Unit 3 Psychology Revision of Key Knowledge

Unit 3 Psychology – Revision of key knowledge

Area of study one: Mind, brain and body

Dot point one:

Concepts of normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness including daydreaming and alcohol- induced, in terms of level of awareness, content limitations, controlled and automatic processes, perceptual and cognitive distortions, emotional awareness, self-control and time orientation.

Key term Definition

Normal waking consciousness

Altered state of consciousness

Daydreaming

Alcohol induced

NORMAL WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS

Awareness

Content limitations

Controlled and automatic processes

Perceptual and cognitive distortions

Emotional awareness

Self-control

Time orientation

DAYDREAMING Awareness

Content limitations

Emotional awareness

Self-control

Time orientation

ALCOHOL-INDUCED

Awareness

Content limitations

Emotional awareness

Self-control

Time orientation

Dot point two: Sleep as an altered state of consciousness: purpose of sleep, characteristics and patterns of the stages of sleep including rapid eye movement (REM) and the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep.

Purpose of sleep Description

Describe the typical night’s sleep:

STAGES OF SLEEP

Stage Brainwaves Description (physical changes, duration, brainwaves)

Dot point three: Methods used to study the level of alertness in normal waking consciousness and the stages of sleep:

- Measurement of physiological responses including EEG, EMG, EOG, heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR)

- The use of sleep laboratories, video monitoring and self-reports

Method Description EEG

Heart rate

Body temperature

Sleep labs

Video monitoring

Self-reports

Difference between REM and NREM Method NREM REM EEG

Dot point four:

The effects of total and partial sleep deprivation:

- Loss of REM and NREM sleep

- Sleep recovery patterns including amount of sleep required, REM rebound and microsleeps

- Sleep-wake cycle shifts during adolescence compared with child and adult sleep including delayed onset of sleep and need for sleep

Partial sleep deprivation

Total sleep deprivation

SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION

Physiological symptoms Psychological symptoms Sleep deprivation descriptions

Effects of loss of REM and NREM

Sleep needed after deprivation

REM Rebound

Microsleeps

Description of sleep-wake cycle shift :

SLEEP REQUIRMENTS (REM and NREM)

Infants/children

Adolescents

Adults

Elderly Dot point five:

The interaction between cognitive processes of the brain and its structure including:

- Roles of the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system (somatic and autonomic), and autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic)

- Roles of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex in the control of motor, somatosensory, visual and auditory processing in humans; primary cortex and association areas

- Hemispheric specialisation: the cognitive and behavioural functions of the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, non-verbal versus verbal and analytical functions

Description of the nervous system

Branch of the Nervous System Structures Function/Role

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Peripheral Nervous System

Somatic Nervous System

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Sympathetic Nervous System

Parasympathetic Nervous System LOBES OF THE BRAIN

Lobe Description

Specialised area Lobe/Hemisphere Function

6. HEMISPHERIC SPECIALISATION

Left Hemisphere Right Hemisphere

Dot point six:

Contribution of studies to the investigation of cognitive processes of the brain and implications for the understanding of consciousness including:

- Studies of aphasia including Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia

- Spatial neglect caused by stroke or brain injury

- Split-brain studies including the work of Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga

Key term Definition

Aphasia

Broca’s aphasia

Wernicke’s aphasia

Spatial neglect FINDINGS OF SPLIT BRAIN STUDIES:

Area of study two: Memory

Dot point one:

Mechanism of memory formation:

- The neuron in memory formation including the role of axons, dendrites, synapses and neurotransmitters

- Role of the temporal lobe including the hippocampus and the amygdala

- Consolidation theory

- Memory decline over the lifespan

- Amnesia resulting from brain trauma and neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Key term Definition

Dendrite

Synapse

Neurotransmitter

Hippocampus

Amygdala

Consolidation theory Retrograde amnesia

Anterograde amnesia

Alzheimer’s disease

Changes to memory across the lifespan:

Causes of Alzheimer’s/ physical changes in the brain and memory systems affected:

Dot point two:

Models for explaining human memory:

- Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multistore model of memory including maintenance and elaborative rehearsal, serial position effect and chunking - Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory; central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer

- Levels of processing as informed by Craik and Lockhart

- Organisation of long-term memory including declarative (episodic and semantic) and procedural memory, and semantic network theory

Dot point three:

Strengths and limitations of theories of forgetting:

- Forgetting curve as informed by the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus

- Retrieval failure theory including tip-of-the-tongue phenomena

- Interference theory

- Motivated forgetting as informed by the work of Sigmund Freud including repression and suppression

- Decay theory

Dot point four:

Manipulation and improvement of memory:

- Measures of retention including the relative sensitivity of recall, recognition and relearning

- Use of context dependent cues and state dependent cues

- Mnemonic devices including acronyms, acrostics and narrative chaining

- Effect of misleading questions on eye-witness testimonies including the reconstructive nature of memory informed by the work of Loftus

Key term Definition

Recall

Recognition

Relearning

Context dependent cues State dependent cues

Acronyms

Acrostics

Narrative chaining