Biopsychology
Explain the Nature vs Nurture debate
The Nature vs Nurture debate refers to the discussion surrounding whether personality and behavior result from a biological basis such as genetics or an environmental basis based on one's experiences
What endocrine structure is involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycles?
The pituitary gland
What are the five basic groupings of taste?
Sweet, savory, sour, bitter, Umami
Define a flashbulb memory and explain when it occurs
Define negative reinforcement and provide an example
Negative reinforcement refers to removing or avoiding an unpleasant stimulus. For example, taking away your child's chores for the weekend because they have kept their room clean all week
What part of the brain is the prefrontal cortex located in?
The frontal lobe, part of the cerebral cortex, located within the forebrain
Define REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)
REM sleep behavior disorder occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur, leading to individuals having high levels of activity during REM sleep
Describe the vestibular sense and its purpose in the body
The vestibular sense contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture
Define what it means to encode and recode information
Encoding refers to the process of inputting information into the memory system. Recoding refers to the process of taking the information from the form it is delivered to us and then converting it in a way that we can make sense of it
Define positive punishment and provide an example
Positive punishment refers to adding an aversive stimulus. For example, giving your child extra chores for not keeping their room clean
What part of the body is responsible for regulating homeostasis?
The hypothalamus
Explain the effects of rotating shift work and sleep debt on the body
Those who engage in rotating shift work experience high levels of circadian rhythm dysfunction. Those with sleep debt have been getting insufficient sleep on a chronic basis. This leads to decreased alertness and mental efficiency, mental consequences, and physical health outcomes
Explain how binaural cues influence how we hear sounds
There are two main binaural cues discussed: interaural time differences (ITD) and interaural level differences (ILD). ITD refers to the time delay between when a sound arrives at one ear versus the other. ILD refers to the differences in sound intensity between the two ears due to their distance apart.
Define the encoding specificity principle
The encoding specificity principle suggests that a retrieval cue will be effective to the extent that information encoded from the cue overlaps or matches the information in the engram or memory trace. For example, if you study in the same room of your exam, you may remember more information
Which psychologist conducted an experiment to test operant conditioning in rats?
B.F. Skinner
Describe the concept of genetic environmental correlation
The genetic environmental correlation is a view of gene-environment interaction that asserts our genes affect our environment, and our environment influences the expression of our genes.
Explain two of the three dream theories: expectation-fulfillment theory, activation-synthesis theory, and continual-activation theory
Expectation-Fulfillment Theory: Suggests that dreaming serves to discharge emotional arousal that hasn't been expressed during the day
Activation-Synthesis Theory: Suggests that dreams don't actually mean anything and are just merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and imagery from our memories
Continual Activation Theory: Suggests that dreaming is a result of brain activation and synthesis meaning that the function of sleep is to process, encode, and transfer data from short-term to long-term through consolidation.
Define the opponent-process theory of colors and describe how it involves the concept of afterimages
The opponent-process theory of color vision suggests that our ability to perceive colors is based on opposing color pairs including red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white. Afterimages occur when you see an image even after the stimulus has occurred. When negative afterimages occur, the complementary hue of the stimulus is seen such as a green afterimage for a red object, supporting the idea that we perceive colors in pairs
List and define two of the three different types of retrieval that were mentioned
Recall: Accessing information without cues
Recognition: Identifying previously learned information after encountering it again, usually in response to a cue
Relearning: Learning information that was previously learned
Define a secondary reinforcer and give an example
A secondary reinforcer has no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked to something else. For example, money is a secondary reinforcer because you need it to buy primary reinforcers such as food and water
Describe the different branches of the nervous system
The nervous system can be broken down into two major subdivisions: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Within the peripheral nervous system is the somatic and autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is composed of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Describe each stage of sleep using each key term mentioned in the text
Stage 1: Transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep and involves both alpha and theta waves.
Stage 2: Involves deep relaxation and the appearance of sleep spindles and K-complexes.
Stage 3: Involves deep, slow-wave sleep and the appearance of delta waves.
Stage 4: REM sleep, marked by paralysis and rapid eye movements.
A number of receptors are distributed throughout the skin to respond to various touch-related stimuli. Define what each of the following detects: Meissner’s corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, Merkel’s disks, and Ruffini corpuscles
Meissner’s corpuscles: Responds to pressure and lower frequency vibrations
Pacinian corpuscles: Detect transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations
Ruffini corpuscles: Detects stretch
Merkel’s disks: Responds to light pressures
Describe each of the categories of long-term memory
Long-term memory is broken down into two main categories: explicit (declarative) and implicit (non-declarative). Explicit memory is composed of two categories: episodic (experienced events) and semantic (knowledge and concepts). Implicit is composed of procedural (skills and actions) and emotional conditioning.
Describe the Bobo Doll experiment and how it relates to observational learning
The Bobo Doll experiment involved allowing children to witness someone aggressively attacking the Bobo Doll. The control group was allowed to play with the Bobo Doll without watching the aggressive play. It was found that the children who witnessed the aggressive play were much more likely to model those same behaviors in future play. This supports the idea of observational learning