PSYCHOLOGY CLASS 11

 

　

LANGUAGE

 

Language - a form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols.

 

All human languages have:

 

All human languages also have 4 main rule systems:

 

1. Phonology: a language’s sound system ..basic sounds are called phonemes

 

 

Sign language has phonemes - like building blocks, and research study found that Chinese signers who learned to sign in China, signed with an accent compared to U.S. signers

 

2. Morphology: rules for word formation…the smallest unit of language that carries meaning - morpheme

 

for ex. Help - 1 morpheme helper - 2 morphemes

　

How many morphemes are in the word ….cats…………….2

 

How many phonemes are in the word ….cats………………….4

 

3. Syntax - rules for combining words to form acceptable phrases and sentences- such as the order of words in a sentence.

 

One rule is that adjectives usually come before nouns, so we say ‘white house’

 

In Spanish, the adjective usually comes after the noun, so we say ’casa blanca’

 

Sometimes we can follow the rules of syntax, but can have multiple meanings.

In those cases we have to use the context to get the meaning.

For ex. They are hunting dogs.

　

4. Semantics: the meaning of words and sentences.

 

An example is knowing that adding -ed to the word ‘laugh’ means it happened in the past.

 

Saying “ain’t got none…follows the rules of syntax, but it doesn’t follow the rules of semantics which would make it “doesn’t have any’.

 

Another example.. The tree opened the door to let in the dumptruck.

 

This follows the rules of syntax, but not semantics. The order of words is correct, but not the meaning.

　

　

　

　

 

How do we acquire language?

 

 

Although the behavioral view is no longer considered a viable explanation of how children acquire language, it did point the way to studying the environmental influences on language development.

　

Biological Influence on language -

 

 Noam Chomsky a famous linguist argued in the early 1970’s that humans are biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way.

 

 He pointed out how children all over the world reach language milestones at that same time developmentally and in roughly the same order.

 

Current neuroscience supports the concept of pre-wiring with specific areas of the brain dedicated to speech, grammar, and language comprehension.

 

 

Chomsky also claimed that only humans were capable of language which sparked years of research with chimps to explore this claim.

 

The book Nim Chimpsky - The Chimp

Who Would be Human, by Elizabeth Hess, documents the history of these experiments as she tells the story of Nim, a chimp who was taken from his mother within days of his birth and given to human families to be raised.

 

While being raised in a human family, he was taught American Sign Language.

 

Nim’s name was a jab at Chomsky…Noam Chomsky….Nim Chimsky

 

Although, much of the funding dried up in this area, and research findings were not solid, due to the complications of experimental design…. It was clear that Nim and several other chimps used signing as a form of language to communicate with people and with each other, and taught sign language to each other.

 

The era of chimp research ended as funding became less available and chimps were sold to medical research facilities.

 

 Over the years, the chimps had captured the attention of the press and the public, so when word got out about their use in medical research labs, protests began, and many of the labs were shut down, and the animal rights movement gained significant momentum in establishing regulations to prevent cruelty to animals.

 

 

In terms of language acquisition, it is an interaction of both biology and environment,

 

Our brains are prepared and ready for language, but the environment is also important in determining how extensive language development will be….such as the extent of the vocabulary

 

One study in text on page 151, assessed the level of maternal speech to infants. Maternal speech was divided into low, med, high levels.

 

Mothers who used a higher level of language resulted in infants with significantly higher vocabularies…..Figure 9.14.

　

 

 

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE

 

Language milestones….page 352.…figure 9.16

 

 

Usually begins at 3 - 6 months and is determined by biological readiness, not be reinforcement or even the ability to hear…

 

..even deaf babies babble for a time -

 

It is believed that babbling allows the baby to exercise its vocal cords and help develop that ability to articulate different sounds.

 

 

2. Patricia Kuhl’s research in the last decade has shown that from birth to approx 6 mos.,

Babies are “universal linguists” - they pay attention to all sounds that make up human speech

 

However, by 6 mos. They being to pay attention specifically to speech sounds of their native language.

 

3. First words - 10 to 13 mos. - words like dada, kitty, ball, car, byebye, etc. - are the same as babies’ first words a century ago.

 

4. Telegraphic speech - 18-24 mos., children use two-word statements…

 

just like in telegraph messages…as few words as possible to convey the message

 

In every language the telegraphic speech stage is present.

　

　

 

 

MOTIVATION - is the force that moves people to behave, think, and feel the way they do…………………the Why? Concerning behavior

 

 

Three theories :

 

1. The Evolutionary Approach

 

2. Drive Reduction Theory

 

3. Optimum Arousal Theory

 

 

Emphasizes the role of instinct in motivation

 

Instinct - an innate (unlearned) biological pattern of behavior that is assumed to be universal throughout a species.

 

Psychologist William McDougal in 1908 argued that all behavior involves instinct

 

Although,  it is now held that instincts do not explain most of motivation, the evolutionary approach in psychology now explains motivation as something that has been part of our evolution and that motivation is an important part of preserving the species.

 

Therefore, motivations such as sex, aggression, and achievement serve an evolutionary purpose.

 

 

According to Drive Reduction theory, motivation can be explained in terms of drives and needs.

 

 

 

Ex. Water……..need

 

Thirst……..drive…..psychological…we experience or feel the drive

　

According to drive reduction theory, as a drive becomes stronger, we are motivated to reduce it.

 

The goal of drive reduction is homeostatis

 

 

Most psychologists believe that drive reduction theory doesn’t completely explain motivation.

 

Sometimes people choose to increase rather than reduce a drive or tension - such as dieting - skip a meal or reduce calories can increase your hunger

 

Or engaging in risk-taking activities - mountain climbing or fear-inducing activities - horror movies

 

 

Two psychologist, Yerkes and Dodson asked the question - what is the optimum level of arousal that motivates behavior?

 

 

Low end of arousal - too lethargic to perform tasks well

 

High end of arousal - you may not be able to concentrate well

 

 

We have to eat to stay alive and hunger is a powerful drive and motivator

 

THE BIOLOGY OF HUNGER

 

 

Cannon and Washburn in 1912 were able to show the relationship between stomach contractions and hunger…..page 367 figure 10.1 in text

 

 

1. Glucose - blood sugar -

 

Sugar receptors located in the brain and in the liver - hunger is triggered in the brain when sugar levels fall too low

 

2. Insulin - a hormone - causes excess sugar in the blood to be stored as fats and carbohydrates -

 

3. Leptin - - a protein involved in satiety..feeling full

 

Leptin is released by fat cells, decreases food intake, and increases energy expenditure

 

A particular gene - called ob - produces leptin in mice

 

This hormone may eventually help people with obesity lose and manage weight

　

 

The hypothalamus is involved in stimulating hunger, reducing hunger, initiating eating, and restricting eating.

 

Leptin reduces the production of a neurotransmitter in the hypothalamus that initiates eating.

　

 

OBESITY AND EATING BEHAVIOR

 

It is estimated that 60 % of all Americans are overweight and 25% of those are obese.

 

Why do so many Americans overeat? - overeating meaning eating when one is not in need of nutrtition.

 

 

Genetic factors - heritability of 25-70% genetic predisposition

 

Set point - the weight maintained when no effort is made to gain or lose weight

 

Set point is determined by the amount of stored fat in the body

 

Fat is stored in adipose cells or fat cells. When these cells are full, you don’t get hungry.

 

When people gain weight..they increase their number of fat cells…and then they have to eat more to feel full…………..keeping them at a higher set point

 

Scientists theorize that fat cells may shrink but might not go away….which may explain the difficulty in keeping off weight once it’s lost.

　

 

It used to be thought that obesity stemmed just from:

1. Unhappiness

 

2. Response to external stimuli - food cues

 

But other factors seem to be more important:

 

3. Time - mealtime - we’re likely to feel hungry even if we’ve eaten a lot already

 

4. Place - eating associated with certain places - for ex. Eating while watching TV or

Popcorn at the movies

　

　

DIETING

 

In chapter 16 we’ll look at how people successfully accomplish change such as weight loss. But in this chapter we’re going to look at

 

1. Restrained eaters

 

2. The potential hazards of dieting

 

3. Disordered eating - anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

 

 

They are often on diets - are very conscious of what they eat - and tend to feel guilty after splurging on sweets

 

When they stop dieting or have a slip up on their diet - they tend to binge eat - consuming large quantities of food in a short time

　

 

 

Also liquid diets and very lo-cal diets have been linked to gallbladder damage

　

　

　

 

The pressure to be thin and to diet is greatest for young women

 

 

Although the incidence is higher in young women, less than 1%, it also occurs in young men***

 

It has a high mortality rate……5.6% per decade

 

Anorexia is characterized by:

 

- weighing less than 85 % of what is considered normal for age and height

 

- having an intense fear of gaining weight that does not decrease with weight loss

 

- having a distorted body image

 

- are preoccupied with food

 

Anorexia typically begins in the teenage years, often following an episode of dieting and some type of life stress.

 

Most are white female adolescents or young adults from well-educated, middle and upper-income families that are competitive and high achieving.

 

 They are often perfectionistic and set very high standards for themselves.

 

 

Purging occurs by self-induced vomiting or use of laxatives

 

- Most are preoccupied with food

 

- strong fear of becoming overweight

 

- anxious and depressed

 

- within normal weight range - making the disorder difficult to detect

 

Often high degree of perfectionism but low level of self-esteem, in other words, high standards but low self-confidence re achieving their goals

 

Affects 1% of young women, but on the decline

 

 

 

 

Abraham Maslow - our basic needs must be satisfied before our higher needs can be - in the following sequence - physiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem and self-actualization. Page 379 in text…figure 10.7

 

Self-actualization is the motivation to develop one’s full potential as a human being, and is possible only after the other needs in the hierarchy are met.

 

Maslow cautions that most people stop maturing after they have developed a high level of esteem and do not become self-actualized.

 

Arranging our motives in a hierarchy is appealing, but there are many who do not follow the sequence.

 

In our culture, we have many who put their needs for love and belongingness on hold while they pursue success in a career, and there are people who become self-actualized in the face of survival needs…..Mother Theresa

 

But Maslow’s work is very important, for he helped us to look at modern motivations…what motivates us when our survival needs are easily met?

 

 

Self-determination theory asserts that there are 3 basic human needs:

 

1. Competence

 

2. Autonomy

 

3. Relatedness

 

 

A. self-efficacy - the feeling that you can accomplish your goal

 

B. mastery - the sense that you can gain skills and overcome obstacles

 

Competence needs are often met through “achievement”

 

 

Some psychologists believe that this is the strongest of all motivators.

 

 

Being independent and self-reliant

 

When it comes to autonomy and age, older Americans feel more autonomous than younger Americans

 

Research on the three needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness CAR,

Shows that when extrinsic motivators such as $, prestige, and physical appearance are valued more than C A R, individuals had lower well-being, lower self-actualization, and more physical illness.

 

 

INTRINSIC VERSUS EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

 

Intrinsic motivation - we engage in a behavior because we enjoy it

 

We enjoy the feeling of competence, autonomy, relatedness,…or curiosity, challenge, effort

 

　

Most psychologists believe that intrinsic motivation is the key to achievement.

However, many of our examples of people who achieve, are both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated…..enjoy what they’re doing and are externally rewarded!

 

Research on whether or not extrinsic rewards interfere with intrinsic motivation is mixed.

 

In one study, students who were rewarded for art, drew less than students who were not expecting a reward.

 

It seems to “depend” on the initial type of motivation.

 

 For example, with reading, if someone doesn’t like to read, then extrinsic rewards help until the skill level gets to a point where the person enjoys reading for the sake of reading…..the person shifts from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation

 

It also seems that extrinsic rewards aren’t necessary and often remain secondary and in some cases reduce performance when the person is intrinsically motivated from the start.

 

 

　

 

Motivation and emotion are closely linked….they have the same latin root - movere - to move.

 

Both motivation and emotion lead us to take action, to make a move

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With emotions, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is involved in the body’s arousal - It is responsible for the body’s “fight or flight” response…..preparing us for action

See page 388.…figure 10.8 also, page 68.…figure 3.1

 

 

 

 

2. Polygraph - measures changes in heart rate, breathing, and electro dermal response - the skin’s resistance to the passage of a weak electric current -

 

thought to be influenced by emotional states

 

Although the lie detector measures the degree of arousal to a series of questions, there is no unique physiological response to deception that can be measure on its own.

 

Heart rate and breathing can change for reasons other than lying.

 

Polygraph can’t distinguish between the emotions of anxiety and guilt.

 

 

Imagine that you are being attacked by killer bees….you are running because your are afraid, right?

 

According to James-Lange - you are afraid because you are running…..you interpret your body’s reaction as emotion

 

 

Killer bees - you are running and you are afraid at the same time

 

 

NEURAL CIRCUITS AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS

 

Amygdala - fear

 

The amygdala - part of the limbic system - receives input from the senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch…if any danger is communicated, the amygdala becomes activated

 

There are 2 pathways to the amygdala

 

1. Direct pathway - from the thalamus directly to the amygdala …page 391..fig. 1010

Information is not very detailed…but fast

 

2. Indirect pathway - from the thalamus (relay station) to the sensory cortex and then to

the amygdala (except for smell…which is always the direct pathway)

 

The amygdala is linked with emotional memories as well as fear.

 

Important and useful - once we learn the something is dangerous and to be feared, then we don’t have to relearn it….we remember it…..but this also explains why, once fear is learned, it is very hard to get rid of.

 

On the neurotransmitter level, endorphins and dopamine are elevated when positive emotions are experienced.

　

 

 

Back to the killer bees - you are afraid because you are running and you label your experience as fear

 

They stated that we look to the external world for an explanation of why we are aroused.

 

They did a study where they injected subjects with epinephrine to produce high arousal…when the subjects were with a happy person, they rated themselves as happy, and when they were with an angry person, they rated themselves as angry.

 

Another study showed this same effect, that we look to the external world for an explanation of why we are aroused….the Capilano River Bridge Experiment..

In British Columbia..the bridge is 200 ft above rocks and rapids and sways dangerously..men without female companions were stopped by an attractive woman and asked to make up a story to help her with a creativity project

She also repeated the experiment on a lower, safer bridge. The men on the higher, scarier bridge told more sexually oriented stories and rated her as more attractive than did the men on the lower and safer bridge.

It was concluded that although they were aroused by fear or excitement, they interpreted their emotions as sexual attraction for the female interviewer.

　

 

Which comes first thinking or emotion?

 

There has been considerable debate in psychology about which comes first. The consensus is “it depends”

 

Emotions come first when it comes to danger….the direct pathway to the amygdala

 

Cognition comes first when it comes to longer-term emotions such as a depressed mood or irritation toward a friend…..the indirect pathway to the amygdala through the cerebral cortex

 

 

　

 

Definition of emotion includes -

1. Physiological arousal

2. Conscious experience

And 3. Behavioral expression

 

Behavioral expression can be verbal or nonverbal

 

 

This means that facial muscles send signals to the brain which helps us to recognize the emotion that we’re experiencing…..we feel happier when we smile, and we feel sadder when we frown….supported by research…

　

　

　

 

Facial expressions of basic emotions are universal…they are the same across cultures.

 

 

Non-verbal signs of emotion also vary across cultures

 

The thumbs up sign is an insult in Greece…same as giving the finger

 

 

The stereotype in our culture - women are emotional…men are not

 

Research shows that there is not as much variability as the stereotype would suggest

 

What istrue is that women are more accurate at identifying the emotional content of faces

 

Women report that they experience emotions for a longer period of time, and men tend to report that they(men) are less emotional

 

But research shows that men and women are equally likely to experience:

Love and jealousy

Anxiety in new situations

Anger when insulted

Grief when a close relationship ends

Embarrassment when they make a mistake in public

 

 

 

 

Plutchik - believes that emotions have 4 dimensions:

 

1. Positive or negative

 

2. Primary or mixed

 

3. Many are polar opposites

 

4. They vary in intensity

 

See page 396...figure 10.15

 

Views emotions as essentially innate reactions that require little cognitive interpretation

 

Evolutionary perspective…basic emotions evolved and were retained because of their adaptive survival value

 

 

Argues that there are 2 broad dimensions of emotional experiences:

 

1. Negative affectivity (NA)

 

2. Positive affectivity(PA)

 

Negative affectivity (NA) refers to negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, guilt, sadness

 

Negative emotions carry direct and immediate adaptive benefits in situations that threaten survival….they clearly indicate that something is wrong and action needs to be taken.

 

Positive affectivity (PA) refers to positive emotions such as joy, happiness, love, and interest

 

What f unction do positive emotions play in life?

 

Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build model of positive emotion - argues that the function of positive emotions lies in their effects on our attention and our ability to build resources.

 

For ex. Joy creates the urge to play, push the limits, and create new things.

 

Interest causes people to explore and learn new things………………..

 

these are all adaptive in the evolutionary perspective

　

　

Before leaving the topic of emotions we’ll look at anger (-) and gratitude (+)

　

　

　

　

ANGER

 

One definition….an emotion you will feel when you perceive a threat to

1. Your beliefs or principles

2. Your needs

3. Your self-image.

 

A powerful emotion that can lead to harm…is there a healthy way to deal with this emotion?

 

 

The catharsis hypothesis - states that behaving angrily or watching others behave angrily will reduce subsequent anger.

 

Research finds that this is not the case.

 

Venting anger often leads a person to feel angrier.

 

See page 398 for steps to handle anger…..essentially…work on lowering arousal..not increasing it

　

 

GRATITUDE

 

A feeling that stems from our awareness that something good has happened in our lives along with the awareness that someone else is responsible for that good thing.

 

Gratitude is present in every culture…therefore, it is a universal emotion

 

Research shows that those who kept a gratitude journal scored higher on measures of happiness and well-being.

 

Other research showed that experiencing gratitude lead to more helping behavior.

 

 

 

 

Research indicates that resilient people use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences…

 

.this was demonstrated in a post 9/11 study - although participants felt a broad range of negative emotions, the ones who scored highest on resilience were found to focus on the positive emotions of gratitude, love , and increased closeness to others.

 

 Despite their negative emotions, they remained open to positive emotional experiences.