Test 2 Review: Consciousness, Learning, Memory, and Thinking & Language

Test 2 Review Session

This review session covers key topics in psychology, focusing on consciousness, learning, memory, and thinking & language. The following study notes summarize essential concepts, definitions, and applications relevant to these areas.

Consciousness

Sleep Stages

Sleep is divided into several stages, each with distinct physiological and psychological characteristics. Understanding these stages is crucial for recognizing how sleep affects cognition and behavior.

• Stage 1 (NREM 1): Light sleep, easily awakened, may experience hypnic jerks or sensation of falling.

• Stage 2 (NREM 2): Deeper relaxation, sleep spindles and K-complexes appear on EEG, body temperature drops.

• Stage 3 (NREM 3): Deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), difficult to awaken, crucial for physical restoration.

• REM Sleep: Rapid Eye Movement sleep, vivid dreams, brain activity similar to wakefulness, body is paralyzed except for eyes and breathing muscles.

Examples:

• Feeling groggy and unable to recall dreams after waking may indicate awakening from deep NREM sleep.

• Vivid, story-like dreams typically occur during REM sleep.

• Sleepwalking and night terrors are most common during NREM 3.

Consciousness & Psychoactive Drugs

Drug Effects and Classification

Psychoactive drugs alter consciousness, mood, and perception. They are classified based on their effects on the central nervous system.

• Depressants: Reduce neural activity and slow body functions (e.g., alcohol, benzodiazepines).

• Stimulants: Increase neural activity and speed up body functions (e.g., caffeine, amphetamines, cocaine, Adderall).

• Opiates: Relieve pain and produce euphoria (e.g., oxycontin, fentanyl).

• Hallucinogens: Distort perceptions and evoke sensory images (e.g., LSD).

Examples:

• Alcohol impairs judgment and slows reaction time.

• Caffeine increases alertness and reduces fatigue.

• LSD can cause vivid visual hallucinations and altered sense of time.

Matching Taglines to Drugs

Tagline	Drug
Tiny doses, massive impact—be cautious, the danger’s real.	Fentanyl
Pain relief or potential peril? The time-release tells all.	Oxycontin
Once a party favorite, now a sedative memory.	Quaaludes
The social lubricant that slows you down.	Alcohol
Focus fueled, but watch the crash.	Adderall
The pick-me-up that powers your morning grind.	Caffeine
The weird in technicolor—perception’s new frontier.	LSD
Calm the storm, but beware the dependence tide.	Benzodiazepines

Fill in the Blanks: Drug Effects in Context

This exercise applies knowledge of psychoactive drugs to real-life scenarios, reinforcing understanding of their behavioral and cognitive effects.

• Alcohol: Impairs judgment, slows movement, reduces inhibition.

• Adderall: Increases alertness, focus, and energy; used for ADHD.

• LSD: Causes hallucinations, altered perception, mystical experiences.

• Caffeine: Mild stimulant, increases alertness.

• Benzodiazepines: Reduce anxiety, induce relaxation, risk of dependence.

Learning

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eventually eliciting a similar response.

• Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that does not initially elicit a response (e.g., blue exam paper).

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response (e.g., big exam).

• Unconditioned Response (UR): The natural reaction to the US (e.g., nervousness, stress).

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The previously neutral stimulus that, after association, triggers a response (e.g., blue exam paper after conditioning).

• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS (e.g., feeling nervous upon seeing the blue exam paper).

Example: Taylor feels nervous when seeing a blue exam paper, even without an exam, due to classical conditioning.

Operant Conditioning & Behavior Modification

Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences. Behavior modification applies these principles to encourage desirable behaviors and discourage undesirable ones.

• Positive Reinforcement: Adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior (e.g., giving praise for participation).

• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an aversive stimulus to increase a behavior (e.g., removing extra homework when students behave well).

• Positive Punishment: Adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior (e.g., assigning detention for misbehavior).

• Negative Punishment: Removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior (e.g., taking away recess for talking out of turn).

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

Partial reinforcement schedules determine how and when behaviors are reinforced, affecting the rate and stability of learning.

Schedule	Description	Example (Coffee Shop)
Fixed Ratio	Reinforcement after a set number of responses	Free drink after every 10 purchases
Variable Ratio	Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses	Randomly selected customers receive a free drink
Fixed Interval	Reinforcement after a fixed amount of time	Discount every Monday morning
Variable Interval	Reinforcement after varying time intervals	Surprise discounts at random times

Memory

Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Distortion

Memory is reconstructive and can be influenced by stress, suggestion, and biases. Eyewitness testimony is particularly susceptible to errors.

• Weapon Focus Effect: Attention is drawn to a weapon, reducing memory for other details.

• Misinformation Effect: Incorporating misleading information into memory after an event.

• Source Monitoring Error: Confusing the source of a memory (e.g., thinking you saw something you only heard about).

• Own-Race Bias: People are better at recognizing faces of their own race.

Examples:

• Witnesses may forget details of a robber’s face due to stress or focus on a weapon.

• Leading questions can alter a witness’s memory of an event.

Thinking & Language

Heuristics

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making but can lead to systematic errors (biases).

• Availability Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g., overestimating crime rates after hearing about a local incident).

• Representativeness Heuristic: Judging the probability of something based on how well it matches a prototype (e.g., assuming someone is a librarian because they are quiet and like books).

• Anchoring Heuristic: Relying too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions (e.g., suggested donation amounts influencing how much people give).

• Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that confirms one’s beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.

• Base Rate Neglect: Ignoring statistical information in favor of anecdotal evidence (e.g., focusing on drug effectiveness for most, ignoring those for whom it does not work).

Examples:

• Assuming a business will fail based on recent losses (availability heuristic).

• Believing a well-dressed candidate is competent despite lack of evidence (representativeness heuristic).

• Donating more when higher suggested amounts are listed (anchoring heuristic).

• Dismissing studies that contradict personal beliefs (confirmation bias).

Additional info: These notes expand on the provided review slides by including definitions, examples, and applications for each concept, ensuring a comprehensive and self-contained study guide for exam preparation.