History and Approaches (2-4%)

Psychology is derived from physiology (biology) and philosophy

●​ EARLY APPROACHES
o​Structuralism – used INTROSPECTION (act of looking inward to examine mental
experience) to determine the underlying STRUCTURES of the mind
o​Functionalism – need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior
●​ APPROACHES KEY WORDS
o​Evolutionary – Genes
o​Humanistic – free will, choice, ideal, actualization
o​Biological – Brain, NTs
o​Cognitive – Perceptions, thoughts
o​Behavioral – learned, reinforced
o​Psychoanalytic/dynamic – unconscious, childhood
o​Sociocultural – society
o​Biopsychosocial – combo of above
●​ PEOPLE:
o​Mary Calkins: First Fem. Pres. of APA
o​Charles Darwin: Natural selection & evolution
o​Dorothea Dix: Reformed mental institutions in U.S.
o​Stanley Hall: 1st pres. of APA1st journal
o​William James: Father of American Psychology – functionalist
o​Wilhem Wundt: Father of Modern Psychology – structuralist
o​Margaret Floy Washburn–1st fem. PhD
o​Christine Ladd Franklin – 1st fem.

Research Methods
(8-10%)
●​ EXPERIMENT : Adv: researcher controls
variables to establish cause and effect Disadv:
difficult to generalize
o​Independent Variable: manipulated by the
researcher
▪​ Experimental Group: received the treatment
(part of the IV)
▪​ Control Group: placebo, baseline (part of the
IV)
▪​ Placebo Effect: show behaviors associated
with the exp. group when having received
placebo
▪​ Double-Blind: Exp. where neither the
participant or the experimenter are aware of
which condition people are assigned to
o​Dependent Variable: measured variable (is
DEPENDENT on the independent variable)
●​Operational Definition: clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of
your variables – allows replication
●​Confound: error/ flaw in study
●​ Random Assignment: assigns participants to either control or experimental group at
random – minimizes bias, increase chance of equal representation
●​ Random Sample: method for choosing participants – minimizes bias
●​ Validity: accurate results
●​ Reliability: same results every time
●​ NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION: Adv: real world validity (observe people in their
own setting) Disadv: No cause and effect
●​ CORRELATION: Adv: identify relationship between two variables Disadv: No cause
and effect (CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION)
o​Positive Correlation – Variables vary in the same direction
o​Negative Correlation – variables vary in opposite directions
o​The stronger the # the stronger the relationship REGARDLESS of the pos/neg sign
●​ CASE STUDY: Adv. Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail – lots of info Disadv:
No cause and effect
●​ DESCRIPTIVE STATS:shape of the data
o​Measures of Central Tendency:
▪​ Mean: Average (use in normal distribution)

▪​ Median: Middle # (use in skewed distribution)

▪​ Mode: occurs most often

●​ INFERENTIAL STATISTICS: establishes significance (meaningfulness) Significant
results = NOT due to chance
●​ ETHICAL GUIDELINES (APA)
o​Confidentiality
o​Informed Consent
o​Debriefing
o​Deception must be warranted

Biological Basis
(8-10%)
●​ NEURON: Basic cell of the NS
o​Dendrites: Receive incoming signal
o​Soma: Cell body (includes nucleus)
o​Axon: AP travels down this
o​Myelin Sheath: speeds up signal down
axon
o​Terminals: release NTs – send signal onto
next neuron
o​Synapse: gap b/w neurons
●​ Action Potential: movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane sends an
electrical charge down the axon
o​All or none law: stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase
the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)
 o​Refractory period: neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet
resets)
●​ Sensory neurons – receive signals
●​ Afferent neurons – Accept signals

●​ Motor neurons – send signals

●​ Efferent neurons – signal Exits
●​ CENTRAL NS: Brain and spinal cord
●​ PERIPHERAL NS: Rest of the NS
o​Somatic NS: Voluntary movement
o​Autonomic NS: Involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)
▪​ Sympathetic NS: Arouses the body for fight/flight (generally activates)

▪​ Parasympathetic NS: established homeostasis after a sympathetic response

(generally inhibits)
●​ NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NTS): Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by
neurons
o​GABA: Major inhibitory NT
o​ GlutamatE: Major Excitatory NT
o​Dopamine: Reward & movement
o​Serotonin: Moods and emotion
o​Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory
o​Epinephrine & Norepinephrine: sympathetic NS arousal
o​Endorphins: pain control, happiness
o​Oxytocin: love and bonding
●​ Agonist: drug that mimics a NT
●​ Antagonist: drug that blocks a NT
●​ Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron. SSRIs (selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake – treatment for depression
●​ AREAS OF THE BRAIN:
●​Hindbrain: oldest part of the brain
o​Cerebellum – movement (what does it take to ring a bell)
o​Medulla – vital organs (HR, BP)
o​Pons – sleep/arousal (Ponzzzzzz)
●​Midbrain
o​Reticular formation: attention (if you can’t pay attention, You R F’d)
●​Forebrain: higher thought processes
o​Limbic System
▪​ Amygdala: emotions, fear (Amy, da! You’re so emotional!)

▪​ Hippocampus: memory (if you saw a hippo on campus you’d remember it!)
o​Thalamus: relay center
o​Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors
o​Broca’s Area: Inability to produce speech (Broca – Broken speech)
o​Wernicke’s Area: Inability to comprehend speech (Wernicke’s what?)
o​Cerebral Cortex: outer portion of the brain – higher order thought processes
 ▪​ Occipital Lobe: located in the back of the head - vision

▪​ Frontal Lobe: decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality

▪​ Parietal Lobe: located on the top of the head - sensations

▪​ Temporal Lobe: located on the sides of the head (temples) – hearing and face
recognition
▪​ Somatosensory Cortex: map of our sensory receptors –in parietal lobe

▪​ Motor Cortex: map of our motor receptors – located in frontal lobe

o​Corpus Callosum: bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres – sometimes severed
in patients with severe seizures – leads to “split-brain patients”
▪​ Lateralization: the brain has some specialized features – language is processed in the L
Hemisphere
▪​ Split-brain experiments: done by Sperry & Gazzanaga.

▪​ Images shown to the right hemisphere will be processed

in the left (& vice versa), patient can verbally identify
what they saw
●​BRAIN PLASTICITY: Brain can “heal” itself
●​ NATURE VS. NURTURE: ANSWER IS BOTH
o​Twin Studies:
▪​ Identical twins – Monozygotic (MZ)
▪​ Fraternal twins – Dizygotics (DZ)
o​Genetics: MZ twins will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease
o​Environment: MZ twins raised in different environments show differences
●​ ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: sends hormones throughout the body
o​Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus. release growth hormones
o​Adrenal Glands: related to sympathetic NS: releases adrenaline
Sensation & Perception
(6 – 8%)
●​ ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD: detection of signal 50% of time (is it there)
●​ DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD (also called a just noticeable difference (JND) and
follows WEBER’S LAW: two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion. (Can
you tell a change?)
●​ SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY
●​ Sensory Adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a result of
constant stimulation (can you feel your underwear?)
●​ Perceptual Set: tendency to see something as part of a group
– speeds up signal processing
●​ Inattentional Blindness: failure to notice something b/c
you’re so focused on another task (gorilla video)
●​ Cocktail party effect: notice your name across the room when its spoken, when you
weren’t previously paying attention
●​ VISUAL SYSTEM:
 o​Pathway of vision: light → cornea →pupil/iris → lens → retina → rods/cones →
bipolar cells → ganglion cells → optic nerve → optic chiasm → occipital lobe
o​Cornea – protects the eye
o​Pupil/iris – controls amount of light entering eye
o​Lens – focuses light on retina
o​Fovea–area of best vision(cones here)
o​Rods – black/white, dim light
o​Cones – color, bright light
o​Bipolar cells – connect rods/cones and ganglion cells
o​Ganglion cells – opponent-processing occurs here
o​Blind spot – occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye
o​Feature detectors – specialized cells that see motion, shapes, lines, etc. (experiments by
Hubel & Weisel)
●​ THEORIES OF COLOR VISION:
o​Trichromatic – three cones for receiving color (blue, red, green)
▪​ Explains color blindness - they are missing a cone type
o​Opponent Process – complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells – explains
why we see an after image
●​ Visual Capture: Visual system overwhelms all others (nauseous in an IMAX theater –
vision trumps vestibular)
●​ Constancies: recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory
input (size, shape, brightness)
●​ Phi Phenomenon: adjacent lights blink on/off in succession – looks like movement
(traffic signs with arrows)
●​ Stroboscopic movement: motion produced by a rapid succession of slightly varying
images (animations)
●​ MONOCULAR CUES (how we form a 3D image from a 2D image)
o​Interposition: overlapping images appear closer
o​Relative Size: 2 objects that are usually similar in size, the smaller one is further away
o​Relative Clarity: hazy objects appear further away
o​Texture Gradient: coarser objects are closer
o​Relative Height: things higher in our field of vision look further away
o​Linear Perspective: parallel lines converge with distance (think railroad tracks)
●​ BINOCULAR CUES: (how both eyes make up a 3D image)
o​ Retinal Disparity: Image is cast slightly different on each retinal, location of image helps
us determine depth
o​ Convergence: Eyes strain more (looking inward) as objects draw nearer
●​ TOP-DOWN PROCESSING: Whole → smaller parts
●​ BOTTOM-UP PROCESSING: Smaller Parts → Whole
●​ AUDITORY SYSTEM:
o​Pathway of sound: sound → pinna → auditory canal →ear drum (tympanic
membrane) → hammer, anvil, stirrup (HAS) → oval window → cochlea → auditory
nerve → temporal lobes
o​Outer Ear: pinna (ear), auditory canal
o​Middle Ear: ear drum , HAS (bones vibrate to send signal)
o​Inner Ear: cochlea – like COCHELLA (sounds 1st processed here)
●​ THEORIES OF HEARING: both occur in the cochlea
o​Place theory – location where hair cells bends determines sound (high pitches)
 o​Frequency theory – rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low
pitches)
●​ OTHER SENSES:
o​Touch: Mechanoreceptors → spinal cord → thalamus → somatosensory cortex
o​Pain: Gate-control theory: we have a “gate” to control how much pain ix experienced
o​Kinesthetic: Sense of body position
o​Vestibular: Sense of balance (semicircular canals in the inner ear effect this)
o​Taste (gustation): 5 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory)
o​Smell (olfaction): Only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus 1st. Goes to
temporal lobe and amygdala
●​ GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY: Whole is greater than the sum of its parts
o​ Gestalt Principles:
▪​ Figure/ground: organize information into figures objects (figures) that
stand apart from surrounds (back ground)
▪​ Closure: tendency to mentally fill in gaps

▪​ Proximity: tendency to group things together that appear near each other

▪​ Similarity: tendency to group things together based off of looks

▪​ Continuity: tendency to mentally form a continuous line

States of Consciousness (2 – 4%)

●​ STATES of CONSCIOUSNESS:
o​Higher-Level: controlled processes – totally aware
o​Lower-Level: automatic processing (daydreaming, phone numbers)
o​Altered States: produced through drugs, fatigue, hypnosis
o​Subconscious: Sleeping and dreaming
o​No awareness: Knocked out
●​METACOGNITION: Thinking about thinking
●​SLEEP:
Beta Waves: awake
Alpha Waves: high amp., drowsy
Stage 1: light sleep
Stage 2: bursts of sleep spindles
Stage 3 (delta waves: Deep sleep
Stage 4: extremely deep sleep
Rapid Eye Movement (REM): dreaming

Entire cycle takes 90 minutes, REM occurs inb/w each

cycle. REM lasts longer throughout the night
●​CIRCADIAN RHYTHM: 24 hour biological clock
o​Body temp and awareness change due to this
o​Controlled by the Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain
o​Explains jet lag
●​SLEEP DISORDERS
o​Insomnia: Inability to fall asleep (due to stress/anxiety)
o​Sleep walking: (due to fatigue, drugs, alcohol)
o​Night terrors: extreme nightmares – NOT in REM sleep – typical in children
o​Narcolepsy: fall asleep out of nowhere (due to deficiency in orexin)
o​Sleep Apnea: stop breathing suddenly while asleep (due to obesity usually)
●​DREAM THEORIES:
o​Freud’s Unconscious Wish Fulfillment: Dreaming is gratification of unconscious
desires and needs
▪​ Latent Content: hidden meaning of dreams
▪​ Manifest Content: obvious storyline of dream
●​Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random bursts of energy – stimulating lodged
memories. Dreams start random then develop meaning
●​HYPNOSIS
o​It Can: Reduce pain, help you relax
o​It CANNOT: give you superhuman strength, make you regress, make you do things
against your will
●​PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS:
o​Triggers dopamine release in the brain
o​Depressants: Alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates (narcotics)
▪​ Decrease sympathetic NS activation, highly addictive
o​Stimulants: Amphetamines, Cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), Caffeine, Nicotine
▪​ Increase sympathetic NS activation, highly addictive
o​Hallucinogens: LSD, Marijuana
▪​ Causes hallucinations, not very addictive
o​Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects
o​Dependence: Become addicted to the drug – must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms
o​Withdrawal: Psychological and physiological symptoms associated with sudden
stoppage. Unpleasant – can kill you.
Learning
(7-9 %)
●​CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: PAVLOV!
o​Unconditioned Stimulus (US): brings about response w/o needing to be learned (food)
o​Unconditioned Response (UR): response that naturally occurs w/o training (salivate)
o​Neutral Response (NS): stimulus that normally doesn’t evoke a response (bell)
o​Conditioned Stimulus (CS): once neutral stimulus that now brings about a response
(bell)
o​Conditioned Response (CR): response that, after conditioning, follows a CS (salivate)
o​Contiguity: Timing of the pairing, NS/CS must be presented immediately BEFORE the
US
o​Acquisition: process of learning the response pairing
o​Extinction: previously conditioned response dies out over time
 o​Spontaneous Recovery: After a period of time the CR comes back out of nowhere
o​Generalization: CR to like stimuli (similar sounding bell)
o​Discrimination: CR to ONLY the CS
●​CONTINGENCY MODEL: Rescorla & Wagner – classical conditioning involves
cognitive processes
●​CONDITIONED TASTE AVERSION (ONE-TRIAL LEARNING): John Garcia –
Innate predispositions can allow classical conditioning to occur in one trial (food
poisoning)
●​COUNTERCONDITIONING: Little Albert and John Watson (father of behaviorism)
– conditioned a fear in a baby (only to countercondition – remove it- later on)
●​OPERANT CONDITIONING: SKINNER!
O​ LAW OF EFFECT (Thorndike): Behaviors followed by pos. outcomes are
strengthened, neg. outcomes weaken a behavior (cat in the puzzle box)
●​PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT COND:
O​ Pos. Reinforcement: Add something nice to increase a behavior (gold star for turning in
HW)
O​ Neg. Reinforcement: Take away something bad/annoying to increase a behavior (put on
seatbelt to take away annoying car signal)
O​ Pos. Punishment: Add something bad to decrease a behavior (spanking)
O​ Neg. Punishment: Take away something good to decrease a behavior (take away car
keys)
O​ Primary Reinforcers: innately satisfying (food and water)
O​ Secondary Reinforcers: everything else (stickers, high-fives)

▪​ Token Reinforcer: type of secondary- can be exchanged for other stuff (game tokens or
money)
O​ Generalization: respond to similar stimulus for reward
O​ Discrimination: stimulus signals when behavior will or will not be reinforced (light on
means response are accepted)
O​ Extinction / Spontaneous Recovery: same as classical conditioning
O​ Premack Principle: high probability activities reinforce low probability activities (get
extra min at recess if you everyone turns in their HW)
O​ Overjustification Effect: reinforcing behaviors that are intrinsically motivating causes
you to stop doing them (give a child 5$ for reading when they already like to read – they
stop reading)
O​ Shaping: use successive approximations to train behavior (reward desired behaviors to
teach a response – rat basketball)
O​ Chaining: tie together several behaviors
O​ Continuous Reinforcement schedule: Receive reward for every response
O​ Fixed Ratio schedule: Reward every X number of response (every 10 envelopes stuffed
get $$)
O​ Fixed Interval schedule: Reward every X amount of time passed (every 2 weeks get a
paycheck)
O​ Variable Ratio schedule: Rewarded after a random number of responses (slot machine
O​ Variable Interval schedule: Rewarded after a random amount of time has passed
(fishing)
O​ Variable schedules are most resistant to extinction (how long will keep playing a slot
machine before you think its broken?)
●​SOCIAL (OBSERVATIONAL) LEARNING: BANDURA!
●​Modeling Behaviors: Children model (imitate) behaviors. Study used BoBo dolls to
demonstrate the following
O​ Prosocial – helping behaviors
O​ Antisocial – mean behaviors
●​MISC LEARNING TYPES
O​ Latent learning (Tolman!) – learning is hidden until useful (rats in maze get reinforced
half way through, performance improved
▪​ Cognitive maps – mental representation of an area, allows navigation if blocked
O​ Insight learning (Kohler!) – some learning is through simple intuition (chimps with
crates to get bananas)
O​ Learned Helplessness (Seligman!) – no matter what you do you never get a positive
outcome so you just give up (word scrambles)
Cognition
(8 – 10%)
ENCODING: Getting info into memory
●​Automatic encoding – requires no effort (what did you have for breakfast?)
●​Effortful encoding – requires attention (school work)
●​Shallow, intermediate, deep processing: the more emphasis on MEANING the deeper the
processing, and the better remembered
●​Imagery – attaching images to information makes it easier to remember (shoe w/ spaghetti
laces)
●​Self-referent encoding – we better remember what we’re interested in (you’d remember
someone’s phone number who you found extremely attractive)
●​Dual encoding – combining different types of encoding aids in memory
●​Chunking – break info into smaller units to aid in memory (like a phone #)
●​Mnemonics – shortcuts to help us remember info easier
o​Acronyms – using letter to remember something (PEMDAS)
o​Method of loci – using locations to remember a list of items in order
●​Context dependent memory – where you learn the info you best remember the info
(scuba divers testing)
●​State dependent memory – the physical state you were in when learning is the way you
should be when testing (study high, test high)
STORAGE: Retaining info over time
●​Information Processing Model – Sensory memory, short term memory, long term
memory model
●​Sensory Memory – stores all incoming stimuli that you receive (first you have to a pay
attention)
o​Iconic Memory – visual memory, lasts 0.3 seconds
o​Echoic Memory – auditory memory, lasts 2-3 seconds
●​Short Term Memory – info passes from sensory memory to STM – lasts 30 secs, and
can remember 7 ± 2 items
o​Rehearsal (repeating the info) resets the clock
●​Working Memory Model splits STM into 2 – visual spatial memory (from iconic
mem) and phonological loop (from echoic mem). A “central executive” puts it
together before passing it to LTM
●​Long term memory – lasts a life time
o​Explicit (Declarative): Conscious recollection
 ▪​ Episodic: events

▪​ Semantic: facts
o​Implicit (Nondeclarative): unconscious recollection
▪​ Classical conditioning

▪​ Priming: info that is seen earlier “primes” you to remember something later on
(octopus, assassin, climate, bogeyman)
▪​ Procedural: skills
●​Memory organization
o​Hierarchies: memory is stored according to a hierarchy
o​Semantic networks: linked memories are stored together
o​Schemas: preexisting mental concept of how something should look (like a restaurant)
●​Memory storage
o​Acetylcholine neurons in the hippocampus for most memories
o​Cerebellum for procedural memories

o​Long-term potentiation: neural basis of memory – connections are strengthened over

time with repeated stimulation (more firing of neurons)
RETRIEVAL: Taking info out of storage
●​Serial Position Effect: tendency to remember the beginning and the end of the list best
●​Recall: remember what you’ve been told w/o cues (essays)
●​Recognition: remember what you’ve been told w/ cues (MC)
●​Flashbulb memories: particularly vivid memories for highly important events (9/11
attacks)
●​Repressed memories: unconsciously buried memories – are unreliable
●​Encoding failure: forget info b/c you never encoded it (paid attention to it) in the first
place (which is the real penny)
●​Encoding specificity principle: the more closely retrieval cues match
the way we learned the info, the better we remember the info (like state
dependent memory)
●​Forgetting curve: recall decreases rapidly at first, then reaches a
plateau after which little more is forgotten (EBBINGHAUS)
●​Proactive interference: old info blocks new
●​Retroactive interference: new info blocks old
●​Misinformation effect: distortion of memory by suggestion or
misinformation (Loftus – lost in the mall, Disney land)
●​Anterograde amnesia: amnesia moves forward (forget new info – 50 first dates)
●​Retrograde amnesia: amnesia moves backwards (forget old info)
●​ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: caused by destruction of acetylcholine in hippocampus
LANGUAGE
●​Phonemes: smallest unit of sound (ch sound in chat)
●​Morpheme: smallest unit that caries meaning (syllable)
●​Grammar: rules in a language that enable us to communicate
●​Semantics: set of rules by which we derive meaning (adding –ed makes something past
tense)
●​Syntax: rules for combining words into sentences (white house vs casa blanca)
●​Babbling stage: infants babble 1st stage of speech
●​One-word stage: duh
●​Two-word stage: duh duh
●​Theories of language development:
o​Imitation: Kids repeat what they hear – but they don’t do it perfectly
▪​ Overregularization: grammar mistake where children over use certain morphemes (I
go-ed to the park)
o​Operant conditioning: reinforced for language use
o​Inborn universal grammar: theory comes from NOAM CHOMSKY – says that
language is innate and we are predisposed to learn it
o​Critical period: period of time where something must be learned or else it cannot ever
happen (language must be learned young – Genie the Wild Child)
o​Linguistic determinism: language influences the way we think (Hopi people do not
have words for the past, thus cannot easily think about the past) developed by WHORF
THINKING
●​Concepts: mental categories used to group objects, events, characteristics
●​Prototypes: all instances of a concept are compared to an ideal example (what you first
think of)
●​Algorithms: step by step strategies that guarantee a solution (formula)
●​Heuristics: short cut strategy (rule of thumb)
o​Representative Heuristic: make inferences based on your experience (like a stereotype)
– assume someone must be a librarian b/c they’re quiet
o​Availability heuristic: relying on availability to judge the frequency of something (over
estimating death due to plane crashes due to recent events)
●​Functional Fixedness: keep using one strategy – cannot think outside of the box
●​Belief bias: tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning by making
invalid conclusions
●​Belief perseverance: tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face on contrary evidence
●​Inductive reasoning: data driven decisions, general → specific
●​Deductive reasoning: driven by logic, specific → general
●​Divergent thinking: ability to think about many different things at once

Motivation & Emotion

(6-8%)
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
●​INSTINCT: complex behaviors have fixed patterns and are not learned (explains animal
motivation)
●​DRIVE REDUCTION: physiological need creates aroused tension (drive) that motivates
you to satisfy the need (driven by homeostasis: equilibrium)
o​Primary drive: unlearned drive based on survival (hunger, thirst)
o​Secondary drive: learned drive (wealth or success)
●​OPTIMUM AROUSAL: humans aim to seek optimum levels of arousal –easier tasks
require more arousal, harder tasks need less.
●​HIERARCHY OF NEEDS: theory derived by MASLOW – needs
lower in the pyramid have priority over needs higher in the
pyramid

●​Intrinsic motivation: inner motivation – you do it b/c you

like it
●​Extrinsic motivation: motivation to obtain a reward
(trophy)

HUNGER
●​Signals of hunger:
o​Stomach contractions tell us we’re hungry
o​Glucose (sugar) level is maintained by the pancreas
(endocrine system).
o​Insulin decreases glucose. Too little glucose makes us
hungry.
o​Orexin is released by the hypothalamus – telling us to eat.
o​Other chemicals include ghrelin, obestatin, and PPY
o​Lateral hypothalamus: when stimulated makes you hungry, when lesioned you will
never eat again. (I’m LATE for lunch. I’m hungry. The LATEral hypothalamus makes
you hungry.)
o​Ventromedial hypothalamus: when stimulated you feel full, when destroyed you eat eat
eat eat (fat woman and cake)
o​Leptin: leptin signals the brain to reduce appetite
●​Obesity:
o​Increased risk of heart attack, hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes
o​Can be genetic – adopted children resemble their biological parents
o​Set point: there is a control system that dictates how much fat you should carry – every
person is different
●​Eating Disorders:
o​Anorexia: weight loss of at least 15% ideal weight, distorted body image
▪​ Causes: overly critical parents, perfectionist tendencies, societal ideals
o​Bulimia: usually normal body weight, go through a binge-purge eating pattern (eat
massive amounts, then throw up)
▪​ Causes: same as anorexia
SEXUALITY
●​Biology of sex:
o​Hypothalamus: stimulation increases sexual behavior, destruction leads to sexual
inhibition
o​Pituitary gland: monitors, initiates, and restricts hormones
▪​ Males – testosterone
▪​ Females - estrogen
o​Sexual Response Pattern: Excitement phase, plateau, orgasm, refractory period
(resolution phase) (cannot “fire” again until you reset, guys only)
o​Alfred Kinsey: 1st researcher to conduct studies in sex, suggested that people were very
promiscuous. Studies lacked a representative sample, created scale of homosexuality
 o​Homosexuality: biological roots: differences in the brain, identical twins more likely to
both be gay, later sons more likely to be (hormones from mom)

THORIES OF EMOTIONS
●​JAMES-LANGE: stimulus →physiological arousal → emotion
●​CANNON-BARD: stimulus → physiological arousal & emotion simultaneously
●​SCHACTER TWO FACTOR: adds in cognitive labeling (bridge experiment) stimulus →
arousal →interpret external cues → label emotion
●​Some stimuli are routed directly to the amygdala bypassing the frontal cortex (gut reaction
to a cockroach)
●​Behavioral factors: there are SIX universal emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, surprise,
disgust, feat) seen across ALL cultures
●​Non-verbal cues: gestures, duchenne smile (you can tell a real smile from a fake one)
●​Facial feedback hypothesis: being forced to smile will make you happier (facial
expressions influence emotion)
STRESS AND HEALTH
●​GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS): three
phases of a stress response (SELYE came up w/ this)
o​Alarm: body/you freak out in response to stress
o​Resistance: body/you are dealing with stress
o​Exhaustion: body/you cannot take any more, give up
●​Type A Personality: rigid, stressful person, perfectionist. At
risk for heart disease
●​Type B Personality: laid back, nonstressed.
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCH
●​Industrial / Organizational Psych: psychological of the workplace – focuses on employee
recruitment, placement, training, satisfaction, productivity
●​Ergonomics / Human Factors: intersection of engineering and psych – focuses on safety
and efficiency of human-machine interactions
●​Hawthorne effect: productivity increases when workers are made to feel important
●​Theory X management: manager controls employees, enforces rules. Good for lower level
jobs
●​Theory Y management: manger gives employees responsibility, looks for input. Good for
high level jobs
●​Employee Commitment:
o​Affective: emotional attachment (best type)
o​Continuance: stay due to costs of leaving
o​Normative: stay due to obligation (they paid for your school)
●​Meaning of Work:
o​Job – no training, just do it for $$. No happiness
o​Career – work for advancement. Some happiness
o​Calling – work because you love it. Lotsa happiness
Development
(7-9%)
●​Prenatal Development:
o​Zygote: 0 – 14 days, cells are dividing
o​Embryo: until about 9 weeks, vital organs being formed
o​Fetus: 9 wks to birth, overall development
 o​Teratogens: external agents that can cause abnormal prenatal development (alcohol,
drugs, etc)
▪​ Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): large amount of alcohol leads to FAS, causes deformities,
mental retardation, death
●​Physical Development:
o​Maturation: natural course of development, occurs no matter what (walking)
o​Reflexes: innate responses we’re born with
▪​ Rooting, sucking, swallowing, grasping, stepping
o​Habituation: after continual exposure you pay less attention – used to test babies
o​Eyes have the most limited development, takes till 1 year
▪​ Visual cliff: babies have to learn depth perception, so they will cross a “cliff”
o​Other senses are fairly developed
o​Brain development continues for a few years
●​JEAN PIAGET’S COGNITIVE DEV.
●​Schemas – concepts or frameworks that organize info
●​Assimilation: incorporate new info into existing schema (aSSimlation – same stuff)
●​Accommodation: adjust existing schemas to incorporate new information (ACcommodation
- All Change)
●​Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years: focused on exploring the world around them
o​Lack Object Permanence: Objects when removed from field of view are thought to
disappear (peek-a-boo)
o​Dev. Sense of Self: by 2 yrs can recognize themselves in the mirror

●​Pre-operational Stage: 2 – 7 years: use pretend play, developing language, using

intuitive reasoning
o​Lack Conservation: recognize that substances remain the same despite changes in shape,
length, or position (girls with juice in glasses)
o​Lack Reversibility: cannot do reverse operations (count out both 4+2 and 2+4)
o​Are egocentric: inability to distinguish one’s own perspective from another’s – think
everyone sees what they see
●​Concrete Operational Stage: 7-11 yrs: use operational thinking, classification, and can
think logical in concrete context
●​Formal Operational Stage: 11-15 yrs: use abstract and idealist thoughts,
hypothetical-deductive reasoning
●​Problems with Piaget’s theory: stages to discrete, dev. differs b/w kids
●​VYGOTSKY’S THEORY: cognitive development is a social process too, need to interact w/
others
o​Zone of Proximal Development: gap b/w what a child can do on their own and w/
support. Need scaffolding (teachers)
SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
●​Temperament: patterns of emotional reactions and babies (precursor to personality)
●​Imprinting: baby geese believe the first thing they see after hatching is their mom –
happens during a critical period (from LORENZ)
●​HARRY HARLOW: discovered that contact comfort is more important than feeding
(monkeys fed on wire or cloth mothers). Monkeys raised in isolation couldn’t socialize
●​MARY AINSWORTH: developed the strange situation paradigm (children left alone in a
room w/ a stranger, then reunited w/ mom – determines your attachment style
 o​Secure attachment (60% of infants): upset when mom leaves, easily calmed on return.
Tend to be more stable adults
o​Avoidant attachment (20% infants): actively avoids mom, doesn’t care when she leaves
o​Ambivalent attachment(10% infants): actively avoids mom, freaks out when she leaves
o​Disorganized attachment (5%): confused, fearful, dazed – result of abuse
●​BAUMRIND: parenting styles
o​Authoritarian: rules & obedience, “my way or the highway” – kids lack initiative in
college
o​Permissive: kids do whatever – no rules – kids lack initiative in college
o​Authoritative: give and take w/ kids – kids become socially competent and reliable
●​KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEV
o​Preconventional morality: Children: they follow rules to avoid punishment
o​Conventional morality: adolescents: follow rules b/c rules exist to keep order
o​Postconventional morality: adults: they do what they believe is right (even if it goes
against society)
●​Carol Gilligan: said moral reasoning and moral behaviors are two different things (what
you say isn’t always what you do)
●​ERIKSON’S SOCIOEMOTINAL DEV. : 8 stages, each stage represents a crisis that must
be resolved, results in competence or weakness
o​Trust vs Mistrust (birth – 18 months): if needs are dependably met infants dev basic trust
o​Autonomy vs shame&doubt (1 -3 yrs): toddlers learn to exercise their will and think for
themselves
o​Initiative vs guilt (3-6 yrs): learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans
o​Industry vs inferiority (6 yrs to puberty): learn the pleasure of applying themselves to
tasks
o​Identity vs role confusion: (adolescence thru 20s): refine a sense of self by testing roles
and forming an identity
o​Intimacy vs isolation: (20s—40s): form close relationships and gain capacity for love
o​Generativity vs stagnation: (40s-60s): discover sense of contributing to the world, thru
family & work
o​Integrity vs despair: (60s and up): reflect on your life, feel satisfaction or failure
●​PUBERTY! (rapid skeletal and sexual maturation)
o​Primary sex characteristics: necessary structures for reproduction (ovaries, testicles,
vagina, penis)
o​Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive characteristics that dev during puberty
(breasts, hips, deepening of voice, body hair)
o​Frontal lobe continuous dev (not fully developed till 25)
●​GENDER DEVELOPMENT: sex = chromosomes, gender = what you identify yourself as
o​Gender roles: expected behaviors (norms) for men/women
o​Social learning theory: we learn gender roles and identity from those around us
●​AGING:
o​Cellular clock theory: cells have a maximum # of divisions before they can’t divide
anymore
o​Free-radical theory: unstable oxygen molecules w/in cells damage DNA
o​Over time skills decrease (reaction time, memory)
●​CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY: studies ppl of different ages at the same point in time
o​Adv: inexpensive & quick
o​Disadv: can be differences due to generational gap
 ●​LONGITUDINAL STUDY: studies same ppl over time
o​Adv: eliminates groups differences, lots of detail
o​Disadv: expensive, time consuming, high drop out rates
●​Stages of Grief (crap btw)
o​Denial: “this can’t be happening”
o​Anger: “why me?”
o​Bargaining: “just let me live to see my kids graduate”
o​Depression: “why bother”
o​Acceptance: “its going to okay”
●​Problem-focused coping: solving or doing something to alter the course of stress (planning,
acceptance)
●​Emotion-focused coping: reducing the emotional distress (denial, disengagement)
Personality
(5-7%)
PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATION
SIGMUND FREUD said personality was largely unconscious. Came up w/ the following:
●​Conscious: immediate awareness of current environment
●​Preconscious: available to awareness (phone #s)
●​Unconscious: unavailable to awareness
●​id: our hidden true animalistic wants and desires – operates on the pleasure principle, all
about rewards and avoiding pain (devil on your shoulder – entirely unconscious)
●​superego: our moral conscious (angel on your shoulder, all 3 consciousness)
●​ego: reality principle, has to deal w/ society, stuck mediating b/w the id and superego (its
you! – conscious and preconscious)
When ego cannot mediate b/w the id and superego, we use defense mechanisms
●​Repression: push memories back into the unconscious mind (sexual abuse is too traumatic
to deal w/ so you repress it)
●​Projection: attribute personal shortcomings & faults on to others (man who wants to have
an affair accuses his wife of having one)
●​Denial: refuse to acknowledge reality (refuse to believe you have cancer)
●​ Displacement; shift feelings from an unacceptable object to a more acceptable one (can’t
tell at teacher, go home and yell at the dog)
●​Reaction formation: transform unacceptable motive into his opposite (woman who fears
sexual urges becomes a religious zealot)
●​Regression: transform into an earlier development period in the face of stress (during exam
week you start to suck your thumb)
●​Rationalization: replace a less acceptable reasoning with a more acceptable one (don’t get
into your college – justify it was a sucky college anyway)
●​Sublimination: replace unacceptable impulse w/ a socially acceptable one (man w/ strong
sexual urges paints nudes. Dexter)
FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES
●​Oral stage (0-18 months): pleasure focuses on the mouth (id)
●​Anal stage (18 – 36 months): pleasure involves eliminative functions (ego forms)
●​Phallic stage (3 – 6 yrs): pleasure focuses on genitals (superego forms)
o​Oedipal complex: young boys learn to identify w/ their father out of fear of retribution
(castration anxiety)
o​Electra complex: young girls learn to identify w/ their mother b/c they cannot with their
father (penis envy)
●​Latency stage (6 yrs to puberty): psychic time out – personality is set
●​Genital State (adulthood): sexual reawakening – oedipal and electra “feelings” are
repressed, turn sexual wants onto an appropriate person
●​FIXATION: can become “stuck” in an earlier stage – influences personality (oral stage
smokes/drinks, anal is “anal retentive”, phallic is promiscuous)
What’s wrong w/ Freud theory? – unverifiable, descriptive not predictive
What’s good about it? – 1st theory about personality, sparked psychoanalysis
How do we test this approach?
●​Psychoanalysis: analyze a person’s unconscious motives thru the use of:
o​Free Association: say aloud everythying that comes to mind w/o hesitation
o​Transference: looks for feelings to transferred to psychoanalyst
o​Dream interpretation: analyze the manifest (seen message) and latent (hidden
messages) content
o​Projective Tests: ambiguous stimuli shown to look at your unconscious motives
(THESE SUCK B/C THEY ARE VERY SUBJECTIVE)
▪​ Thematic apperception test (TAT) : tell a story about a picture (when someone has a
tattoo (tatt) you ask what it means
▪​ Rorschach inkblot: show an inkblot
NEO-FREUDIANS
●​CARL JUNG: believed in the collective unconconcious (shared inherited reservoir of
memory – explains common myths across civilizations & time)
●​KAREN HORNEY: said personality develops in context of social relationships, NOT
sexual urges (security not sex is motivation, men get womb envy)
TRAIT PERSPECTIVE
●​Traits are enduring personality characteristics, people can be described by these – have
strong or weak tendencies. They are stable, genetic, and predict other attributes.
●​Use factor analysis to find these: statistical procedure used to identify similar components
●​TRAIT THEORIES:
●​Big Five: (by Costa & McCrae) (acronym OCEAN) You vary on each of these
o​Openness : imaginative, independent, like variety
o​Conscientiousness: organized, careful, disciplined
o​Extraversion: sociable, fun-loving, affectionate (opoosite it introversion: shy, timid,
reserved)
o​Agreeableness: soft hearted, trusting, helpful
o​Neuroticism (emotional stability): calm, secure
What’s wrong with trait theory? – ignores the role of the situation in behavior
What’s good about it? - identifying traits gives us perspectives about careers, relationships,
health
How do we test this approach?
●​MMPI – helpful for mental health and job placement
●​Myer’s Briggs – gave you 4 letter combo
What’s wrong w/ these tests?
●​They’re long, social desirability can be an influence, and they’re too broad
HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE
●​Emphasized personal growth and free will. You don’t like yourself? So change!
●​CARL ROGERS: talked about our self-concept (idea of who we are). Your self-concept is
the center of your personality
o​Actual (social) self: what others see
o​Ideal (true) self: who you WANT to be
 o​A positive self-concept makes us perceive the world positively (optimist)
o​A negative self-concept makes us feel dissatisfied and unhappy
What wrong with humanistic theory? - too optimistic about human nature, abstract
concepts are difficult to test
What’s good about it? – emphasizes conscious experiences and change

●​Individualistic Cultures: give priorities to own goals over group goals. Define your
identify in terms of you (American society)
●​Collectivistic Cultures: give priority to the goals of the group, your identity is part of that
group (China)
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE
●​Behavior is a complex interaction of inner process and environmental influence – which
influences personality
●​Emphasizes conscious awareness, beliefs, expectations, and goals
●​BANDURA! Talked about RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM:
interaction of behavior, cognitions, and environment make up you.

{I’m outgoing (behavior), I choose to teach b/c it lets me be outgoing

(environment), and I have thought this through which is why I teach
despite making less money (cognitive)}
●​Self-efficacy: belief that one can succeed, so you ensure you do
●​Internal locus of control: you control your own fate
●​External locus of control: chance / outside forces control your fate
What’s wrong with social-cognitive? – Too specific, cannot generalize
What’s good about it? – Highlights situations, and cognitive explanations of personality
How do we test it? – Observations & interviews (time consuming)

Testing &
Individual Differences
(5-7%)
Individual Theories about Intelligence
st
●​GALTON: 1 to suggest intelligence was inherited. Intelligence based on muscle strength,
size of head, reaction time, etc.
●​CATTELL: 2 clusters of mental abilities
o​Crystalized intelligence: reasoning and verbal skills - what you learn in school – the cold
hard (like crystals!) facts
o​Fluid intelligence: spatial abilities, rote memory, things that come natural to you – can’t
learn in school. Also decrease over time
●​SPEARMAN’S G FACTOR: said a general intelligence (g) underlies all mental abilities
(typical IQ of today)
●​GARDNER: multiple intelligences (8): linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial,
bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (self), interpersonal (social), naturalist

●​STERNBERG: TRIARCHIC THEORY

o​Analytical: mental components to solve problems, what IQ tests assess (book smarts)
o​Practical: ability to size up new situations and adapt to real-life demands (street smarts)
o​Creative: intellectual and motivational processes that lead to novel solutions, idea,
products
●​BINET: developed 1st intelligence test, combined with TERMAN –
developed the STANFORD-BINET IQ TEST

o​Chronological age = actual age

o​Mental age = tested age compared to other of that age
o​100 is average
●​WECHSLER: developed the WAIS and WISC – most commonly used today
●​FLYNN effect: IQ has steadily risen over the past 80 years – probably due to education
standards and better IQ tests
●​Extremes of Intelligence: high IQ = above 135; mentally retarded = below 70
●​Causes of mild retardation:
o​PKU – liver fails to produce an ezyme needed to breakdown chemicals – leads to brain
damage
o​Down syndrome – extra copy of 21st chromosome
o​Fragile X – higher chance in boys due to ONE X chromosome
●​Influence on IQ:
o​Genetics: MZ twins have similar IQ, adopted kids more similar to biological parents
o​Environment: early neglect leads to lower IQ, good schooling to higher IQ
●​Types of Tests:
o​Aptitude: predicts your abilities to learn a new skill (ASVAB)
o​Achievement: tests what you know(SAT)
●​TEST CREATION:
o​Standardization: administer a test to a representative sample of future test takers to
establish a basis for meaningful comparison (test it out 1st)
o​Should be reliable: same results over time
▪​ Split-half reliability: compare two halves of the test
▪​ Test-retest reliability: use the same test on 2 different occasions
o​Should be valid: test is accurate – measures what it is
intended to
▪​ Content validity: test measures what you want it to
(an IQ test actually measures IQ)
▪​ Predictive validity: test is able to accurately predict
a trait (high math scores predicts good engineer)
●​Standardized tests establish a normal distribution
●​Standard deviations are used to compare scores.
●​Standard deviation measures how much the scores
vary from the mean. The percentages stay the same in
every curve

Abnormal Behavior
(7 – 9%)
●​Defining abnormal behavior:
o​Must be deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional
●​Historical causes: biology, psychological issues, supernatural issues (demons)
●​Medical model: emphasizes treatment of disorders, as they have a biological origin. Came
through the reformation of institutions in U.S. (DORTHEA DIX)
●​Biopsychosocial model: currently used model – stress biological, psychological, and social
causes
●​Diagnosing abnormal behavior:
 o​DSM: manual listing all currently accepted psychological disorders. Classifies them based
on criteria – provides no explanation of causes or treatments
ANXIETY DISORDERS
Most common disorders in the U.S.
●​Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): person is generally anxious, all the time, for NO
REASON
●​Panic Disorder: person is prone to frequent panic attacks (feeling like you’re having a heart
attack). Can come w/ agoraphobia: anxiety about being in places you cannot escape (fear of
public spaces / people)
●​Phobias: irrational fear that disrupts your life
●​Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD): person if overwhelmed with both:
o​Obsessions: persistent unwanted thoughts (did I leave the stove on?)
o​Compulsions: senseless rituals (hand washing)
●​Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): characterized by flashbacks, problems w/
concentration, and anxiety following a traumatic event (war, natural disasters)
CAUSES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS:
●​Psychodynamic: repressed thoughts & feelings manifest in anxiety and rituals
●​Behaviorist: fear conditioning leads to anxiety, which is then reinforced. Phobias might be
learned through observational learning
●​Biological: natural selection favored those with certain phobias (heights). Twins often share
disorders. Often see less GABA in the brain
SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
●​Psychological disorders w/ no apparent physical cause
o​Conversion disorder: loss of feeling or usage of a limb or body part (sight) – absolutely
no physiological cause though
o​Hypochondriasis: person interprets normal symptoms as a major disease – must disrupt
their life
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
●​Dissociative Identity Disorder: formerly multiple personalities – person fractures into
several distinct personalities who normally have no awareness of each other. NOT
SCHIZOPHRENIA!
o​Usually caused by traumatic childhood abuse
o​Legitimacy is doubted by some, more common in those w/ good health insurance
o​Treatment involves integration of the personalities
●​Dissociative Fugue: following a traumatic event a person leaves, taking on a whole new life
& personality w/ no memory of the previous one
MOOD DISORDERS
●​Major depressive disorder: extreme sadness and despair, apathy towards life, w/ no known
cause
●​Dysthymia: milder form of depression, lasts for years (Eeyore!)
●​Bipolar disorder: bouts of severe depression & manic episodes
o​Mania: heightened mood, characterized by risky behaviors, fast talking, flights of ideas
●​Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): form of depression that occurs typically winter –
found mostly in Northern areas (Alaska, Ireland) UNIQUE TREATMENT = LIGHT
THERAPY
CAUSES OF MOOD DISORDERS
●​Biology: lower levels of serotonin & norepinephrine linked to depression, higher levels of
norepinephrine linked to mania. Runs in families suggesting GENES. Twin studies also
support this.
●​Cognitive: negative thought patterns leads to depression
SCHIZOPHRENIA
NOT MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES! THEY HAVE ONE PERSONALITY!
●​SYMPTOMS
o​Positive Symptoms (not good – means something added))
▪​ Hallucinations: sensory experiences w/o sensory stimulation (seeing and/or hearing
things)
▪​ Delusions: fixed, false beliefs (people are out to get them, grandiose thoughts (I am
God)
▪​ Disorganized thinking

▪​ Disorganized speech
o​Negative Symptoms (something taken away)
▪​ Flat affect: lack ability to show emotions

▪​ Impaired decision making, inability to pay attention

o​Catatonia: become frozen over periods of time (exhibit waxy flexibility: can move them
into new positions)
●​CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
o​Brain abnormalities: enlarged ventricles (atrophy), smaller frontal cortex
o​Genetics: runs in families, MZ twins at higher risk
o​Dopamine hypothesis: too much dopamine in the brain
o​Diathesis – Stress: individual has a genetic predisposition, disease must be “turned-on” by
environmental stimuli (like stress) – explains why it is most commonly developed during
college years
PERSONALITY DISORDERS
●​Marked by disruptive, inflexible, enduring behavior patterns – makes this very difficult to
treat!
o​Antisocial: NOT “avoidant of socialization” – more like “anti-society” – disregard for
others, manipulative, breaks laws
o​Borderline: instable interpersonal relationships & self-image, “I hate you, don’t leave me”
o​Histrionic: excessive emotionality & attention seeking (slut disorder)
o​Narcissistic: need for admiration & lack of empathy (who cares about everyone else –
look at me!)
Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%)
●​PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH: SEE PERSONALITY SECTION
●​HUMANISTIC APPROACH:
o​Client-centered therapy: (developed by CARL ROGERS) techniques include active
listening, accepting environment, focuses on patient growth (you figure out what needs to
change and do it)
●​COGNITIVE APPROACH:
o​Rational-emotive therapy: (developed by ELLIS) techniques include analyzing
self-defeating behaviors to change thought patterns – and then change behaviors
associated w/ said patterns
▪​ Best for anxiety disorders
 ▪​ Very confrontational
o​Cognitive therapy: (developed by BECK) illogical thoughts → psychological problems,
challenges those thoughts
▪​ Best for depression

▪​ Self-directed – you figure out your errors

●​BEHAVIORAL APPROACH (typically used for anxiety disorders / phobias)
o​Classical Conditioning:
▪​ Counterconditioning Little Albert & Watson
●​Aversive conditioning: associate an unpleasant experience (e.g. nausea) w/ an
unwanted behavior (e.g. drinking alcohol)
▪​ Exposure therapy: slowly expose people to whatever it is that makes them anxious
●​Systematic desensitization: associate a pleasant relaxed state w/ gradually increasing
anxiety triggering stimuli (create a desensitization hierarchy – ex. List of things about
flying that makes you nervous – step through each one till you can do it)
●​Intensive exposure therapy (Flooding): force someone to experience the fear (afraid
of drowning, throw you in a pool)
o​Operant Conditioning: use behavior modification (reward good behaviors w/ token
reinforcers ). Used in schools, w/ autistic children, etc.
●​ OTHER THERPAIES:
o​Family therapy: treats the family as a system, individual behaviors are influenced by
family dynamics
o​Group therapy: therapy through a group – lets patients see “they’re not alone”
●​BIOLOGICAL APPROACH: CALLED BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES
o​Drug therapies (psychopharmacology):
▪​ Anti-psychotics: decrease dopamine: treats schizophrenia
●​Side effects: TARDIVE DYSKINESIA: hand tremors (similar to Parkinson’s- due to
lack of dopamine), worsening of negative symptoms, extreme sedation
●​Drug names: thorazine, clozapine
▪​ Anti-depressants: increase serotonin through REUPTAKE inhibition
●​Side effects: drowsiness, anxiety, can increase suicide risk in teens
●​Drug names: SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil.
SNRIs (selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) Cymbalta, Effexor
▪​ Mood stabilizers: used in the treatment of BIPOLAR disorder : LITHIUM
▪​ Anti-anxiety drugs: depress the central nervous system (dangerous in combo w/
alcohol) Xanax, Ativan
o​Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): send electricity into the brain to induce minor
seizures. Used (rarely) to treat depression (when nothing else works). Thought to “reboot”
the brain
o​Psychosurgery (frontal lobotomy): frontal lobe is surgically destroyed. Used to treat
depression or violent individuals – almost never used anymore
Social
(8-10%)
SOCIAL THINKING
●​Attribution theory: we explain others behaviors by crediting the situation or the person’s
disposition (they only passed b/c they cheated)
 ●​Fundamental attribution error (very similar to Actor-observer bias): tendency for
observers to underestimate the importance of the situation and overestimate the impact of
personal disposition (that guy cut me off b/c he’s a jerk – not that his wife could be in
labor)
ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS
●​Central route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through logical arguments and
explanations. Leads to long term behavior change
●​Peripheral route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through incidental cues (like a
speaker’s attractiveness). Leads to temporary behavior changes
●​Foot in the door phenomenon: complying w/ a small request then leads to going along
w/ a larger request (can I have $5? Yes. Now can I have $25?)
●​Door in the face phenomenon: a large request is turned down, when then leads you to be
more likely to comply w/ a small request (can I have $100? Heck no! How about $20?
Okay)
●​STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT (ZIMBARDO): classic “experiment” where
individuals were assigned to be guards / prisoners. w/in days they took on their roles and
went too far. Highly unethical
●​Cognitive dissonance (FESTINGER): two opposing thoughts conflict w/ each other,
causing discomfort (dissonance), which makes us find ways to justify the situation (cult that
was going to be abducted by aliens, smokers)
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
●​Conformity: classic experiment done by ASCH – showed lines of different lengths,
confederates gave wrong answers to see if others would go along w/ it
o​Normative social influence: we conform to gain approval or to not stand out from the
group (be part of the norm
o​Informational social influence: we conform to others b/c we think their opinions must
be right
●​Obedience: classic experiment done by MILGRAM: participants were to “teach” another
individual using shocks. 60% of participants would administer lethal shocks to another
person simply b/c they were told to
GROUP INFLUENCE
●​Social facilitation: perform better on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others
●​Social loafing: tendency for ppl in a group to exert less effort when pooling their effort
together (tug of war)
●​Deindividuation: loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that
foster arousal and anonymity (mob mentality)
●​Group polarization: the more time spent w/ a group the more similar (polarized) their
thoughts / opinions will become
●​Groupthink: desire for harmony w/in a group leads to everyone going along w/ the same
thinking, ignoring other possibilities or bad ideas
●​Risky shift: groups make riskier decisions together rather than alone
PREJUDICE
●​Ingroup: “US” – ppl w/ whom we share a common identity
●​Outgroup: “them” – ppl perceived as different or not part of the group
●​Ingroup bias: tendency to favor our own group
●​ Scapegoat theory: prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone else to
blame
●​ Ethnocentrism: tendency to see your own group as more important than others
●​ Just-world phenomenon: tendency for ppl to believe that the world is just and therefore
ppl get what they deserve (homeless ppl)
 AGGRESION
●​ Genetic influence: runs in families, can breed for in animals
●​ Lower serotonin, higher testosterone
●​ Environmental influence: social learning theory (BANDURA) – observing violence in
others makes us more violent for a time
o​Also: pollution, crowding, heat, humidity
●​ Frustration-aggression hypothesis: frustration creates anger, which leads to aggression
ATTRACTION
●​ Mere exposure effect: repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them (the
more time you spend around something the more you like it)
●​ Physical attractiveness: pretty ppl are thought to be more
credible, less likely to do bad things
●​ Similarity: we prefer ppl similar to us
ALTRUISM
●​ Altruism: unselfish regard for the welfare of others
●​ Bystander effect: the more ppl around the less likely we are
to help someone in need
●​ Social exchange theory: social behavior (helping) is an
exchange process – aim is to maximize benefits and minimize
cost
●​ Reciprocity norm: we give so we can get
CONFLICT
●​ Social trap: conflicting parties pursue their own best
interests, which can result in destructive results (prisoner’s
dilemma – game theory)

●​ Approach approach conflict: win – win situation; conflict is which win you have to
choose (you can eat out at ONE of your two favorite restaurants – you can only choose one
though)
●​ Approach avoidance conflict: win – lose situation; outcome has positive and negative
aspects (marriage)
●​ Avoidance avoidance conflict : lose – lose; both outcomes are bad but you have to choose
one (clean your room or do your homework)
●​ Multiple approach avoidance conflict: two (or more) win-lose situations; conflict is
which to choose (College A is good for your major but no scholarship, College B is bad
for your major but has a scholarship)
SOCIAL SELF
●​Self-concept bias: what we consider important in ourselves is what we consider important
in others
●​False-consensus effect: we overestimate the degree to which everyone else thinks / acts
the way we do
●​Self-fulfilling prophecy: a belief that leads to its own fulfillment (I expect you all to pass,
you know this, you study – fulfilling my prophecy)
●​Self-serving bias: readiness to perceive ourselves as favorably
●​Spotlight effect (self-objectification) : tendency of an individual to overestimate the
extent to which others are paying attention to them.