PSYC 1150 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Pareidolia, Sleepwalking, Sleep Spindle
26 Jun 2018
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Midterm: October 31, 2017
Psychology Midterm Study Guide
Questions/Answers
Lecture 02:
1. 1.6 Identify and explain the text’s six key principles of scientific thinking (text p. 26);
a. Ruling out rival hypotheses
a.i. Have important alternative explanations for the findings been excluded!
b. Correlation vs. Causation
b.i. Can we be sure that ‘A’ causes ‘B’.
c. Fasifiability
c.i. Can the claim be disproved?
d. Recability
d.i. Can the results be duplicated in other studies? (if not we should be
skeptical results are accurate/true).
e. Extraordinary Claims
e.i. Is the evidence as strong as the claim?
f. Occam’s Razor.
f.i. Does a simpler explanation fit the data just as well?
2. 1.7 identify the major theoretical frameworks of psychology (text p. 31);
Five major theoretical orientations have played key roles in shaping the field:
a.i. Structuralism: amined to identify the basic elements of experience
through the method of introspection.
a.ii. Functionalism: hoped to understand the adaptive purposes of behaviour.
a.iii. Behaviouralism: grew out of the belief that psychological science must be
completely objective and derived from laws of learning.
a.iv. The Cognitive View: emphasized the importance of mental processes in
understanding behaviour. (rewards and punishments are crucial part of
behaviour).
a.v. Psychoanalysis: focuses on unconsciousness processes and urges as
cause of behaviour.
3. 1.8 describe different types of psychologists and identify what each of them does (text p.
34).
a. Clinical and counselling: conduct therapy
b. School psychologists: develop intervention programs for school children.
c. Industrial/Organizational psychologists: work in companies and business;
maximize employee performance.
d. Forensic psychologists: work in prison and court settings.
e. Research psychologists: conduct research (ie. on biological basis of behaviour).
4. 1.9 describe the two great debates that have shaped the field of psychology (text p. 35);
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Midterm: October 31, 2017
a. Nature vs. Nurture debate continues to shape field of psychology; acts whether
our behaviours are attributed to mostly our genes (nature) or to our rearing
environments (nurture).
b. Free Will-determinism debate; asks to what extent our behaviours are freely
selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control.
5. 1.10 describe how psychological research affects our daily lives (text p. 37).
a. Psychological research has shown how psychology can be applied to such
diverse fields as advertising, public safety, criminal justice system and education.
a.i. Basic Research: How the mind works.
a.ii. Applied research: how we can use the basic research to solve real-world
problems.
Lecture 03:
6. Identify the different stages of sleep and the neural activity and dreaming behaviours
that occur in each.
a. Stage 1: drowsy feeling; transition to stage two. (5-10 minutes, theta waves, light
sleep, hypnagogic imagery)
b. Stage 2: brainwaves and heart rate slow, body temp. decreases and muscles
relax. (20-30 minutes, theta waves, 65% of total, sleep spindles, K-complexes).
c. Stages 3&4: Deep sleep occurs; large amplitude delta waves become more
frequent. (10-30 minutes, delta waves, deep sleep, crucial for rest, suppressed
by alcohol).
d. Stage 5: REM sleep; brain is activated as much as it is during waking life. (10-20
minutes, eye movements, vivid dreaming, muscle paralysis).
7. Identify the features and causes of sleep disorders.
a. Insomnia is the most common sleeping disorder.
b. Narcolepsy is the rapid on sleep of sleep.
c. Sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airways during sleep.
d. Night terrors and sleepwalking are associated with deep sleep; person usually
doesn’t remember it.
8. Determine how Freud’s theory of dreams relates to research evidence on dreaming.
a. Freud theorized that dreams represent disguised wishes. (Dreams transform our
sexual and aggressive instincts into symbols that represent wish fulfillment and
require interpretation).
b. According to activation-synthesis theory, the forebrain attempts to interpret
meaningless signals from the brainstem (specifically pons).
c. Another theory of dreaming suggests that reduction of activity in the prefrontal
cortex results in vivid and emotional, but logically disjointed dreams.
9. Explain how theories of brain activation attempt to account for dreaming.
a. Activation-synthesis theory - the forebrain attempts to interpret meaningless
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Midterm: October 31, 2017
signals from the brain stem (pons). (Dreams reflect brain activation originating in
the pons, followed by efforts of the forebrain to weave these inputs into a story).
b. Neurocognitive Theory: hold that our dreams depend in large part on our
cognitive and visuospatial abilities (which shape what we dream about)
10. Determine how scientists explain seemingly “mystical” alterations in consciousness.
a. Hallucinations and mystical experiences are associated with fasting, sensory
deprivation, hallucinogenic drugs and prayer and like near-death experiences
(NDEs), vary considerably in content across cultures.
b. Alien Abductions: ” report a history of sleep paralysis. State of being unable to
move just after falling asleep or right before waking up. Often associated with
anxiety/terror, feeling vibrations, or feeling like there is a menacing presence in
the room.
c. Deja vu experiences don’t represent a memory from a past life, but may be
triggered by small seizures in the temporal lobe or unconscious information
processing.
d. Hypnosis isn’t a sleep like state, subjects generally don’t report having been in a
“trance”, people are aware of their surroundings and don’t forget what happened
during hypnosis, and hypnosis doesn’t lead to improved memory (can actually
lead to more false memories that are held with confidence).
e. Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE): Sense of consciousness leaving one’s body
No scientific evidence to support. May be related to ability to fantasize and to
become extraordinarily absorbed in experiences.
11. Evaluate the benefits of meditation.
a. Meditation: Variety of practices that train attention and awareness.
Wide range of positive effects (increased empathy, alertness, blood flow, immune
function, etc.).
b. Correlation vs. causation? Does meditation change brain activity or do people
with certain brain signaling patterns seek out meditation?
12. Distinguish myths from realities concerning hypnosis.
a. Hypnosis is not a sleep-like state, subjects generally don’t report having been in
a “trance”, people are aware of their surroundings and don’t forget what
happened during hypnosis, and hypnosis doesn’t lead to improved memory (can
actually lead to more false memories that are held with confidence).
b. Hypnosis theories:
b.i. Social Cognitive Theory - approach to explaining hypnosis based on
people’s beliefs and expectations
b.ii. Dissociation model - approach to explaining hypnosis based on
separation of the parts of the personality responsible for planning from the
part that controls memories (dissociation from consciousness). Hidden
observer (unhypnotized part) vs. flexible observer (expectations,
suggestions).
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Document Summary
Lecture 02: 1. 6 identify and explain the text"s six key principles of scientific thinking (text p. 26), ruling out rival hypotheses a. i. Have important alternative explanations for the findings been excluded: correlation vs. causation b. i. Can we be sure that a" causes b": fasifiability c. i. Can the claim be disproved: recability d. i. Can the results be duplicated in other studies? (if not we should be skeptical results are accurate/true): extraordinary claims e. i. Is the evidence as strong as the claim: occam"s razor. f. i. Does a simpler explanation fit the data just as well: 1. 7 identify the major theoretical frameworks of psychology (text p. 31); Five major theoretical orientations have played key roles in shaping the field: a. i. a. ii. a. iii. a. iv. a. v. Structuralism: amined to identify the basic elements of experience through the method of introspection. Functionalism: hoped to understand the adaptive purposes of behaviour.
