INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
1. Light – when light goes dimmer, SCN will tell pineal
CHAPTER 4: CONSCIOUSNESS
CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness – is your awareness of everything that
is going on around you and inside your own head at
any given moment, which you use to organize your
behavior; it includes your thoughts, sensations, and
feelings.
**Cognitive Neuroscience Definition
Consciousness – is generated by a set of action
potentials in the communication among neurons just
sufficient to produce a specific perception, memory,
or experience in our awareness.
Waking Consciousness – it is a time in which we
people are awake, aware and alert when it comes
to our thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Altered States of Consciousness – occurs when there
is a shift in the quality or pattern of your mental
activity.
Ex. Daydreaming, being hypnotized or achieving a
meditative state.
SLEEP
Sleep – is one of the human body's biological
rhythms, natural cycles of activity that the body must
go through.
Circadian Rhythm – circa ("about") and diem ("day")
Sleep-Wake Cycle – is a cycle that takes “about a
day" to complete. The sleep-wake cycle is ultimately
controlled by the brain, specifically by an area within
the hypothalamus the tiny section of the brain that
influence the glandular system.
How Does Sleep Happens?
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) – internal clock that
tells people when to wake up and sleep and is also
sensitive to changes in light.
gland to release melatonin which leads to sleeping
period. When light goes brighter, SCN will tell pineal
gland to stop releasing melatonin which in turn
becomes the waking period.
2. Melatonin
- may be linked to a healthier metabolism
- it can help people who suffer from shift-work
schedule
3. Serotonin
- it said to be a part of sleep
- since this neurotransmitter is both excitatory and
inhibitory, some receptors facilitate some stages of
sleep while others inhibit other stages.
4. Body Temperature
- it plays a part in inducing sleep
- the higher the body temperature, the more alert
people are; the lower temperature the sleepier they
are.
**To sleep or not to sleep – that's the question.
**Enough sleep varies from person to person.
Short sleepers – needing only 4 to 5 hours of sleep.
Long sleepers – requires more than 9 hours of sleep.
**Sleep can also vary as we age.
- We seem to sleep less during each night until the
average length of sleep approaches only 6 hours.
**The amount of sleep that we get con have an
impact on our health.
Sleep Deprivation
**Although people can do without sleep for a while,
they cannot do it without it altogether.
Microsleep – brief side steps into sleep lasting only
seconds.
Sleep Deprivation or Loss of Sleep is a serious
problem, which many people have without realizing
it.
**People who are depriving themselves of sleep will
have a problem during complex tasks.
Consequences of Not Sleeping
1. It has a bad effect on mental and physical
functioning.
2. Symptoms of sleep deprivation includes trembling
hands, in-attention, staring off into space, droopy
eyelids, irritability, even depression.
3. Increased risk of insulin resistance, which can lead
to diabetes.
4. Possible delays in the onset of puberty.
**Sleep is also important for forming memories.
**Sleep also enhances synoptic neurons.
Theories of Sleep
1. The Adaptive Theory of Sleep
- based on this theory, sleep is a product of evolution
- proposes that animals and humans evolved
different sleep patterns to avoid being present
during their predators’ normal hunting times, which
typically would be at night
- Hunting
2. The Restorative Theory of Sleep
- states that sleep is necessary to the physical health
of the body.
- During sleep, chemicals that were used up during
the day’s activities are replenished and cellular
damage is repaired.
Kinds of Sleep
1. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
- is a relatively psychologically type of sleep when
most of a person's dreaming tokes place.
- the voluntary muscle are inhibited, meaning that
the person in REM sleep moves very little.
2. Non-REM (NREM) Sleep
- sleep spans from higher stages to a much deeper,
more restful kind of sleep.
- person's body is free to move around.
Beta Waves – a very small and fast brain wave
pattern shown on the EEG when a person is wide
awake and mentally active.
Alpha Waves – rapid low-amplitude brain waves that
have been linked to feeling of relaxation.
**At this time, we are still awake and feelings of
relaxation is taking place transitioning to the
Hypnogogic State.
Theta Waves – even slower and larger that
eventually replaces alpha-waves.
The Stages of Sleep
1. NREM Sleep
 NREM Sleep - Stage 1 (N1)
- Alpha waves slow down and enters the theta
waves.
- We already entered the hypnogogic state
which we may experience brief but vivid
dreamlike images.
 NREM Sleep - Stage 2 (N2)
 Sleep spindles – brief bursts of activity lasting
only a second on two.
 Theta waves still predominate in this stage,
but if people are awakened during this
stage, they will be aware of having been
asleep.
 NREM Sleep - Stage 3 (N3)
- Delta waves which are strong, slow brain
waves make their appearance.
- Now we are in the deepest stage of sleep,
often referred to as Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS) or
simply deep sleep.
- People in this sleep are very hard to awaken. If
something does wake them, they may be very
confused and disoriented at first.
2. REM Sleep 5. Sleep Paralysis
 REM Stage - feeling of being conscious but unable to move
- We are still asleep but in the stage known as - it occurs when o person between stages of
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep and wakefulness and sleep
sometimes referred to as paradoxical sleep. - during these transitions, you may be unable to
 When a person in REM sleep is awakened, he or move or speak for a few seconds up to a few
she almost always reports being in a dream minutes
state. - it is one of the symptoms of narcolepsy
 The body is unable to act upon these dreams - research indicating stress, trauma, anxiety and
under normal conditions because the voluntary depression make sleep paralysis more likely.
muscles are paralyzed during sleep, a condition
known as sleep paralysis. 6. Insomnia – inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or
get a good quality of life.
N1  N2  N3  N2  N1  REM  Causes of Insomnia
1. Psychological
REM Rebound – a phenomenon in which after being  Worrying
deprived of REM sleep, a person will experience  Trying too hard to sleep
greatly increased amounts of REM sleep the next  Having anxiety
night.
2. Physiological
Sleep Disorders  Too much caffeine
1. Nightmares – are bad dreams, and some  Indigestion
nightmares can be utterly terrifying. It occurs during  Aches and pain
REM sleep (they can only move a little).
Things to Do to Fall Asleep
2. Night Terror – is essentially a state of a panic 1. Consuming no caffeinated drinks or foods that
experienced white sound asleep. It occurs during cause indigestion before bedtime.
NREM Sleep (they can move freely). 2. Taking medication for pain.
3. Dealing with anxieties in the daytime rather than
3. REM Behavior Disorder – a rare disorder in which facing them at night.
the brain mechanisms that normally inhibit the
voluntary muscles fail, allowing the person to thrash Apnea
around and even get up and act out nightmares. - a serious problem
- obesity is often a primary cause of apnea
4. Sleepwalking or Somnambulism - it can cause heart problems as well as poor sleep
- sitting, walking, or performing complex behavior quality.
while asleep
- this is at least due to heredity that happens in Sleep Apnea
childhood and frequently occurs to boys and will - a loud snoring in which the person stops breathing
grow out when they reach adolescence for 10 seconds or more.
- most people do not remember what happened the - when breathing stops there will be sudden silence,
next day followed shortly by a gasping sound of the person
- this happens when the deeper N3 sleep becoming struggles to get air into the lungs.
even deeper during sleep loss, which would make
fully waking even more difficult
Narcolepsy
- a kind of sleep seizure; a neurological disorder that
affects the control of sleep and wakefulness.
- this happens when the person may slip suddenly
into REM sleep during the day which we call
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
- results in the person falling asleep throughout the
day at inappropriate times in inappropriate places.
- these sleep attacks may occur many times and
without warning, making the operation of a car
owner or other machinery very dangerous for the
persons with narcolepsy.
**The sudden REM attacks are especially dangerous
because of the symptom of cataplexy.
Cataplexy – partial or total loss of muscle control,
often triggered by a strong emotion such as
laughter.
Other Sleep Disorders
1. Restless Leg Syndrome – uncomfortable sensations
in legs causing movement and loss of sleep.
2. Nocturnal Leg Cramps – painful cramps in calf or
foot muscles but can also occur in the thighs or feet.
3. Hypersomnia – excessive daytime sleepiness.
4. Circadian rhythm disorders – caused by
desynchronization between internal sleep-wake
rhythms and the light-darkness cycle such as jet lag
and shift work.
5. Enuresis – urinating while asleep in bed
 Nocturnal – bed wetting at night.
 Diurnal – bed wetting at daytime.
DREAMS
Freud 's The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)
- Freud believed that the problems of his patients
stemmed from conflicts and events that had been
buried in their unconscious mind since childhood.
- He examined his patients' dreams believing that
conflict, events and desires of the past would be
represented in symbolic form in the dreams.
Manifest content – the actual dream itself.
Latent content – the true meaning of dream that was
hidden or latent and only expressed in symbols.
Freudian Dream Symbols
1. The person as a whole is often represented in the
form of a house - houses with smooth wall are men,
and those with projection and balconies to which
one cling are women.
2. Parents appear in dreams as kings, queens, or
other highly respected persons.
3. Children and siblings are symbolized as small
animals are vermin.
4. Birth is almost always represented by some
reference to water. Either one plunges into water or
climbs out of it, rescues someone from water or gets
rescued from water (indicating a mother relationship
to that person).
5. Death is replaced in dreams by a taking a journey.
6. Nakedness symbolized by clothing, especially
uniforms.
7. Jewels and treasure may represent a beloved
person.
8. Sweets frequently stand in for sexual delight.
The Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis – a dream is
merely another kind of thinking that occurs when
people sleep. It comes not from the outside world
but within people's memories and experiences of the
past.
Activation-Information-Mode Model (AIM)
- Hobson and colleagues tried to improve the
hypothesis in regards to the questions of the
meaning of dreams.
- This model explains that, when the brain is “making
up” a dream to explain its own activation, it uses
meaningful bits and pieces of the person's
experience from the previous day or the last few
days rather than just random items from memory
What Do People Dream About?
- Typically about events that occur in everyday life;
most in color; content influenced by gender and
culture.
THE EFFECTS OF HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis
- it is a state of highly focused attention or
concentration, often associated with relaxation, and
heightened suggestibility.
- it is a state of consciousness in which a person is
especially susceptible to suggestion.
Three Popular Kinds of Hypnosis
1. Street Hypnosis or Covert Hypnosis
- is an attempt to communicate with another
person's unconscious mind without informing the
subject that they will be hypnotized.
- it is also known as conversational hypnosis or sleight
of mouth.
2. Stage Hypnosis – is performed in front of an
audience for the purposes of entertainment, usually
in a theatre or club.
3. Hypnotherapy – is a combination of hypnosis and
therapeutic intervention. The therapist leads the
patient to positive change while the patient is
deeply relaxed in a state of heightened suggestibility
called trance.
Steps in Hypnotic Induction
**There are four key steps in inducing hypnosis
(Druckmon and Bjork, 1994)
1. The hypnotist tells the person to focus on what is
being said.
2. The person is told to relax and feel tired.
3. The hypnotist tells the person to “let go” and
accept suggestion easily.
4. The person is told to use vivid imagination.
Hypnotic Susceptibility – it is the degree to which a
person is a good hypnotic subject, often makes use
of a series of ordered suggestions.
Who can be hypnotized?
**Using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans
researchers discovered that people who were more
likely to be hypnotized show more activity in areas of
the brain concerned with executive control and
attention.
How will we know if a person is susceptible in
hypnosis?
Example of items that would appear on Hypnotic
susceptibility scale:
1. Movement of the body back and forth
2. Closing eyes and unable to open them
3. Fingers locked together
4. Responding to posthypnotic suggestion
5. One arm locked into position
6. Loss of memory for events during the session
7. Unable to state one's own name
8. Seeing or hearing nonexistent stimuli
Facts about Hypnosis
Remember that:
- The hypnotist may only be a guide into a more relax
state, while the subject actually hypnotizes himself or
herself.
- People cannot be hypnotized against their will
Basic Suggestion Effect
- it is the tendency to act as though their behavior is
automatic and out of their control.
- it give people on excuse to do things they might not
otherwise do because the burden of responsibility for
their actions falls on the hypnotist.
Hypnosis Can:
• Create amnesia for whatever happens during
the hypnotic session at least for a brief time.
 • Relieve pain by allowing a person to remove
conscious attention from the pain.
• Alter sensory perceptions. (Smell, hearing, vision
time sense, and the ability to see illusions can all be
affected by hypnosis).
• Help people relax in situations that would
normally cause them stress, such as flying on an
airplane.
Hypnosis Cannot:
• Give people superhuman strength (People may
use their full strength under hypnosis, but is no more
than they had before hypnosis)
• Reliably enhance memory (There’s an increased
risk of false memory retrieval because of the
suggestive state hypnosis create.)
• Regress people back to childhood (Although
people may act like children, they do and say
things children would not.)
• Regress people to some "past life". There is no
scientific evidence for past-life regression.
**Hypnosis is a handy way to help people relax
and/or to control pain.
**Actual physical behavior is harder to change, and
that is why hypnosis is not effective at changing
eating habits or helping people to stop smoking.
**Hypnosis is sometimes used in psychological
therapy to help people cope with anxiety or deal
with cravings for food or drugs.
Theories of Hypnosis
1. Hypnosis as Dissociation: The Hidden Observer
- one part of the mind is aware of actions/activities
taking place (hidden observer) while the
"hypnotized” part is not.
- in a nutshell, the notion of people having a "hidden
observer” is that even when someone experience
deep hypnosis, the individual still knows what he/she
is doing and what is going on.
2. Hypnosis as Social Role-playing: The Social-
Cognitive Theory of Hypnosis – assumes that the
people who are hypnotized are not in an altered
state but are merely playing the role expected of
them in the situation.
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Psychoactive Drugs – chemical substances that alter
thinking, perception, memory, or some combination
of those abilities.
Physical Dependence
- drugs that people can become physically
dependent on cause the user's body to crave the
drug.
- after using the drug for some period of time, the
person becomes unable to function normally
without the drug and the person is said to be
dependent or addicted
Drug Tolerance – as the person continues to use the
drug, larger and larger doses of the drug needed to
activate the same initial effects of the drug.
Withdrawal – this happens when a person is deprived
of the drugs.
Psychological Dependence – it is the belief that the
drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or
psychological well-being, which is very powerful
factor to continued drug use.
Major Drug Categories
1. Stimulants
- drugs that increase the functions of the nervous
system.
- class of drugs that cause either the sympathetic
division or the central nervous system (or both) to
increase levels of functioning, at least temporarily.
- “speed up” the nervous system
Examples of Stimulants
a. Amphetamines
- are stimulants that are synthesized (made) in
laboratories rather than being found in nature.
- cause the sympathetic nervous system to go into
overdrive
- examples are Benzedrine, Methedrine, and
Dexedrine
- it includes:
 Methamphetamine – is sometimes used to
treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) or narcolepsy.
 Crystal meth – is a crystalline form that can
be smoked and is used by “recreational”
drug users, people who do not need drugs
but instead use them to gain some form of
pleasure.
 Amphetamine Psychosis – this condition causes
addicts to become delusional (losing contact
with what is real) and paranoid
b. Cocaine
- is a natural drug found in coca plant leaves
- it produces feelings of euphoria (a feeling of great
happiness), energy, power, and pleasure
- it also deadens pain and suppresses the appetite.
 Crack Cocaine – a less pure, cheaper version
found on the streets that is usually described
as even more addictive than cocaine.
c. Nicotine
- is a relatively mild but nevertheless toxic stimulant,
producing a slight “rush” or sense of arousal as it
raises blood pressure and accelerates the heart, as
well as providing a rush of sugar into the bloodstream
- it also has a relaxing effect on most people and
seems to reduce stress
- is legal and easily obtainable
- is more powerful than heroin or alcohol
d. Caffeine
- is a mild stimulant, helps maintain alertness, and
can increase the effectiveness of some pain relievers
such as aspirin
- often added to pain relievers for that reason and is
the key ingredient in medications meant to keep
people awake
2. Depressants – drugs that decrease the functions of
the nervous system.
Examples of Depressants
a. Major Tranquilizers
- drugs that have a strong depressant effect
- it includes:
 Barbiturates – are drugs that have a sedative
(sleep-inducing) effect and is commonly
known as sleeping pills.
b. Minor Tranquilizers
- drugs having a relatively mild depressant effect
- it includes:
 Benzodiazepines
- drugs that are used to lower anxiety and
reduce stress
- Ex.: Valium, Xanax, Halcion, Ativan, and
Librium
 Rohypnol – is a benzodiazepine tranquilizer
that has become famous as the “date rape”
drug.
c. Alcohol
- most commonly used and abused depressant
- chemical resulting from fermentation or distillation
of various kinds of vegetable matter
- is a depressant that gives the illusion of stimulation
 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – a condition of
mental retardation and physical deformity in
a growing embryo due to drinking.
 Binge Drinking – drinking five or more
alcoholic drinks within a limited amount of
time, “happy hour”
d. Narcotics
- a type of depressant that suppress the sensation of
pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous
system’s natural receptor sites for endorphins, the
neurotransmitters that naturally deaden pain
sensations
- a derivative of a particular plant-based
substance—opium.
 Opium
- made from the opium poppy
- has pain-relieving and euphoria inducing
properties that have been known for at least
2,000 years
- Highly addictive, it mimics the effects of
endorphins, the nervous system’s natural
painkillers
 Morphine
- was created by dissolving opium in an acid
and then neutralizing the acid with ammonia
- was thought to be a wonder drug
 Heroin
- was first hailed as the new wonder drug—a
derivative of morphine that did not have
many of the disagreeable side effects of
morphine
- was even more powerfully addictive than
morphine or opium
- methadone, buprenorphine, and
naltrexone
3. Hallucinogens – drugs that alter perception and
may cause hallucinations.
Examples of Hallucinogens
a. Manufactured Highs
- several drugs that were developed in the
laboratory instead of being found in nature
- are often more potent than drugs found in the
natural world
 Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
- is synthesized from a grain fungus called
ergot.
- is one of the most potent, or powerful,
Hallucinogens
 Phenyl Cyclohexyl Piperidine (PCP)
- contracted as phencyclidine
- another synthesized drug that was found to
be so dangerous that it remains useful only in
veterinary medicine as a tranquilizer.
- classified as “stimulatory hallucinogens”
 Stimulatory Hallucinogenics – drugs
that produce a mixture of psychomotor
stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.
 MDMA (Ecstacy)
- is technically an amphetamine but it is
capable of producing hallucinations as well.
- can be deadly when misused because it
causes the release of large amounts of
serotonin and also blocks the reuptake of this
neurotransmitter
b. Non-manufactured High (Marijuana)
- one of the best known and most commonly abused
of the hallucinogenic drugs
- also called “pot” or “weed”
- comes from the leaves and flowers of the hemp
plant called Cannabis sativa.
- is best known for its ability to produce a feeling of
well-being, mild intoxication, and mild sensory
distortions or hallucinations.
 Hashish – is the concentrated substance made
by scraping the resin from these leaves, and
both marijuana and hashish contain
cannabinoids.
 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the most
psychoactive cannabinoid, and the active
ingredient in marijuana.
Hypnogogic Hallucinations
- a type of hallucination that occurs when a person
is entering N1.
- are not dreamlike in nature and instead, they feel
very real to the person experiencing them
- most common are the auditory hallucinations
Hypnopompic Hallucination
- a type of hallucination that occurs just as a person
is in the between-state of being in REM sleep (in
which the voluntary muscles are paralyzed) and not
yet fully awake.
CHAPTER 5: LEARNING
LEARNING
Learning – is any relatively permanent change in
behavior brought about by experience or practice.
Relatively Permanent – part of the definition refers to
the fact that when people learn anything, some part
of their brain is physically changed to record what
they’ve learned.
Experience or Practice – the tendency to change
behaviour after experiencing something that
caused a lot of pain.
Maturation – a kind of change that is controlled by a
genetic blueprint and is due to biology, not
experience.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Ivan Pavlov
- pioneered the empirical study of the basic
principles of a particular kind of learning.
- built a device that would accurately measure the
amount of saliva produced by the dogs when they
were fed a measured amount of food in order to
study their digestive system.
Reflex – an unlearned, involuntary response that is
not under personal control or choice—one of many
that occur in both animals and humans.
Ex. Secretion of saliva whenever food is placed in the
mouth of any animal that helps with chewing and
digestion.
Stimulus – can be defined as any object, event, or
experience that causes a response.
Response – the reaction of an organism to the
stimulus.
**In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, the food is the stimulus
and salivation is the response.
Classical Conditioning – learning to elicit an
involuntary, reflex-like, response to a stimulus other
than the original, natural stimulus that normally
produces the response.
ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
- the original, naturally occurring stimulus
- unconditioned means “unlearned.”
- this is the stimulus that ordinarily leads to the
involuntary response. In the case of Pavlov’s dogs,
the food is the UCS.
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR)
- the automatic and involuntary response to the
unconditioned stimulus for much the same reason.
- it is unlearned and occurs because of genetic
“wiring” in the nervous system. For example, in
Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation to the food is the
UCR.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Neutral Stimulus (NS) – a kind of stimulus that has no
effect.
Ex. The dish (wherein the food of the dogs are being
placed), is a NS because it had no effect on
salivation.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – it is where a previously
neutral stimulus (NS) (the dish) is repeatedly paired
with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)  (the food)
causes the same kind of involuntary response 
(salivation).
4. Conditioned Response
- a learned response to the conditioned stimulus (CS)
that is not usually quite as strong as the original
unconditioned response (UCR), but it is essentially
the same response.
Acquisition – the repeated pairing of a NS (neutral
stimulus) and the UCS (unconditioned stimulus in
which the organism is in the process of acquiring
learning.
Basic Principles for Classical Conditioning to Occur OPERANT CONDITIONING
1. CS must come before the UCS.
2. CS and UCS must come very close together in time Two Kinds of Behavior
(< 5 sec). 1. Involuntary
3. CS must be paired with the UCS many times. 2. Voluntary
4. CS must be distinct from other competing stimuli.
Operant Conditioning
Key Features of Classical Conditioning - the kind of learning that applies to voluntary
1. Stimulus Generalization – the tendency to respond behaviour
to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned - learning to make voluntary responses through the
stimulus (CS). effects of positive or negative consequences

2. Stimulus Discrimination – occurs when an organism
learns to respond to different stimuli in different ways.
3. Extinction – presentation of the CS in the absence
of the UCS leads to reduction of the CR.
4. Spontaneous Recovery – reappearance of a
previously extinguished CR.
5. Higher-Order Conditioning – occurs when strong
CS is paired with new NS; the new previously NS
becomes a second CS.
Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)
- emotional responses that have become classically
conditioned to occur in response to learned stimuli
- helps explain development of phobias
Vicarious Conditioning – can occur by simply
watching someone else respond to a stimulus.
Conditioned Taste Aversion – is one situation where
classical conditioning can occur quickly without
repeated pairings.
Why Does Classical Conditioning Work?
1. Stimulus Substitution – occurs where the CS comes
to activate the same part of the brain that was
originally activated by the UCS
Edward L. Thorndike – was one of the first researchers
to explore and attempt to outline the laws of
learning voluntary responses
Law of Effect
- the basic principle behind learning voluntary
behavior
- if an action is followed by a pleasurable
consequence, it will tend to be repeated
- if an action is followed by an unpleasant
consequence, it will tend not to be repeated
B. F. Skinner
- was the behaviorist who assumed leadership of the
field after John Watson
- coined term operant conditioning — voluntary
behavior that people and animals do to operate in
the world
THE CONCEPT OF REINFORCEMENT
Reinforcement
- means “to strengthen”
- anything that, when following a response, causes
that response to be more likely to happen again.
Primary Reinforcers – satisfy basic biological needs
(e.g., hunger, thirst, touch)

2. Cognitive Perspective – organism consciously Secondary Reinforcers – gain reinforcing properties

expects something to occur; CS provides through previous association with primary
information about the coming of the UCS. reinforcers.
Positive Reinforcement – addition, or experiencing
of, a pleasurable stimulus.
Negative Reinforcement – removal, escape, or
avoidance of unpleasant stimulus.
Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Partial Reinforcement Effect
- reinforcing behavior after some but not all correct
responses
- leads to a response that is resistant to extinction
- can be specified by ratio schedule or by interval
schedule
 Ratio Schedule – focuses on the number of
required responses for each reinforce.
 Interval Schedule – focuses on the timing of
the response.
 **Ratio and Interval Schedule can be either
fixed or variable.
 Fixed Interval Schedule – a reinforcer
is received after a certain, fixed
interval of time has passed.
 Variable Interval Schedule – is where
the interval of time after which the
individual must respond in order to
receive a reinforcer changes from
one time to the next.
 Fixed Ratio Schedule – the number of
responses required to receive each
reinforcer will always be the same
number.
 Variable Ratio Schedule – one in
which the number of responses
changes from one trial to the next.
2. Continuous Reinforcement
- provision of reinforcer for each and every correct
response.
- easier to establish new responses but more sensitive
to extinction
3. Timing of Reinforcement – influences speed of
learning, strength of learned response, and
subsequent behavior pattern.
THE ROLE OF PUNISHMENT IN OPERANT
CONDITIONING
Punishment
- is actually the opposite of reinforcement
- is any event or stimulus that, when following a
response, causes that response to be less likely to
happen again
- weakens responses
Two Kinds of Punishment
1. Punishment by Application – something
unpleasant is added to the situation.
2. Punishment by Removal – something pleasurable
is removed.
Ways to Make Punishment More Effective
1. Punishment should immediately follow the
behavior it is meant to punish.
2. Punishment should be consistent.
3. Punishment of the wrong behavior should be
paired with reinforcement of the right behavior.
Other Concepts in Operant Conditioning
Discriminative Stimulus – is any stimulus that provides
an organism with a cue for making a certain
response in order to obtain reinforcement.
Shaping – a process in which small steps toward
some ultimate goal are reinforced until the goal itself
is reached.
Extinction (in operant conditioning) – involves the
removal of the reinforcement.
**As in classical conditioning, extinction,
generalization, and spontaneous recovery can
occur
Instinctive Drift – the tendency to revert to
genetically controlled patterns of behavior, can
serve as a biological constraint on operant
conditioning.
Behavior Modification – refers to the application of
operant conditioning (and sometimes classical
conditioning) to bring about such changes.
Token – secondary reinforcers that can be traded in
for other kinds of reinforcers.
Token Economy – the use of tokens to modify
behavior.
Time-out – is a form of mild punishment by removal in
which a misbehaving animal, child, or adult is
placed in a special area away from the attention of
others.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
- is the modern term for a form of behavior
modification that uses both analysis of current
behavior and behavioral techniques to address a
socially relevant issue.
- skills are broken down to their simplest steps and
then taught to the child through a system of
reinforcement
Biofeedback – is the traditional term used to
describe biological feedback of information (such
as blood pressure and heart rate), and through its
use many problems can be relieved or controlled.
Neurofeedback – a relatively newer biofeedback
technique which involves trying to change brain
activity.
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY
Cognitive Learning Theory – focuses on role of
cognition, or thought processes, on learning.
Edward Tolman
- a Gestalt Psychologist whose best-known
experiments in learning involved teaching three
groups of rats the same maze, one at a time.
- suggested animals form a cognitive map (mental
map) of the physical layout of the maze
Latent Learning – learning occurs but behavior is not
manifested until organism has reason to
demonstrate it.
Wolfgang Köhler
- a Gestalt psychologist who set up a problem for
one of the chimpanzees
Insight Learning
-“perception of relationships”
- could not be gained through trial-and-error
learning alone
- requires a sudden “coming together” of all the
elements of a problem in a kind of “aha” moment
Martin Seligman
- a learning theorist that did classical conditioning
experiments on dogs
- discovered that the animals did nothing in a
specific situation
Learned Helplessness – the tendency to fail to act to
escape from a situation because of a history of
repeated failures in the past.
Steven F. Maier
- has revisited the phenomenon of learned
helplessness from a neuroscientific approach, and
this work has provided some new insights.
Dorsal Raphe Nucleus – part of the brain stem that
releases serotonin and can play a role in activating
the amygdala
- a much older part of the brain and not able to
determine what type of stressors are controllable.
Amygdala – plays an important role in fear and
anxiety.
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) – a higher-
level area, a part of the frontal lobe that is able to
help determine what type of stressors are
controllable.
 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Observational Learning
- is the learning of new behavior through watching
the actions of a model (someone else who is doing
that behavior).
- typically associated with classic work of Albert
Bandura and “Bobo doll” study
Learning/Performance Distinction - a kind of latent
learning wherein learning can take place without
actual performance.
Children Observing
- an adult model’s aggressive or nonaggressive
behaviors tended to later act in the same manner
they saw modelled
- no reinforcement was necessary
- later research suggested that potential
consequences can influence motivation to imitate a
particular model
The Four Elements of Observational Learning
1. Attention – must pay attention to the model.
2. Memory – be able to remember what was done.
3. Imitation – must be capable of reproducing, or
imitating, the actions of the model.
4. Desire – must have the desire or motivation to
perform the action.
CHAPTER 6: MEMORY
Memory – is an active system that receives
information from the senses, puts that information
into a usable form, organizes it as it stores it away,
and then retrieves the information from storage
Three Processes of Memory
1. Encoding
- the first process in the memory system in which
sensory information (sight, sound, etc.) is acquired
into a form that the brain can use
- is the set of mental operations that people perform
on sensory information to convert that information
into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage
systems.
- is not limited to turning sensory information into
signals for the brain
- is accomplished differently in each of three
different storage systems of memory like rehearsing
information over and over to keep it in memory and
elaborating on the meaning of the information.
2. Storage
- the process in which the acquired information is
being hold on for some period of time
- period of time will actually be of different lengths,
depending on the system of memory being used.
3. Retrieval
- the process of “getting” the information out of the
storage
Models of Memory
1. Information-Processing Model
- the model that many researchers feel is the most
comprehensive and has perhaps been the most
influential over the last several decades
- focuses on the way information is handled, or
processed, through three different systems of
memory.
- the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval
are seen as part of this model.
- assumes that the length of time that a memory will
be remembered depends on the stage of memory
in which it is stored
2. Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) Model
- a model of memory which is derived from work in
the development of artificial intelligence (AI)
- focuses on simultaneous processing of information
across multiple neural network
- is related to connectionism –– the use of artificial
neural networks to explain the mental abilities of
humans
3. Levels-of-Processing Model
- focuses on the depth of processing associated with
specific information
- deeper processing associated with longer retention
 THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING MODEL: THREE
MEMORY SYSTEMS
Information-Processing Model – proposes three
stages that vary both in duration and capacity;
information must be processed effectively at earlier
stages before long-term storage occurs
Three Stages of Memory
1. Sensory Memory
- is the first stage of memory, the point at which
information enters the nervous system through the
sensory systems—eyes, ears, and so on.
- encodes information as neural messages in the
nervous system
- it has two kinds:
 Iconic Sensory Memory
- came from the Greek word “icon” meaning
“image”
- refers to visual sensory memory
- only lasts for a fraction of a second
- capacity of iconic memory is everything that
can be seen at one time
**Masking – a process in which information the
information that has just entered iconic
memory will be pushed out very quickly by new
information
**Eidetic Imagery – the ability to access a visual
sensory memory over a long period of time.
 Echoic Sensory Memory
- the brief memory of something a person has
heard
- refers to auditory sensory memory
- capacity is limited to what can be heard at
any one moment
2. Short-Term Memory
- the second stage of memory wherein important
sensory messages from sensory memory enters the
consciousness
- lasts from about 12 to 30 seconds without rehearsal
- tends to be encoded primarily in auditory (sound)
form
 Selective Attention
- is the ability to focus on only one stimulus from
among all sensory input.
- operates in a two-stage filtering process:
1st Stage: Incoming stimuli in sensory memory
are filtered on the basis of simple physical
characteristics and unselected sensory
stimuli is only a lessening (attenuation) of the
“signal strength” compared to the selected
stimuli.
2nd Stage: Only the stimuli that meet a
certain threshold of importance are
processed.
 Working Memory
- is more correctly thought of as an active
system that processes the information present
in short-term memory
- thought to consist of three interrelated
systems:
1. Central Executive
2. Visual
3. Auditory
**Digit-Span Test – a memory test in which a series of
numbers is read to subjects in the study who are then
asked to recall the numbers in order.
**Magical Number Seven - the capacity of STM to
remember seven items or pieces of information, plus
or minus two items, or from five to nine bits of
information.
**Chunking – the process of recoding or reorganizing
the information wherein bits of information are
combined into meaningful units or chunks in order to
be held in in STM.
**Maintenance Rehearsal – a process in which
information is being repeated long enough to
remember it; but is most likely to decay/forgot the
moment the rehearsal stops.
3. Long-Term Memory (LTM)
- the system into which all the information is placed
to be kept more or less permanently.
- seems to be unlimited for all practical purposes
- duration is relatively permanent
- memories may be available but not accessible
- in general, LTM is encoded in meaningful form, a
kind of mental storehouse of the meanings of words,
concepts, and all the events that people want to
keep in mind.
- it is impossible or extremely difficult to bring implicit
memories into consciousness
 Elaborative Rehearsal
- is a way of transferring information from STM
into LTM by making that information
meaningful in some way.
- is done by connecting new information with
something that is already well known
- two types of LTM:
 Nondeclarative (Implicit) LTM
- implicit memory for skills, habits and learned
responses
- likely involves amygdala and cerebellum
**Procedural Memory – includes skills and
habits
**Priming – the improvement in identifying or
processing concepts, words, or objects after
having prior experience with them.
 Declarative (Explicit) LTM
- about all the things that people can know—
the facts and information that make up
knowledge
- factual memory
- can be forgotten but always have the
potential to be made conscious
- two types:
1. Semantic Memory
- “semantic” refers to meaning
- is the awareness of the meanings of words,
concepts, and terms as well as names of
objects, math skills, and so on.
- are relatively permanent
2. Episodic Memory
- is the personal knowledge that each person
has of his or her daily life and personal history
- represent episodes from their lives
- tend to be updated and revised more or
less constantly
Long-Term Memory Organization
- organized in terms of related meanings and
concepts.
- includes two models:
 Semantic Network Model – assumes that
information is stored in the brain in a
connected fashion with concepts that are
related to each other.
 Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) Model –
can be used to explain how rapidly the
different points on the networks can be
accessed.
RETRIEVAL OF LONG-TERM MEMORIES
Retrieval Cues – a stimulus for remembering (sound
of the word or phrase); more cues stored with a
piece of information, the easier the retrieval
Encoding Specificity
- the tendency for memory of any kind of information
to be improved if retrieval conditions are similar to
the conditions under which the information was
encoded
- conditions or cures can be internal or external
- it includes:
 Context-Dependent Learning – improved
memory for information if physical surrounding
are similar to those when the memory was first
formed.
 State-Dependent Learning – improved memory
for information if physiological or psychological
state is similar to that when the memory was first
formed.
Recall
- memories are retrieved with few or no external
cues, such as filling in the blanks on an application
form.
- includes:
 Retrieval Failure – it is where recall has failed
temporarily; “tip of the tongue (TOT)”
 Serial Position Effect – memory improved for
items at beginning (primacy effect) and end
(recency effect) of a list.
Recognition
- involves looking at or hearing information and
matching it to what is already in memory.
- is usually much easier than recall because the cue
is the actual object, word, sound, and so on, that
one is simply trying to detect as familiar and known.
- may cause:
 False Positive – occurs when a person thinks
that he or she has recognized (or even
recalled) something or someone but in fact
does not have that something or someone in
memory.
Automatic Encoding
- a process wherein LTM seem to enter permanent
storage with little or no effort at all
- strong emotional associations can lead to vivid and
detailed memories known as flashbulb memories.
THE RECONSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF LONG-TERM
MEMORY
Constructive Processing of Memories
- in this view, memories are literally “built,” or
reconstructed, from the information stored away
during encoding
- each time a memory is retrieved, it may be altered
or revised in some way to include new information,
or to exclude details that may be left out of the new
reconstruction.
- memories are rarely completely accurate and
become less accurate over time
Hindsight Bias – the tendency of people to falsely
believe that they would have accurately predicted
an outcome without having been told about it in
advance.
Memory Retrieval Problems
1. Misinformation Effect – incorporation of inaccurate
information into actual memory
2. Reliability of memory retrieval -
 False-Memory Syndrome – refers to the
creation of inaccurate or false memories
through the suggestion of others, often while
the person is under hypnosis
 Influenced by plausibility of event and
individual receiving collaborative feedback
that makes it easier to believe
FORGETTING
Hyperthymesia – a syndrome in which a person with
not only has an astonishing and rare ability to recall
specific events from his or her personal past but also
spends an unusually large amount of time thinking
about that personal past.
Mnemonist – is a memory expert or someone with
exceptional memory ability.
Curve of Forgetting – a graph which clearly shows
that forgetting happens quickly within the first hour
after learning the lists and then tapers off gradually.
Distributed Practice – an act of spacing out one’s
study sessions in order to avoid “cramming” of
information to produce far better retrieval of
information studied.
Massed Practice – the attempt to study a body of
material all at once.
Encoding Failure – the failure to process information
into memory or simply non-attended information is
not encoded into memory.
Memory Trace – is some physical change in the
brain, perhaps in a neuron or in the activity between
neurons, which occurs when a memory is formed
Memory Trace Decay Theory – over time, if traces
are not used, neuronal connections can weaken or
decay.
Interference
- other information interferes with accurate retrieval.
 Proactive Interference – the tendency for
older or previously learned material to
 interfere with the learning (and subsequent
retrieval) of new material.
 Retroactive Interference - when newer
information interferes with the retrieval of
older information
NEUROSCIENCE OF MEMORY
Brain Areas Associated with Types of Memory
1. Cerebellum – stores the procedural memories.
2. Prefrontal Cortex and Temporal Lobes – contains
the short-term memories.
3. Frontal Lobe and Temporal Lobe – stores the
semantic and episodic long-term memories.
Consolidation – the alteration and the other
changes that take place as a memory is forming and
may take only a few minutes for some memories.
Hippocampus - plays a vital role in the formation of
new declarative long-term memories
Amnesia – “without memory”
Alzheimer’s disease
- is the most common type of dementia found in
adults and the elderly.
- in the beginning, the primary memory problem is
anterograde amnesia but as it progresses, memories
of the past seem to begin “erasing” as retrograde
amnesia also takes hold.
Autobiographical Memory – the memory for events
and facts related to one’s personal life story.
References:
Ciccarelli, S. and White, J. (2015). Psychology 4th
Edition
Torres, K.M. (2019). Lecture in Introduction to
Psychology
Zambrano, Z.M. (2019). Prezi Presentations and
Syllabus in Introduction to Psychology
Compiled by: Bryle Zyver R. Pineda | @brylezyver

Kinds of Amnesia
1. Organic Amnesia
- caused by problems in brain function associated
with brain trauma, disease, or aging.
- two main types:
 Retrograde Amnesia – is loss of memory from
the point of injury backwards.
 Anterograde Amnesia – the loss of memories
from the point of injury or illness forward.

2. Infantile Amnesia – memories before age 3 are

likely implicit, not explicit which causes people to not
remember events from the first 2 or 3 years of their
life.

Senile Dementia – a mental disorder in which severe

forgetfulness, mental confusion, and mood swings
are the primary symptoms.