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
Controlled and automatic processes
Perceptual and cognitive distortions
Emotional awareness
Self-control
Time orientation
ALCOHOL-INDUCED
Awareness
Content limitations
Controlled and automatic processes
Perceptual and cognitive distortions
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
1.
2.
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
EMG
EOG
GSR
Heart rate
Body temperature
Sleep labs
Video monitoring
Self-reports
Difference between REM and NREM Method NREM REM EEG
EMG
EOG
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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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
Axon
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