MODULE 1: DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology can be described as…

• The systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes

Behaviors - Refers to observable actions or responses in both humans and animals

Mental Processes - Not directly observable, refer to a wide range of complex mental processes, such as
thinking, imagining, dreaming and studying.

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

 DESCRIBE – describe the different ways that organism behave

 EXPLAIN – explain the cause of behaviour

 PREDICT- predict how organism behave in certain situations

 CONTROL – control an organism’s behaviour

THE ROAD TO PSYCH HISTORY…

1. Socrates – “Know Thyself”, “Introspection as a method”

2. Aristotle – Human behavior is subject to rules and laws, Delved into personality, sensation,
perception, thought, intelligence, etc.

3. Descartes – Mind can be studied in its own rights (Dualism)

4. Charles Darwin – Evolution and adaptation, link to biological approach)

5. Wilhelm Wundt – Established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, The father of
experimental psychology

HISTORICAL APPROACHES

1. STRUCTURALISM – Wilhelm Wundt

 The study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our
conscious mental experiences.

 Psychology should focus on the elements of conscious experiences, using the

method of introspection.

 Psychology were structuralists MOST interested in description.

 2. FUNCTIONALISM – William James

 The study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness; interested in how our
minds adapt to our changing environment

 Psychology should study how behavior and mental processes allow organisms to
adapt to their environments

 Psychology were functionalist MOST interested in Explanation.

3. GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY – Max Wertheimer

 Emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts and studied how sensations are
assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences.

 Cognitive psychologists have determined that an individual letter is recognized

more rapidly when it occurs in the context of a word than when it occurs in a
random string of consonants.

 psychology should study how people think and process information about the world.

 Psychology were cognitive psychologists MOST interested in controlling.

4. BEHAVIORISM – John Watson

 Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviours.

 Psychology were behaviorist MOST interested in Prediction/Observe.

 psychology should focus on observable, measurable behavior.
 psychology to be truly scientific it must focus on observable and measurable
behavior
 I develop programs to help people modify unhealthy eating habits, focusing on the
environmental cues that trigger overeating..

MORE APPROACHES, MORE ANSWERS

1. Approach 1: Cognitive Psychology

 These processes fall into Cognitive Psychology which looks at mental processes and how
 we think.

 Cognitive approach examines how we process, store, and use information and how this
information influences what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember, believe and feel.

 Driving to work one day, Rosemary suspects that motorists talking in their
cell phones process less information relevant to the task of driving than
do other drivers.

 Selective Attention – Our brains can’t pay attention to more than one
thing at a time

 Perception – Our brain can also be fooled by optical illusions.

2. Approach 2: Biological Approach

 Biological approach focuses on how our genes, chromosomes and nervous system interact
with our environment to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions and
coping techniques.

 study brain development in infants..

Nature – often refers to our biology. Factors we were born with such as genes, hormones
and the structure of our brains.

Nurture – refers to factors in our environment, how we learn.

3. Approach 3: Humanistic Approach

 Emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing his/her future, a large
capacity for personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous
potential for self-fulfilment.

 Precursor to Positive Psychology

 Psychology should emphasize each person’s unique potential for psychological growth and
self-directedness..

4. Approach 4: Psychodynamic Approach

 Stresses the influence of unconscious fears, desires, and motivation on thoughts,

 behaviours and the development of personality traits and psychological problems later in
life

 Sigmund Freud is the founding father of psychodynamic approach (introduces

psychoanalysis)

 Other prominent neo analysts include Karen Horney and Erik Erikson

 investigate the early life experiences of people who seek psychotherapy for symptoms of
depression..

 human behavior can be explained by examining our unconscious impulses.

5. Approach 5: Sociocultural Approach

 This is part of sociocultural approach which looks at how people’s behavior, thoughts and
feelings are influenced by the actual or imagined presence of other people.

 Sociocultural also focuses on the role of ethnicity, gender, culture and socioeconomic
status in behaviour and mental processes

Social Influence – Changing your behavior in line with other people or external factors.

In Psychology…

We apply all of these approaches to different topics which include:

 Personality

 Stereotyping & Prejudice

 Sex & Gender

 Learning

 Aggression

 Memory

 Non – Verbal Communication

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
  49% of psychologists work as clinical or counseling psychologists, in either private practice or
therapy settings

 28% of psychologists work in academic settings of universities and colleges

 13% of psychologists work in a variety of other kinds of jobs and career settings

 6% of psychologists work in industrial settings

 4% of psychologists work in secondary school and other settings

MODULE 1.1: Scientific Method

Scientific Approach – Approach to research intending to reduce the likelihood of bias and error in the
measurement of data.

Scientific Approach

1. Describe: What is happening?

2. Explain: Why is it happening?

3. Predict: When will it happen again?

4. Control: How can it be changed?

Steps in Scientific Approach:

1. Perceiving the Question

2. Forming a Hypothesis

3. Testing the Hypothesis

4. Drawing the Conclusion

5. Report your Results

Example:

1. What type of fertilizer works best? (Question)

2. Plants grown with fertilizer A will grow the fastest (Forming hypothesis)

3. Place different plants with different types of fertilizer (Experiment/Testing Hypothesis)

4. The hypothesis was proven correct (Conclusion)

5. Report results based on study (Result)

Terms to Remember:

 THEORY – general explanation of a set of observations or facts.

 HYPOTHESIS – tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations; educated guess.

 REPLICATE/REPLICATION STUDY – repeating a study or experiment to see if the same results will
be obtained to demonstrate reliability of results.

DESCRIPTIVE METHODS

1. Naturalistic Observation

 Careful examination of what happens under natural conditions.

 Observer Effect – tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal

when they know they are being observed.

 Participant observation – naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a

participant in the group being observed.

 Observer bias – tendency of observers to see what they expect to see.

2. Laboratory Observation

 Observation of people and animals in the laboratory setting.

  Advantage is the degree of control that it gives to the observer.

 Disadvantage is being an artificial situation that might result in an artificial behavior –

both animals and people react differently than they would in the real world.

3. Case Studies

 An individual is studied in detail

 Researchers try to learn everything they can about the individual

 One famous case study was the story of Phineas Gage, who in an accident, has a large
metal rod driven through his head and survived but experienced major personality and
behavioral changes.

 It was one of the first well-documented examples of a specific brain

area being associated with a set of physical and emotional changes.
 conducts an in-depth interview and gives extensive psychological tests to an individual
who claims to have been abducted by aliens.

4. Surveys

 Researchers ask a series of questions about the topic they are studying.

 Representative sample – randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of

subjects
5. Correlation: Finding Relationships

 Measure of relationship between two variables

 Correlation coefficient – number that represents the strength and direction of a

relationship existing between two variables; number derived from a formula for measuring a
correlation.

 REMEMBER! CORRELATION DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN CAUSATION

6. The Experiment

 Research method that will allow researchers to determine the cause of a behavior by
deliberating manipulating some variable and measuring changes in the variable of interest.
 MODULE 2: DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LIFE SPAN

WHAT IS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?

 Human Development is the scientific study the patterns of growth and change that occurs
throughout life.

 Two Types of Change:

1. Quantitative change refers to physical growth like progress in height or weight.

2. Qualitative change refers to the change of function of an organ, resulting to improve

efficiency and accuracy.

ASPECTS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Physical Development – changes in the body structure and motor skills.

2. Perceptual Development – development of sensory capacities such as the changes in the seeing
and hearing abilities of infants.

3. Cognitive or Intellectual Development – change in mental abilities, learning capacity, memory,

reasoning thought processes and language.

4. Personality and Social Development – changes in self-concept, gender identity and one’s quality of
interpersonal relationship.

HOW DO WE STUDY DEVELOPMENT?

Factors of Development

1. Biological Factor (Nature) – Human behavior is the result of already-present biological factors.

2. Environmental Factor (Nurture) – Human behavior is the result of interaction with one’s
 environment.

8 Stages of Development

1. Prenatal stage

2. Infancy (0-1-year-old)

3. Early childhood (2-6 years old)

4. Middle childhood (7-12 years old)

5. Adolescence (13-19 years old)

6. Young adulthood (20-40 years old)

7. Middle adulthood (41-65 years old)

8. Late adulthood/Old age (66 years old- Death)

PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT

 Heredity – is the transmission of traits from parents to offspring.

 Every 28 days a female ovulates and releases an egg cell to fallopian tube.

 At the height of copulation, the male parent releases sperm cells (300-500 million) inside the
female’s vagina.

 The healthy sperms are programmed to swim and seek out the egg cell and fertilize it.

 Out of the millions of sperms, only about 50 of them will be able to come close to the egg cell.

 The sperms will release enzyme that dissolves the jelly – like coating of the egg cell.

 Meanwhile, the egg is no passive participant; it actually embraces the lucky sperm cell.

 To avoid penetration by more than 1 sperm, the egg produces brief electrical shocks on its surface
(lasting about 30 seconds) followed by a hard protein coat.

 The sperm cell is held down on the egg’s membrane, while the coat rises above it, pushing all the
other sperms away.

 The egg pulls the sperm inside itself, and moves its nucleus to meet that of the sperm.

Fertilization
  Fertilization, the union of the egg and the sperm, produces a single cell that is called the ZYGOTE,
which contains 23 chromosomes (strands of genetic material) contributed by the sperm and 23
chromosomes contributed by the egg.

 Chromosomes – are made up of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), each segment of the DNA is a gene.

 Gene – is the basic unit of heredity.

Chromosomes…

 46 chromosomes – it is called as the karyotype

 Provide programming for inherited characteristics like blood type, height, skin color, and so
forth.

 Can help identify chromosome abnormalities that are evident in either the structure or the
number of chromosomes.

 The first 22 pairs are called autosomes, while the 23rd pair are called sex chromosomes, which
determine the sex or gender of the developing baby.

 All eggs and 50% of all sperm cells contain x sex chromosomes, while only the remaining 50% the
sperm cells have a y sex chromosome

 Sperm = 50% X & 50% Y

 Egg Cell = 100% Y

 XX Sex Chromosomes = Girl

 XY Sex Chromosomes = Boy

Transmission of Traits

Cell Nucleus Chromosomes Genes

DNA

Genes…

 There are 2 Types of Genes, the dominant genes, which carry dominant traits (the stronger one),
and recessive genes which carries recessive traits (the weaker one).

 Incomplete Dominance – occurs when the dominant trait was not able to cover up the recessive
 trait.

 Earlobe Attached  Free Earlobes

 Rolling of Tongue  Inability to roll tongue

 Cleft Chin  Normal Chin

 Dimples  No Dimples

 Right-handedness  Left-Handedness

 Curly Hair  Straight Hair

 Short Stature  Tall Stature

 Broad Nose  Narrow Nose

 Large Eyes  Small Eyes

 Abundant Body hair  Less Body Hair

 Codominance – happens when two different dominant traits coexist in the offspring, as in the case
of a combination of blood type A and blood type B, which results to having blood type AB.

 Some traits are called sex-linked traits. These traits only appear in a particular gender (males).

Sex-linked Characteristics

 Red-green colorblindness

 Male Pattern Baldness

 Hemophilia

 Muscular Dystrophy

 Sweat Gland Defect

Phenotype and Genotype

 The genetics cluster of traits that you have, and are observable from the outside is your
phenotype. Your total genetic makeup, observable and not, is your genotype.

 Genotype – refers to the genetic code of the individual. This is all the information that is found
inside the individuals’ cells.

 Phenotype – is the expression of the genotype that is visible to other people and can be
observed.

Kinds of Twins

1. Identical or Monozygotic Twins – Twins that developed from a single zygote that split. They look
alike because they share almost the same genetic make up

 12 egg cells needed to be fertilized to produce 12 pairs of identical twins

2. Fraternal or Dizygotic Twins – Twins that developed from the simultaneous union of 2 pairs of egg
and sperm cell. They do not share the same genetic makeup and may be of different gender, one
male, one female.

 Six sperm cells to produce a 3 pairs fraternal twins

3. Conjoined Twins – are 2 babies who are born physically connected to each other.

SEX CHROMOSOME DISORDERS

1. Klinefelter’s Syndrome (XXY)

 It is a genetic disorder in which there is at least one extra X chromosome to a standard

human male karyotype, for a total of 47 chromosomes

 Occurs when a genetic male has an extra x chromosome

 Suffer from sterility as an adult

  Physical Characteristics

 Abnormal testes, no sperm production, reduced testosterone production•

 Tall, poor muscular development, enlarged breasts (gynecomastia)

2. Turner’s Syndrome (XO)

 There is a missing chromosome (45)

 Webbing of neck

 Puffy hands & feet

 Broad chest

 Physical Characteristics

 deficits in visual special abilities.

 short stature

 absence of spontaneous breast development

 amenorrhea.

 shield chest

 deformity of the forearm

3. Superfemale/male Syndrome

 Superfemale Syndrome (XXX)

 Intellectually deficit females

 Appears quite normal

 Supermale Syndrome (XYY)

 Taller than normal males

 Below average intelligence

AUTOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES

1. Down’s Syndrome (Trisomy 21)

 An extra sex chromosome appeared in the 21st pair of autosomes

 Mentally retarded

 Sloping forehead, protruding tongue, short limbs, flattened nose, oriental in appearance

 almond-shaped, wide-set eyes, intellectual disability, and increased risk of organ failure

2. Edward’s Syndrome (Trisomy 18)

 An extra sex chromosome appeared in the 18th pair of autosomes

 Abnormally small mouth, malformed ears, elongated skull, clenched hand, short breast bone

 With congenital heart disease

3. Patau’s Syndrome (Trisomy 13)

 An extra sex chromosome appeared in the 13th pair of autosomes

 Defects of eye, nose, lips, ears and forebrain

 Having one eye at extreme cases

 Has more than the normal number of fingers or toes

Other congenital defects

 Congenital blindness, heart disease may be a result of maternal diseases (like malaria, chicken pox,
German measles), malnutrition, alcohol, smoking, emotion problems, pills, drugs, endocrine irregularities
and blood incompatibilities.

 Collectively, these environmental forces that hinder the healthy development of an unborn child are
called TERATOGENS.

Teratogens

1. Rubella (German Measles) – Blindness, deafness, heart abnormalities

 2. Syphilis – mental retardation, physical deformities, maternal miscarriage

3. Addictive drugs – low birth weight, addiction to the drug, possible death from withdrawal

4. Smoking - premature birth, low birth weight and length

5. Alcohol – mental retardation, low weight, small head, limb deformities

6. Radiation from X-rays – Physical deformities, mental retardation

7. Inadequate diet – reduced brain growths, low weight and length

8. Being younger than 18 – premature birth, increased incidence of Down syndrome

9. Being older than 35 - increased incidence of Down syndrome

Assumptions About the Stages of Human Development

 Behaviors at a given stage are organized around a dominant theme or a coherent set of
characteristics.

 Behaviors at one stage are qualitatively different from the behaviors at an earlier or later stage.

 All children go through the same stages in the same order, but may vary in pace.

PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

Period of The Ovum/ Germinal Stage

1. Germinal Stage (Fertilization – 2 weeks)

 Rapid cell division –

 By the end of the stage, the fertilized egg becomes a blastocyst (about the size of a
pinhead) and plants itself in the wall of the uterus.

Period of The Embryo

2. Embryonic Stage (end of 2 weeks – 2 months)

  Major body systems and organs develop

 Organism becomes vulnerable to environmental influences.

 Most likely occurrences of chromosomal abnormalities.

 Back bone formed; legs and arms begin to form; facial features take shape; spinal cord; its
heart is beginning to beat and its intestinal system is forming

Period of The Fetus

3. Fetal Stage (end of 2 months – Birth)

 3rd month - Assumes human form; large head; starts bone formation (teeth buds, nails);
genital becomes more recognizable.

 4th month – about the size of a small orange; broad face, eyes widely separated; capable
of swallowing and kicking; nails/eyebrows start to grow.

 5th month – vital organs developed; more frequent movement.

 6th month – large head, lean body; with skin wrinkles; skin pink in color; fine downy hair
(lanugo) cover the body; eye brows, eye lashes visible

 7th month – can open eyes; can stretch and kick; skin is red and wrinkled.

 8th month – fat begins to store in the body; lungs fully developed; head/body are
proportionate; assume position for delivery

 9th month – redness and wrinkles fade; downy hair disappears.

CAPABILITIES OF A NEWBORN

 We as newborns come equipped with reflexes ideally suited for our survival.

 We as newborns, prefer sights and sounds that facilitate social responsiveness;

 We turn our heads on the direction of human voices;

 We gaze longer at a drawing of a face-like image than at a bull’s-eye pattern.

 We prefer to look at objects 8 to 12 inches away, which just happen to be the approximate
distance between a nursing infant’s eyes and a mother’s

 Within days of birth, our brain’s neural networks were stamped with the smell of our mother’s body
  At three weeks, if given a pacifier that sometimes turns on recordings of its mother’s voice and
sometimes that of a stranger’s.

 An infant will suck more vigorously when it hears its now-familiar mother’s voice.

Reflexes

 Reflexes are unlearned, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain
stimuli.

 They are critical for survival

 Infants lose these primitive reflexes after the first few months of life; replaced with more complex
an organized behavior.

Types of Reflexes

1. Rooting reflex – turning one’s heads towards things the touch their cheeks

2. Sucking reflex – infants suck things that touch their lips

3. Gag reflex – reflex to clear the throat

4. Startle reflex – a series of movements in which an infant fling out the arms, fans the fingers, and
arches the back in response to sudden noise.

5. Babinski Reflex – a baby’s toes fan out when the outer edge of the sole of the foot is stroked

6. Grasping Reflex - stroking the palm of a baby's hand causes the baby to close his or her fingers
in a grasp.

MODULE 2.1: THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

Theory

 “An organized set of ideas that are designed to explain development.”

 Essential for developing predictions about behavior.

 Predictions result in research that help to support or clarify the theory.

PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

 Developed by Sigmund Freud

 Inability to have pleasure or satisfaction in each psychosexual stage would lead to FIXATION

Biological Instincts:

 Eros (Life Instinct) – helps the child to survive; directs life sustaining activities such as
respiration, eating, sex and the fulfillment of all other bodily needs.

 Thanatos (Death Instinct) – set of destructive forces present in all human being ex. arson,
murder, war, masochism.

Psychosexual Stages

Oral Stage Reflects the infant’s need for gratification from the mother. An Infants eating,
(0 – 1) sucking, spitting and chewing do not only satisfy hunger, but also provide
pleasure.
Anal Stage Reflects the toddler’s need for gratification along the rectal area. During this
(2 – 3) stage, children must endure the demands of toilet training.
 A person who is messy and disorderly could be suffering from Anal
expulsive.
Phallic Stage Reflects the preschooler’s gratification involving the genitals. Children at this
(3 – 6) stage gratify their sex instinct by fondling their genitals and developing an
incestuous desire for the opposite sex parent.
Oedipus Complex – sexual attachment of a male child to his mother.
Electra Complex – sexual attachment of a female child to her father. The girl
envies her father for possessing a penis and wishes he would share with her
valued organ that she lacks.
Latency Stage Sexual desires are repressed and the entire child’s available libido is channeled
(6 – Puberty) into socially acceptable outlets such as schoolwork and vigorous play that
consume most of the child’s physical and psychic energy.
Genital Stage Is characterized by the maturation of the reproductive system, production of
(Puberty – Onwards) sex hormones, and a reactivation of the genital zone as an area of sensual
pleasure.
PSYCHOSEXUAL FIXITION

1. Oral Stage

 Mouth and lips

 Feeding

 If the child was abruptly weaned (end of breastfeeding), he may manifest alcoholism,
smoking, fondness of kissing, oral sadism. (ORAL AGGRESSIVE)

 If the child was over satisfied with oral pleasures, he may become, gullible and
overdependent (ORAL RECEPTIVE)

2. Anal Stage

 Anal Region

 Toilet Training

 If the child experienced toilet training too early, he may become controlling, over organized
or stubborn. (ANAL RETENTIVE)

 If the child experienced toilet training too late, he become, sloppy, impulsive, or disorganized.
(ANAL EXPULSIVE)

3. Phallic Stage

 Genitals

 Gender Identification

 If the issues during the phallic stage are not resolved, the person may have problem with
interpersonal relationships as well as dealing with authority figures. They may also become
uncertain about their sexual identity

PHALLIC STAGE: Gender Identification

 For boys, they develop sexual desire towards the mother and a desire eliminate his
competition, the father (Oedipus complex) Boys become afraid of the father retaliation
 and develops Castration anxiety. Then they seek to become or identify with their fathers.

 For girls, they begin with a strong attachment to their mother but realize that boys have
penis and girls don’t have. They blame the mother of this inferiority, and develop Penis
envy. Their love is transferred to the father who has the sex organ she wants (Electra
complex). But, they still must avoid the mother’s disapproval and so they identify with their
mother.

4. Latency Stage

 Genitals

 This is a period of Peace; most sexual impulses lie dormant. The conflict in the earlier
stage resolved or not will be repressed or forgotten.

5. Genitals Stage

 Genitals

 The quality of relationships and degree of fulfillment and contentment that the person
experiences during these long years old are tied directly to the success the person has
at resolving conflicts during the earlier stages.

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

 Developed by Erik Erikson

 He maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order, and builds upon each previous
stage. (Epigenetic Principle)

 Like Freud, Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each stage of development.

 These crises are of a psychosocial nature because they involve psychological needs of the
individual conflicting with the needs of society.

 Successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic
virtues.
  Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent crises.

 Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages
and therefore an unhealthier personality and sense of self.

 These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.

Psychosocial Stages

Psychosocial Crisis Significant Person If Crisis is If Crises isn’t

Stages Resolved Resolved
Trust vs. The infant needs Mother/Maternal The child The child will grow
Mistrust (0 – 2) physical/psychological Person develops the mistrusting
sense of attachment virtue of hope
and optimism
Autonomy vs. The child’s desire to Parents/Parental The child The child becomes
Shame/Doubt (2 be in control and Person develops the constricted and
– 3) assert independence virtue of will afraid of new
experiences. S/He
may also engage in
power struggle
against authority
Initiative vs. Guilt The children start Basic Family The child The child becomes
(3 – 6) to socialize with develops the doubtful of his
other children virtue of capacity to discover
through play which initiative, sense the world. He may
 becomes the primary of purpose, get into fight for not
medium of exploring direction and cooperating
the world. learns the value
of cooperation
Industry vs. The child engages School, The child The child wallows in
Inferiority (6 – to more serious Neighborhood develops the feeling of inferiority
12) hobbies and becomes virtue of  Children who
struggle with
more competitive competence
important tasks
such as
schoolworks and
social
relationships may
be left with
Feelings of
inferiority

Identity vs. This stage coincides Peer Groups and The person The person becomes
Confusion (13 – the period of Out Groups develops the diffused and manifest
19) adolescence. The virtue of fidelity; incongruence or
person needs to being able to inconsistency in
discover his/her commit to values, his/her behavior.
uniqueness, feel a people and
sense of organization
belongingness and
integrate various
roles into a single
consistent individual
Intimacy vs. The person looks for Intimate Partners, The person The person will float
Isolation (20 – intimacy in Friends develops the from one partner or
39) heterosexual virtue of job to another; and
relationships. commitment and feel isolated
mutual devotion:
the ability to
sacrifice and
compromise
Generativity vs. The person feels Divided Labor and The person The person will feel
 Stagnation (40 the need to guide Shared Household develops the stagnant, resist the
– 65) and pass on what virtue of truth and relive
he has learned to generativity and youthful fantasies.
younger generations getting older,
through mentoring value wisdom
and teaching. over physical
prowess
Integrity vs. The person Mankind The person The person lives the
Despair (65 y/o experiences decline acquires a sense remainder of his life
– onwards) in physical health of wholeness or in despair. He wants
integrity and the to know if he had
virtue of wisdom lived well.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

 Developed by Jean Piaget

 Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development.

 Children gradually learn more about how the world works by little “experiments” in which they test
their understanding.

 Cognitive development consists of stages in which children’s understanding of their surroundings

become increasingly complex and accurate.

There Are Three Basic Components to Piaget's Cognitive Theory:

 Schemas - building blocks of knowledge

 Equilibrium, Assimilation and Accommodation – adaptation processes that enable the transition from
one stage to another.

1. Equilibrium- all human thought seeks order and is uncomfortable with

contradictions and inconsistencies in knowledge structures.

Example: When a teacher gives exam consists of objective

questions where there are only correct answers among the option.
When a kid got correct for the question, it create equilibrium.
 2. Assimilation- the incorporation of new information into existing schemes.
When you encounter something new, you process and make sense of it by
relating it to things that you already know.

Example: A child sees a new type of dog that they've never seen
before and immediately points to the animal and says, "Dog!"

3. Accommodation- what occurs when new information or experiences cause

you to modify your existing schemas. Schemas, or organized knowledge,
help us understand and interpret our world.

Example: Young Tim likes to explore through touch. One day he

touches the oven and burns his hand. Tim learned that although
some items can be touched, oven are not one of these iteams.
a. modifying your understand of the concept of a car to include a
specific type of vehicle once you learn about trucks

Stages of Development:

1. Sensorimotor (Birth – 2 y/o) – The main achievement during this stage is object permanence –
knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a mental
representation (i.e. a schema) of the object.

 Explores world as little experimenters and develop schemas through the senses and motor
activities.

 Discovers relationships between their actions and consequences.

 An important concept acquired at this stage is object permanence: before 8 months, the
baby will stop searching for an object if it is covered (out of sight, out of mind), but
around 8 months, baby will readily physically search for the hidden object

 during the first sensorimotor substage, infants' behaviors are reflexive.

 Is when a child constructs an elementary understanding of the world,

2. Preoperational (2 – 7 y/o) – During this stage young children are able to think about things
symbolically. This is the ability to make one thing – a word or an object – stand for something
other that itself. Thinking is still egocentric, and the infant has difficulty taking the view point of
 others.

 Ability for symbolic thinking emerges - seen from the child’s use of symbolic play and use
of language.

 Use of language/words as symbol for things particularly has critical importance.

 Child performs well on tests of object permanence but has trouble with conservation.

 child learn to use language to explore the world around them

Example: Reb is 3-year old boy who usually plays with imaginary friends. He also
talks to his cars and robots.

 Sarah is a preschooler who loves to draw pictures of the new things she
sees each day.

Child has still several limitations:

1) ego-centrism – inability to consider another person’s point of view.

Example: Yuki is a 3 year old boy who doesn’t want to share his toys with others.
He is also telling his siblings that he owns their mom and dad. When someone is
telling a story, he impatiently tell his story too

2) animism – all things are living or animated and capable of intentions, feelings and
consciousness.

3) inability to decenter – inability to focus on simultaneous thoughts at the same time.

4) Inability for conservation concepts – inability to follow transformations mentally.

3. Concrete Operational (7 – 11 y/o) – Piaget considered the concrete stage a major turning point
in the child’s cognitive development because, it marks the beginning of logical or operational
thought.

 This means the child can work things out internally in their head (rather than physically try
things out in the real world). Children can conserve number, mass and weight.

 Logical reasoning rather than intuitive thought

 Child understands conservation but has trouble with abstract and hypothetical questions.
  Conservation – is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even
though it’s appearance changes.

4. Formal Operational (11 y/o – Above) – During this time, people develop the ability to think about
abstract concepts, and logically test hypothesis.

 Hypothetical deductive reasoning develops; can now reason logically and deal with
abstractions, not just concrete things.

 Capacity for abstractions enables person to use and understand, for instance, algebraic
signs and metaphorical speech.

 Able to consider all variables and possibilities simultaneously, make hypotheses, and solve
problems by tackling these possibilities systematically.

 Use of the pendulum problem to test formal operational thinking.

Example: Mark spends a lot of time thinking about the world as it could beif
everyone took more personal responsibility for environmental and social conditions

 Mark spends a lot of time thinking about the world as it now as it

could be if everyone took more personal responsibility for
environmental and social conditions.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

 Developed by Lawrence Kohlberg

 Based on Piaget’s ideas of cognitive development.

 Described the development of moral thinking through stages of increasing maturity.

Moral Stages

• Step 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation. Obey rules to avoid punishment

• Step 2: Naïve Hedonism. Conforms to get rewards and to have favors returned

• Step 3: Good boy/girl Morality. Confirms to avoid disapproval or dislike by others

 • Step 4: Conforms to avoid censure by authorities

• Step 5: Conforms to maintain communities. Emphasis on individual rights.

• Step 6: Individual principles of conscience

Level 1: Pre-Conventional – a child’s sense of morality is externally controlled.

 When Mika is asked why he should not hit his brother, he responds, "Because Mommy says so and if
I do I will get yelled at."
 Five-year old Tyler believes ‘bad things’ are what you get punished for’.

Stages of Moral Reasoning Primary Motivation Typical Moral Reasoning

Stage 1: Punishment and Avoidance of Punishment A person must be obedient to
Obedience Orientation (How can I avoid punishment?) powerful authority because of
fear of punishment
Stage 2: Reward/Self – Interest Desire for Reward The act is moral if it satisfied an
Orientation (What’s in it for me?) important need of the person or
(Paying for a benefit) some family member

Level 2: Conventional – a child’s sense of morality is tied to personal and societal relationships.

 Calvin would like to wear baggy, torn jeans and a nose ring, but he is concerned that others will
disapprove.

Stages of Moral Reasoning Primary Motivation Typical Moral Reasoning

Stage 3: Good Boy/Girl The child strives to avoid the A moral action is one that
Orientation/Interpersonal Accord disapproval of others. causes others cause to approve
and Conformity (Social Norms)
Stage 4: Authority and Social – An act is always wrong if it Moral people are those who do
Order Maintaining Orientation violates a rule or does harm to their duty in order to maintain
others social order

Level 3: Post-Conventional - a person’s sense of morality is defined in terms of more abstract principles
and values.

 Be able to take another person’s perspective

Stages of Moral Reasoning Primary Motivation Typical Moral Reasoning

 Stage 5: Social Contract The individual is able to recognize Society has rules and both the
Orientation that laws subjective and they individual and society must fulfill
exist only because we agree their parts of the contract.
about them. The person respects
the rules of others but will still
step in if what at stakes is non-
negotiable values (life, freedom)
(“the greatest good for the
greatest number of people)
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Individuals are concern with Society’s rule is arbitrary; The
Principle Orientation (Principle upholding their personal principles; ultimate judge of whether
Conscience) Morality is a matter of the something is moral is a person’s
person’s conscience regardless of own conscience.
what the society says

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: The Six Stages

1. Rules are fixed and absolute 3. Conforming and being “nice”

2. Judging actions according to individual 4. Respecting Authority

needs
5. Considering individual right

MODULE 3: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Overview:

Central Nervous System – brain and spinal cord

• Brain – interprets and stores information and sends orders to muscles, glands, and organs.

• Spinal Cord – pathway connecting the brain and the peripheral nervous system.

Peripheral Nervous System – transmits information to and from the central nervous system.

• Autonomic Nervous System – automatically regulates glands, internal organs and blood vessels,
pupil dilation, digestion and blood pressure.

 Parasympathetic Division – maintains body functions under ordinary conditions; saves

 energy

 Sympathetic Division – prepares the body to react and expand energy in times of stress.

• Somatic Nervous System – carries sensory information and controls movement of the skeletal
muscles.

 Sensory System (Afferent) – carries messages from senses to CNS.

 Motor System (Efferent) – carries messages from CNS to muscles and glands.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: CONTROLS and COORDINATES ALL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS of the Human Body.

FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

1. Sensory Functions – nervous system uses its millions of sensory receptors to monitor changes
occurring both inside and outside of the body. Those changes are called STIMULI, and the
gathered information is called SENSORY INPUT.

2. Integrative Functions – the nervous system process and interprets the sensory input and make
decisions about what should be done at each moment – a process called INTEGRATION

3. Motor Function – the nervous system then sends information to muscles, glands, and organs
(effectors) so they can respond correctly, such as muscular contraction or glandular secretions.

CELLS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

NEURONS: INTO THE FABULOUS FOREST

 The brain contains as many as 100 billion nerve cells

 Specialized cells found in the nervous system that are building blocks of the CNS and PNS

 Parts of a Neuron

• CELL BODY – contains the nucleus and cytoplasm

• AXON – conducts impulses away from the cell body

• DENDRITES – conduct impulses towards the cell body

• SYNAPSE- spaces between two nerves which the impulse must cross
  Tiny gaps between neuron

• Soma/cell body - the cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell.

• Dendrites – branch - like structures of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons
(dendrite means “tree-like” or “branch”).

 receive messages from other cells

• Axon - tube-like structure of neuron that carries the neural message from the cell body to the
axon terminals, for communication with other cells.

 passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands.
• Axon Terminals - enlarged ends of axonal branches of the neuron,

 specialized for communication between cells

 (may also be called presynaptic terminals, terminal buttons, or synaptic knobs)

 form junctions with another cell.

Glial cells (or glia) – cells that provide support for the neurons by holding them together,

 provide nourishment and remove waste products, prevent harmful substances

from passing into the brain, and form the myelin sheath (glia means “glue”).

 They are better understood as partner cells, not just support cells.

• Myelin sheath – white fatty covering found in some axons, produced by certain glial cells.

 helps speed neural impulses.

 Separate or protect axons
• Nerves – bundles of axons coated in myelin that travel together through the body.

• Action Potential – electrical signal travelling down the axon

Types of Neurons Description

1. Sensory or Afferent Collect information from the sensory organs and transmit it to
the central nervous system.
2. Motor or Efferent Transmit information from the central nervous system to the
muscles and glands.
 3. Interneurons or Association Transmit information between neurons
4. Mirror Specialized neurons that respond when we observe others
perform a behavior or express an emotion.

NEUROGLIA TYPES OF NEUROGLIA CELLS

 Connective tissue (support system for  Astrocytes

neurons)
 Microglia Cells
 Do not conduct impulses
 Oligodendrocytes
 Protect nervous system through
phagocytosis

THE NEURAL IMPULSE: “the body electric”

 WHAT “LANGUAGE” DO NEURONS SPEAK? Neurons speak in a language that all cells in the body
understand: simple “yes-no”, “on-off” electrochemical impulses.

• Resting Potential – state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse

• Action Potential (Neural Impulse) – the release of the neural impulse; firing of the nerve cell

• Ions – electrically charged particles found both inside and outside the neuron

• All-or-None Law – principle that the action potential in a neuron does not vary in strength; either
the neuron fires at full strength, or it does not fire at all.

THE SYNAPSE: NEUROTRANSMISSION

 WHAT HAPPENS AS INFORMATION MOVES FROM ONE NEURON TO THE NEXT?

 Neurons are not directly connected like links in a chain. Rather, they are separated by a tiny gap,
called synaptic space, or synaptic cleft, where the axon terminals of one neuron almost touch the
dendrites or cell body of other neurons.

• Synapse – are composed of the axon terminal of one neuron, the synaptic space, and the dendrite
or cell body of the next neuron

• Synaptic Vesicles – tiny sacs in a terminal button that release chemicals into the synapse

• Neurotransmitters – chemicals released by the synaptic vesicles that travel across the synaptic
 space and affect adjacent neurons

• Receptor Sites – locations on a receptor neuron into which a specific neurotransmitter fits like a
key into a lock.

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: THE BODY’S CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

THE BRAIN – is the core of the nervous system, surrounded by bone for protection and is enclosed in
cranium.

NEURAL PLASTICITY AND NEUROGENESIS

• Neural Plasticity – ability of the brain to change in response to experience; a feedback loop:
Experience leads to changes in the brain, which, in turn, facilitate new learning, which leads to
further neural change, and so on.

 New connections forming in the brain to take over for damaged sections.

– The effects of neural plasticity are made more profound because

neurons are functionally connected to one another forming circuits or neural networks that mature
and develop in response to experience.

• Neurogenesis – the formation of new neurons;

 occurs primarily during prenatal development but may also occur at lesser levels in some
brain areas during adulthood.

THE SPINAL CORD – serves as our communications highway, connecting the brain to most of the rest of
the body.

 Made up of soft-jelly like bundles of long axons, wrapped in insulating myelin (white matter;
outer section) and cell bodies of neurons (gray matter; inner section)

 Surrounded by vertebrae for protection

 Surrounded by meninges and cerebrospinal fluid

 Carries 31 spinal nerves

 Responsible for receiving information from the body and sending it to the brain.

o Injury
  paralysis from the neck down to feet

 Loss of movement

 Loss of altered sensation

 Loss of bowel or bladder control

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: THE BODY’S PERIPHERAL DEVICES

 When you hear the tone signaling an incoming e-mail. That sound received by your
auditory system and information is sent via sensory neurons to your brain

 Transmit information to and from the CNS

SYMPATHETIC DIVISION

 Generally, acts to arouse the body, preparing it for “fight or flight”

 Prepares the body for quick action in an emergency

 Our system that regulates heartbeat and breathing

 Increases heart rate, stimulate stomach, pancreas and intestine

 Inhibits bladder contraction, secretes adrenaline, glycogen, to glucose

PARASYMPATHETIC DIVISION

 Follows with messages to relax

 Calms and relaxes

 Slows heart rate and breathing

 Contracts bladder

Sympathetic is more active than Parasympathetic

PNS: SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

  The part of the peripheral nervous system

 carries messages from the senses to the central nervous system and between the central
nervous system and the skeletal muscles.

 Carry messages from the outer areas of the body

 Our conscious control/ controls the body’s muscles (VOLUNTARY) such as walking and running.

 Sensory pathway - nerves coming from the sensory organs to the CNS consisting
of afferent neurons.

 Motor pathway - nerves coming from the CNS to the voluntary muscles, consisting
of efferent neurons.

MAJOR NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND THEIR EFFECTS

Neurotransmitters Function
1. Acetylcholine (Ach) Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in arousal, attention,
memory and control muscles contractions.
 Deficiency- Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s
and Myastenia Disease.
2. Dopamine (DA) Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in control of
movement and sensations of pleasure.
 Deficiency- less motivated and excitement
about things.
 Mental illness, depression, schizophrenia and
psychosis.
3. Serotonin (5-HT) Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in sleep, mood,
anxiety, and appetite.
 Deficiency- anxiousness, worries, Panic,
phobias, mental obsessions, Pain, depression,
PMS, Sleep Cycle disturbances and carbs
cravings.
4. Norepinephrine (NE) Mainly Excitatory; involved in arousal and person’s
mood.
 Deficiency- ADHD, Depression,and
Hypotension (Very Low BP)
 5. Endorphins Involved in the inhibition of pain; may be responsible
for “runner’s high”.
 Affected by Opiates
 Body’s natural pain killers
 Released by hypothalamus and pituitary gland
 Deficiency- aches, pains, depression,
mood swings, and addiction.
6. GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid)  Major inhibitory neurotransmitter;
 involved in sleep and inhibits movement.
 Associated with inhibition exclusively
 Deficiency- brain disease (Encephalopathy)
that begins with infancy, Seizures
(Epilepsy), Choreoathetosis, Hyperreflexia,
hypotonia, hypersomnolence
7. Glutamate Major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in learning,
memory and the perception of pain.
 Amino acid that is produced in the body and
occurs naturally in many foods.
 Deficiency- inherited metabolic disorder,
insomnia, concentration problem, mental
exhaustion

REUPTAKE PROCESS

• Reuptake – process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles.

• Enzyme – complex protein that is manufactured by cells

• Enzymatic Degradation – process by which the structure of a neurotransmitter is altered so it

can no longer act on a receptor.

MODULE 3.1: THE BRAIN

THE HINDBRAIN – helps to regulate autonomic functions, relay sensory information, coordinate movement,
and maintain balance and equilibrium.

 Lowest portion of the brain;

 located at the skull’s rear

 Consists of 3 main parts:

1. Medulla – responsible for life-sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing, and heart
rate and blood pressure

 Injury- respiratory failure, paralysis, or loss of sensation.

2. Pons –attention, sleep and arousal and respiration.

 Injury- may develop locked-in syndrome- no sensory or motor function.

3. Cerebellum – the “little brain” that controls all involuntary, rapid and fine motor movements.

 Injury to cerebellum – may impair motor coordination and cause stumbling

and loss of muscle tone or no smooth movement and can’t keep balance.

THE MIDBRAIN – helps to regulate movement and process auditory and visual information.

 Located between the hindbrain and forebrain

 Important for hearing and sight

 Houses of Hypothalamus

 One of several places in the brain that pain is registered

 Injury- difficulty with visions, hearing, trouble with memory, Weber, Claude, Benedikt, Nothnagel and
Parinaud Syndrome

• Reticular Formation –vital in the functions of attention, sleep and arousal.

o Damage in the reticular formation – may result in a coma

THE FOREBRAIN – processes sensory information, helps with reasoning and problem solving, and regulates
autonomic, endocrine, and motor function.

 Largest division of the brain – Cerebrum, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus

• Cerebrum – responsible for thinking and language

  Injury- brain death, cannot breathe

• Thalamus – relays and translates incoming messages from the sense receptors, except
those for smell.

o Relay sensory information

 Injury- sensory loss, movement disorder, pain syndrome, ataxia, apathy,

memory problem and visual disorder.

• Hypothalamus – governs motivation and emotional responses; keeps the body’s system
within a healthy range; regulates sleep-wake cycles, sexual arousal, and appetite

 Injury- loss of appetite, increased eating appetite, obesity, impairment

of hormonal secretion, feeding, drinking, temperature regulation and
sexual behavior.

• Cerebral Cortex – the outer surface of the cerebrum that regulates most of the
complex behaviors.

o Association Areas – large areas in the cerebral cortex that integrates

information from different parts of cortex and are involved in mental
processes such a learning, thinking and remembering.

 Injury- many cognitive, sensory, and emotional difficulties such as

unconsciousness, coma and death.

The Lobes of the Brain

1. Frontal lobe – coordinates messages from other cerebral lobes; higher-level cognitive functions like
thinking, planning and personality characteristics, problem solving, motor speech of Broca, decision
making, judgement, control, attention, learning.

 Injury- personality changes, difficulty in concentrating, planning and impulsivity.

2. Parietal lobe – integration of sensory information like touch and temperature; also involved in
spatial abilities.

 Injury- loses the ability to identify objects by touch

3. Occipital lobe – processing of visual information

 Injury- inability to see or loss of sight.

 4. Temporal lobe – smell and hearing; balance and equilibrium; language comprehension; complex visual
processing and facial recognition

 Injury- loss of hearing, difficulty in understanding spoken words (Wernicke)

Specialized Areas of the Brain

 Wernicke’s Area – Broca’s Area

• Wernicke’s area is responsible for language comprehension while Broca’s area is for
language production

1. Wernicke’s Aphasia – difficulty understanding language (listening)

2. Broca’s Aphasia – difficulty in sequencing and producing language (talking)

• Aphasia – Inability to use or understand language that usually results from brain damage.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

CEREBRUM AND CEREBRAL CORTEX

CEREBRUM CEREBRAL CORTEX

Is the most prominent and the Is the outer layer of the
most anterior part of the cerebrum, composed of the
The Limbic System
vertebrate brain which folded gray matter
consist of two hemispheres  Group of interconnected

Made up of both gray and Made up of gray matter structures

white matter.  play an important role in

Comprises both cell bodies and Comprises cell bodies and our experiences of emotion,
nerve fibers. dendrites motivation, and memory.
Composed of Two Composed of Four Lobes
 It fuels our most basic
Hemispheres.
drives, such as hunger, sex, and
The major function is to Mainly involved in
aggression.
control the voluntary muscular consciousness
movements of the body.  The limbic system plays a
central role in times of stress,
coordinating and integrating the activity of the nervous system
 • Hippocampus – largest structure in the limbic system; plays a role in the formation of
new memories;

• Respondible for the storage of memories and learning.

 Injury- Alzheimer’s disease, inability to tell their identity

• Amygdala – processes basic emotions like fear and aggression and the memories
associated with them

• Makes animals emotionally unresponsive.

 Injury- inappropriate reactions such as crying,

 Williams Syndrome – a rare genetic disorder which involves amygdala

damage; characterized by inability to properly interpret facial
expressions of anger and fear.

Motor and Somatosensory Cortex

 Primary Motor Cortex  Somatosensory Cortex

• Part of the Frontal Lobe • Located in front of Parietal Lobe

• Sending motor commands to muscles of • Responsible for processing information

the somatic nervous system from the skin and internal body receptors
for touch, temperature, and body
• Key role in voluntary movement
position

Hemispheres of the Brain

 The cerebrum has two distinct halves, left and right hemisphere.

The Left Hemisphere – controls writing and The Right Hemisphere – controls touch and
movement of the right side of the body. The left movement of the left side of the body and is
hemisphere is usually dominant in language and typically superior at nonverbal, visual, and spatial
task involving symbolic reasoning. task.

 Corpus callosum – a thick band of nerve fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres.
Permits the exchange of information between the two spheres.
  Example: Gwen’s brain has a congenital anomaly (a difference in brain anatomy
that she was born with) -it lacks the main connection between the right and left
hemispheres

Split-Brain Experiment

 Roger Sperry was the pioneer in the field of hemisphere specialization.

 In a way to cure epilepsy, Sperry cut the corpus callosum, but it found out that they had two
brains in one body.

 The term use to describe the result when the corpus callosum connecting the two
-halves of the brain is severed to some degree.

Looking inside the Living Brain: METHODS FOR STUDYING THE BRAIN

 Brain Stimulation

 Temporarily disrupt or enhance the normal functioning of specific brain areas through
electrical stimulation and then study the resulting changes in behavior or cognition.

 Invasive: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

 Non-invasive: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

 Neuroimaging Techniques

1. Computed Tomography (CT) – mapping “slices” of the brain using a computer.

 Can scan stroke damage, tumors, injuries, and abnormal brain structure

 Structural imaging method of choice when there is metal in the body and imaging possible
skull fractures.

2. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of
the body to produce detailed images of the brain.

3. Electroencephalogram (EEG) – a recording of the electrical activity of large groups of cortical

neurons just below the skull, most often using scalp electrodes.

 Helps determine which areas of the brain are active during various mental tasks that
 involve memory and attention

4. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) – uses devices that are very sensitive to magnetic fields called
superconducting quantum interference devices, which are contained in a helmet-like device that is
placed over the individual’s head.

 MEG has many applications and is being used to differentiate dementia disorders and to
explore cognitive processes in autism.

5. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) – brain-imaging method in which a radioactive sugar is

injected into the subject and a computer compiles a color-coded image of the activity of the
brain

 With this method, researchers can have the person perform different tasks while the
computer shows what his or her brain is doing during the task.

6. Functional MRI (fMRI) – MRI-based brain-imaging method that allows for functional examination of
brain areas through changes in brain oxygenation.

 Functional MRIs can give more detail, tend to be clearer than PET scans, and are an
incredibly useful tool for research into the workings of the brain.

MODULE 3.2: THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

A. EXOCRINE GLANDS

 Also known as duct glands

 Secretions are released through a duct outside the body

 Salivary – saliva

 Sebaceous – sweat

 Mammary –milk

 Lacrimal – tears

B. THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

  Communication system that uses glands to convey messages by releasing hormones into the
bloodstream

 Hormones – chemical messengers released into the bloodstream that influence the mood,
cognition, appetite, and many other processes and behaviors

THE ENDOCRINE GLANDS

1. PITUITARY GLAND

 Known as the “master gland”

 gland located in the brain that secretes human growth hormone and influences all other
hormone-secreting glands

 Human Growth Hormone (HGH): Responsible for the growth and repair of all cells in the
body.

 Giantism – over secretion of HGH in children

 Acromegaly – over secretion of HGH in adults

 Dwarfism – under secretion of HGH in children

 Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH): Influences the thyroid gland for the release of
thyroxine, its own hormone. TSH is also called Thyrotropin.

 Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH): Influences the adrenal gland to release of Cortisol

or the “stress hormone”. ACTH is also known as corticotropin.

 Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH): Collectively known as

Gonadotropins, LH and FSH control the sexual and reproductive characteristics in males
and females.

 Prolactin (PRL): Produces milk in the breast. Though it is present at all times, the
secretion is increased during and just after pregnancy.

 Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone (MSH): Involved in the stimulation of the production of

melanin by skin and hair.

 Oxytocin - involved in a variety of ways with both reproduction and parental behavior. It
 stimulates contractions of the uterus in childbirth.

 Vasopressin – controls the levels of water in our body; acts as antidiuretic

 Diabetes Insipidus – under secretion of vasopressin which could lead to

dehydration or death

 Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH (SIADH) – over secretion of vasopressin which

promotes water retention,

2. PINEAL GLAND

 Endocrine gland located near the base of the cerebrum

 It plays an important role in several biological rhythms.

 Secretes a hormone called melatonin, which helps track day length (and seasons). In humans,
melatonin is more influential in regulating sleep-wake cycles

 Melatonin may be used to as a sleeping pill and to help people adjust to jet lag

 Low melatonin secretion – leads to anxiety, low thyroid hormone production,

menopause symptoms, mood swings, depression, etc.

 High melatonin secretion – leads to nausea, seizures, headache, mood swings,

memory disruption. impaired vision and other senses

3. THYROID GLAND

 Endocrine gland found in the neck; regulates growth and metabolism.

 Thyroxin – hormone responsible for regulating metabolism

 Cretinism – Thyroxin deficiency in children characterized by stunted growth and

mental retardation

 Hypothyroidism – under secretion, which results in sluggishness and obesity

 Hyperthyroidism – over secretion, characterized by loss of weight, excitability and

insomnia
4. PANCREAS

 The pancreas controls the level of blood sugar in the body by secreting insulin and
glucagon.

 Insulin lowers down sugar level in the blood

 Glucagon increases sugar level in the blood

 Diabetes mellitus – under secretion of insulin

 Hypoglycemia – or low blood sugar; over secretion of insulin which causes a person
to feel hungry all the time and often become overweight as a result

5. GONADS

 The gonads are the sex glands, including the ovaries in the female and the testes in the
male. They secrete hormones that regulate sexual behavior and reproduction.

1. Female Gonad Hormones

 Estrogens – It is a group of female sex hormones essential for reproduction and

the development of the female reproductive system. Estrogens are responsible for
maturation and growth of the vagina and uterus, widening of pelvis, breast and
the uterus changes during the menstrual cycle, and increasing growth of hairs on
the body.

 Progesterone – These are the hormones whose function is to prepare the uterus
for conception, regulating changes in the uterus during the Menstrual cycle,
ovulation aids, and stimulating gland development for the production of milk during
pregnancy.

2. Male Gonad Hormones

 Testosterone - is responsible and essential for increased growth of bone and

muscle, growth of body hair, developing broader shoulder, voice deepening and
growth of the penis.

 Androstenedione – These are the hormones that act as a precursor to

 estrogens and testosterone.

 Inhibin – These hormones inhibit the release of FSH and thought to be involved in
sperm cell regulation and development.

6. ADRENAL GLANDS

 Everyone has two adrenal glands, one on top of each kidney

 divided into two sections, the adrenal medulla (inner layer) and the adrenal cortex (outer
layer)

 Adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood
pressure, response to stress and other essential functions

 Addison’s Disease – When adrenal glands don’t produce enough hormones, this can
lead to adrenal insufficiency

A. ADRENAL MEDULLA

 Controls hormones that initiate the flight or fight response

 The main hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla include epinephrine

(adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which have similar functions.

 These hormones are capable of increasing the heart rate and force of heart
contractions, increasing blood flow to the muscles and brain, relaxing airway
smooth muscles, and assisting in glucose (sugar) metabolism.

B. ADRENAL CORTEX

 The adrenal cortex produces more than 30 different hormones called

corticoids (also called steroids)

 Cortisol – one of the most important adrenal hormones, helps control the
body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates; suppresses inflammation;
regulates blood pressure; increases blood sugar; and can also decrease bone
formation; released during times of stress to help your body get an energy
boost

 Aldosterone – plays a central role in regulating blood pressure and certain

 electrolytes

ADRENAL GLAND DISORDERS

1. Cushing Syndrome – results from excessive production of cortisol from the adrenal glands. The
symptoms may include weight gain and fatty deposits in certain areas of the body (buffalo hump);
purple stretch marks on the abdomen; facial hair; fatigue; muscle weakness; easily bruised skin; high
blood pressure; diabetes; and other health issues.

2. Hyperaldosteronism – results from overproduction of aldosterone from one or both adrenal glands;
characterized by increase in blood pressure that often requires many medications to control.

3. Pheochromocytoma – a tumor that results in excess production of adrenaline or noradrenaline by

the adrenal medulla that often happens in bursts.
 MODULE 4: SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Sensation – the process that occurs when special receptors in the sense organs are activated, allowing
various forms of outside stimuli to become neural signals in the brain

Transduction – the process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural activity

Sensory Receptors – are specialized forms of neurons, the cells that make up the nervous system

 Synesthesia – disorder in which the signals from the various sensory organs are processed
in the wrong cortical areas, resulting in the sense information being interpreted as more
than one sensation.

Sensory Thresholds

• A JND is the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time,
and Weber’s law simply means that whatever the difference between stimuli might be, it is always a
constant.

Absolute Threshold - the lowest level of stimulation that a person can consciously detect 50 percent of
the time the stimulation is present.

 Minimum amount so we can detect the stimulation.

Example of Absolute Threshold

Sense Threshold
1.Sight A candle flame at 30 miles on a clear, dark night
2.Hearing The tick of a watch 20 feet away in a quiet room
3.Smell One drop of perfume diffused throughout a three-room apartment
4.Taste 1 teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water
5.Touch A bee’s wing falling on the cheek from 1 centimeter above

Habituation and Sensory Adaptation

1. Signal Detection Theory – provides a method for assessing the accuracy of judgments or
decisions under uncertain conditions; used in perception research and other areas. An individual’s
correct “hits” and rejections are compared against their “misses” and “false alarms.”
2. Habituation – tendency of the brain to stop attending to constant, unchanging information.
 For example, ang bahay mo ay malapit sa palengke at maingay everyday, so ang
 constant information ay yung maingay. It becomes a habit and we become immune. Hindi
na pinoprocess ng utak ang information.
3. Sensory Adaptation – tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus
that is unchanging
 For example, the sense of smell. It can easily become less responsive to certain odors
when we are exposed to it for a long period of time.

THE SCIENCE OF SEEING: LIGHT AND THE EYE

1. Brightness – is determined by the amplitude of the wave, how high or how low the wave actually is.
The higher the wave, the brighter the light appears to be. The lower the waves, the dimer
appears.
 2. Color/Hue – largely determined by the length of the wave.
 The color of light, as determined by its wavelength, is called hue.
3. Saturation – refers to the purity of the color people perceive.

The Structure of the Eye: the sense organ of the visual.

Cornea – the surface of the eye is covered in a clear membrane.

 Kapag nabubulag ang mata, ang cause ay ang damaged sa cornea. Blindness and inability
to see. Can be transplanted. Does not only protect the eye, but also the structure that
helps focus most of the light that comes thru the eye.
 Lasik therapy.
Aqueous Humor – a clear, watery fluid.

 It supplies nourishment to the eye.

Pupil – light from the visual image then enters the interior of the eye through a hole

 opening in your eye through which light passes

 Squint so we can see the object.

 You would expect that your pupils would be smallest when you are Sitting on the
beach on a very sunny day

Iris – the iris can change the size of the pupil, letting more or less light into the eye

 Gives color to the eye. It contains muscles that control our pupils. It also helps focus
the image by squinting.

Lens – the flexible lens finishes the focusing process begun by the cornea.

 Light passes to the cornea.

 the transparent body behind the iris that focuses an image on the retina

Sclera- it protects the inner part of the eye.

Retina – a light-sensitive area at the back of the eye containing three layers: ganglion cells, bipolar cells,
and the rods and cones, special receptor cells (photoreceptors) that respond to the various wavelengths
of light.

 In many ways, the eye is analogous to a camera. The light sensitive surface in the
 back of the eye that would correspond to the film in a camera

 Dito nagkakaroon ng conversion. Also known as the receptor cells of the eye.

• Bipolar cells - a type of interneuron; called bipolar or “two ended” because they have a
single dendrite at one end and a single axon on the other.
• Ganglion Cells - are the output neurons of the retina and they receive input from bipolar
cells
• Rods - visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina, responsible for noncolor
sensitivity to low levels of light, and nighttime vision.
o 100 million rods in each eye are found all over the retina. Sensitive in changing in
brightness.
• Cones - visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina, responsible for color
vision and sharpness of vision, and daylight vision.
o 50,000 private lines. Ability to see.

Fovea - Central area of the retina where light rays are most sharply focused greatest density of cones

 If you want to see something in fine detail, you should focus the light

Optic Disk - the location where ganglion cell axons exit the eye to form the optic nerve.

Blind Spot - area in the retina where the axons of the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form
the optic nerve; insensitive to light. Walang photoreceptors cells. Walang image na naiidenify.

Visual Accommodation - the change in the thickness of the lens as the eye focuses on objects that are
far away or close.

Light Adaptation - the recovery of the eye’s sensitivity to visual stimuli in light after exposure to
darkness

DISORDERS OF THE EYE

1. Presbyopia (Old Sightedness) – when your eyes gradually lose the ability to see things clearly up
close.
 Yung lens ng mata natin hindi na siya nagiging flexible.
2. Myopia (Nearsightedness) – visual accommodation may occur, but the shape of the eye causes the
 focal point to fall short of the retina
3. Hyperopia (Farsightedness) – the focus point is beyond the retina
4. Night Blindness – a person has difficulty seeing well enough to drive at night or get around in a
darkened room or house
 Kulang sa Vitamin A. Taking supplements can relieve this.

Perception of Color

1. Trichromatic Theory - theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and
green; “three colors” theory.
 You can see the combination of all colors.
 Dichromat- White and black, green and red, blue and yellow, may hindi ka nakikita na kulay.
 Monochromat- black and white lang ang nakikita or shades of gray.

2. Opponent-Process Theory - theory of color vision that proposes visual neurons (or groups of
neurons) are stimulated by light of one color and inhibited by light of another color.

3. Afterimages - images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the
original stimulus is removed.

• The image occurs even after without the original stimulus.

• Nakikita mo a rin ang isang object kahit hindi ka na nakatingin.

4. Color Blindness - is caused by defective cones in the retina of the eye and, as a more general
term color-deficient vision is more accurate, as most people with “color blindness” have two types
of cones working and can see many colors.
5. Monochrome Color Blindness - people either have no cones or have cones that are not working at
all.
 You are totally color blind. Rods lang ang meron.
 Complete Color Blindness - If you have complete color blindness, you can’t see colors at all.
This is also called monochromacy, and it’s quite uncommon. Depending on the type, you may
also have trouble seeing clearly and you may be more sensitive to light.
6. Dichromatic Vision - having one cone that does not work properly
7. Red-Green Color Blindness
 Deuteranomaly – is the most common type of red-green color blindness. It makes green
look more red. This type is mild and doesn’t usually get in the way of normal activities.
 Protanomaly – makes red look gree ner and less bright. This type is mild and usually
doesn’t get in the way of normal activities.
 Protanopia & Deuteranopia – both make you unable to tell the difference between red
and green at all.

8. Blue-Yellow Color Blindness

 Tritanomaly makes it hard to tell the difference between blue and green, and between
yellow and red.
 Tritanopia makes you unable to tell the difference between blue and green, purple and red,
and yellow and pink. It also makes colors look less bright.
THE HEARING SENSE: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Sound Waves and the Ear

Pitch - Wavelengths are interpreted by the brain as frequency or pitch (high, medium, or low).

Volume - Amplitude is interpreted as volume, how soft or loud a sound is.

Timbre - richness in the tone of the sound.

Hertz (Hz) - cycles or waves per second, a measurement of frequency.

The Outer Ear

1. Pinna – is the visible, external part of the ear that serves as a kind of concentrator, funneling
the sound waves from the outside into the structure of the ear.
• Collecting the sounds.
2. Auditory Canal – short tunnel that runs from the pinna to the eardrum (tympanic membrane).

The Middle Ear

• Three tiny bones in the middle ear hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes) they are the
smallest bones in the human body

The Inner Ear

1. Oval window – Inner ear membrane

2. Cochlea - snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that is filled with fluid.
 Nagkakaroon ng conversion from sound waves to neuron impulses. Then the neuron impulses
pass will be taken to the auditory nerve.
3. Basilar membrane - fluid surrounds a membrane running through the middle of the cochlea
4. Organ of Corti - contains the receptor cells for the sense of hearing
5. Hair cells - receptors for sound.
6. Auditory nerve - bundle of axons from the hair cells in the inner ear.

Perceiving Pitch
 1. Place Theory - theory of pitch that states that different pitches are experienced by the
stimulation of hair cells in different locations on the organ of Corti.
 Kung anong hair cells ang na iistimulate
 Oldest theory.
 If the person hearing a high pitch sounds, all of the hair cells near the oval window are
actually the one being stimulated. But if the sound is low pitch, all of the hair cells are
stimulated
2. Frequency Theory - theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations
in the basilar membrane.
 Depende kung paano kabilis mag vibrate, how fast the basilar membrane vibrates.
 The faster the basilar membrane vibrates, the higher the pitch. The slower it vibrates, the
lower the pitch.
3. Volley Principle - theory of pitch that states that frequencies from about 400 Hz to 4000 Hz
cause the hair cells (auditory neurons) to fire in a volley pattern, or take turns in firing.
 You can identify low pitches and high pitches.

Types of Hearing Impairments

1. Conduction Hearing Impairment

 Conductive hearing loss, refers to problems with the mechanics of the outer or middle ear
and means that sound vibrations cannot be passed from the eardrum to the cochlea.
o Hindi makapasok yung soundwaves beyond eardrum. Kaya walang na poprocess ang
soundwaves into neuron impulses.
 The cause might be a damaged eardrum or damage to the bones of the middle ear
(usually from an infection). In this kind of impairment, the causes can often be treated,
for example, hearing aids may be of some use in restoring hearing.
2. Nerve Hearing Impairment - sensorineural hearing loss, the problem lies either in the inner ear or in
the auditory pathways and cortical areas of the brain.
a. Cochlear Implant - This device sends signals from a microphone worn behind the ear to a
sound processor worn on the belt or in a pocket
b. Tinnitus - is a fancy word for an extremely annoying ringing in one’s ears;
 can also be caused by infections or loud noises—including loud music in headphones.
Prolonged exposure to loud noises further leads to permanent damage and hearing
loss
CHEMICAL SENSES: IT TASTES GOOD AND SMELLS EVEN BETTER

Gustation: How We Taste the World

Taste Buds

• Are the common name for the taste receptor cells, special kinds of neurons found in the mouth
that are responsible for the sense of taste of GUSTATION (The sensation of taste)
• Each taste bud has about 20 receptors that are very similar to the receptor sites on receiving
neurons at the synapse.
• Taste- Also called the chemical sense. It works with the molecules of food that people eat in the
same way that the neural receptors works with neurotransmitter.

The Five Basic Tastes

1. Sweet 2. Sour 3. Salty 4. Bitter 5. Umami

th
Sixth Taste (6 )

• Oleogustus - the taste of fatty acids in the food we eat

 • The taste information is sent to the gustatory cortex, found in the front part of the insula and
the frontal operculum
• These areas are involved in the conscious perception of taste, whereas the texture, or “mouth-
feel,” of foods is processed in the somatosensory cortex of the parietal lobe

THE SENSE OF SCENTS: OLFACTION

Olfaction - ability to smell odors is called olfaction, or the olfactory sense.

Olfactory Receptor Cells - The olfactory receptor cells each have about a half dozen to a dozen little
“hairs,” called cilia, that project into the cavity.

Olfactory Bulbs - two bulb-like projections of the brain located just above the sinus cavity and just below
the frontal lobes that receive information from the olfactory receptor cells.

 It converts odors into neural impulses, so the brain would be able to understand
 Located at the top of nasal passages.

THE OTHER SENSES: WHAT THE BODY KNOWS

Somesthetic Senses - the body senses consisting of the skin senses, the kinesthetic and proprioceptive
senses, and the vestibular sense.

Pacinian Corpuscles - are just beneath the skin and respond to changes in pressure.
  Responsible for the sense of touch

Free Nerve Endings - just beneath the uppermost layer of the skin that respond to changes in
temperature and to pressure and to pain.

Visceral Pain - receptors that detect pain (and pressure) in the organs

Somatic Pain - Pain sensations in the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints are carried on large nerve fibers

• Somatic Pain – is the body’s warning system that something is being or is about to be damaged
and tends to be sharp and fast.
• Pain-warning signal for us

Pain: Gate-Control Theory

• In this theory, the pain signals must pass through a “gate” located in the spinal cord.
• The activity of the gate can be closed by non-pain signals coming into the spinal cord from the
body and by signals coming from the brain.
• The gate is not a physical structure but instead represents the relative balance in neural activity
of cells in the spinal cord that receive information from the body and then send information to the
brain

Pain Disorders

1. Congenital Analgesia/Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with anhidrosis – There are people who are
born without the ability to feel pain.
2. Phantom Limb Pain – occurs when a person who has had an arm or leg removed sometimes “feels”
pain in the missing limb.

Body Movement and Position

Kinesthetic and Proprioceptive Senses - Special receptors located in the muscles, tendons, and joints
provide information about body movement and the movement and location of the arms, legs, and so forth in
relation to one another

Kinesthesia - the awareness of body movement.

Proprioception - awareness of where the body and body parts are located in relation to each
 other in space, and to the ground.

Vestibular Sense - the awareness of the balance, position, and movement of the head and body through
space in relation to gravity’s pull

1. Otolith Organs - tiny sacs found just above the cochlea

• The head moves and the crystals cause the fluid to vibrate, setting off some tiny hair-
like receptors on the inner surface of the sac, telling the person that he or she is moving
forward, backward, sideways, or up and down
2. Semicircular Canals - are three somewhat circular tubes that are also filled with fluid that will
stimulate hair like receptors when rotated

Motion Sickness - disagreement between what the eyes say and what the body says is pretty much what
causes. Just like riding a bus, malikot.

 Sensory Conflict Theory - an explanation of motion sickness in which the information from the
eyes conflicts with the information from the vestibular senses, resulting in dizziness, nausea,
and other physical discomfort.

o There’s a disagreement between the eye and vestibular sensation.

HOW WE ORGANIZE OUR PERCEPTIONS

Perception - the method by which the sensations experienced at any given moment are interpreted and
organized in some meaningful fashion.

Size Constancy - the tendency to interpret an object as always being the same actual size, regardless of
its distance.

Shape Constancy - the tendency to interpret the shape of an object as being constant, even when its
shape changes on the retina.

Brightness Constancy - the tendency to perceive the apparent brightness of an object as the same even
when the light conditions change.

The Gestalt Principles

1. Figure–Ground Relationships – the tendency to perceive objects, or figures, as existing on a

background. --- magbeblend sa background.
2. Reversible Figures – visual illusions in which the figure and ground can be reversed

Gestalt Principles of Grouping

1. Proximity – a Gestalt principle of perception, the tendency to perceive objects that are close to
each other as part of the same grouping; physical or geogra phical nearness.
2. Similarity – a Gestalt principle of perception, the tendency to perceive things that look similar to
each other as being part of the same group.
3. Closure – a Gestalt principle of perception, the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete
4. Continuity – a Gestalt principle of perception, the tendency to perceive things as simply as
possible with a continuous pattern rather than with a complex, broken-up pattern
5. Contiguity – a Gestalt principle of perception, the tendency to perceive two things that happen
close together in time as being related

Depth Perception

Monocular Cues (Pictorial Depth Cues) – cues for perceiving depth based on one eye only.

1. Linear Perspective – monocular depth perception cue, the tendency for parallel lines to appear to
 converge on each other.--- perceive distance
2. Relative Size – monocular depth perception cue, perception that occurs when objects that a
person expects to be of a certain size appear to be small and are, therefore, assumed to be much
farther away.---
3. Interposition (Overlap) - monocular depth perception cue, the assumption that an object that
appears to be blocking part of another object is in front of the second object and closer to the
viewer.-- mas nauuna ang isa kesa sa pangalawa
4. Aerial (Atmospheric) Perspective - monocular depth perception cue, the haziness that surrounds
objects that are farther away from the viewer, causing the distance to be perceived as greater.
Mas malayo, mas Malaki.
5. Texture Gradient - monocular depth perception cue, the tendency for textured surfaces to
appear to become smaller and finer as distance from the viewer increases.
6. Motion Parallax - monocular depth perception cue, the perception of motion of objects in which
close objects appear to move more quickly than objects that are farther away
i. Mas mabilis ang movement ng mas malapit sayo, while kapag malayo mabagal.
7. Accommodation - as a monocular cue of depth perception, the brain’s use of information about the
changing thickness of the lens of the eye in response to looking at objects that are close or far
away.

Binocular Cues

1. Convergence - binocular depth perception cue, the rotation of the two eyes in their sockets to
focus on a single object, resulting in greater convergence for closer objects and lesser
convergence if objects are distant. ---naduduling
2. Binocular Disparity - binocular depth perception cue, the difference in images between the two
eyes, which is greater for objects that are close and smaller for distant objects--------they
don’t see the same image.

Perceptual Illusions

Illusion - a perception that does not correspond to reality

1. The Hermann Grid - Look at this matrix of squares. Do you notice anything interesting at the
white intersections? What happens if you focus your vision directly on one of the intersections?
2. MüLler-Lyer Illusion - illusion of line length that is distorted by inward-turning or outward-turning
 corners on the ends of the lines, causing lines of equal length to appear to be different.
3. The Moon Illusion - the moon on the horizon* appears to be much larger than the moon in the sky
4. Illusions of Motion
• Autokinetic Effect – In this effect, a small, stationary light in a darkened room will appear
to move or drift because there are no surrounding cues to indicate that the light is not
moving
• Stroboscopic Motion – seen in motion pictures, in which a rapid series of still pictures will
seem to be in motion
• Phi Phenomenon – in which lights turned on in sequence appear to move
5. Perceived Motion – Notice anything as you move your eyes over this image? The image is not
moving; seeing the circles move is due at least in part to movements of your eyes.
6. “Reinterpretation of Enigma” – the motion you see in this static image is because of movements
of your eyes, this time due more to tiny movements called micro saccades.

Other Factors That Influence Perception

1. Perceptual Set (Perceptual Expectancy) – the tendency to perceive things a certain way
because previous experiences or expectations influence those perceptions.
2. Top-Down Processing – the use of preexisting knowledge to organize individual features into a
unified whole
3. Bottom-Up Processing – the analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception.

MODULE 5: CONSCIOUSNESS

What is Consciousness?

 An individual’s awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal

 Two Parts of Awareness

1. Awareness of the self and thoughts about one’s experiences

• metacognition
2. Arousal – the physiological state of being engaged with the environment
Consciousness and the Brain

AWARENESS AROUSAL

• Occurring in a global brain workspace • Determined by the reticular activating

• Prefrontal cortex system
• Anterior cingulate • Brain stem
• Association areas • Medulla
• Thalamus

Levels of Awareness

Levels of Awareness Description Examples

Higher Level Involves controlled processing in which individuals Doing a math or science
Consciousness actively focus their efforts on attaining a goal; problem
the most alert state of consciousness
Lower Level Includes automatic processing that requires Punching in a number on a
Consciousness little attention, as well as daydreaming cellphone; gazing at a sunset
Altered State of Can be produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue Undergoing hypnosis to quit
Consciousness possibly hypnosis, and sensory deprivation smoking; effects of taking
psychedelic drugs
Subconscious Awareness Can occur when people are awake, as well as Sleeping and dreaming
when they are sleeping and dreaming
No Awareness Freud’s belief that some unconscious thoughts Having unconscious thoughts;
are too laden with anxiety and other negative being knocked out by a blow
emotions for consciousness to admit them or anesthetized

SLEEP AND DREAMS

Biological Rhythms and Sleep

Biological Rhythms – periodic physiological fluctuations in the body

Circadian Rhythms – 24hr physiological cycle of humans

Human Patterns of Circadian Rhythm

  Least active several hours after onset of darkness
 Most active several hours after daylight
 The “switch” in the brain to recognize cycle changes is located in a group of nuclei called the SCN
or Suprachiasmatic Nucleus in the hypothalamus
 Location near the optic chiasm allows transfer of stimulation info
 SCN can trigger systems to speed up or slow down as appropriate to light levels

SLEEP

 Innate, biological rhythm

 Natural, periodically occurring state of rest
 Reduced activity
 Lessened responsiveness to stimuli
 Distinctive patterns of brain activity

More on Sleep…

• Sleep Deprivation – Sleep loss; being deprived of needed amounts of sleep

• Hypersomnia – Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Micro Sleep – Brief shift in brain activity to pattern normally recorded during sleep
• Sleep-Deprivation Psychosis – Confusion, disorientation, delusions, and hallucinations that occur
because of sleep loss
• Sleep Patterns – Daily rhythms of sleep and waking

Theories on the Need for Sleep

 Evolutionary – developed because animals needed to protect themselves at night

 Conservation – sleep is a way to conserve energy
 Restorative – sleep restores, rebuild and replenishes the brain and body
 Brain Plasticity – sleep enhances synaptic connections between neurons and strengthens memory
association.

Measuring Sleep Changes

 • Electroencephalograph (EEG): Brain-wave machine; amplifies and records electrical activity in the
brain
• Beta waves: Small, fast waves associated with alertness and wakefulness
• Alpha waves: Large, slow waves associated with relaxation and falling asleep

Sleep Stages

Gamma – problem solving, concentration Stage 1: Falling asleep/Light sleep

Beta – busy, active mind Stage 2: Heart rate slows and body temperature
drops
Alpha – reflective, restful
Stage 3 & 4: Deep sleep, muscles and tissue
Theta – drowsiness
repairs
Delta – sleep, dreaming
R.E.M: Body is paralyzed and dreams begin
Awake = Beta Waves

Eyes Closed, Relaxed = Alpha Waves

Stage 1 = Small, Irregular Waves

Stage 2 = Sleep Spindles

Stage 3 = Delta Waves Appear

Stage 4 = Mostly Delta

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep Non-REM (NREM) Sleep

• Associated with dreaming; sleep is very • Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4; no

light rapid eye movement occurs
• Return to Stage 1 sleep EEG patterns • 90 percent of non-REM sleep is dream-
• Body is very still during REM sleep free
• Seems to help us recover from daily
fatigue
SLEEP DISORDERS

1. INSOMNIA
• Difficulty in getting to sleep, frequent nighttime awakenings, or waking too early
• More common in women and older adults
• Sleeping pills exacerbate insomnia; cause decrease in REM and Stage 4 sleep and may
cause dependency
• Drug-Dependency Insomnia: Sleeplessness that follows withdrawal from sleeping pills
A. Temporary Insomnia
• Brief period of sleeplessness caused by worry, stress, and excitement
• Avoid fighting it and read a book, for example, until you’re struggling to stay awake
B. Chronic Insomnia
• Exists if sleeping troubles last for more than three weeks
• Adopt regular schedule; go to bed at the same time each night, for example
• Tryptophan – amino acid (chemical) that increases serotonin levels and therefore leads to
sleepiness

2. SLEEP WALKING AND SLEEP TALKING

A. Sleep Walking (Somnambulism)
• Occurs in NREM sleep during Stages 3 & 4
• May or may not remember and usually occurs in children
B. Sleep Talking (Somniloquy)
• Speaking while asleep; occurs in NREM sleep
• Children more than adults can occur in all stages

3. NIGHTMARES
• Bad dreams that occur during REM sleep
• May occur once or twice a month; brief and easily (unfortunately) remembered
• Can be persistent and repetitive
• Imagery rehearsal: Mentally rehearse the changed dream before you go to sleep again; may
help to eliminate nightmares

4. NIGHT TERRORS
 • Total panic occurs; hallucinations may occur during Stage 4 NREM sleep
• Frightening experiences occurring during NREM sleep
• Most common in childhood; may occur in adults
• Not remembered

5. NARCOLEPSY
• Sudden, irresistible sleep attacks or urge to sleep
• Person may fall asleep while talking or standing up
• May suffer from Catalepsy: Sudden, temporary muscle paralysis leading to complete body
collapse
• Fall directly into REM sleep
• Often triggered by extreme emotional reactions

6. SLEEP APNEA
• Repeated interruption during sleep
• Produces loud snoring with short silences and grasps for breath
• Apnea can be treated by: Surgery, Weight Loss, and Breathing Mask

Sleep Paralysis

 The feeling of being awake but not being able to move or speak while waking up or falling asleep. It
may last only for few minutes
 Treatments can help manage condition, no known cure
 Doesn’t require lab test or imaging
 Can last several months or years
 Common for ages 18 – 35
 Family history may increase likelihood

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS; Crib Death)

 Sudden, unexplained death of healthy infant (infants should sleep on back to try to prevent it)
 May be related to sleep apnea
 May have weak arousal reflex
  May be related to secondhand smoke
 Remember “back to sleep”

REM Rebound

 Occurrence of extra REM sleep following REM sleep deprivation

 Alcoholism
 Also, why after sleep deprivation, you can “catch up” with less sleep than you missed

DREAMS

1. Freud’s Psychodynamic Approach

 Emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces
 Wish Fulfillment – Freudian belief that many dreams are expressions of unconscious desires
• Much evidence to refute this
 Dream Symbols – Images in dreams that have a deeper symbolic meaning
 Manifest – Obvious, visible meaning of dream
 Latent – Hidden symbolic meaning of dream

2. Neurocognitive Dream Theory

 Tests on the idea that dreams are essentially subconscious cognitive processing
 Dreams reflect everyday working thoughts and emotions

3. Activation-Synthesis Theory
 Dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neutral signals generated from
activity in the lower part of the brain
 Dreams result from the brain’s attempt to find logic in random activity that occurs during
sleep

Dream Interpretation: Freud

Four Dream Processes (Mental Filters) that hide true purposes of dreams:

1. Condensation – Combining several people, objects, or events into a single dream image
2. Displacement – Directing emotions or actions toward safe or unimportant dream images
3. Symbolization – Nonliteral expression of dream content
4. Secondary Elaboration – Making a dream more logical and complete while remembering it

Dream Interpretation: A Different View

 Perl’s – Most dreams are a special message about what is missing in our lives, what we avoid doing,
or feelings that we need to re-own
 Lucid Dreaming – Person feels fully awake within the dream and feels capable of normal thought
and action

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

Drugs and Altered States of Consciousness

1. Psychoactive Drug – Substance capable of altering attention, judgment, memory, time sense, self-
control, emotion, or perception
2. Stimulant – Substance that increases activity in body and nervous system
3. Depressant – Substance that decreases activity in body and nervous system
4. Addiction – either a physical or a psychological dependence, or both, on a drug

Physical Dependence

 Addiction based on drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms

 Drug tolerance – Reduction in body’s response to a drug
 Withdrawal symptoms: Physical illness and discomfort following withdrawal of a drug

Psychological Dependence

 The strong desire to repeat the use of a drug for emotional reasons such as feeling of well-being
and reduction of stress
 Drug dependence based primarily on psychological or emotional needs
 Drug is necessary to maintain comfort and well-being
  Crave drug and its rewarding qualities

Types of Psychoactive Drugs

1. Stimulants – Psychoactive drugs that increases the central nervous system’s activity
A. Amphetamines
 Uppers” are stimulant drugs that people use to boost energy, stay awake or lose
weight
 Dexedrine, Methamphetamine (crystal meth) are two types of stimulants
 These drugs releases dopamine which enhances pleasurable feelings
 Amphetamine Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality because of amphetamine use;
user tends to have paranoid delusions
B. Cocaine
 Central nervous system stimulant derived from leaves of coca plant
 Highly addictive drug; usually snored or injected in the forms of powder or crystals
 Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure): Common after cocaine withdrawal
 From 1886-1906, Coca-Cola did indeed have cocaine in it!
 Cocaine was the main ingredient in many nonprescription elixirs before the turn of the
twentieth century.
 Today cocaine is recognized as a powerful and dangerous drug.
 Its high potential for abuse has damaged the lives of countless users
C. Caffeine
 Most frequently used psychoactive drug in the world; present in colas, chocolate,
coffee, tea
 Affects the brain’s pleasure centers boosting energy and alertness
 Causes tremors, sweating, talkativeness, tinnitus; suppresses fatigue or sleepiness,
increases alertness
 Caffeinism: Overindulgence in caffeine
 Symptoms: Insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, chills, racing heart, elevated
body temperature
D. Nicotine
 Natural stimulant found mainly in tobacco
 In large doses may cause stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, tremors
  Addictive
 Smoking is one cause of lung cancer
 Bottomline: Don’t smoke; smoking kills …so does chewing tobacco!
E. MDMA (Ecstasy)/ X, XTC
 Chemically similar to amphetamine; created by small variations in the drug’s structure
 Produces its effects by releasing serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine
 May cause severe liver damage and fatal heat exhaustion
 Repeated use damages serotonergic brain cells

2. Depressants – Psychoactive drugs that slow down mental and physical activity
A. Alcohol
 Ethyl alcohol: Intoxicating element in fermented and distilled liquors
 NOT a stimulant but does lower inhibitions
 Second widely used drug after caffeine
 Alcohol Myopia – Shortsighted thinking and perception that occurs during alcohol
intoxication
 Binge Drinking and alcohol abuse have become serious problems among college students.
Many alcohol abusers regard themselves as “moderate” drinkers, which suggests that
they are in denial about how much they actually drink (Grant & Dawson, 1997).
 Alcoholism – is a disorder that involves long-term, repeated, uncontrolled, compulsive
and excessive use of alcoholic beverages which impairs the drinker’s health and social
relationships
B. Tranquilizers
 Lower anxiety and reduce tension
 Valium, Xanax, Halcion, and Librium are four types of tranquilizers
 Rohypnol: Related to Valium; lowers inhibitions and produces relaxation or intoxication.
Larger doses can induce short-term amnesia and sleep
 Date rape drug, because it’s odorless and tasteless (“roofies”)
C. Barbiturates
 Decreases central nervous system activity
 Once widely prescribed as sleeping aids
 In heavy dosages, they can lead to impaired memory and decision-making and death
 Abrupt withdrawal can produce seizures
 When combine with alcohol, these can be lethal
  Nembutal and Seconal are two of common barbiturates
D. Opiates
 Or narcotics, are used as powerful painkillers
 Morphine and Heroin are the two most common opiate drugs
 These are highly addictive and users experience craving and painful withdrawal when
the drugs become unavailable

3. Hallucinogens – Psychoactive drugs that modify a person’s perceptual experiences and produce
visual images that are not real
A. Marijuana (Pot)
 Cannabis sativa (marijuana; pot): Leaves and flowers of the hemp plant
 Active Chemical: THC
 Effects: Relaxation, time distortion, perceptual distortions
 Psychologically and physiologically addictive
Some Health Risks of Using Marijuana

 May increase risk of prostate and cervical cancer

 May suppress immune system, perhaps increasing risk of disease
 THC may cause a higher rate of miscarriages
 Activity levels in the cerebellum are lower than normal in pot users
 Pot may damage some of the brain’s memory centers
B. LSD – Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
 Hallucinogen that can produce hallucinations and other psychotic-like symptoms
 Has a stronger hallucinogenic effect than Marijuana
 Acts primarily on serotonin and dopamine in the brain
 Emotional and cognitive effects may include rapid mood swings and impaired attention and
memory
 Effects on the body can include dizziness, nausea, and tremors
C. Other Hallucinogens
 Mescaline (peyote) and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) are two other types of hallucinogens
 PCP (Angel Dust) Initially can have hallucinogenic effects; also, an anesthetic and has
stimulant and depressant effects

HYPNOSIS
  Altered state of consciousness characterized by intensely narrowed attention and increased
openness to suggestion
 Mesmer: Believed he could cure diseases by passing magnets over body; true “animal magnetism”
(“mesmerize” means to hypnotize)
 Mesmer was, in effect, a fraud and a quack
 Must cooperate to become hypnotized

Hypnotic Susceptibility

• How easily a person can be hypnotized

• Basic suggestion effect: Tendency of hypnotized people to carry out suggested actions as
though they were involuntary

Hypnosis Can… Hypnosis cannot…

 Help people relax  Produce acts of superhuman strength

 Reduce pain  Produce age regression
 Get people to make better progress in  Force you to do things against your will
therapy

Explaining Hypnosis…

Divided State of Consciousness

 Ernest Hilgard’s view that hypnosis Social Cognitive Behavior

involves a splitting of consciousness into
 Views hypnosis as a normal state in which
separate components
the hypnotized person behaves the way
 One of which follows the hypnotist’s
he or she believes that a hypnotized
commands
person should behave
 The other of which acts as “hidden
 Waking suggestibility: People on stage do
observer”
not want to spoil the act, so they will
 Hidden observer: Detached part of
follow any instruction
hypnotized person’s awareness that
silently observes events
MEDITATION

 Mental exercise for producing relaxation or heightened awareness

 Involves attaining a peaceful state of mind in which thoughts are not occupied by worry

Concentrative meditation: You attend to a single focal point, object, or thought

Mindfulness meditation: Based on widening attention to become aware of everything experienced at any
given moment

 A powerful tool for managing life’s problems

The Meditative State of Mind

Physiologically – shows qualities of sleep and wakefulness yet distinct from both

Hypnagogic Reverie – an overwhelming feeling of wellness right before you fall asleep; the sense that
everything is going to work out

Sensory Deprivation (SD)

• Any major reduction in amount or variety of sensory stimulation

• Benefits

 Sensory enhancement

 Relaxation

 Changing habits

• Benefits called REST: Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy

A Sensory Isolation Chamber

 Small flotation tanks like the one pictured have been used by psychologists to study the effects
of mild sensory deprivation. Subjects float in darkness and silence. The shallow body-temperature
water contains hundreds of pounds of Epsom salts so that subjects float near the surface. Mild
sensory deprivation produces deep relaxation

Astral Projection
 astral projection and dreaming often go hand-in-hand as “out-of-body” experiences, or OBEs.
 The subtle body, when cultivated, can survive the physical body as a matrix for consciousness, and
astral projection and lucid dreaming are part of spiritual training paths for subtle body cultivation.
 The OBE can be intentional or involuntary, as with near-death events when people report finding
themselves floating near the ceiling of their hospital rooms, perhaps observing medical staff
attempting to revive them.
 Trauma, illness, or water and food deprivation, as with Native American vision quests, can trigger
OBEs.
 Lucid dream states are opportunities for intentional OBEs