Summary/notes Psychology (Based on Psychology - Gray & Bjorkland - eight edition)

Evolutionary psychology

- What behaviour increased chances of survival and reproduction?
- What it the function of behaviour?
- Example: why do we show emotion expressions?
 Innate
 A disgust expression makes your visual field smaller -> you don’t want to perceive it.
 Afraid -> bigger visual field -> see al fear/danger

Behavioural genetics

- How large is the influence of genetics (hereditary factors) on behaviour?
- Example: three identical strangers

Neuroscience

- What are the underlying neural mechanisms associated with specific behaviours?
- Example: neural mechanisms associated with gambling addiction
- Unexpected reward causes strong activation of reward system (nucleus accumbens)
- The neurotransmitter dopamine that is released strengthens the association between
environment(slot machine) and behaviour (putting money in)

Development psychology

- Change in behaviour over the course of life
- Example: development of cognitive functions
- Piaget’s (1896-1980) stages of development
 Sensorimotor stage
 Preoperational stage
 Concrete-operational stage
 Formal-operational stage

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Motivation



Drives:

- Drive = motivational state
- Directed towards an incentive
- Incentive= goal/reward/reinforcer
- Motivation (strong/weak) interacts with incentive (strong/weak)

Homeostasis:

- =Strive to Most optimal internal condition
 Body temperature
 Oxygen
 Minerals
 Water
 Energy (food)
 Sleep

, - Our behaviour is in accordance with the need of bodily tissued

Drives:

- Strive towards balance
- Physical shortage
- Enough is enough



- Regulatory drive (has to do with survival)
 Homeostasis
- Nonregulatory drives (not needed for survival)
 Safety (bas on emotion : ‘’flight fight’’)
 Reproductive (sexual drive, drive to care for offspring)
 Social drives (friendship, acceptance and approval)
 Educational drives (play and explore)

Hub of Central Drive System: Hypothalamus

- Connected to higher brain area’s
- Connected to autonomic nervous system
- Control of release of hormones (connected to pituitary)
- Connected to limbic system



Drive: hunger

- Essential for survival
 Growth, repair
- Nutrition
 Energy
 Proteins
 Vitamins, minerals, etc.
- Food scarcity
 Robust mechanisms
 Strong drive (really hungry > really driven to eat)
- Arcuate nucleus:
 Appetite stimulating neurons
 Appetite supressing neurons



Feedback control:

- Short term effects of eating:
 Elevated blood temperature
 Increased glucose in blood stream
 Release of hormones : PYY (after 15 minutes)
 Acts on arcuate nucleus: activate suppressing neurons and inhibit stimulating
neurons
- Long term effects of eating:

,  Fat cells secrete hormone leptin
 Acts on arcuate nucleus: activate suppressing neurons and inhibit stimulating
neurons

Drive: sleep

- Safety
- Body restauration
- Memory
- Dreams.. (not clear what function is )

- EG Data
- Different stages of sleep
- 6-8 hours of sleep a night (individual differences)
- Circadian rhythm (+-24 hours)

Brain mechanism of sleep:

- Rhythm generating neurons: sleep-wake rhythm
- Rhythm body temperature (decline in the evening, increase in the morning)

Suprachiasmatic nucleus:

- Controls the circadian rhythm, body temperature

Pineal gland:

- Production of melatonin

Sleep deprivation

- 6-8 hours a night
- Nonsomnia (can easily live with 5 hours of sleep)
 Energetic
 Positive attitude towards life
- Insomnia (cannot easily live with 5 hours of sleep)
 Tired
 Worries

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Emotion

What are emotions?

- Phenomenal experience (you have a feeling)
- Physiological pattern (bodily responses)
- Verbal + non verbal behaviour (laughing, fighting, screaming)

How universal?

- Typical expressions are distinct states of the mind, displayed early in life (babies/innate)
- The child could not have observed this > innate

6 basic expressions/emotions:

, - Happiness
- Sadness
- Anger
- Surprise
- Disgust
- Fear

Theories of emotions

1. Bodily responses (James-Lange theory, late 19thyh century)
- If something horrible happens, the first thing that happens is your visual logical responses
react. Then behaviour. And not until later you will have the feeling.
- Perception of event> physiological pattern> verbal + nonverbal expression> phenomenal
experience
- Change in facial expression alters your emotional experience (slightly)
- Substance-induced change in facial expression alters related neural activity.
2. Cognitive approach (Schachter-Singer experiment, 20 th century)
- 2 groups during experiment: informed & not informed
- Injection of epinephrine
- Events elicit emotional arousal
 Undifferentiated
 Unexplained
- Arousal interpreted by actor
 Shaped by current situational context
- Perception of event> arousal/ physiological pattern <> cognition/context/appraisal >
phenomenal experience (emotion)



Emotions and the brain

- Amygdala (you have 2)
- Almond-shaped, bilateral in medial temporal lobe
- Processing of biological relevant stimuli
- Connections with frontal areas, motor areas, visual areas and peripheral nervous system

Removal amygdala:

- Bilateral surgical removal of the anterior parts of temporal lobes
- Lack of emotional response
- Loss of fear response
- Increase in sexual activities (also with objects)
- Increase oral tendency

LeDoux’s Dual Route Theory

- Two pathways for processing emotional stimuli
1. High (cortical) road: identifying stimulus > emotional evaluation > action
2. Low (subcortical) road: direct evolutionary shortcut via thalamus & amygdala to action

Affective blindsight: seeing/feeling emotions without being aware of it.