Memory 

1. The persistence of learning over time through storage and retrieval of information. 

The Memory Process 

1. Encoding 
2. Storage 
3. Retrieval 

Encoding 

1. The processing of information into the memory system. 
2. Ex: asking a girl's number from a party

Storage 

1. The retention of encoded material over time.

Retrieval 

1. The process of getting the information out of memory storage 
2. Ex: seeing a girl at the party but forgetting her name and calling her by the wrong name. 

Recall VS. Recognition

1. With Recall - you must retrieve the information from your memory (fill-in-the blank tests).
2. With Recognition - you must identify the target from possible targets (multiple-choice tests).

Flashbulb Memory 

1. A clear moment of an emotionally significant moment or event. 
2. Where were you when?
3. You heard about 9/11? You heard the death of a family member? 

Types of Memory 

1. Sensory Memory 
2. Short - Term Memory 
3. Working Memory 

Sensory Memory 

1. The immediate, initial recording if sensory information in the memory system. 
2. Stored just for an instant, and most gets unprocessed. 
3. Ex: you lose concentration in class during a lecture. Suddenly you hear a significant word and return your focus to the lecture. You should be able to remember what was just before the key word since it's in your sensory register. 

Short - Term Memory 

1. Memory that holds a few items briefly. 
2. Seven digits (plus of minus two) 
3. The info will be stored into long-term or forgotten. 

Working Memory (Modern Day STM)

• Another way of describing the use of short-term memory is called working memory. 
• Working - Memory has three parts:
• 1. Audio 2. Visual 3. Integration of audio & visual (controls where attention lies) 

Long- Term Memory 

1. The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. 

Automatic Processing 

1. Unconscious encoding of incidental information.
2. You encode space, time, and word meaning without effort. 
3. Things can become automatic with practice 

Effortful Processing 

1. Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. 
2. Rehearsal is the most common effortful processing technique. 
3. Through enough rehearsal, what was effortful becomes automatic. 

State of Conciousness: Sleep, Hypnosis, Drugs 

Sleep 

1. Sleep is a state if consciousness. 
2. We are less aware of our surroundings.

Conscious 

1. Subconscious/ Pre-conscious  
2. Unconscious 

Why do we dream? 

1. They can help us prepare for future events. 
2. They can nourish our social development. 
3. Can substitute for impulsive behavior. 

Fantasy Prone Personalities 

1. Someone who imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness and who spends considerable time fantasizes. 

Biological Rhythms 

1. Annual Cycles: seasonal variations (beard hibernation, seasonal affective disorder) 
2. 28 day cycles: menstrual cycle 
3. 24 hour cycle: our circadian rhythm 
4. 90 minute cycle: sleep cycle 

Circadian Rhythm 

1. Our 24 hour biological clock. 
2. Our body temperature and awareness changes throughout the day. 

Sleep Stages 

1. There are 5 identified stages of sleep. 
2. It takes about 90-100 minutes to pass through the 5 stages.
3. The brain'a waves will change according to the sleep stage you're in. 
4. The first four stages are know as NREM sleep... 
5. The fifth stage is called REM sleep. 

            -Stage 1: 

1. Kind of awake and kind of asleep. 
2. Only lasts a few minutes and you usually only experience it once a night. 
3. Eyes begin to roll slightly.
4. Your brain produces Theta Waves (high amplitude, low frequency, slow)

             -Stage 2:

1. This follows Stage 1 sleep and is is the "baseline" of sleep. 
2. This stage is part of the 90 minute cycle and occupies approximately 45-60% of sleep. 
3. More Theta Waves that get progressively slower. 

Ear Diagram

Eye Diagram

Perception

Notes On Developmental Psychology

-Mary Ainsworth "Attachment" Experiment


-Harry Harlow's Monkey Experiment

-Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development

A Little Something About Social Psychology

-The Attribution Theory 


-The Cognitive Dissonance Theory 


-Social Facilitation

-Social Loafing



-Deindividuation




-Scapegoat Theory

A Researcher's Guide To Research

Descriptive Research: 

The different steps in Descriptive Research.

-Case Study 

-Survey

-Naturalistic Observation

Something strange, something new...Something educating?

It seems that everyone is in a flurry, updating their blogs with notes and facts about psychological disorders, showcasing just how much they've learned these past few weeks (or maybe just trying to get their blog done before the due date...who knows, eh?). In any case, I've decided to keep with the trend and actually update with a post that pertains to what we've been doing in class and not just what I myself find interesting (because what I find interesting might cause for deep psychological trauma to the rest of you innocents). As a result, I shall post one interesting (and hopefully unknown, although it really depends on your note-taking skills) fact about schizophrenia, since it is my PSA topic. After much (internet) searching and (web) probing, I happened to find my interesting fact, and it is quite...ah, interesting, for lack of a better term. What is that fact, you ask? I shall tell you: schizophrenic people apparently very much like to draw...cats. How do I know this? Well, if you are to search for "schizophrenic art", that is all you will see. Literally. Painted cats, drawn cats. An abundance of them. That is not to say that every single schizophrenic person does it, of course, but a there are those that do (or did, if they are deceased...rest in peace, fellow cat lovers), such as Louis Wain, an English artist, who was very well known for his drawing of cats before and after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Did any of you find this as interesting as I did? No? Hmmm...maybe it's because I tend to look at my cats like some people look at their beds: with adoration and love in their eyes.
        Note: I don't think my post ended up talking much about schizophrenia at all, actually, despite how hard I worked to make it sound informing. Oh well...We'll always have the trusty Internet to answer any questions we might have about those numerous psychological disorders, no?

A New Type of Superhero

So I recently took a personality/superhero quiz...and the results surprised me a bit. Apparently, according to the personality quiz, I have been declared as a "Rational Mastermind". My superhero quiz has named my alter ego as Professor X (from X-Men, for those of you who are unaware), the uber-intelligent, bald-headed, stoic leader of the pro-mutant forces. In short, I am a (sometimes) cool-headed, (somewhat) cold-blooded, stone-hearted, steely-minded, total CEO-material type of girl. If you ask me, on the other hand, I sound like total assassin-going-to-kick-your-butt type of girl.....if I unleashed my inner id, maybe. Who knows, maybe Professor X will join the dark side in the next X-Men movie. After all, they do have those wonderful cookies. 

A Thought In Passing...

Jason Gideon from Criminal Minds (a wonderfully intriguing show) once said, "Oh, I don't think so. I mean nothing's just a picture. If viewed correctly--whatever that means--one can see world views, obsessions, manifestations of the subconscious." Does that mean that all the deepest, darkest secrets of our subconscious is being manifested in broad daylight for anybody who looks too closely? That's a truly disturbing thought....let's hope no one cares enough to look at all.  

A Quote...

"Don't just be a mere recorder of facts, but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin." -Ivan Pavlov
            Are we all then just blank minds waiting to be filled by instructions and information? Something to think about.

Ready to delve deep into the dark recesses of the human mind. Wondering what awaits me...