety of social psychological research studies that have shown that humans are able to make quick judgments concerning the attributes of other humans. Not only are humans able to make quick judgments but these judgments reflect an accuracy of processing that one would not expect given the limited experience with the person and the complex possibilities available.

Learning Objective 6: Define the concept of self.

The self is seen as an adapting process that develops in terms of the social environment in which one lives. As such, the self requires a larger social context, which includes values, practices, and social interactions. Social psychologists see the self as involved in all aspects of human behavior. Self-esteem relates to the evaluation of the self and refers to the way we value and accept ourselves.

Paying attention to ourselves has raised a number of questions for those interested in neuroscience. From an evolutionary perspective, the brain has evolved distinct mechanisms for knowing ourselves, knowing how others respond to us, detecting threats from within the social group, and regulating actions in order to avoid being excluded from those groups. Knowing ourselves is a critical process. This relates to our self-concept, which draws on memory systems and prior learning.

The healthy person would see herself with identity, self-direction, and positive interpersonal relationships.

Learning Objective 1: Explain how psychological disorders are classified and diagnosed.

We can consider four important personal components in psychopathology: first, a loss of freedom or ability to consider alternatives; second, a loss of honest personal contact; third, a loss of one’s connection with one’s self and ability to live in a productive manner; and fourth, personal distress. In many psychological disorders, personal distress for a period of time is one of the criteria required for a diagnosis to be made. There is also a more global component in which the person’s behavior and experiences are considered to be different from cultural and statistical norms.

Stigma involves negative attitudes and beliefs that cause the general public to avoid others including those with a mental illness. Throughout the world, those with mental illness experience stigma. In many cultures, they are seen as different. When they are thus stigmatized, these individuals are no longer treated as an individual person, but only as part of a group that is different.

One of the major contributions of the 20th century toward understanding psychopathology was the creation of a reliable diagnosis and classification system. This system in the United States, referred to as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), made it easier for different mental health workers to label a disorder in the same way. For example, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was described in terms of “Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).”

Neuroscience techniques such as brain imaging and genetic analysis have been developed and are available in the research and clinical community. These techniques not only allow one to note the particular symptoms present as seen with DSM, but also to ask how the brain is involved in the disorder. Researchers have sought to determine the genetic components involved in particular disorders. We have discovered in children that ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is heritable, but that aggressive and disruptive conduct is not. A variety of genetic studies suggest that genetic factors account for about 82% of the variance in schizophrenia, suggesting that environmental factors are less critical in the development of schizophrenia.

We refer to a collection of symptoms that occur together and have a particular course of development over time as a syndrome. By describing disorders in terms of patterns of symptoms, Emil Kraepelin set the stage for diagnostic systems in both the United States and Europe.

A mental disorder contains five features: (a) a behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual; (b) reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction; (c) the consequences are clinically significant distress; (d) must not be merely an expectable response to common stressors and losses or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event; (e) is not primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society.

Research established mental illness was not a created concept by a given culture but rather part of the human condition in both its recognition and its prevalence. This set the stage for a development that came to be known as evolutionary psychopathology or Darwinian psychiatry.

Learning Objective 2: Describe the various types of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and mood disorders.

Anxiety is to be afraid of what might happen. Anxiety is about the future, whereas fear typically has a stimulus in the present. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized Psychological Disorders 602 by excessive anxiety and worry. Its diagnosis in a clinical setting requires that anxiety and worry have been present for more than 6 months. GAD is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in the United States. It is more commonly seen in women than men. Social anxiety disorder is characterized by marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. A panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that comes quickly and carries with it an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety, or fear.

A panic attack is a frequent cause of individuals going to a hospital emergency room. Agoraphobia is the condition in which a person experiences fear or anxiety when in public. A specific phobia is an anxiety disorder in which an individual experiences fear or anxiety to a particular situation or object. Common phobias are fear of snakes, spiders, flying, heights, blood, injections, and the dark.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive thoughts and feelings usually followed by behaviors in response to them. The thoughts are usually perceived as unpleasant and not wanted. A distinction is made between obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are generally unwelcome thoughts that come into our heads. Compulsions are the behaviors that individuals use to respond to their distressing thoughts. Overall, these behaviors are performed in order to reduce anxiety, gain control, or resist unwanted thoughts. Other compulsions, such as hand washing, are more avoidant in nature for fear of what one might say, do, or experience in a particular situation.

When depression is severe, it is referred to as major depressive disorder (MDD). With major depressive disorder, a person feels sad and empty and may display an irritable mood. These feelings may include hopelessness and be experienced over a number of days. Body experiences, such as difficulty sleeping and eating, are also common.

Bipolar disorder was previously referred to as manic-depressive disorder. Changes in mood are an important aspect of bipolar disorders. These include the intense sense of well-being along with high energy seen in mania and its opposite seen in depression. Changes in cognition and perception also accompany these states. In mania, thoughts seem to flow easily, and many individuals find themselves very productive during mania. The depressive episodes show the opposite picture with the person experiencing a bleak outlook, low energy in a world of black-and-white, and a wish to do little.

Mental illness has a strong connection with suicide (see Goldsmith, 2001, for an overview). Of those suicide attempts that lead to death, it is estimated that 90% of adults and 67% of youth would meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. The most common disorders associated with suicide are depression, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia, in that order. In bipolar and personality disorders, suicide is often associated with impulsiveness. With schizophrenia, it is more associated with active manifestation of the disorder. The rate of suicide among those with psychological disorders is highest in the three months following hospitalization.

Learning Objective 3: Discuss the dissociative disorders of depersonalization, dissociative amnesia, and dissociative identity disorder.

Dissociate disorders involve problems with memory. The dissociative experiences can last for a few minutes or hours but reoccur. They can also last for a longer period of time. Some of these experiences are severe and represent significant disruptions in the organization of identity, memory, perception, or consciousness. More pathological symptoms of dissociation are often connected with trauma and experiences greatly beyond the individual’s control. The main types include depersonalization–derealization disorder, dissociative amnesia, and dissociative identity disorder.

Learning Objective 4: Describe the main features and causes of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is part of a broad category of disorders referred to as schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Psychotic disorders involve a loss of being in touch with reality and are characterized by abnormal thinking and sensory processes. Individuals with a psychotic disorder may show delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech, abnormal motor behaviors, and negative symptoms.

The course of schizophrenia generally first becomes evident in adolescence or young adulthood. The initial phase is referred to as the premorbid phase. This is followed by a prodromal phase in which initial positive symptoms along with declining functioning can be seen. The next phase is the psychotic phase, where the positive psychotic symptoms are apparent. For most individuals, this phase occurs between 15 and 45 years of age with the onset being about five years earlier in males than females. This phase is marked by repeated episodes of psychosis with remission in between. The greatest decline in functioning is generally seen during the first five years after the initial episode. This phase is followed by a stable phase characterized by fewer positive symptoms and an increase in negative ones. Stable cognitive and social deficits also characterize this phase. The actual course of the disorder varies greatly across individuals.

The current research literature suggests that schizophrenia is a disorder that begins early in life. This has led some researchers to suggest that we consider schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental disorder. A variety of negative events can happen to a fetus, including infections and malnutrition. It has been shown, for example, that vitamin D deficiency and maternal infection during pregnancy can be seen as a risk for developing schizophrenia.

Environmental factors can also play a role in the development of schizophrenia. The basic idea is that environmental factors can influence the developing social brain and lead to the development of schizophrenia in those at risk. Greater amounts of stress are associated with greater chances of developing schizophrenia. Since schizophrenia tends to run in families and is seen throughout the world, it is assumed to have a genetic component. The risk of developing schizophrenia is much higher if someone else in your family also has the disorder.

Learning Objective 5: Discuss the basic characteristics of personality disorders.

The basic definition of a personality disorder is that it represents an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture. Further, the pattern is inflexible, stable, and generally begins in adolescence, and leads to distress or impairment. The characteristics of these disorders are especially apparent when these individuals find themselves in situations that are beyond their ability to cope. DSM-5 identifies ten personality disorders that form separate categories.

These ten disorders can be organized into three clusters. The first cluster is referred to as Cluster A and includes odd or eccentric disorders. These include schizoid personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder. The second cluster is referred to as Cluster B and includes dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders. These include antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder (BPD), histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. The third cluster is referred to as Cluster C and includes anxious or fearful disorders. These include avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

The diagnostic criteria in DSM–5 for antisocial personality disorder describe a person who shows a pattern of disregard for the rights of others. A person with this disorder must be 18 years old, and the personality style should have been present since 15 years of age. Before age 15, the person should meet criteria for a conduct disorder. Child conduct disorder includes aggression toward animals or people, destruction of property, deception or stealing, and serious rule violations.

Individuals who display signs of psychopathy show emotional detachment with a lack of empathy for the experiences of others (see Patrick, 2010, for an overview). They also show impulsive behavior and a callousness concerning their actions. These patterns are stable and difficult to change. Although individuals with this condition take a real toll on society, there is also a fascination by many with these individuals.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and a sense of self. These three factors interact with one another in such a manner that the person with BPD experiences a changing world without a solid sense of self.

Learning Objective 6: Discuss the neurodevelopmental disorders that begin early in a child’s life.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are those disorders that begin early in a child’s life. These can include problems in the development of language and cognitive, emotional, and motor problems. Two of these disorders are autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty in three separate areas. The first is social interactions. Children with autism do not connect with other children or adults in the manner that other children do. They do not look others in the eye or may appear to ignore others while being more interested in other aspects of their environment. The second area is communication. The communication patterns of those with autism spectrum disorder do not usually show the give-and-take of most conversations. The third area is behavioral processes. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder often display stereotypical behaviors and the desire to engage in the same behavior in a repetitive manner.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder of childhood that tends to develop before the age of 12. Although the conceptualization of ADHD has changed over the years, it currently includes two major dimensions. The first dimension is inattention. The second dimension is hyperactivity and impulsivity. There is some suggestion that hyperactivity problems may lessen as a child grows older whereas, attentional problems may increase, resulting in increasing difficulty with schoolwork. It is also possible that individuals with ADHD show characteristics of both inattention and hyperactivity.

Learning Objective 1: Discuss the history of psychopathology and its treatments.

Although the Greek and Roman periods saw individuals who attempted to understand psychopathology in a more humane way, this disappeared as their civilizations declined. As the Middle Ages approached, disease and especially mental illness was seen from the standpoint of a religious perspective with the devil being a major player. In 1330, a convent of the order of St. Mary of Bethlehem became the first institution for the mentally ill in England. Two hundred years later, King Henry VIII gave the institution a royal charter.

In the 1800s, there was a campaign in England to change the conditions of the patients, which led to the establishment of the Committee on Madhouses in 1815. This issued in a period of concern for the patients rather than seeing them as objects of curiosity as in the previous century. Treatment for patients during the 1800s brought new practices, including the therapeutic value of work. During this period, there was a spirit throughout the world to adopt a “moral treatment of the insane.” Three important individuals were Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) in the United States, Philippe Pinel (1745–1826) in France, and Vincenzo Chiarugi (1759–1820) in Italy. In the United States, Rush, who had signed the Declaration of Independence, is often seen as the father of American psychiatry and saw mental illness as a problem of the mind.

William Tuke (1732–1822) was a Quaker philanthropist. In 1796, near York, England, he created a Retreat for Persons Afflicted with Disorders of the Mind. This Quaker retreat carried with it the idea that the individuals who were there should be given respect as well as good food and exercise. Another individual who contributed to the American mental health movement was Dorothea Dix (1802–1887). She encouraged the American congress to give federal land to the states to establish mental hospitals in the same way they created land grant colleges in the 1860s. Although this bill was not passed, it is estimated that her work led to the establishment of some 40 mental hospitals in the US and Europe.

Learning Objective 2: Describe the psychological treatment perspectives for the treatment of mental disorders.

There are three approaches for the psychological treatment of mental disorders: psychodynamic approach, existential-humanistic approach, and the cognitive behavioral approach.

The psychodynamic perspective is based on the idea that psychological problems are manifestations of inner mental conflicts and that conscious awareness of those conflicts is a key to recovery. Historically, Sigmund Freud laid the foundation for this perspective. By the beginning of the 20th century, there was an understanding that psychological processes were an important source of information concerning mental illness. Psychodynamic therapy is based on Freud’s ideas and psychoanalysis was the first psychodynamic therapy to develop. Psychoanalysis treatment was based on the search for ideas and emotions that are in conflict and the manner in which an individual has relationships with other people. His specific treatment came to be called psychoanalysis.

The existential-humanistic perspective focuses on three themes: The first is an emphasis on human growth and the need for a positive psychology that moves beyond the discussion of stress and neurosis seen in the psychodynamic approaches. A second emphasis is that psychological health is more than just the absence of pathology. Not having a problem is not the same as finding meaning in one’s life. The third theme stresses the importance of not only considering the external world and a person’s relationship to it but also the internal world.

With the emphasis on experience, one well-known humanistic therapy is client-centered therapy.

Carl Rogers brought the humanistic movement to the forefront by creating client-centered therapy, also referred to as person-centered therapy. He was also one of the first psychologists to record therapy sessions so that they could be used for research. Rogers emphasized the relationship between the therapist and client as a critical key to effective therapy. There are three key characteristics of the client-centered approach: (1) empathic understanding, (2) unconditional positive regard, and (3) for the therapist to show genuineness and congruence.

The cognitive behavioral movement seeks to understand how cognitions are disordered or disrupted in mental disorders. Whereas humanistic therapies emphasize emotional processing, cognitive behavioral approaches emphasize thoughts and the manner in which a person thinks about her life and experiences. The basic idea is that psychological disturbances often involve errors in thinking. One real value of many cognitive behavioral approaches is that they have been tested empirically and presented in books and manuals that describe the steps involved in therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been developed for a variety of disorders. Overall, behavioral therapy focused on changing behaviors through conditioning principles, whereas cognitive behavioral therapy examined the manner in which thoughts influence behaviors. The behavioral perspective, as the name implies, has focused on the level of actions and behaviors.

Learning Objective 3: Summarize the biological approaches to treating mental disorders.

Medication plays an important role in the treatment of mental illness. In addition to medication, there are other treatment approaches that seek to directly change the physiological processes. These treatments range from the widespread prescribing of drugs to deal with psychological disorders to the less-often used but significant measures involving shock or electrical stimulation of the brain to the rarer use of neurosurgery.

Psychotropic Medications. Drugs that came to be called antidepressants for the treatment of depression such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were discovered by serendipity in the 1950s. SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) such as Prozac were developed later. These are typically used for the treatment of mood disorders. Benzodiazepines such as Valium have been used for the treatment of anxiety for at least 50 years. One significant event came in 1952 when a French naval surgeon was attempting to find medications to give before an operation to reduce stress. What he discovered was that an antihistamine substance, called chlorpromazine, left individuals feeling indifferent about their operation. Noticing its calming effect, he suggested that this might be useful in treatment of mental disorders. In particular, it was discovered that chlorpromazine (Thorazine) helped to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and became an important antipsychotic medication.

Electroconvulsive Therapy. Other current treatment approaches seek to influence the individual’s brain by changing the underlying electrical activity. Some of these treatments are seen as noninvasive. That is, there is no requirement that electrodes or other devices be placed inside the brain itself. The oldest of these techniques is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in which electrical activity disrupts the normal brain activity and produces convulsions. This electrical activity triggers a brief seizure of less than a minute, which most likely influences changes in brain chemistry and specific networks of the cortex. ECT has changed over the years with a reduction in motor convulsions and a reduction in the number of brain areas affected. It is seen as an effective treatment for those with severe depression that does not respond to other types of medication or psychotherapy.

Brain Stimulation. An alternative to ECT, referred to as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), disrupts the brain activity using magnetic stimulation to treat mental disorders, including depression. It has been known for a long time that electromagnetic activity can induce electrical changes in various materials.

Learning Objective 4: Summarize the effective treatment options for mental disorders.

Anxiety is a common experience of many individuals that they may report to many types of health professionals. These individuals are often given medications such as benzodiazepines or offered one of the types of psychotherapy described previously. Studies using psychodynamic, existential-humanistic, and cognitive behavioral approaches have all reported reductions in anxiety. At this point, both medications and psychological treatments show similar reductions in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in the short term.

Social Anxiety Disorder. There are a number of psychological therapies that have been developed for treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). These therapies include CBT, exposure therapy, social skills training, and group CBT. These different approaches may also be combined in different ways. Both CBT-type therapies and medication have been shown to be effective with SAD. CBT-type therapies show larger changes with fewer side effects than medications. Medications appear to show a faster reduction in anxiety initially. However, following treatment when no additional medication or psychotherapy is offered, there is a greater relapse with medication treatment than with CBT therapy.

Specific Phobias. It is commonly accepted that phobias are best treated by exposure to the feared object. Lars Öst has shown in a number of studies that a phobia such as fear of snakes or spiders can be significantly reduced after a single three-hour session, although similar results are found in a larger number of shorter sessions. During the session, the therapist would bring the feared object closer to the person until she was able to touch it with reduced fear.

Panic Disorder. The currently preferred medication treatments for panic disorder are SSRIs, which have been shown to be more effective than placebo treatments. Benzodiazepines have also been shown to be effective. The best-studied psychological treatment for panic disorder is CBT, which has been shown to be effective.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Both psychopharmacological and behavioral therapies have been shown to be effective for OCD. The most common medications are SSRIs and the tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine.

Depression. Both medication and a number of different psychological approaches have been shown to be effective. Additionally, the combination of both is also very effective.

Bipolar Disorder. The main treatment goals are to optimize function and minimize symptoms and to establish mood stability. There is no accepted treatment for bipolar disorder that does not involve some form of medication. Because its symptoms may vary from depression to mania and this occurs in an irregular manner, there are fewer medications available for bipolar disorder. Most professionals recommend a combination of medication and psychotherapy and other types of support, including family involvement, for those with bipolar disorder.

Dissociative Disorders. Although some dissociative disorders such as dissociative amnesia may resolve on their own, others such as dissociative identity disorder (DID) require long-term treatment. The basic procedure for treating DID is typically long-term psychotherapy. In therapy, a focus on the relationship between the client and the therapist is important. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), existential-humanistic, and dynamic approaches have been used in various combinations.

Schizophrenia. Until about the 1960s, individuals with schizophrenia were placed in mental hospitals, often with little real treatment other than controlling them. With the advent of medications in the middle of the past century, it became possible for individuals with schizophrenia to live within community or home settings. In fact, individuals with schizophrenia tend to show more positive mental health behaviors when living within a community. Today, after initial hospitalizations to gain control over symptoms, many individuals with schizophrenia return to their family. Other individuals continue their education or work. Some individuals are able to be productive and succeed in high-level jobs with appropriate support. However, some individuals with schizophrenia become homeless and are at the mercy of their community. In many communities, it becomes the role of the police and others to help protect these individuals.

Personality Disorders. Personality disorders are difficult to treat. This is in part related to the fact that one individual with a personality disorder may show different signs and symptoms than another. Additionally, individuals with personality disorders find it difficult to maintain a close intimate relationship with their therapist. Because of this, psychotherapy for personality disorders is more individual focused than that for other disorders. At this point, research studies have shown that treatments based on both cognitive behavioral and dynamic perspectives have been effective. Medications have not been used as a direct treatment, but only as an adjunct.

B

• behavior: simply the way we act. Behavior includes our actions and those of others in a variety of situations. We see behavior all around us and make inferences about its meaning
• behavioral and experiential perspective: examines the behavior and experience observed in psychopathology, especially the manner in which the signs and symptoms of a particular disorder are seen in a similar manner throughout the world
• behavioral economics: a primary focus of economics is the consideration of decision and choice. Unlike traditional economics, which suggests that humans optimize their choice in a rational manner, behavioral economics uses behavioral and neuroscience research to understand the factors involved. That is, people do not make decisions in isolation, but in relation to other choices as well how these choices are framed and the effort required
• behavioral genetics: the study of genetic and environmental contributions to behavior. A fundamental question addressed is the manner in which genes and the environment work together to shape behavior
• behavioral perspective: a psychological approach focused only on actions and behaviors, not internal processes or aspects of consciousness
• behaviorism: at the beginning of the 1900s, behaviorism adopted a strict form of empiricism, the idea that knowledge should be derived through our sensory processes. The idea was that psychology could become a science like physics, but all that should be studied is observable behavior. This was in direct opposition to the use of introspection
• binge-eating disorder: characterized by the consumption of large amounts of food and the sense that one cannot control his or her eating behavior
• biopsychosocial: in 1977 in the scientific journal Science, George Engel introduced the term biopsychosocial which refers to biological, psychological, and social variables. An integrative perspective that includes all three of these domains can offer a fuller picture of human behavior and experience
• bipolar disorder: previously referred to as manic-depressive disorder; a mood disorder characterized by the experience of both depression and mania
• blind controls: research participants who do not know whether they are in the experimental group or the control (placebo) group
• bodily kinesthetic intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, bodily kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements
• body mass index (BMI): a measure of obesity; an indirect measure of body fat based on a person’s height and weight
• borderline personality disorder (BPD): one of the dramatic emotional personality disorders (Cluster B); characterized by an instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and sense of self
• brain stem: the brain stem includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla. These structures are involved in basic life functions, including breathing, digestion, levels of arousal, pleasure, and physiological processes such as heart rate and blood pressure. Movements controlled by the brain stem tend to be whole body movements rather than the finer hand movements connected with neocortical control. Across species, movements related to the brain stem tend to be more of an instinctual nature, such as those seen in a startled organism
• bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder involving periods of overeating in which the person feels out of control, followed by purging
• bystander intervention: understanding the factors involved in helping led to a series of studies examining bystander intervention. Bystander intervention research predicts the likelihood that someone will actively address a situation they view as problematic. In general, it has focused on the situational factors that influence whether a person will intervene or not

C

• cannabis: a plant species also referred to as marijuana; the resin is referred to as hashish; the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is THC
• case study: a research method that typically focuses on recording the experiences and behaviors of one individual
• cell assembly: core element of Donald Hebb’s model of learning and memory: The basic model suggests that when one neuron in the brain excites another one nearby repeatedly, then the connection between the two is strengthened. This came to be described as “cells that fire together wire together.” One implication of this is that even if only a few cells of a well-established cell assembly are activated, this has the potential to activate the other neurons in the entire cell assembly. Thus, being able to remember one aspect of an event may lead to your remembering of the entire event. One implication of Donald Hebb’s work is that memories of related items are associated with one another, and these associations appear not only in our cognitions but also in our brain
• cell body: an aspect of a neuron. The cell body contains a nucleus, which includes deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and other substances, and also mitochondria that are involved in supplying energy
• central executive network: the neural network involved in performing such tasks as planning, goal setting, directing attention, performing, inhibiting the management of actions, and the coding of representations in working memory
• central nervous system (CNS): the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, develops during the first month of pregnancy to form the spinal cord and the brain
• cerebellum: Involved in the coordination of movement, the cerebellum (little brain) is located at the base of the skull. It receives inputs from almost all areas of the cortex and allows for the smooth movement of our bodies
• chromosomes: thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Passed from parents to offspring, DNA contains the specific instructions that make each type of living creature unique
• chunking: Chase and Simon studied chess players. They discovered that the expert chess players were better able than novices to reproduce the location of pieces in the middle of a game or at the end of a game. The experts did this by chunking the chess pieces into meaningful patterns. That is, they organized the chess pieces into groups. it was not the experts’ memory ability that made the difference, but their ability to chunk the material into meaningful group
• circadian: comes from Latin and can be translated as “about a day.” A circadian rhythm is a cycle that happens each day as with adult sleep patterns
• circadian rhythm disorders: these disorders result in the person being unable to sleep at the desired time. However, once the person falls asleep, they experience the normal sleeping pattern
• classical conditioning: the pairing of the unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus eventually causing the neutral stimulus to produce the same response
• client-centered therapy or person-centered therapy: a treatment approach in psychology characterized by the therapist’s empathic understanding, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness
• clinical psychology: although humans have created theories of mental disorders for centuries, it was Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) who influenced early thinking in clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. They may focus on a particular disorder such as anxiety or schizophrenia. They may also focus on particular groups such as adolescents who consider suicide, or older individuals who are seeking new experiences, or groups that feel left out by society
• cocaine: a stimulant that comes from the naturally occurring coca plant largely grown in South America; its psychoactive effects include a mental alertness, heightening sensory experiences, and increased heart rate
• cognitive behavioral perspective: a treatment perspective that suggests that dysfunctional thinking is common to all psychological disturbances; by learning in therapy how to understand one’s thinking, it is possible to change the way one thinks as well as one’s emotional state and behaviors
• cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): a therapy based on the cognitive behavioral perspective, directed at changing the individual’s faulty logic and maladaptive behaviors
• cognitive development: Piaget is considered to have created the study of cognitive development which refers to the way we reason and use language, as well as traditional intellectual abilities such as memory and problem solving
• cognitive dissonance: according to Festinger, cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state that occurs when a person realizes that attitudes, actions, or beliefs are inconsistent
• cognitive neuroscience: the addition of cognitive psychology with brain imaging and other physiological techniques came to be called cognitive neuroscience
• cognitive psychology: by the 1960s, a number of psychologists sought to understand how thinking, attention, perception, problem solving, and other such internal processes influence both human reasoning and action. The cognitive perspective offered a broader approach to understanding human behavior and experience
• color blind: some individuals use only two of the three light sources to match colors. These individuals are commonly called color blind. Some color-blind individuals match colors to a standard color by using only green and blue light while others use only blue and red light. These individuals are called dichromats. Color blindness is found more often in males than females, since it is caused by a recessive allele on the X chromosome
• comorbid: descriptive term used when an individual has more than one disorder at the same time
• compensation: in order to solve problems, older individuals use their brains differently. In order to optimize their performance on tasks, older adults use additional neural circuitry. When older adults use just the brain areas that are activated in younger individuals, they do not perform the tasks as well as younger adults
• compulsions: repetitive behaviors that one uses to respond to obsessive thoughts with the goal of decreasing anxiety
• concrete operations: in Piaget’s third stage of development, children can move their thinking beyond themselves and deal with the nature of concrete objects. With the schema to perform abstract operations comes the fourth stage—formal operations
• conditioned response (CR): after a number of times of pairing, the conditioned stimulus alone will produce the natural response. This response is referred to as a conditioned response (CR)
• conditioned stimuli (CS): events that happen at about the same time as an unconditioned stimulus could themselves produce a response after a number of pairings
• cones: photoreceptors related to daytime vision. In each type of cone, the chemical sensitive to light is sensitive to a different frequency. This gives us the ability to experience color. Cones also allow you to see with high-spatial acuity, which gives you the ability to see detail. Cones are located in a more central region of the retina called the fovea.
• confidentiality: (1) a principle that requires that the scientist not release data of a personal nature to other scientists or groups without the participant’s consent; (2) the principle that the health care professional is not to discuss information learned in a therapy session in any other context
• confirmation bias: if we have a strongly held belief, we are more likely to see information that supports our views
• confound: a factor that systematically biases the results of experimental research
• confound hypothesis: a conceptual question that asks if results of an experiment could have been influenced by a factor other than the independent variable (IV)
• confounding variables: unintended factors not chosen by the experimenter, but which influence the independent variable (IV)
• conscientiousness: as a personality trait, it is associated with being diligent, disciplined, well-organized, punctual, and dependable; as a dimension in the five-factor model (FFM), this dimension ranges from being efficient and organized to being easygoing and careless
• consciousness: psychologists define consciousness as being aware and knowing that you are involved in a particular event. A change in the scientific study of consciousness began with the advent of a scientific psychology. Individuals such as William James began to ask questions concerning the function of consciousness rather than its physical properties. Freud described three types of consciousness: (1) conscious awareness, (2) latent consciousness or pre-consciousness, and (3) unconscious processes. More recently, with the development of neuroscience techniques for understanding brain function, consciousness has become a more popular topic of scientific study
• consolidation: psychologists describe long-term memory processes in terms of four separate steps: encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval. The process by which the information stored becomes more stable, consolidation takes place in the brain on two levels: (1) the first level involves structural changes at the synapse, and (2) the second level involves a reorganization of long-term memories over brain networks. Sleep improves memory consolidation
• continuous reinforcement: if reinforcement follows every operant response, it is referred to as continuous reinforcement. Typically, continuous reinforcement is used to shape and train the animal to perform the desired response
• control group: in a research experiment, the group that is treated exactly like the experimental group except for not experiencing the independent variable (IV) being studied
• cooperation: cooperation is helping others even when it does not help ourselves. With extensive research on bees, ants, and humans, it became clear that, in addition to self-preservation and sexuality, there were also instinctual programs for social processes related to cooperation. Understanding cooperation has been a daunting task for evolutionary psychology and there has been a lot of research in the evolution of cooperation and non-cooperation
• corpus callosum: the fiber tract that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain
• correlation coefficient: a statistic ranging from -1 to +1 that indicates the degree of association between two variables
• correlational research: a research method designed to measure how specific factors are associated with one another
• correspondence bias: the tendency for individuals to see that how another person acts reflects their internal thoughts and feelings
• critical or sensitive periods: the fact that the lock and key only work for a limited temporal period in imprinting and other similar phenomena
• crystallized intelligence: the second factor of intelligence for Cattell was crystallized intelligence which reflects the ability of a person to acquire knowledge available in his or her culture, for example, the ability to use tools, know the meaning of words, or understand cultural practices

D

• debriefing: the process of informing a participant after the experiment about the nature of the experiment, clarifying any misunderstanding, and answering any questions that the participant may have concerning the experiment; a necessary and important aspect of deception experiments
• deception: although we don’t usually think of cheating as being pervasive, Robert Trivers suggests that deception is a wide-spread feature of communication within many social species. Deception in this case is to make things seem as they not
• deception research: research in which participants are led to believe that the purpose of the study or their performance in the experiment is something different from the actual case
• deep brain stimulation (DBS): a treatment for depression in which electrodes are placed in the brain and connected to a pulse generator in the chest, which influences electrical activity in certain parts of the brain
• deep structure: the meaning of speech is called deep structure. There are a variety of ways (surface structure) of saying something that would convey the same meaning (deep structure)
• default or intrinsic network: neural network that is active during internal processing
• defense mechanisms: their purpose is to reduce neurotic anxiety. Thus, repression, or the process of inhibiting anxiety-producing ideas, underlies all defense mechanisms
• delusions: beliefs without support for their occurrence and which are at odds with the individual’s current environment
• demand characteristics: bias that occurs when a participant’s response is influenced more by the research setting than by the independent variable (IV)
• dendrites: a part of a neuron. The dendrites (from the Greek word for tree) are attached to the soma and receive information from other cells
• deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): a molecule that provides information necessary to produce proteins, which are involved in growth and functioning
• dependent variable (DV): bias that occurs when a participant’s response is influenced more by the research setting than by the independent variable (IV)
• depersonalization: the perception of not experiencing the reality of one’s self; this experience can include feeling detached or observing one’s self as an outside observer
• depersonalization-derealization disorder: depersonalization and derealization are seen as normal responses to many types of acute stress. However, when they cause distress or impairment in important areas of one’s life, they qualify as a DSM disorder
• derealization: the experience that the external world is not solid; one’s world is experienced with a sense of detachment or as if in a fog or a dream, or in other ways distorted or unreal
• descriptive statistics: statistics that define the nature of the number that we are examining. You use descriptive statistics all the time in terms of your weight, your grades, and the amount of money you spend. Descriptive statistics allow us to characterize numbers in terms of frequency and variability
• dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): treatment approach for borderline personality disorders developed by Marsha Linehan; the cornerstone of DBT therapy is based on problem solving and acceptance of the experience of the moment
• diffusion tensor imaging (DTI): procedure that uses the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet to measure fiber tracts (white matter) in the brain
• dissociation: experiencing a disruption in our normal ability to integrate information from our sensory and psychological processes such as memory and awareness
• dissociative amnesia: an inability to recall important autobiographical information
• dissociative identity disorder (DID): a developmental disorder where one consistent sense of self does not occur—that is, the person does not experience her thoughts, feelings, or actions in terms of a well-developed “I” or sense of self and instead experiences different “personalities” at different times; previously referred to as multiple personality disorder
• dizygotic (DZ) twins: twins who arise from the situation in which two different eggs are fertilized by two different spermatozoa; these are called fraternal twins since their shared genes are approximately 50%—the same as that between any two siblings
• door-in-the-face technique: a technique used to bring about compliance. It is also called reciprocal concessions. The situation in which a small request is more likely to be accepted if it follows a larger one that has been rejected
• dopamine: a type of neurotransmitter, dopamine is released in the brain and was initially thought to be the neurobiological correlate of reward or pleasure. Recent research suggests that the presence of dopamine signals to the person that something good is about to happen. Thus, dopamine is not so much associated with pleasure as with the expectation of pleasure. On a neuroscience level, studies show the rewarding effect of drugs is their ability to increase dopamine
• double-blind experiment: research procedure in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental group or the control (placebo) group, and the researchers involved in the study also do not know which participants are in which group
• doubt: to question ideas and research and ask whether factors other than the ones that were originally considered might have influenced the results
• dreams: are experienced during sleep and reflect mainly involuntary images, ideas, feelings, and sensations. In dreams, we are aware of the unfolding situation in front of us; we experience ourselves being part of the action unlike our daydreams or mind-wandering when we are awake; we participate in the experiences of the dream; we have emotional reactions and experience it as real, however, we would not say it was reality
• dynamic system theory: Esther Thelen sought to integrate an understanding of motor movement with advances in the neurosciences, biomechanics, and the study of perception and action. The emphasis for the dynamic system approach is to ask how all of our different body parts work together to produce stability and change

E

• electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): a treatment for depression in which electrical current is passed through the brain for a brief period
• electroencephalography (EEG): a technique for recording electrical activity from the scalp, which measures the electrical activity of the brain at the level of the synapse
• emotion-focused therapy (EFT): also known as process-experiential therapy; in this therapy, emotion is viewed as centrally important in the experience of self, as either adaptive or maladaptive, and as the crucial element that brings about change and management of emotional experiences
• emotions: emotion is defined as a subjective or internal experience that is accompanied by physiological changes
• empirically based treatments or empirically based principles: these terms refer to treatments and their aspects for which there is scientific evidence that the treatment is effective
• empiricism: the idea that knowledge should be derived through our sensory processes. That is, it is better to learn from observation than to just believe what one has been told
• encode: to lay out the process by which a particular protein is made; this is the job of a gene
• encoding: psychologists describe long-term memory processes in terms of four separate steps: encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval. The first step, encoding, is the process by which information is attended to and connected with other information in memory
• endocrine system: a system of glands located throughout our body
• endorphin: our brains contain receptors that are sensitive to the actual drugs of addiction. Our brains make a substance, called endorphins, that is actually like morphine. Endorphin is a combination of the word for internally produced—endogenous—and the ending syllable of morphine
• epigenetic inheritance: a form of inheritance by which factors largely influenced by the environment of the organism that turn the genes on and off can be passed on to the next generation without influencing DNA itself
• episodic memory: a type of long-term memory in which we remember events that we have personally experienced. Episodic memory is also called autobiographical memory
• ethics: the study of proper action
• evolution of cooperation: using the prisoners’ dilemma game, Axelrod and Hamilton looked at the evolution of cooperation. That is, how did cooperation evolve over evolutionary time. They suggested that the evolution of cooperation can be conceptualized in terms of three separate questions related to robustness, stability, and initial viability
• existential-humanistic approach: one critical aspect of the choices we make according to the existential-humanistic approach is our ability to be true to one’s self. One emphasis was how to live in the present and consider one’s choices
• existential-humanistic perspective: psychological therapy that focuses on the experience of the person in the moment and the manner in which he or she interprets the experiences; it emphasizes processing and understanding both internal and external experiences of human life
• existentialism: the existential movement began in Europe in the 1800s and gained followers after World War II. The major focus of existentialism was the nature of human nature and the meaning of life. One critical question of existentialism focused on the basic experience of being alive and living life
• experience: experiences are related to our internal thoughts and feelings. Some of our experiences are similar to those of others. Other experiences are rare but still can be understood through the scientific methods available to psychologists. Unlike actions that we can observe, experiences are internal and take many forms
• experimental design: Somewhat like a blueprint, the experimental design directs the procedures and gives form to the experiment. In essence, an experimental design is a plan for how a study is to be structured. In an outline form, a design tells us what will be done to whom and when
• experimental group: a group that receives the independent variable (IV) in a study using the experimental method
• experimental method: scientific research technique in which the influence of an independent variable (IV) on a dependent variable (DV) is determined, using carefully structured conditions
• experimenter effects: bias that occurs due to the experimenter’s expectations
• explicit memory: information that we can consciously bring forth from memory. Episodic memory and semantic memory are grouped under the larger heading of explicit memory. Explicit memory is also referred to as declarative memory
• external or situational attribution: the case where a person’s behavior is attributed to external factors. If you said your grade on a test was low because you were not given enough time, you would be attributing your behavior to an external or situational factor
• external validity: also known as generalizability, the ability to apply the results from an internally valid experiment to other situations and other research participants
• extinction: the process by which, after a period of time, the conditioned stimulus, when presented alone, will no longer produce the response
• extraversion: as a personality trait, it is associated with sociability, cheerfulness, energy, and a sense of fun; as a dimension in the five-factor model (FFM), this dimension ranges from being passive, quiet, and inner-directed to being active, talkative, and outer-directed
• extrinsic motivation: to perform behaviors for the seeking of rewards

F

• facts: general conclusions drawn from observations
• false memory: a false memory is one that is experienced as any other memory and you believe it to be true
• falsification: the philosophical position that the goal of science is to falsify hypotheses. A major proponent of this position is Karl Popper. It is further suggested that, to be scientific, a hypothesis must be stated so that it can be falsified through research
• fear: fear typically has a stimulus in the present. With fear, we see a snake and become apprehensive. We look down from a tall building and feel unease. Fear and anxiety involve high-level as well as more primitive brain processes
• fear of missing out (FOMO): when not connected, some individuals feel left out and experience the fear of missing out (FOMO). That is, they are concerned that an event is happening without being a part of it. This fear has been seen in adolescents and young adults around the world
• fight or flight response: the overall stress reaction in which the body prepares you either to fight or to leave the scene
• figure–ground relationship: our perceptual system organizes ambiguous stimuli in a definite manner. The famous Rubin’s vase image clearly demonstrates that given this ambiguous set of stimuli, our perceptual system will organize it in one of two ways, either as two faces or as a vase. When we see faces, the vase becomes the ground and is no longer viewed as a vase. The opposite is true when we see the vase
• five-factor model (FFM) or the Big 5: a model of personality based on a factor analytic approach to personality developed by Robert McCrae and Paul Costa, which suggested five major personality dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
• fixed-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, using a fixed interval schedule, the animal receives a reinforcement after a certain amount of time
• fixed-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, using a fixed ratio schedule, the animal receives a reinforcement every certain number of times
• fluid intelligence: Cattell suggested that general intelligence is made up of two separate factors. The first factor is referred to as fluid intelligence which reflects the ability to perceive relationships with previous specific experience
• Flynn Effect: IQ has changed in different groups of individuals over time. If you were to look at just the score that a group of people received on IQ tests across generations, you would see an increase in IQ. That is, people today perform much better on IQ tests than did those of earlier generations. This has been referred to as the Flynn Effect after James Flynn who studied this effect using the major IQ tests in the United States. At this point no single answer to the Flynn Effect has been demonstrated
• foot-in-the-door technique: a technique used to bring about compliance. This technique is based on the fact that if you can get someone to agree to a small request, then that person is more likely to agree to a larger request
• framed: a critical factor in terms of how we make decisions is the way it is presented or framed
• free-gift technique: a technique used to bring about compliance. This is a situation in which you are given a small gift from an organization, such as a calendar, address labels, or even a dollar in the solicitation, requesting that you give money to the organization or if you do an unexpected favor for someone, they are more likely to comply with your requests
• frontal lobe: the frontal lobe, located at the front of the cortex, is involved in planning, higher order cognitive processes such as thinking and problem solving, as well as moral and social judgments
• functional fixedness: to be fixed on a limited view of how an object is used is referred to as functional fixedness. Although functional fixedness may hurt our ability to solve insight problems, it does have the evolutionary value of helping us limit our alternatives. This saves us valuable energy and time
• functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): a brain imaging technique that measures increased blood flow in active areas of the cortex by determining the ratio of hemoglobin with and without oxygen
• functionalism: William James was particularly interested in the functional aspects of psychological processes, asking the question what purposes specific psychological processes serve. He distinguished between the more long-term cause or function of the behavior and an immediate cause of a behavior
• fundamental attribution error or person bias: individuals tend to see the behavior of others as internally directed even when there might be evidence for external influences. It is also known as correspondence bias since there is a tendency for individuals to see that how another person acts reflects their internal thoughts and feelings

G

• “g” or general intelligence: Spearman’s global factor of intelligence. He saw “g” as an energy or power that was available to the entire brain. In essence, “g” refers to the situation in which someone who does well in one domain tends to perform well in others
• General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Selye’s model of how the body reacts similarly to a variety of different stressors in three stages: the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage
• generalizability: also known as external validity, the ability to apply the results from an internally valid experiment to other situations and other research participants
• generalization: in fear conditioning, initially, Little Albert was conditioned by pairing a white rat and a loud noise. After this, any furry animal such as a rabbit would produce the same fear response. This is referred to as generalization, first noted by Pavlov. The less the stimulus is like the original conditioned one, the less intense the conditioned response will be, and the more similar the new stimulus is to the original conditioned one, the stronger the response. Since then it has been determined that fear conditioning works better with evolutionarily relevant objects
• generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): a disorder characterized by excessive anxiety and worry that has been present for more than 3 months
• generative: language is generative, that is, we can generate sentences we have never uttered before as well as understand sentences we have never heard before
• genotype: the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment
• Gestalt psychology: the German word Gestalt refers to such English terms as pattern, form, structure, and a sense of the whole perception. Gestalt psychology suggested that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts
• gustatory system: the taste system determines the chemical makeup of foods and beverages in terms of nutrient content, agreeableness, and potential toxicity. By definition, taste refers to the five qualities processed by our gustatory system—sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami

H

• habituation: the situation in which a reflexive action decreases with repeated presentation of the stimulus
• hallucinations: sensory experiences that can involve any of the senses and that are at odds with the individual’s current environment
• hallucinogens: drugs such as mescaline, LSD, and ecstasy that are able to alter perception, mood, and cognitive processes in often unpredictable ways; also called psychedelics
• healthy self: in DSM–5, the healthy self is described in terms of a Self and Interpersonal Functioning Continuum, which includes the aspects of identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy
• hearing or audition: the manner in which we detect sounds. The auditory system is not only able to detect whether a sound is present but also where the sound is coming from
• hemispheric specialization: the left and right hemispheres of the human brain are specialized for different tasks. The left hemisphere is involved in language processing and other serial processes. The right hemisphere processes spatial tasks and other global processes
• heritability: heritability is about individual differences. In each generation genetic factors would result in some individuals being taller than others and these individuals would have come from the same family. In the next generation that family would also have even taller children as compared to others. The technical estimate of heritability is a statistic that describes the proportion of a given trait’s variation within a group of people that is attributable to variations in the genes
• heuristic: the procedures for arriving at a decision are called heuristics. Developed by Simon, a heuristic is a set of rules that help us to understand how people make decisions. Heuristics help humans perform a task with reduced effort
• homeostasis: a concept that reflects the manner in which a physiological system tends to center around a set point, like a thermostat that regulates temperature in a building
• hormones: endocrine glands release biochemical substances into the bloodstream called hormones that change the physiology and behavior of specific organs as they move throughout the body. These hormones can stimulate our immune system, influence male and female sex characteristics, affect blood sugar levels, and perform a number of other functions
• HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) pathway: the brain has two major pathways in which it influences peripheral physiology. These pathways are distinct but interrelated. The second pathway activated in times of stress is slower and referred to as the HPA which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal
• human origins and historical cultural perspective: in adopting this perspective for examining psychological processes, we can think about how certain ways of behaving and seeing the world might be adaptive. We can think about how the experiences of those who came before us might have influenced how our nervous system functions. The human origins and historical cultural perspective gives us a way to think about cultural factors. We can also think about how humans are both similar and different to other animals with whom we share a variety of genetic and physiological mechanisms. The human origins and historical cultural perspective leads to some interesting questions related to psychology. For example, given the evolutionary process of survival of the fittest, we ask why particular mental disorders continue to exist
• humanistic: one important aspect of the humanistic tradition was an emphasis on choice. Throughout our lives, we all make critical choices that determine who we are and how we live our lives. In this way, we express our personality by the choices we make. For the humanistic psychologists, these choices can lead to positive as well as negative outcomes
• humanistic perspective: in the 1950s, Carl Rogers brought the humanistic perspective to the forefront. He emphasized the theme of human potential by saying that psychotherapy is a releasing of an already existing capacity in a potentially competent individual. He emphasized the relationship between the therapist and client as a critical key to effective therapy
• hypersomnia: a class of sleep disorders that is characterized by a lack of sufficient sleep
• hypothesis: a statement or expectation developed in relation to an explicit or implicit theory concerning potential outcomes of an experiment (that is, the relationship between the independent and dependent variable)

I

• Illusions: in some ways all of what we “see” is an illusion or construction of our nervous system because vision is based both on a top-down process in which our expectations help to form what we see and on a bottom-up process by which our sensory system puts together the individual features into a coherent scene.
• imitation learning: a brain system response to observing an action that leads to a motor representation of the observed action, essentially turning a visual image into a motor plan
• Implicit Association Test (IAT): the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report, that is, implicit attitudes. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you do not know about
• implicit memory: implicit memory has the ability to influence our behavior and experiences without our being aware of the learning taking place. We can perform a number of motor tasks without consciously remembering how to perform them. This type of memory is referred to as procedural memory which is a type of implicit memory. Implicit memory also includes classical conditioning and priming
• imprinting: a built-in pattern in which birds follow an object, usually their mother, which moves in front of them during the first 18-36 hours after birth. Imprinting and similar phenomena work like a lock and key. Once in place, it is almost irreversible and cannot be changed
• independent variable (IV): the variable that is defined by the experimenter and thus is outside the experimental situation (and therefore is independent)
• indirect reciprocity: a form of reciprocity where help is given to individuals based on their reputation
• inference: the process by which we look at the evidence available and then use logic to reach a conclusion
• inferential statistics: a method of analysis that concerns the relationship between the statistical characteristics of the population and those of the experimental sample
• informed consent: a prospective participant in psychological research must be given complete information on which to base a decision, including information about what will be required of him or her during the study, and about any potential harm that may come from participation
• insight problems: a problem that requires a person to shift his or her perspective and view the problem in a different way. The answer is often a reorganization of the information available and seeing the situation in a new light
• insomnia: the most common sleep disorder seen by professionals. It is described in terms of the inability to obtain enough sleep to leave one feeling rested
• intelligence: overall, intelligence is defined as the ability to learn from and adapt to our environment by solving problems and predicting what might happen next. This is a broad understanding of intelligence. There is also a narrower definition that refers to how we perform on tests of intelligence and compare to others
• internal or dispositional attribution: the situation in which observed behaviors are attributed to the internal state of the person. Saying someone is lazy when they do not get a job would be an example of internal attributions
• internal validity: the ability to make valid inferences between the independent variables (IVs) and dependent variables (DVs)
• interneurons: neurons that relay information from other neurons are referred to as interneurons, which create circuits to process information in the brain
• interpersonal intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others
• intrapersonal intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself and to appreciate one’s feelings, fears, and motivations
• intrinsic motivation: to perform behaviors because we enjoy it; being a curious and interested explorer of the world rather than a passive recipient of environmental influences; seeking new information on a variety of levels, including motor, emotional, and cognitive responses; feeling happy when solving a problem or learning something new
• introspection: the examination of one’s own mental state, which Wilhelm Wundt referred to as internal perception

J

• just-noticeable difference or JND: refers to just how much physical difference is needed for you to detect a change in any of our sensory processes including, vision, hearing, and touch

K

• kin selection or inclusive fitness: a property can be measured by considering the reproductive success of the individual plus the effects of an individual’s actions on the reproductive success of one’s relatives

L

• law of effect: formulated by Edward Thorndike, it says that, for example, when a cat made a response that led to the opening of the door and food (the satisfying effect), then the cat would be more likely to perform that same response again. The opposite is also true. If the response produces discomfort, then those responses will be reduced
• levels of analysis: examination of psychopathology ranging from culture and society at a higher level to the individual at a middle level and physiology and genetics at the lower levels
• levels of consciousness: these levels can be discussed in terms of coma, vegetative state, and wakefulness and awareness and represent how well a person is connected with his or her environment at a given time
• lifespan development: following an individual across his or her lifespan in a theoretically integrated manner using psychological research
• limbic system: Papez believed that in the same way that the occipital lobe processes visual information, the limbic system processes emotional processes. Today, scientists see this system involved in emotion, motivation, memory, and other related processes
• linguistic intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals
• logic: is the systematic study of valid rules of inference, i.e. the relations that lead to the acceptance of one proposition (the conclusion) on the basis of a set of other propositions (premises). More broadly, logic is the analysis and appraisal of arguments
• logical-mathematical intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically
• long-term memory: to have a memory available to us in the future, the information needs to be converted from short-term memory into long-term memory. Information available to us through long-term memory can be relatively permanent

M

• magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): brain imaging technique that offers a static image of brain structure
• magnetoencephalography (MEG): brain imaging technique that measures the small magnetic field gradients exiting and entering the surface of the head that are produced when neurons are active
• major depressive disorder (MDD): a mood disorder characterized by depressed mood for at least 2 weeks in which one feels sad or empty without any sense of pleasure in one’s activities
• mean: the average of a set of scores
• measures of central tendency: there are three measures of central tendency, which is simply a single summary measure that describes a number of scores. These central tendency measures are known as the mean, median, and mode
• median: the middle score in a distribution
• meditation: historically, it has been a part of religious and spiritual traditions worldwide. In general, meditative techniques can be thought of in terms of three broad approaches: (1) an attempt to reduce awareness as normally experienced; (2) more of an expressive experience as might be seen in free dancing; (3) awareness of all activity is allowed without the attempt to reduce, modify, or react to what is being experienced (called mindfulness in current-day psychology)
• memory: learning and memory are processes that go together. Traditionally, they have focused on different aspects of behavior and experience. Memory traditionally has focused on how information is stored and later retrieved
• mental disorder: a mental disorder contains five features: (1) a behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual; (2) that reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction; (3) the consequences of which are clinically significant distress or disability; (4) must not be merely an expectable response to common stressors and losses or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event; and (5) that is not primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society
• meta-analysis: statistical examination of the results of studies taken together and treated as one study. One can also examine the psychological experiences and internal states related to various forms of meditation.
• meta-awareness: we can be aware of our awareness. I can experience myself watching something else. In conversations, meta-awareness lets us experience ourselves talking as well as having awareness of the other person at the same time. As such we use our awareness systems as a way to plan and direct our actions and cooperate with others
• metacognition: having cognition about our cognition. Shea and his colleagues suggest that metacognition is composed of two systems. The first metacognition system functions out of awareness whereas the second system is able to accomplish a richer number of tasks. System one works quicker and in parallel whereas system two performs action in a serial form
• mindfulness: a therapeutic technique involving an increased, focused, nonjudgmental, purposeful awareness of the present moment to observe thoughts without immediately reacting to them
• mirror neurons: neurons in your brain that fire as if you had performed the same actions as you observe
• mode: the score that occurs with the greatest frequency
• modeling: also known as observational learning; when humans imitate the behaviors of others even without reinforcement
• monozygotic (MZ) twins: identical twins resulting from the zygote (fertilized egg) dividing during the first 2 weeks of gestation
• moral development: based on the idea of stages of cognitive development suggested by Piaget, Kohlberg asked if there are similar stages in moral development. As such, an individual’s way of solving a moral dilemma would be different at different ages. The type of reasoning given at one stage would be self-contained and different from that at another stage. Further, with development these stages become more complex and differentiated. He outlined 3 levels of moral development: (1) preconventional morality; (2) conventional morality; and (3) post-conventional morality
• moral emotions: research suggests that individuals’ shame experiences are more painful and intense than guilt experiences. Since guilt and shame involve transgression against the conventions of the group, these have been called moral emotions
• moral judgments: judgments that involve values related to human functioning such as life and death. Pinker suggests that there are two important hallmarks of moral judgments: (1) these judgments are felt to be universal, and (2) the belief that committing immoral acts should be followed by punishment
• morpheme: the smallest meaningful unit of a language. A common example would be “ed,” which would signal past tense as in talked, or “s,” which would signal plural, as in books, or “un,” which would signal not, as in unbelievable
• motivations: motivation is defined as the process that makes a person move toward a goal-directed behavior
• motor neurons: are involved in moving our muscles, which allows us to walk, throw a ball, or send a text
• motor strip: in the area of the frontal lobe along the central sulcus is a strip of cortex referred to as the motor strip. Different parts of this strip correspond to movements of different parts of the body
• musical intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns

N

• naturalistic intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, naturalistic intelligence entails the ability to identify and distinguish aspects of the natural world. This would include weather patterns, types of plants, animals, or rock structure
• naturalistic observation: research method based on observing and describing the phenomenon occurring naturally, without manipulating any variables
• negative correlation: an association between two variables where a decrease in one variable correlates to a decrease in the other
• negative punishment: negative punishment occurs when the likelihood of a behavior is decreased by the removal of an event
• negative reinforcement: negative reinforcement occurs when the likelihood of a behavior is increased by the removal of an event
• negative symptoms: in schizophrenia, lack of affect in situations that call for it, poor motivation, and social withdrawal. Positive or negative are not evaluative terms when applied to symptoms of schizophrenia. Instead, they indicate either the presence of something unusual such as hearing voices or seeing hallucinations, which would be positive symptoms, or the lack of a normal human process, such as poor motivation or social withdrawal, which would be negative symptoms
• network: our brains are not static. A network is simply a group of neurons that becomes active under certain conditions. Networks allow basic human processes such as learning, memory, thinking, planning, feeling, and decision making to take place
• networks: there are also connections between the brain areas involved in different sensory processes that give us an integration of sensory processes. Putting these together gives us the feeling of a single event. These specific connections are referred to as pathways and networks. These pathways and networks allow us to see, hear, and feel the world as if it is a coherent whole
• neurons: single nerve cells that can transmit information to other neurons. Neurons are central to all brain processes, and are the basis for the brain’s communication with the rest of the body
• neuroscience perspective: examines what we know about particular psychopathological experience from the standpoint of neuroscience, including the structure and function of the brain, the autonomic nervous system, and a genetic and epigenetic consideration as it relates to psychopathology
• neuroticism: as a personality trait, it is associated with a tendency to express distressing emotions and difficulty experiencing stressful situations; as a dimension in the five-factor model (FFM), this dimension ranges from being calm, even-tempered, and comfortable to being worried, temperamental, and self-conscious
• neurotransmitters: chemicals released into the synaptic space that are involved in increasing or decreasing the likelihood for action potentials to be produced; they also maintain the communication across the synapse. Their presence or lack is related to particular psychopathological disorders
• nociceptors: the cells related to the experience of pain outside of the brain. The brain itself cannot feel pain as it contains no nociceptors
• null hypothesis: a statistical hypothesis that is tested to determine if there are differences between the experimental and control groups; the null hypothesis states that there is no difference

O

• obedience: in the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted a set of obedience experiments to determine how far a participant would go in obeying the instructions of the experimenter to cause harm to a second participant. The second participant was never harmed, but the original participant did not know that during the experiment. The results of the studies were disturbing as to how far participants would go in obeying the experimenter. Subsequently, there has been criticism of the manner in which the Milgram study was conducted and reported
• object permanence: in Piaget’s theory of development, initially, the child understands something exists only while that object is experienced. When he begins to understand that an object still exists even if it is covered with a cloth or placed in a drawer, this is the beginning of what is referred to as object permanence. We now know that object permanence develops as memory develops
• observational learning: also known as modeling; when humans imitate the behaviors of others even without reinforcement
• obsessions: persistent, generally unwelcome thoughts or images that come into one’s head, which the person experiences as disturbing
• obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: some individuals hoard their possessions even if they are of no value. Others are always thinking about their body and particular flaws they believe they have. Still others pick at their skin or pull their hair. Other individuals refuse to step on sidewalk cracks, often wash their hands to prevent germs, or experience unwelcome thoughts coming into their minds. In DSM-5, these conditions are referred to as obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): a disorder characterized by repetitive, intrusive thoughts and feelings (obsessions) usually followed by behaviors in response to them (compulsions)
• occipital lobe: the occipital lobe is near the back of the brain and toward the bottom. It is involved with the processing of visual information and receives information from our eyes
• olfaction: refers to your sense of smell. In your nose are sensory neurons that are responsive to chemicals that we experience as odors
• openness: as a personality trait, it is associated with curiosity, flexibility, and an artistic sensitivity, including imaginativeness and the ability to create a fantasy world; as a dimension in the five-factor model (FFM), this dimension ranges from inventive and curious to cautious and conservative
• operant behavior: Skinner coined the term operant behavior to refer to the behavior that an organism produces that influences its environment
• operant conditioning: Skinner’s exemplar experimental procedure. The basic procedure noted that behavior could be elicited or shaped if reinforcement followed its occurrence. This procedure came to be known as operant conditioning
• operational definition: a definition that presents a construct in terms of observable operation that can be measured and utilized in research
• opioids: psychoactive substances derived from the opium poppy used to control pain and bring on euphoric feelings; more common opioids are heroin, opium, morphine, methadone, and oxycodone
• opponent-process theory of color vision: an alternative theory of color vision to the Young–Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color. This theory holds that certain colors result in opposite responses in the visual system.
• optic disk or blind spot: the place where visual information leaves the eye. Although there are no receptors in this part of the eye to respond to light, the brain fi lls in the missing information by using information from the other eye and eye movement. Thus, you see a complete scene without a hole in the image

P

• panic attack: a sudden, intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety, or fear; happens without an actual situation that would suggest danger
• panic disorder: an anxiety disorder defined by recurrent and unpredictable panic-like symptoms followed by at least 1 month of concern or change in lifestyle
• paradigm: Kuhn has pointed out that at any moment in the history of science some questions are overemphasized and others ignored. The topics we study and the types of questions we ask Kuhn called a paradigm
• paradigm shift: a paradigm is a set of assumptions that guides the activity until a new revolution (a paradigm shift) takes place. Psychology and the neurosciences have gone through a number of these revolutions
• parasomnias: a category of sleep disorders representing a variety of conditions that may leave the person feeling distressed or bring distress to others. In general, these disorders are not related to one another from an underlying physiological or psychological standpoint. Examples include sleep paralysis, night or sleep terrors, sleep walking, sleep talking, and sleep jerks or starts
• parasympathetic nervous system: the branch of the autonomic nervous system involved in the restoration of bodily reserves and the elimination of bodily waste
• parietal lobe: the parietal lobe, which is toward the back and at the top of the cortex, is involved in spatial processes such as knowing where you are in space and performing spatial problems
• partial reinforcement: if reinforcement only sometimes follows the operant response, it is referred to as partial reinforcement
• pathological dissociative symptoms: pathological dissociative symptoms are generally experienced as involuntary disruption of the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. These can range from not having a sense of who one is or not remembering large parts of one’s past to having no memory of one’s personal history or to experiencing a lack of a developmental self. DSM–5 describes three major dissociative disorders: (1) depersonalization—derealization disorder, (2) dissociative amnesia, and (3) dissociative identity disorder (DID)
• patterns of attachment styles: attachment patterns can be seen as an internal roadmap or schema through which the person interprets his or her social experiences. Ainsworth described three patterns of attachment styles describing the mother-infant relationship: (1) secure attachment pattern, (2) avoidant attachment pattern, and (3) anxious/ambivalent attachment pattern. A fourth pattern was later added: (4) disorganized/controlling attachment pattern
• peer review: scientists pay particular attention to research that has been evaluated by other scientists before it is published. This process is called peer review, and journals that follow this procedure are peer-reviewed journals
• perception: the manner in which our brain and nervous system take energy that exists around us and turns it into an experience is a critical aspect of sensation and perception. Sensation refers to the manner in which our receptor system transforms energy into activity that can be interpreted by the brain. Perception is the manner in which the brain makes sense of this activity
• peripheral nervous system (PNS): a major division of our nervous system. It includes the somatic nervous system, which sends and receives information to and from the brain. This system also permits our brains to send information to and receive information from internal organs.
• person perception: person perception is simply how we categorize others. These categories are processed spontaneously and effortlessly. Traditional categories of person perception include age, gender, and race
• personality: the study of personality is the study of internal dispositions or ways of being. Another way of thinking about personality is to consider what we value. Psychologists focus on those aspects of ourselves that can be seen across a number of different situations
• personality disorder: an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture; the pattern is inflexible, stable, and generally begins in adolescence, and it leads to distress or impairment; characteristics of these disorders are especially apparent when these individuals find themselves in situations that are beyond their ability to cope
• phenotype: the phenotype represents the observed traits of the individual including morphology, physiology, and behavior. The focus of psychology has largely been the study of the phenotype
• phoneme: the basic sound of a language. There are approximately 100 different phonemes used in all languages around the world. English uses approximately 40 of these phonemes. A phoneme has no meaning other than the sound we process
• phonology: the study of the ways phonemes can be combined in a language is called phonology
• photoreceptor: a cell that responds when light hits it. One type of photoreceptor was sensitive to low light. These light-sensitive cells, which later evolved as rods, allow us to see in dim light. Another type of photoreceptor was produced that required greater illumination. Over time, the receptors of this system differentially became sensitive to different frequencies in the visual spectrum. These were the forerunners of the cones in our visual system that allow us to experience colors
• pituitary gland: the pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain, just below the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus controls the glandular system by affecting the pituitary. The pituitary gland is sometimes called the master gland since it affects other glands of the endocrine system
• placebo effect: the phenomenon that some people show psychological and physiological changes just from the suggestion that a change will take place
• plasticity: the term that is often used to describe conditions in which processes are open to modification is plasticity
• population: in a research study, the larger group of individuals to which the results can be generalized
• positive correlation: an association between two variables where an increase in one variable correlates to an increase in the other
• positive punishment: positive punishment decreases the likelihood that a particular response will be repeated. The meaning of positive refers to something being added that changes the likelihood of a response
• positive reinforcement: giving a reinforcement following a particular behavior that increases the likelihood that the behavior just produced will reoccur. The meaning of positive refers to something being added that changes the likelihood of a response
• positive symptoms: in schizophrenia, the presence of such characteristics as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and disorganized behavior. Positive or negative are not evaluative terms when applied to symptoms of schizophrenia. Instead, they indicate either the presence of something unusual such as hearing voices or seeing hallucinations, which would be positive symptoms, or the lack of a normal human process, such as poor motivation or social withdrawal, which would be negative symptoms
• positron emission tomography (PET): a brain imaging technique that measures the blood flow in the brain that is correlated with brain activity
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a long-term reaction to traumatic events that lasts longer than 1 month
• preoperational stage: Piaget’s second stage of development which shows the beginning of symbolic thought
• private personality: the private thoughts of a person
• proactive interference: proactive interference is the case in which old information inhibits your ability to remember new information
• probability: the likelihood that a set of results in an experiment differed from what would be expected by chance
• procedural memory: we can perform a number of motor tasks without consciously remembering how to perform them. You ride a bicycle, drive a car, play a musical instrument, or type a text-message without consciously remembering every step. This type of memory is referred to as procedural memory. Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory
• process experiential therapy: also known as emotion-focused therapy (EFT); in this therapy, emotion is viewed as centrally important in the experience of self, as either adaptive or maladaptive, and as the crucial element that brings about change and management of emotional experiences
• projective technique: a technique is called projective since the person projects onto an image certain ideas and emotions
• proteins: the job of a gene is to lay out the process by which a particular protein is made. In other words, each gene is able to encode a protein. Proteins are involved in a variety of processes. Proteins do the work of the body and genes influence their production
• pseudoscience: the phenomenon of presenting information as if it is based on science when it is not is referred to as pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is false science
• psychoactive substances: there are some plants referred to as psychoactive substances, which change our brain in a manner that influences our consciousness, including thoughts and feelings. Examples include betel nuts, for its nicotine-like effects, cocaine naturally available in coca leaves, and morphine from poppy plants
• psychoanalysis: treatment developed by Freud based on the search for ideas and emotions that are in conflict on an unconscious level
• psychodynamic approach: psychodynamic psychology is based on the idea that thoughts and emotions basically learned in childhood can influence your behavior and experiences. Others adopted or modified Freud’s ideas in their theories and the treatment of their patients
• psychodynamic perspective: approach to psychological therapy that emphasizes how behaviors and experience may be influenced by internal processes that are out of awareness, often due to internal conflicts
• psychology: the study of behavior and experience. Behavior is what we do. Experiences are related to our internal thoughts and feelings. Behavior and experience always take place within a context.
• psychopathology: the scientific study of mental illness and its causes
• psychophysics: psychophysics is the study of the relationship between the physical characteristics of a stimulus and the manner in which we experience it
• psychosocial stages: one of the first theorists to present a map of lifespan development was Erik Erikson. He suggested that people throughout the world experience eight major psychosocial stages. During each of these stages there is a major conflict or question that must be answered
• psychotic disorders: disorders that involve a loss of being in touch with reality and are characterized by abnormal thinking and sensory processes
• psychotropic medications: psychotropic medications are those that are used to treat mental disorders. The study of these drugs is the domain of psychopharmacology
• purging: an aspect of bulimia where a person eliminates food from the body by such means as vomiting, taking laxatives, diuretics, or enemas

R

• random sampling: the selection of participants in an unbiased manner so that each potential participant has an equal possibility of being selected for the experiment
• randomization: in an experiment, selection of participants solely by chance to either the experimental group or the control group
• range: the measure of dispersion reflecting the difference between the largest and smallest scores in a set of data
• rapid eye movement or REM sleep: periods during sleep in which a person’s eyes—although closed—move quickly. When individuals were wakened during REM sleep, they were more likely to report having a dream than if wakened during quiet sleep. During REM sleep, EEG looks very different than during quiet sleep. The EEG actually looked more like that seen in wakefulness. Because of this, REM sleep is also referred to as paradoxical sleep
• real self: concept developed by Karen Horney that includes who one is and what one appreciates. It is the alienation from the real self that is seen to constitute a key process of neurotic development. It also requires energy to present a false self, which leaves few resources for developing healthy human growth
• reciprocal altruism: theory that we help unrelated individuals if we expect them to help us in turn. Our own fitness, in an evolutionary sense, is increased because we have greater chance of surviving and passing on the genes related to these processes
• reconstructive memory: we learn information that helps us to adapt, that protects us, that feeds us, that involves our friends, and helps us to find mates. That is, we remember things that have meaning to us. Remembering is a constructive process that allows each recall of information to be a constructive event. We actually recreate each memory as we recall this. This is referred to as reconstructive memory
• reinforcement: Skinner’s basic procedure of operant conditioning noted that behavior could be elicited or shaped if reinforcement followed its occurrence. Consequently, if these behaviors ceased to be rewarded, the occurrence would decrease
• replication: the process whereby a study is performed in different laboratories with different participants and obtains the same results
• research hypothesis: the formal statement of the manner in which the dependent variable (DV) is related to the independent variable (IV)
• reserve: concept that suggests that the brain can compensate for problems in neural functioning; high functioning or intelligence is often associated with greater reserve
• resilience: resilience research seeks to understand how some individuals are able to encounter severe psychological or physical adversity without showing traditional stress effects. One key finding suggests that resilience is associated with the ability to reinterpret both internal and external events in a more positive manner
• retina: a part of the eye; light reaches the cornea where it is bent and the lens where it is focused. Both are located at the front of the eye. The object we see is focused on the retina at the back of the eye
• retrieval: psychologists describe long-term memory processes in terms of four separate steps: encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval. This stage is what we think of when we say we recalled something. Typically, retrieval involves different types of information stored in different places throughout the brain. This information can include sensory, emotional, and cognitive information
• retroactive interference: the case in which new information inhibits your ability to remember old information
• retrograde amnesia: a type of amnesia in which a person cannot remember events prior to trauma to the brain
• ribonucleic acid (RNA): DNA information is carried as RNA, which determines the sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins; it is made up of single strands rather than the dual strands in DNA
• right to privacy: in an experiment, this means that information given by a participant to a scientist should be considered a private event, not a public one
• rods: photoreceptors related to nighttime vision. Rods allow you to see in dim light. They are much more sensitive than cones to the few photons of light energy available on dark nights. There are many more rods in the peripheral parts of the retina
• Rorschach inkblots: a projective test using inkblots; an individual’s interpretation of the ambiguous ink patterns is evaluated to identify patterns in underlying thoughts and feelings

S

• salience network: the neural network involved in monitoring and noting important changes in biological and cognitive systems
• SAM (sympathetic adrenal medullary) system: the brain has two major pathways in which it influences peripheral physiology. These pathways are distinct but interrelated. The first pathway activated in times of stress is more fast acting and is referred to as SAM which involves the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system
• satiety: the experience of feeling full
• scatterplot: a scatterplot is a graph on which the data from each person is plotted
• schedules of reinforcement: partial reinforcement can be programmed in relation to the number of responses (ratio) the animal makes or the amount of time (interval) between responses. Skinner examined a number of these patterns, which came to be called schedules of reinforcement. The ratio and interval schedules of reinforcement can be either fixed or variable resulting in four major categories
• schema: Piaget introduced the term schema, which refers to how the child sees the world. Although schemas influence our actions, it typically works outside of our awareness. These schemas can be changed as the child interacts with the world and takes in new information
• schemas: one traditional view of the self in social psychology is that it is made up of schemas or beliefs about oneself. These schemas help us define who we are and how we see ourselves. Schemas differ for different people
• schizophrenia: a debilitating psychotic disorder in which individuals may hear voices, see images not seen by others, believe that others wish to harm or control them, and have bizarre thoughts
• schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders: schizophrenia is part of a broad category of disorders referred to as schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Psychotic disorders involve a loss of being in touch with reality and are characterized by abnormal thinking and sensory processes. Individuals with a psychotic disorder may show delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech, abnormal motor behaviors, and negative symptoms. People who do not have schizophrenia may show psychotic symptoms for a brief period of time or for a longer duration. They may also show delusions, affective problems outside the normal range, or simply seem odd to those around them. Psychotic symptoms not part of schizophrenia can be induced through drugs, lack of sleep, and other medical conditions
• science: a process of understanding the world through observation and research, which includes developing theories
• scientific knowledge: the known facts about a particular subject derived from the scientific method
• scientific method: in its simplest form, the scientific method consists of asking a question about the world and then experiencing the world to determine the answer
• scripts: we all have ideas of what to expect in different relationships. In social interactions, there are scripts for what we say to one another. These scripts have both a cultural and a universal level
• secure base: Bowlby considered the process of attachment as a social-emotional behavior equally as important as mating behavior and parental behavior. For him, attachment was a process in which the mother was able to reduce fear by direct contact with the infant and provide support, called a secure base
• self-actualization: Abraham Maslow suggested that beyond basic needs humans also have the need to be recognized by others as well as to acknowledge their own self. He referred to the desire to express one’s self in the context of humanity as self-actualization. However, he suggested that self-actualization would only come after basic needs were satisfied
• self-concept: social psychology adopted the “I” and “me” distinction as it developed a theory of self-concept. Self was seen as a process that develops as we relate to others in social interactions. It is my “me,” which is at the center of my experiences. The self is seen as an adapting process that develops in terms of the social environment in which one lives
• self-esteem: self-esteem relates to the evaluation of the self. That is, self-esteem refers to the way we value and accept ourselves. Aspects of self-esteem are thus more affective than cognitive. A desire for self-esteem has been seen as a motivating factor in humans, as noted by both philosophers and psychologists
• self-realization: concept developed by Karen Horney related to the process of an individual’s realizing, or developing a real self
• self-schema: our self-concept is stored in network memory systems that reflect our past experiences. This information is referred to as our self-schema. Some of these characteristics can have very strong connections with the idea of self, while others may be less strongly connected
• self-scripts: most people think that they do know themselves and can accurately predict how they would act in a given situation using their self-scripts. However, research in social psychology suggests that that may not be the case. There is clearly some information that is available to us that we refer to as explicit. However, there are other attitudes and stereotypes that are formed outside of awareness, referred to as implicit
• self-serving bias: the tendency to see positive events as our making and negative events as situational
• semantic memory: a type of long-term memory that relates to impersonal facts and everyday knowledge, that is, information about people, places, and things
• semantics: the study of meaning in language—how we understand what is being said. A critical question has been the way in which humans are able to move between the levels of meaning and syntax
• sensation: the manner in which our brain and nervous system take energy that exists around us and turns it into an experience is a critical aspect of sensation and perception. Sensation refers to the manner in which our receptor system transforms energy into activity that can be interpreted by the brain. Perception is the manner in which the brain makes sense of this activity
• sensitization: the opposite of habituation. For example, if you receive a painful shock, then the next shock would result in a greater response in a number of different systems. The shock could, for example, make a noise seem louder
• sensorimotor stage: Piaget’s first stage of development is the sensorimotor stage which is characterized by the use of motor actions and the senses
• sensory memory: if you were to listen to someone talk, you would retain the words said for just a few seconds as you processed the next words. This is referred to as sensory memory. Sensory memory lasts only a few seconds and takes place in all of our senses. If it involves the auditory system, it is referred to as echoic memory. If it involves the visual system, it is referred to as iconic memory. This is the first step of how we remember information. Sensory memory lasts just long enough for the information to be processed by the brain
• sensory neurons: help us to see, feel, and hear the world. Other senses, such as taste and smell, also involve sensory neurons. These neurons send information to the brain that allows us to experience the world
• sexuality: a driving force in many species including humans. The way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, erotic, physical, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied with historical contexts over time, it lacks a precise definition
• shaping: a process by which the animal is led to make the desired response in small steps. It is a common procedure used to train animals to perform any new task. Even a complex performance can be broken down into discrete steps that can be learned through reinforcement
• short-term memory: the second step in remembering information is to transform the sensory information and work with it for a short period of time, that is, less than a minute
• sleep patterns: evolved in terms of sensory systems. Humans and other animals that use vision as the primary way of finding food and interacting with the world sleep at night. On the other hand, animals such as rats that use nonvisual systems for dealing with the world tend to sleep in the day and look for food at night
• small world framework: a model of brain connectivity based on the idea that the ability to socially contact any two random individuals in the world can be accomplished in a limited number of connections
• social anxiety disorder (SAD): a disorder characterized by marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others
• social brain hypothesis: developed in the 1980s, the social brain hypothesis suggests that humans and other primates differ from non-primates principally in the size of their brain as compared to their body size. The basic idea is that complexity of social skills requires a large brain. In our social reactions, we need to be able to interact with a number of individuals. With some of these people we have close relationships and with others we need to pay attention to what they want or expect of us. All of this requires cognitive and emotional effort
• social categorizing: an aspect of stereotyping when we place the person in a certain group
• social cognitive theories of personality: also referred to social learning theories. These theories emphasize a person’s view of the world, that is, the person’s cognitive understanding of their environment. The social aspect is that many of these beliefs are the result of our interactions with others. In this sense, they are learned through our interactions. The research related to the social cognitive theory of personality typically focuses on how a person’s cognitive views of the world interact with situational variables to produce different behaviors
• social emotion: social emotions are those emotions that involve our interactions with other people in a social context. Examples include embarrassment, shame, guilt, jealousy, envy, and pride
• social facilitation: social facilitation is defined as an improvement in performance when working with or being accompanied by others as opposed to being alone
• social inhibition: social psychologists understand social inhibition in which a person does not act to be a general phenomenon that can be observed across a number of situations even outside the laboratory. In terms of helping, safety in numbers does not apply. Even if a person is alone, the context of the situation can play a role
• social loafing: the phenomenon where some individuals do less work than others in a group setting
• social shaping hypothesis: this hypothesis developed by Taylor and Gonzaga suggests that early social relationships can shape the manner in which a person’s biological, social, and behavioral processes respond to a variety of situations including stressful ones
• somatosensory cortex: behind the central sulcus is a strip of cortex in the parietal lobe referred to as the somatosensory cortex. It is this strip that is associated with receiving sensations from various parts of the body
• spatial intelligence: one of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space as well as more confined areas
• specific phobia: an anxiety disorder in which an individual experiences fear of or anxiety about a particular situation or object
• spinal cord: as the second structure of the central nervous system (the brain is the first) the spinal cord contains fiber tracts within a cavity surrounded by bone through which information from all parts of the body is taken to the brain. Information is also taken from the brain to the muscles and internal organs
• split-brain: term to describe people with severe epilepsy whose corpus callosum has been cut to sever connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Overall, following the operation these patients showed a drastic reduction in seizures, but surprisingly, the operation did not appear to cause any changes in the everyday behavior or experience of these patients
• spontaneous recovery: in classical conditioning, after a period of presenting the CS without the UCS, resulting in extinction of the CR, after a subsequent delay of a day or two, presenting the CS will once again elicit the CR in what is referred to as spontaneous recovery
• standard deviation: a measure of variability calculated by taking the square root of the variance
• stereotype activation: an aspect of stereotyping where once we have stereotyped another person, then a series of opinions about the person come into our mind
• stereotype application: an aspect of stereotyping where we use the information to understand the situation we have observed or what to expect in an interaction
• stereotype bias: stereotype bias reflects negative stereotypes about one’s group. The basic idea is that a negative stereotype can influence one’s performance
• stereotyping: occurs when we make inferences about a group of individuals that share similar characteristics
• stigma: negative attitudes and beliefs that cause the general public to avoid others including those with a mental illness
• stimulus generalization: the less a stimulus is like the original conditioned one, the less intense the conditioned response will be, and the more similar the new stimulus is to the original conditioned one, the stronger the response.
• storage: psychologists describe long-term memory processes in terms of four separate steps: encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval. Following encoding, the information must be stored. Storage involves those areas of the brain and neural mechanisms by which memories are retained over time
• strange situation: based on infants’ reactions to their caregiver, Mary Ainsworth developed the strange situation to research attachment patterns experimentally
• stress: commonly defined as a response that is brought on by any situation that threatens a person’s ability to cope
• stress response: a response to a critical situation that allows an organism to avoid danger or reduce other types of threat
• strong altruism: a situation where if someone asks you to help them, and it costs you something, you have to determine whether helping is going to cost you more than the benefit you would receive
• structuralism: Edward Titchener’s idea that human processes can be broken down into their component parts. The first task for psychology was to ask what the basic elements of experience are. The second task is to determine how these elements combine. And, third, the task is to understand the causal relationships
• successful aging: individuals who continue to be productive well into their eighties and nineties; characterized by (1) freedom from disability and disease, (2) high cognitive and physical functioning, and (3) social activity including both having friends and being productive
• suicide: the term comes from the Latin meaning to kill oneself
• superordinate goals: superordinate goals come into play in the expectation that by getting two groups to work together in meeting those goals, then prior conflict between the groups would decrease
• surface structure: the actual spoken words with their grammatical structure is called surface structure. There are a variety of ways (surface structure) of saying something that would convey the same meaning (deep structure)
• sympathetic nervous system: the branch of the autonomic nervous system that connects with its target organs through the middle part of the spinal cord, responsible for the fight-or-flight response
• synapse: dendrites receive information from other neurons via a biochemical connection through a small gap filled with fluid which is referred to as a synapse
• syndrome: a collection of symptoms that occur together and have a particular course of development over time
• synesthesia: the condition in which the experience of one sense automatically produces experience in another. For example, some people see a color when they look at numbers or words. Synesthesia is present in about 1% of the population.
• syntax: the structure of a sentence and the rules that govern it

T

• temperament: we all come into the world with bodily emotional responses all our own. The emotional responses seen early in one’s life remain fairly stable. This constellation of emotional and behavioral responses is referred to as temperament
• temporal lobe: the temporal lobe is near the front of the brain and toward the bottom. The temporal lobe receives information from our ears and is involved in hearing as well as aspects of language. Other parts of the temporal lobe are involved in the naming of objects from visual information processed in the occipital lobes
• tend and befriend response: a response to stress associated with the tendency of females to take care of others and form social connections in times of stress, as opposed to the fight-or-flight response by most males
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): a projective testing instrument composed of black-and-white drawings of various scenes and people; by evaluating the individual’s interpretive responses to the ambiguous drawings, it is possible to gain insight into his or her thoughts, emotions, and motivations including areas of conflict
• theory of mind: included in theory of mind is the capacity to infer another’s mental state from his or her behavior. Mental state can include purpose, intention, knowledge, belief, thinking, doubt, pretending, liking, and so forth
• theory of multiple intelligences: Howard Gardner’s theory sought to define intelligence within the context of different domains. His idea was that there exist separate intelligences and a person can be excellent in one ability such as dancing or music and less proficient in another such as mathematics. Gardner suggested there are eight separate intelligences
• traits: Allport emphasized traits as the basic units of personality. He saw traits as “generalized and personalized determining tendencies—consistent and stable modes of an individual’s adjustment to his environment”. He further suggested that traits are based in the nervous system. Although Allport studied personality traits, he also emphasized the uniqueness of the individual
• transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): a treatment for depression in which an electromagnetic coil is placed on the scalp; from the coil, a magnetic field induces a small electrical current in the first few centimeters of the brain, which depolarizes the neurons
• transducers: each of our sensory systems uses different biological processes referred to as transducers to initiate the sensory process. The transducer in the auditory system turns sound waves into mechanical and then electrical impulses. The transducers in our eye turn light energy into electrical impulses
• triune brain: MacLean suggested that our current brain can be viewed as having the features of three basic evolutionary formations—reptiles, early mammals, and recent mammals. Through rich interconnections our brains process information in three somewhat independent, although not autonomous, ways
• t-test: a technique for determining whether a set of results is different from what would be expected. One of the common statistical techniques used for this is the t-test. A t-test determines the size of the association between two variables in relation to the number of participants in the study
• twin studies: a major paradigm of behavioral genetics involving examination and understanding of critical factors related to genetic influences by studying twins

U

• unconditioned response (UCR): a naturally occurring response to a naturally occurring stimulus, for example an animal salivating when food is presented
• unconditioned stimulus (UCS): a naturally occurring stimulus which will consistently produce a response, for example a food stimulus presented to an animal
• uncontrollable stress: a negative experience that the organism cannot influence or control. Research with animals has shown that uncontrollability produced both health problems (for example, gastric ulcers) and depressive symptoms
• universal grammar: Noam Chomsky suggested that all humans have a set of innate principles and parameters which he called universal grammar

V

• validity: the accuracy of our ideas and our research; the degree to which these are true and capable of support
• variability: the manner in which measurements vary within an experimental condition. The statistical measurements of variability are those of standard deviation and variance
• variable-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, using a variable interval schedule, each reinforcement would vary such that the average amount of time would be constant
• variable-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, using a variable ratio schedule, the animal receives a reinforcement in a manner that averages out to a certain number
• variance: a measure of variability of how much each score varies from the mean
• vestibular system: a system that is contained in the inner ear. It contributes to your experience of movement, head position, and where you are in space in relation to gravity. It also functions as an internal guidance device
• visual field: nothing more than what you see in front of you without moving your head or eyes. Drawing an imaginary vertical line down the middle of this field creates a right visual field and a left visual field
• voluntary participation: a principle stating that a person should participate in an experiment only by free choice, and should be free to leave an experiment at any time, whether or not the experiment has been completed

W

• weak altruism: a situation where if someone asks you to help them do something, and it really does not cost you anything, then you will most likely say “yes”
• well-defined problems: a type of problem that has a possible or correct solution and that solution can be determined given that there are known constraints with a specific outcome
• working memory: the concept of working memory evolved from short-term memory to reflect the systems required to keep things in mind while performing tasks. That is, working memory is all the information you keep in mind while you pay attention to the task you are doing

Y

• Young–Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color: the idea that variations in three different light colors lies at the bottom of our experience of color. An alternative theory is referred to as the opponent-process theory of color vision