intro to psychology

Anything of which we are aware of at any time (thoughts, feelings, sensations and perception of the external environment)

regular fluctuations from high to low (within a 24 hour period) of bodily functions and behaviors

sleep restores the mind and body/ evolved to keep humans out of night harms.

circadian theory and restorative theory

sleep evolved to keep humans out of harm during the night time

sleep restores mind and body

• stimulants
• depressants
• hallucinogens

stimulants speed up the activity in the central nervous system, suppress appetite, cause a person to feel awake, alert and energetic. (caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine) (can increase heart rate and blood pressure)

slow down activity in the central nervous system. Slow down bodily functions, reduce sensitivity to stimulants. (alcohol, tranquilizers, narcotics) (can lead to loss of consciousness

alter and distort perception of time and space as well as mood. cause hallucinations and feelings of unreality. (marijuana and ecstasy)

memory is the process of encoding storing and retrieving information

encoding is the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored into mind

the process of maintaining information in memory

process of bringing information to the mind

located in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain

memory model that divides memory into three different systems.

• sensory memory
• short term memory
• long term memory

stores information from the senses (visual images or sounds)

stores information currently being used

stores information from minutes to a life time

between 5-9 items. from a fraction of a second to two seconds

short term memory stores between 5-9 items. 30 seconds without rehersal

virtually unlimited. from minutes to a lifetime

purposely repeating information currently being used to keep it in short term memory

when short term memory is full and a new item is learned an older item is pushed out and forgotten

ability to recall information from long term memory without any effort (developed overtime, like reading)

declarative and non-declarative memory

stores fact, information and personal experiences that can be brought to mind verbally or images

records events as they been experienced (trip to Hawaii)

stores general knowledge or objective facts and information

stores motor skills, habits and conditioned responses

acquired through practice and the memory for motor movements (riding a bike without thinking about it)

things learned through conditioned responses (feeling sick at the smell or sight of certain food)

with items learned in a sequence, there is a better recall for the beginning and ending items than those in the middle o

an account or event pieced together from a few highlights (what did you do last weekend?)

better recall of information in the context it was learned

decay, encoding failure, interference, consolidation failure, motivated forgetting, prospective forgetting, retrieval failure.

must provide information by searching memory. (fill in the blank) (stimulus of a bit of information that aids retrieval)

identify familiar material as it has been encountered before (multiple choice, matching, true & false)

percentage of time saved when material is relearned compared to the time when it was learned the first time (measure of memory)

mental categories used to represent a class or groups

the most common and typical feature or concept

concepts are stored in memory from personal experiences

considering alternatives and deciding among them

how probable or likely and event is to happen (flying vs. driving)

applies solution that solved a similar problem before

determine goal and work backward to current situation

how close a new situation is to an existing one. (panchero's-chipotel)

decision making process stops when certain factor is determined

current position compared to desired goal and series of steps taken to reach that goal

learning a second language can decrease memory efficiency in word tasks

associated with age, educational attainment, proficiency in the first language, and active vs. passive learning

test to measure how much a person has learned up to a certain point

predicts one's future performance (test to determine how successful a person will be under a certain situation. ACT ASAT)

used to measure once's overall cognitive ability. measure intellectual ability (IQ tests)

idea that intelligence can be measured by an IQ score. (all mental operations to some degree)

seven districts capabilities that singly or in combination are involved in all intellectual abilities

several independent forms of intelligence

three types of intelligence (creative, practical and analyticall)

graph used to measure ntelligence, based on IQ scores. most people are at the normal curve of the graph

desire to behave in a certain way because it is enjoyoable or satisfying to your self

desire to behave in a certain way to gain an external reward or to avoid an undesirable consequence

internal needs produce drive which motivates to reduce need

motivated to maintain a certain level of arousal

task performance is better when arousal level is appropriate

achievement motivation depends on goal orientation

mastery/approach, mastery/avoidance, performance/avoidance, performance/approach

overwhelming fear to gain weight, compulsive dieting to the point of starvation, excessive weight loss

repeated, uncontrolled  and often binge eating usually followed by purging

• cultural rules that indicate how and where expression is appropriate. 
• different rules cross culturally

pyramid of needs. you have to fulfill the need at the bottom before you can move in to the next ones. (physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, stem needs, need for self actualization)

• James-Lange
• Cannon-Bard
• Schachter-Singer
• Lazarus

event→physiological arousal. Physiological arousal. emotional experience

emotion-provoking stimuli received by the senses. Stimuli interpreted by the brain→emotional and physiological arousal

event→cognitive appraisal. Cognitive appraisal→emotional and physiological arousal