What is the term for a sleep like state marked by reduced sensitivity to stimuli loss or alteration of knowledge and the substitution of automatic for voluntary motor activity?

The minimum amount of physical energy needed for the observer to notice a stimulus

A term used to identify the feeling of pleasure evoked by stimuli that are perceived as beautiful, attractive, rewarding; also refers to displeasure evoked by stimuli that are perceived as ugly, unattractive, unrewardiing

Altered States of consciousness (ASC)

General name of phenomenon that are different than normal waking consciousness & include mystic experiences, meditation, hypnosis, trance, possession

A mental representation that orients people to dimensions such as time, space, & the interpersonal world

Turning attention away from external stimuli to internal thoughts/imagined scenarios

The organization of sensations in 3 dimensions, even though the image on the eye's retina is 2 dimensional

The lowest level of stimulation required to sense that change in stimulation has occured

Storylike sequences of images occurring during sleep

Important differences/distinctions across cultures are

the content of the experiences & the way people process info of sensation, perception, main states of consciousness (both normal flow & altered states), the occurrences of these elements are universal across cultures

Michael Presinger Neurophysiologist trance studies (2003)

Subjects in this study reported trance experiences when the temporal lobes in their brains were stimulated artificially with a weak magnetic field; they reported feelings of great & eternal presence, omnipotence, serenity, & wisdom

Tedlock (1987) suggested people's reports of their dreams

were based on a particular cultural concepts of the dream & culturally sanctioned ways of sharing dream content; using specific rules of communication, we may report some elements of our dream & delete others

Dreams of +200 Finland & Palestinians children were compared; half subjects selected from working-class/middle class suburban Finland areas, the other half was split by a violent war area in Middle East and an area without much violence

Found that life in a violent environment was linked to a greater extent to dream connect than the culture & other personal factors; Palestinian children in the violent area had the most vivid dreams of violence & persecution themes especially than any other group; Arab children's dreams in general had a particular focus on fear and anxiety; Finnish children's dreams had anxiety schemes that were more about shame & guilt

Thawala (2000) Sample of Zulu South African Tribes 25-92 years 

showed substantial differences between urban and rural subjects; less education & less affluent participants from rural areas tended to consult with dream interpreters & act in response to dreams much more often than urban participants

Belief of dreams in many native Australian tribes

That one can travel for specific purposes 

A quiet & relaxed state of tranquility where a person achieves an integration of emotions, attitudes, & thoughts

The subjective awareness of one's own sensations, perceptions, & other mental events

Process that organizes various sensations into meaningful patterns

Perceptual expectations based on experience

The process where receptor cells are stimulated & transmit their info to higher brain centers

How environmental conditions affect sensation & perception

Absence of experience; hunter-gatherer cultures have a lower rate of color blindness among their members than agricultural societities

Perception of pictures is linked to

a person's educational & socialization experience or the lack thereof 

studied how South Africans perceived/interpreted posters & signs; another link to educational experience & perception; misinterpretations was higher in rural less education participants; pg 92

Meissner & Brigham (2001)

People have more difficulty in judging pictures of faces of other ethnic groups compared to faces of their own group; 2 samples of Turkish born & Austrian children living in Europe were asked to look at Turkish and German faces in pictures in frontal & angle views; Turkish faster at matching Turkish while both groups matched German faces equally fast

Goodnow & Levine (1973) scanning patterns subject to some cultural variation

The direction we examine pictures from left to right or right to left or top to bottom depending in where we come from in the world is linked to our reading habits; if you read from left to right like in English, Argentina or Canada, you likely have a left to right scanning pattern

Studies show that residents of big cities are 

substantially faster & more accurate at visually detecting animals compared to nonliving objects such as moving cars

The tendency of the sensory system to respond less to stimuli that continue without change

A nonwaking state of consciousness characterized by general unresponsiveness to the environment & general physical immobility

A sleeplike state marked by reduced sensitivity to stimuli, loss or alteration of knowledge, rapturous experiences & substitution of automatic for voluntary motor activity; is associated with the release of opiates in the body which induces a temporary state of elation, euphoria, & excitement; can be interpreted anywhere from "divine" to "weird"

A general term that stands for a series of processes by which the individual acquires & applies knowledge

An individual way where people organize & comprehend the world

Originality or the ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way; the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas

Experience & cognitive operations drawn from everyday activities 

A general cognitive ability of an individual to rely more on external visual cues & to be primarily socially oriented

A general cognitive ability where an individual relied primarily on bodily cues within themselves & to be less oriented toward social engagement with others

Basic cognitive operations based on abstract analysis of given premises & deriving a conclusion from them

Global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, overcome obstacles & adapt to a changing environment

Low level of motivation on intelligence tests based on the belief that the tests are biased & test results are unimportant for success in life

The view that all cognitive phenomena are inborn, that they unravel as a result of biological programming & environmental perception requires little active construction by the organism

Psychometric Approach to Intellignece

A view based on the assumption that our intelligence can "receive" a numerical value

Emotion of displeasure aroused by a threat, overt explicit) or covert (hidden), wrongdoing, attack, or offense

Patterns of emotional expression considered appropriate within a a particular culture, age, or social group

An evaluative response (positive or negative feeling) that typically includes a combination of phsysiological arousal, subjective experience, & behavioral/emotional expression

Druze Culture 5 Cosmic Principles

Religious culture living primarily i n Lebanon, Syria, & Israel; colors are associated by the 5-color Druze star (5 cosmic principles): reason (green), soul (red) word (yellow), precedent (blue), & immanence (white)

3 Universal Psychological Dimensions of Color

Hue (what people mean by color), Brightness (a color's intensity), & Saturation (a color's purity)

Investigators/Researchers suspect that the pan-cultural preference for light over dark may reflect

a generalization from light & dark cycles of the day

The most systematically studied modality (sense/sensation) in cross-cultural psychology

helps people register body position & movement

Most psychologists share the contemporary belief that

sensory differences among cultures are insignificant & their impact on human behavior is minimal

Inseparability of body & soul

Recognized an inependent existence of body & soul; the body does not contain the soul/mind. So, to understand the soul, it is pointless to study the body or the brain.

Hamermesh cross-cultural analysis (2003) of affluent people in US, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea

Discover that across cultures, people express distraction about the lack of time they experience as their incomes rise; as their income increases, so do opportunities but time seems to lessen 

Across cultures people place a high regard/value 

A garment worn previously by loved ones, particularly lost loved ones, wearing the garments &/or touching is commonly accompanied with positive emotional experiences

Process of identification, description, & explanation of emotional expression

An individual assessment of emotions according to certain criteria principles

Particular cultural rules about how to feel in particular situations

The environmental circumstances & individuals reactions that have a strong impact on particular emotional experiences

Perception of a continuous challenge to a person's capacity to adapt to inner & outer demands

Te desire to harm or injure others

Motivational theories based on an assumption that people seek to maintain optimal levels of arousal by actively changing their exposure to arousing stimuli

Collectivist-Success Motivation

A type of achievement motivation that directs a person to connect with others; the individual contribution is seen as beneficial to the members of a particular group or society in general

A cultural syndrome manifested in persistence at achieving economic goals, social stability, encouragement of prudence & savings, promoting loyalty & trust by emphasizing shame

An internal aroused condition that directs an organism to satisfy some physiological need

Motivation that engages people in various activities for a particular reward; motivated by external goals

Individualist-Success Motivation

A type of achievement motivation that affects one's attitudes & actions & is directed toward attainment of personal goals

Motivation that engages people in various activities for no apparent reward expect the pleasure/satisfaction of the activity itself (achievement of it); motivated by internal or personal goals

The psychological process that arouses, directs, & maintains behavior

A motivated state caused by physiological deprivation such as lack or food or water

A social need that directs people to strive constantly for excellence & success

A final level of psychological development where individuals strive to realize their unique human potential to achieve everything they are capable of acheiving

A set of requirement, beliefs, symbols, & norms regarding sexuality & its expression

A type of motivation that engages a person in sexual activity

Ian Spence (2006) differences in men's & women's ability to distinguish objects appearing in their field of vision

Men were better at remembering & locating general landmarks in pictures Women were better at remembering * locating food

vast majority of us are susceptible to these illusions even though we know the lines are equal in length, they appear unequal; non westerners are less susceptible to this illusion than Westerners or people from urban areas 

Read cultural patterns of drawing 

William James (1884) & Carl Lange (1885) James-Lange Theory (of Emotion)

offered the theory that emotions is embedded into bodily experience; a physical experience leads the person to feel aroused & the arousal stimulates the subjective experience of anxiety, joy, etc; people don't jump & clap their hands because they are happy, they become happy because they jump & clap

Canon-Bard Theory of Emotion (1927)

Various life situations like a hairy spider crawling on your shoulder can simultaneously elicit both an emotional experience such as disgust or fear & bodily responses like increased blood pressure

Schachter & Singer (1962) Emotional Theory

There are 2 crucial elements of emotional experience: physiological arousal & cognitive interpretation of this arousal; in every emotion, we first experience a state of physiological arousal, then we try to explain to ourselves what the arousal means; if the experiences suggests we should experience pleasure, we call it joy, if we're threatened we experience fear

Darwin (1872) Expression of Emotions in Man & Animals

Basic human emotinal expressions are similar because they serve an adaptive purpose

Basic Emotional Lineup in Buddhist Tradition (particularly in China)

happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate

One alternative to emotions & cross-cultural interaction

All human emotions are universal, they have similar underlying physiological mechanism & the specific cultural environment only applies some "make-up" on human affect; a group of US friend will high five each other when their team scores a goal, in Europe they might shake hands instead

Second approach alternative to emotion & cross-cultural interaction

There is a cultural origin & cultural specificity of emotion; all human emotions develop in specific cultural conditions & threfore can best be understood within a particular cultural context

Walbott & Scherer (1986) study that examined situations where people experienced joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust , shame, guilt form 27 countries

Found that although there were some differences among samples, these differences were much lower than the ones within the countries (pgs 152-153)

Stipek (1998) examined how people would evaluate some hypothetical situations with comparative 200 Chinese-US college participants from both countries

found that in general, US students tended to attribute pride to that cases of personal accomplishments where Chinese were more likely to experience pride for outcomes that benefited others; Chinese respondents reported stronger positive emotional reactions to other people's achievements like they would feel more pride if their child was accepted into a University than for themselves

Angela Bryan (2004) showed experimentally that 

optimism is an important factor contributing to healthy habits; people who really believe they will get healthier tend to achieve more positive results compared to bitter pessimists

When people evaluate their emotions they try to determine whether their emotions

are caused by a familiar/unfamiliar event, suggest the existence of an obstacle, create a sense of being in charge or being out of control, increase or decrease self esteem, cause praise/reproach/mockery by one's group

Research shows when their are clear norms about how to interpret certain events & how to respond to them,

individuals feel more certain about the meaning of events & give more certain emotional responses

Jolley (1998) study how children in China & Great Britain described mood of some picture characters

showed Chinese children were able to interpret emotions in pictures at an earlier age than British children

Emotions & Behavioral Impulse/readiness between Japanese, Dutch, Indonesia subjects

Hostile behavior was more common response in the Dutch group, a more internal impulse was more common in Indonesian & Japanese groups

Study of frequency of emotions among US & Japanese students living in US

US students reported feeling greater frequency of positive emoticons than negative self-relevant feelings; no effect of Japanese subjects which could be because culturally Japanese unwillingness to reveal emotions to strnagers

Chiu & Hong (2006) cultural experiences & creativity

Cultural experiences may either help or hinder creativity

2 kinds of minorities in the US & some other countries

Immigrant minorities (came for a better opportunities) & caste minorities (those who came through slavery or forceful colonization)

Chompsky (1976) criticized very popular approach to intelligence

he criticized the belief that intelligence was based on the amount of money one makes

In many countries intelligence is associated with level of social accomplishments including

ability to carry on with a limited supply of food and resources, adapt to the environment, change the environment despite the overwhelming pressure of lawlessness/violence/pollution/disease

In a comparative Mexican American study

children fro economically advantaged families showed higher creativity scores than did disadvantaged children

Davis & Ginsberg (1993) compared Beninese North American & Korean children

and found little difference in performance on informal life-related mathematical problems; although on formal problems, Korea children performed best probably because parents & teachers spend more time in East Asians countries developing formal math skill in children

African Americans value a unique cognitive style (a way individuals organize & comprehend the world); one study of 9th graders showed blacks were flexible & open-minded while whites were more reserved and judgmental

suggested that black do not accept materialist beliefs & do accept the influence of nonmaterial forces to a greater extent than other groups; they appreciate high levels of stimulation, harmony, & affect; African American culture is rooted in spirituality, harmony, affect as well as verbal elements of comunication

Kuhnen (2001) showed that people in predominantly individualist cultures like Germany & the US 

tend to be more field independent (autonomous in learning) than people in collectivist cultures like Russia & Malaysia

Nisbett (2003) demonstrated the differences in cognitive styles between Western & East Asian student by 

using experimental data, he showed that students from China, Korea, & Japan (Eastern) tended to be more holistic in their perceptions than do students of Western descent (analytic); page 93

Sternberg (1997) supported a hypothesis about

a multidimensional structure of intelligence & suggested that existence of 3 fundamental aspects of intelligence (triarchic theory of intelligence): practical, creative, analystic

Sternberg (1997) found the emphasis on formal mental abilities 

does now give a fair chance to many individuals with high creativity, flexibility, originality, black kids, other minorities, etc; also said it's important to distinguish between intelligence & intelligent behavior

Western infants tend to learn nouns faster while East Asian infants

learn verbs (indicating connections between objects) faster

A continuous increase in IQ scores in the African American population is correlated with 

the increasingly smaller family size since the 1970s; children from smaller families tended to achieve higher IQ scores than counterparts from larger families; the relationship between IQ & family size, because maybe higher cognitive abilities indicates individual attitudes about unprotected sex/pregnancy; another explanation is the more significant increase in the educational level of parents in black families in 1980s-1990s

An individual's socioeconomic statues may have both direct/indirect impact on test performance

social environments with minimal resources may stimulate the development of particular cognitive traits useful for only those environments

Socioeconomic factors have a more pronounced effect on intelligence test scores in 

developing countries rather than industrialized ones

Pages 125-126 read about some research that suggests high IQ scores may predict people's high social status & income

French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene (2002)

maintains that the mathematical ability of humans may be embedded in the brain & could be generally independent of memory & reasoning

Heredity plays an important role in human intelligence (pg 121-122)

Heredity for IQ for non identical & identical twins is 0.58 (japanese study) ; the correlation between IQ scores of 2 biologically unrelated individuals raised together is relatively low (+0.20)

The intelligence correlation scores of identical twines raised together and apart is 

2 Major points in debates about intelligence

1) what do intelligence tests actually measure 2) How can it be proven that the test score was not influenced by factors such as the attitudes , motivation, or emotional sates of test takers?

Piaget (1972) argued that intelligence

has similar cross-cultural developmental mechanisms; on the one hand children in all countries assimilate new info into existing cognitive structure, on the other hand these cognitive structures accommodate themselves to the changing environment

Vygotsky (1978) a Russian psychologist believed that 

intelligencecould not be undertood without taking into account the cultural enviornment the person lives

Important points to consider for those attempting to interpret cultural differences on intelligence scores

the distinction between cognitive potential, cognitive skills developed through interaction with cultural environment, & scores on a particular test

Gardner (2007) argued that intelligence 

has special kinds of musical, bodily kinesthetic, & personal intelligence (a person's ability to understand themself) alongside logical, linguistic or spatial intelligence measure by psychometric tests

According to Evolutionary Pschology, the origin of human motivation is

both individual & collective; Baldwin (1991) suggested that the principle of collective survival is part of the psychology of African people, continued existence in the group not necessarily an individual's survival is closely linked to the collective responsibility/interdependence of Africans

Conflict Theories pay attention to

socioeconomic & political conditions & their impact on motivation; they pay attention to social inequality or view consumerism as the main driving force behind human behavior in theWests; generally cannot explain many other non economic/nonpolitical aspects of human motivation

to attain state of stability or balance within the individual; stimuli like hunger & pain energize & initiate our behavior; traditionally divided between biological needs (need to eat, etc.) & social needs (need to establish/maintain relationships)

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

top-bottom: Level 5 - self actualization Level 4 - esteem Level 3 - relational- (21 touches a day is healthy) Level 2 - safety Level 1 - physical; when the first needs are met 1-2 especially one becomes less animal like and more humanistic

Although the structure of needs presented by Maslow may be appropriate for individuals of all cultures, 

the relative strengths of the needs are culture specific; self preoccupation could be seen as a Western characteristic, not so dominant in some other cultures

Nevis (1983) revised Maslow's Hierarchy of needs & argued that one of the most basic needs of people in

Communistic China was the need to belong rather than physiological needs; self-actualization could manifest as a devoted service to community, so like by contributing to a group, the person is realizing the value of collectivist self-actualization

Arthur Petrovsky (1978) soviet psychologist, collectivist orientation in most Soviet people

an individual is able to fulfill maximum potential when she accepts & internalizes the goals & values of the society

The term anorexia first appeared in 

1874; several medical sources reveal the presence of its symptoms in people of the 18th century & much earlier

Furnham & colleagues (1994) showed a strong relationship between

individual achievement motivation & economic growth; in particular, economic growth correlated with attitude toward competitiveness 

McClelland (1987) study on motivation analyzed children's stories in 22 cultures with respect to degree showed of achievement motivation

achievement motivation scores were highly correlated with economic growth of the children's countries; the greater the emphasis placed on achievement in the stories told to children in various nations, the more rapid the economic development in these nations as the children grew up in

One of the characteristics of high-achievement motivation

entrepreneurship because this trait gives rise to new ideas & initiative

Chemical in the brain that when absent, transformed mice into violent, sexually aggressive beings

Low levels of self-esteem have been linked with

high frequency of delinquent behavior (Crain & Weissman 1972)

What is a quiet and relaxed state of tranquility in which a person achieves an integration of emotions attitudes and thoughts?

Which part of the brain according to M Persinger is closely associated with so called God experiences?