COURSE NOTES: Introductory Psychology

Notes for Psychology 101: based on Myers's text, Exploring Psychology, with supplements and modifications by the instructor, Prof. Cloninger.

denotes a term that you should know how to define, and to recognize and give examples. denotes an important person. You should remember this person's name and what (s)he has done. denotes an important research finding. denotes an issue that you should be able to discuss or explain.

a bit of history of psychology:

• Consciousness was in disfavor in psychology at the time behaviorism was in full swing.
  (Psychology had nearly lost consciousness.)

consciousness: our awareness of ourselves and our environment (Myers, 2005, p. 187)

Research Note: During the height of the drug culture in the United States in the 1960s, Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor of psychology, studied the effects of drugs such as LSD on consciousness, using a method that was not only controversial but openly at odds with the model of scientific objectivity. Along with his research subjects, he ingested drugs himself and analyzed his own experience as well as theirs, arguing that a researcher who had not experienced drugs could not understand their effect (Riedlinger, 1993).

Conscious and Nonconscious Processes [contrasted, in graphic table, presented in class] (Adapted from Baars, 1997, p. 5.)

There is a Hindu saying which goes "the mind is a restless drunken monkey, stung by a scorpion!"

• (source: http://www.ancientskillsschool.com/Science_of_Meditation.htm)

WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS

Selective Attention

cocktail party effect: the ability to attend selectively to only one voice among many (Myers, 2005, p. 188)

ACETYLCHOLINE The neurotransmitter acetylcholine plays an important role in attention (Blokland, 1995). Drugs to enhance functioning of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine hold the promise of increasing attention capacity, for example in those suffering from age-related cognitive declines (Sarter & Bruno, 1997).

Brain wave recordings show that when we are paying attention, we show a distinctive brain wave (called P300) when a novel sound stimulus occurs. When we are not paying attention, the same novel stimulus does not trigger a P300 wave (Holdstock & Rugg, 1995).

As we learn to master a new skill, our brain waves change. In one experiment, the brain waves of young men were analyzed while they learned a computer game that required them to find the best route for a car in simulated traffic. As they learned how to do the computer task, their brainwaves showed increasing amounts of theta waves, an indicator of the development of relaxed concentration (Laukka, et al., 1995).

Levels of Information Processing

automatic performance of well-learned tasks

Conscious processing is sequential (one thing at a time).

Subconscious processing is parallel (many things at same time).

Novel tasks require conscious attention.

SLEEP AND DREAMS

Biological Rhythms and Sleep

circadian rhythm (circa = about; dies = a day)
involves many aspects of functioning: body temperature; memory

jet lag
25-hour day in people without clocks or daylight

individual differences: "larks" and "owls"

The Stages of Sleep
awake but relaxed state: alpha waves
Stage 1 sleep: alpha waves; hallucinations; hypnogogic sensations
Stage 2 sleep: irregular theta waves; sleep spindles; sleep talking
Stage 3 sleep: transitional
Stage 4 sleep: slow delta waves; hard to awaken; sleepwalking and bedwetting
REM sleep (rapid eye movement): dreaming

stages repeat every 90 minutes through the night
REM sleep gets longer during the night, totalling 20-25% of sleep

REM Sleep
discovered in 1952
rapid eye movement; increased heart rate and (irregular) breathing
sexual arousal
motor area of brain is active but blocked at brainstem from muscles
paradoxical sleep
dreams

Why Do We Sleep?

1/3 of life
9-10 hours a night of sleep (if not restricted)

Effects of Sleep Loss

sleepiness
suppressed immune system
impaired creativity and concentration
hand tremors
irritability; impaired mood
slow performance; inefficient and inaccurate work
misperception on monotonous tasks
accidents (driving and other)
poor judgment
hallucinations

Driver fatigue is a factor in about 30 percent of accidents involving commercial vehicles in which the driver is killed (National Transportation Safety Board, 1990)

Sleep Theories

safety during darkness
recuperation; restoration of body and brain
growth (pituitary releases growth hormone during deep sleep)

Sleep Disorders

insomnia
persistent problems in falling or staying asleep
aggravated by sleeping pills and alcohol

Suggestions for improving sleep

relax
avoid caffeine and rich foods
drink milk
sleep on a regular schedule
avoid naps
exercise
don't worry
change bedtime (to later), or get up earlier

More Sleep Disorders

narcolepsy
sleep apnea: stop breathing during sleep
night terrors

Dreams

What We Dream

lucid dreams
manifest content v. latent content

Why We Dream

wish fulfillment (Freud); latent content (erotic wishes)
information processing
physiological function: stimulation; activity of brainstem
J. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley (1977) proposed a physiological explanation of dreams. Their activation-synthesis hypothesis proposes that impulses sent from the brain stem to higher brain areas during REM sleep are produced by essentially random physiological processes, having no meaning. When these random impulses reach higher brain areas, the forebrain tries nonetheless to make sense of them, and the result of this is a dream. The action begins in the pons, an area of the brainstem that initiates brain waves associated with dreaming, and so which can be said to contain a dream state generator (Hobson & McCarley, 1977). These brain waves, called ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves, are produced by bursts of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

REM rebound: the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep) (Myers, 2005, p. 203)

HYPNOSIS

hypnosis: a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another person (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur (Myers, 2005, p. 205)

posthypnotic amnesia

Facts and Falsehoods

Can Hypnosis Work for Anyone?

Individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility (ability)

age regression (evidence is against it)
hypnotically refreshed memories mix accurate recall with false memories
problems of hypnotic recall as part of therapy (e.g., satanic cults, past lives, UFO abduction)

Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will?

apparently not, based on experimental studies using control groups that role-play hypnotized Ss

Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?

posthypnotic suggestions
probably no more effective than relaxation and positive suggestions

Can Hypnosis Alleviate Pain?

yes (based on reports of pain)
dissociation (of pain stimulus from emotional suffering)
selective attention

Explaining the Hypnotized State

Is it an altered state of consciousness?

Hypnosis as a Social Phenomenon

suggestions occur only during the experiment
social influence theory

Hypnosis as Divided Consciousness

hidden observer

DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS

psychoactive drugs

tolerance

withdrawal

physical dependence

psychological dependence

Drug use (including alcohol) puts people at elevated risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, because it is associated with risky sexual behaviors and, in the case of injected drugs, with risks of HIV infection from shared needles.

Dependence and Addiction

Misconceptions About Addiction

Beliefs that experts say are false:
1. Addictive drugs quickly corrupt.
2. Addictions can't be overcome voluntarily; therapy is a must.
3. We can extend the concept of addiction to cover not just drug dependencies, but a whole spectrum of repetitive, pleasure-seeking behaviors. e.g., overeating, shopping, exercise, gambling, work, sex

One theory of addiction is that, over time, as people continue to take drugs, physiological changes occur in brain systems that direct the choice of behavior (Self & Nestler, 1995). These drug-related effects involve some of the brain's neurotransmitters: dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA-A), noradrenaline, and acetylcholine, among others. Dopamine is particularly important, and is thought to be involved in addictions to a variety of drugs (Self & Nestler, 1995). Receptors for these neurotransmitters become sensitized and desensitized at various locations in the brain as a result of drug use (Grunberg, 1994).

addiction and blame

codependency

Psychoactive Drugs

depressants ("downers")
stimulants ("uppers")
hallucinogens

Depressants

alcohol; barbiturates (tranquilizers); opiates
slow body functions

Alcohol: effects on behavior

slows sympathetic nervous system in low doses
disrupts formation of long-term memories; blackouts
effects from both brain chemistry and expectation
disinhibits various tendencies (sex; tipping)
impaired judgments about various issues (driving; moral questions)
accidents
reduced self-awareness

One 21-year-old man, to celebrate his birthday, drank 10 shots of alcohol one after another, and died (Liska, 1990).

People who have problems with alcohol are not always aware of it. Here are some of the warning signs:

1. drinking rapidly ("shooters")
2. drinking first thing in the morning
3. drinking alone
4. being able to "hold" your alcohol, that is, being able to drink more without feeling its effects
5. having blackouts, in which you do not remember what happened while you were drunk
6. having personality changes when drinking
   (Pagliaro & Pagliaro, 1996)

Barbiturates

tranquilizers
Nembutal; Seconal; sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs
fatal interaction with alcohol

Opiates

opium and its derivatives, morphine and heroin
Several drugs are derived from the opium plant (botanically named Papaver somniferum, literally "poppy that causes sleep"), which besides poppy flowers, produces chemicals that reduce pain and produce euphoria because of their chemical similarity to the body's own endorphin neurotransmitters.
The crude extract from this plant is opium, smoked for centuries in Chinese opium dens, producing a dreamlike and pleasurable state, and highly addictive.
The most active ingredient in opium is morphine, which is used medically as a pain reliever after surgery.
Codeine is also extracted from opium and used medically for pain relief.
Morphine can be chemically modified to produce heroin, a highly addictive illegal drug.
Opiates interfere with production of endorphins, leading to withdrawal.

Stimulants

caffeine
nicotine
amphetamines ("speed")
cocaine
ecstasy (MDMA: methylenedioxymethamphetamine)

Nicotine

death
addictive (as much as heroin or cocaine)
stimulates epinephrine and norepinephrine; diminishes appetite, boost alertness and mental efficiency
Quitting is hard but, with repeated attempts, many (about half of smokers) succeed.
The scientific community amassed evidence showing nicotine to be as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol.

Within 10 seconds of smoking a cigarette, nicotine reaches the brain, where it stimulates the dopamine pathways that influence choice of behavior and affects acetylcholine activity. Increased numbers of nicotine receptors are developed on neurons in the brain as a result of regular smoking (Heishman, Kozlowski, & Genningfield, 1997; Le Houezec & Benowitz, 1991).

Some research suggests that smokers are less likely than nonsmokers to come down with Alzheimer's disease as they grow old (Brenner, et al., 1993; van Duijn & Hofman, 1991). Research suggests that nicotine patches may improve the cognitive functioning of some Alzheimer's patients (Wilson et al, 1995), which is consistent with studies of mice which show nicotine's protective effect against age-related cognitive impairment (Meguro, et al., 1994).

Cocaine

Cocaine is a drug that was first used in the New World, where people chewed coca leaves for their stimulant effect.
euphoria and crash
blocks reuptake of dopamine (thus keeping brain's reward pathway "on")

caffeine

How much caffeine is in your cup of java?
(From information presented in: American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.)
coffee (brewed, 6 oz): 100 mg
coffee (instant, 6 oz): 65 mg
tea (6 oz): 40 mg
cola (12 oz): 45 mg
over-the-counter analgesics and cold remedies (1 tablet): 25-50 mg
stimulants (1 tablet): 100-200 mg
weight-loss aids (1 tablet): 75-200 mg
chocolate (1 bar): 5 mg

 Hallucinogens

psychoactive drugs that distort perception and evoke vivid images in the absence of sensory input
aka "psychedelics" ("mind-manifesting")
LSD; PCP ("angel dust")

LSD

lysergic acid diethylamide
artificially produced
block serotonin
visual images
feeling of separation from bodies
compared to near-death experience, oxygen-deprivation, and temporal lobe seizures

Marijuana

leaves and fibers of hemp plant
active ingredient: THC
mild hallucinogen
pain relief
impairment of judgment and memory formation (like alcohol)
sensitization (instead of tolerance) because of lingering in the body

Chronic marijuana users may develop amotivational syndrome, marked by passivity and lack of motivation. Most of their time is spent alone, stoned, often listening to music, tuned out to the concerns of most of their peers. Social and academic development suffer.

Two other hallucinogens, the plant derivatives mescaline and psilocybin, have been used in Native American religious rites. Cultural traditions guided these users to expect--and therefore encounter--certain types of valued experiences.

Aftereffects of psychoactive drugs are generally opposite to immediate effects.

Influences on Drug Use

1. biology: addiction-proneness
   But about half of the people hospitalized for alcoholism do not have a family history of the disease (Goodwin, 1985).
2. psychological and cultural influences (including peer influence)

Practice Note: Whether we regard addiction as a disease or as a crime depends in part on who we're talking about. According to one critic, "When addiction affects White, middle class people, it's called a disease and you get treatment. When it affects people of color, it's a crime and you go to jail. Seventy percent to 80% of the people in the criminal justice system are people of color who have the disease of addiction" (Smith, Buxton, Bial, & Seymour, 1993, p. 107).

Alcohol can cause serious damage to memory. According to one study, heavy alcohol use is a contributing factor in one out of every four or five cases of dementia (memory and cognitive impairment, such as that we often associate with aging), leading to brain damage and neurotransmitter abnormalities (Smith & Atkinson, 1995).

Korsakoff's syndrome is a form of memory loss resulting from nutritional (thiamine) depletion, usually as a consequence of alcoholism (Kopelman, 1995). Alcoholics suffering from Korsakoff's syndrome show widespread atrophy of the brain, largely in subcortical areas, and with that a loss of memory and other cognitive impairment (Emsley, Smith, Roberts, & Kapnias, 1996).

People typically pass through five stages of change as they give up an addiction:
(From the stages described by Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992.)

1. PRECONTEMPLATION
   the person is unconcerned about the behavior and doesn't intend to change. ("I don't have a problem with smoking.")
2. CONTEMPLATION
   the person is aware of a problem and thinking about changing, but has no firm commitment. ("I should quit, but I can't; I would gain weight.")
3. PREPARATION
   the person intends to change soon. ("I'll make a New Year's resolution to quit.")
4. ACTION
   the person stops using the drug. ("No thanks, I don't smoke any more.")
5. MAINTENANCE
   the person consolidates the new, drug-free habits. ("I've learned to control my cravings and my weight by keeping active.")

Web Links:

Physical Pathology of Drug Abuse (anatomy slides and tutorial)

Genetics and Alcoholism (exhibit from London's Science Museum)

Students: You can also use resources for this text supplied by the publisher. These include a chapter overview, self-tests, and other resources.

Back to Top