Stress

Stress

Stress- Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by out response to pressure from the outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, headaches/migraines etc.

General Adaption Syndrome- According to Seyle, the general adaption syndrome is a series of psychological reactions to stress occurring in three phases; alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

The Alarm Phase- The body mobilizes the sympathetic nervous system to meet the immediate threat. The threat can be anything from taking a test you haven’t studied for to running from a rabid dog. In general, the heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rise in order to supply the muscles and brain with more oxygen.

The Resistance Phase- The body attempts to resist or cope with a stressor that cannot be avoided. During this phase, the physiological responses of the alarm continue, but these very responses make the body more venerable to other stressors. For example, when your body has mobilized to fight off the flu, you may find you are more easily annoyed by minor frustrations.

The Exhaustion Phase- The persistent stress depletes the body of energy, thereby increasing vulnerability to physical problems and illness.

Optimism- the general expectation that things will go well in spite of occasional setbacks.

Pessimism- the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems

Cortisol- is a stress hormone that “circulates through your body when one is stressed or anxious”.

Stressors- an activity, event, or other stimulus that causes stress.

Internal Locus of Control- the general expectation about whether you can control things to happen to you.

Behavior

Behavior

Attribution theory – The theory that people are motivated to explain their behavior and other people’s behavior by attributing causes of that behavior situation or positions.

Social norms- Rules about how we are supposed to act which is enforced by threats of punishment if they are violated and rewards if we follow them.

Fundamental attribution theory- When there is a tendency in explaining other people’s behavior so that the person could underestimate personality factors and influence the situation.

Self- serving bias- The tendency to explain one’s own behavior o give credit to their own good and bad.

Just-world hypothesis- The idea that people need to believe the world is actually fair, that justice is served, and that bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.

Cognitive dissonance- A state of stress or tension when a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent.

Familiarity effect- When a person feels more positive towards a person, item, product, or other stimulus that the person has seen often.

Groupthink- The tendency for groups to think alike for the sake of harmony and to hold back disagreements.

Diffusion of responsibility- When a group usually avoids taking action because they assume that others will.

Deindividuation- When people in a close-knit group loose the awareness of their own identity.

Body Language

Body Language

• Interpreted subconsciously
• Form of communication
• Reveals inner thoughts
• Expresses one’s feelings

Gestures-

There are many different ways using body language to show lying gestures. When a person covers their mouth, they are both the listener and the liar. When it’s a nose touch deliberate action, the person is also both the liar and the listener. Other signs include, eye rub/look away, ear grab, neck scratch, collar pull, and fingers in/near the mouth.

Hand-
Open palms- open honest Palm down- authority Palm down pointed finger- very negative, like a club Hands in pockets- don’t want to talk/showing off asse OK gesture while talking- authoritarian but not aggressive thoughtful/goal orientated and focused. Clenched-frustration (the higher held, the more frustrated) Steeple- confident has right answers Lowered steeple- is used more often by women Holding hands behind back- authority superiority Hand gripping wrist behind back- frustration (higher up, the more frustrated) Thumb display- denote superiority

Arms-
Tightly crossed on chest-defensive- less credibility Fists clenched and crossed arms- hostility and defensivenes Double arm grip- insecure Crossed arms with thumbs up- defensive but feels good about themselves Hugging yourself- stranger or lacking self confidence Hiding the broken zipper- feeling insecure Cuff-link adjustment- feeling insecure Hand bag/flower holding/ coffee cup- feeling insecure

Feet-
Usually shows the direction a person wants to go.

Smile-
With wrinkles around the eyes- credible smile Without wrinkles- insincere In general a submissive behavior Tight lipped- secret Twisted- opposite emotions (sarcasm) Drop jaw- practiced smile (gives impression of laughter) Sideways looking up smile- juvenile, playful Smiling all the time- read by southerners as normal, by northerners as suspicious Women smile more than men (87%-67%)

Legs-
Tightly crossed- defensive

Hand to Face-
Playing with hair- uncertain/ anxious Thumb supports chin, fingers cover mouth, finger points up-having critical thoughts. Fingers covering/touching mouth- telling a lie Touching nose- telling a lie Face platter- positive one used in courtship

Handshake-
Palm on top- dominance Palm on bottom- submissive Double hand/touching wrist/elbow grasp/ upper arm grip/ shoulder- increasingly familiar.

Posture-
Leaning forward interested

Pavlov/Skinner

Pavlov/ Skinner

Pavlov-

Summary of theory-

Pavlov studied the activity of digestion. He experimented on a dog by collecting its saliva while a dog is food deprived. He then rang a bell every time the dog received food creating an unconditioned reflex of the dog salivating. After time, the dog began salivating by just listening to the sound of the bell. This then creates a conditioned reflex because the dog associated the ringing of the bell with food.

Conditioning-

Pavlov’s findings were given so many acknowledgments because his work created a new more and different way of studying behavior. His training was used for many different fields including for anti-phobia treatment. Extinction is used, which is when the conditioned response decreases in intensity only if the conditioned stimulus is constantly presented without the unconditioned stimulus. To completely end phobias, systematic desensitization is used. This is where the patient is taught a relaxing technique while imagining their fear. Furthermore, conditioning is used for commercial advertising trying to provoke a manipulating response to a stimulus.

Skinner-

Summary of theory-

Skinner was also studied behavior, but was more focused on stimulus response reactions. He invented a conditioning chamber, where there is one or more levers that an animal is trained to press in order to receive food. Skinner starved the animals and used either levers that can press or to turn on light on and off. This then demonstrates an “operant conditioning” and “shaping behavior”, meaning that getting an award for an act creates a desire for a new behavior.

Conditioning-

Skinner used operant behavior, meaning when an animal’s spontaneous behavior has an effect on the environment. When the behavior is favorable, meaning that it’s reinforced, then it’s rewarded. The Skinner box was a small box for rats that contained a lever and a food tray. When the rat is introduced into the box it’s hungry; as the rat presses onto the lever a small pellet of food drops down into the tray. After some time, the rat catches on and learns how if it presses the lever, it will receive food. This in turn is called behavior that is reinforced. When food is received only after two presses, then the behavior is considered to be partial reinforcement.

Memory

Memory

Reconstruction Process- According to Sir Frederic Bartlett, we can produce simple information, but when we remember complex information, we usually change it to make it easier for us to make sense of the material, based on what we already know or think we know.

Short Term- Type of memory that retains information only temporarily, for up to about 30 seconds by most estimates, although some researchers think that the maximum interval may extend to a few minutes for certain tasks. In short term memory, the material is no longer an exact sensory image but an encoding of one, such as a word or a phrase. This information either transfers into long-term memory or decays and is lost forever.

Working- Type of memory that refers to a short-term memory plus the mental processes that control the rehearsal and retrieval of information from long-term memory and interpret that information appropriately depending on the task you are doing.

Long term- Type of memory that is involved in the long-term storage of information. The great amount of information that is stored there allows us to learn, get around in the environment, and build a sense of identity and personal history.

Flash Bulb- A memory created in detail during a personally significant event.

Confabulation- When you confuse an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or when you come to believe that you remember something that never really happened.

Three Box model- A box model containing the three types of memory systems we have, which includes short term, sensory, and long term.

Cognitive schemas- Mental networks of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning particular topics or aspects of the world.

Chunking- When chunking, you group small bits of information into larger units (chunks) so you can, for example, remember the beginning of a spoken sentence until the speaker reaches the end. A chunk may be a word or phrase, a sentence, or even a visual image, and it depends on previous experience.

Tip of the tongue (TOT) - An instance of knowing something that cannot immediately be recalled.

Procedural memories- Memories for the performance of actions or skills.