Describe and evaluate research into the stages of sleep
Describe and evaluate research into the stages of sleep To talk about a concept, we must first be clear on its definition. Psychologists describe sleep as an altered state of consciousness. It is a resting state in which an individual becomes relatively quiescent and relatively unaware of the environment. During sleep, which is in part a period of rest and relaxation, most physiological functions such as body temperature, blood pressure, and rate of breathing and heartbeat decrease. The amount of sleep needed depends on both the individual and the environment. With the invention of the "Electroencephalogram" or an "EEG" as it is more commonly known has made it possible to monitor the brain's electrical activity. The EEG picks up and records electrical activity through electrodes attached to the scalp. The reading of a waking person is clearly different than that of a sleeping person. The EEG pattern of our brain during waking periods is very rapid, irregular and low on voltage. This means that many neurons are firing at different intervals and at different times, with different strengths too. This type of irregular electrical activity in the brain during wakefulness is called beta waves or beta activity. When we are relaxed, sitting in the sofa watching T.V. without any mental arousal, the EEG records a waveform called alpha waves or alpha activity, slower than beta
Outline one theory of the function of sleep.
Outline one theory of the function of sleep. There are two main theories in psychology offered to explain the function of sleep. One is called the ecological or evolutionary theory. The basis of this theory is that the reason why all animals sleep is because sleep serves some adaptive function. The notion of adaptiveness comes from the theory of evolution. The idea is that any behaviour that has continued in an animal's gene pool is because it must have been naturally selected because it, in some way, has helped promote the survival and reproduction of an animal possessing that characteristic. An important consideration, when thinking about the function of sleep, is to distinguish between different kinds of sleep: core sleep and other sleep. The two most important kinds of core sleep are slow wave sleep and REM sleep. It is possible that each serves a different adaptive purpose. One of the key criticisms made, in relation to evolutionary theories of sleep, is that many of them suggest that animals sleep in order to waste time. Whereas the restoration view is that sleep is not wasting time but offers the opportunity for key functions to take place. A second criticism is that evolutionary theories may not be suitable for explaining human sleep. Sleep may have been adaptive during the environment of evolutionary adaptation but this hasn't been true for a long time and one
Outline and Evaluate the biological model to Abnormality.
Aleksander Filipczak Outline and Evaluate the biological model to Abnormality. The biological approach sees mental disorders being caused by abnormal physiological processes in the body. Therefore, any abnormality must have specific causes that happen in some bodily malfunction or genetic factors etc. For this model, the cure is to remove such the root cause, thus returning the body's status to "normal". This model is called the biological or medical model, due to the reason that it approaches mental illness diagnosis with a similarity to that of physical illnesses. Due to the model being very scientific in nature of investigation and understanding the psychological illness, it is most widely accepted model to psychological abnormality around the world. The biological model states, that all mental disorders are related to some change in the body, such as brain damage, genes, infection or biochemistry. Many abnormalities with the brain might occur due to genetic inheritance, which means that the abnormality was passed down from parent to child. A way of investigating this is by studying pairs of identical twins. They can be compared to each other (due to identical genetic structure) , and therefore see, that if abnormality is passed down by genetics, if one twin has a disorder, then the second should also have it, which gives us concordance rates. Research suggests that
Biological Explanations for Eating Behaviour
Biological Explanations for Eating Behaviour The first study into eating behaviours was Canon and Wasburn (1912) they conducted a study in which the stomach would contract to indicate hunger and satiety. This research tells us that the strength of the gastric contraction correlated with the hunger and satiety of the participant. The participant was requested to push a button to indicate when they felt hungry. This shows that when we are hungry our brain sends signals to the stomach so that it can contract. A limitation of the study is that it contained one participant so it cannot be generalised. The part of the brain which receives signals of satiety is called the Ventromedial Hypothalamus it is located in the Hypothalamus and controls the amount we eat. A study that provides evidence for the role it plays and explains the significance of this evidence is Hetherington and Ranson, they summarised that rats with lesions to Ventromedial Hypothalamus became overweight. They concluded that destruction of the VH which was responsible for controlling feeding behaviour this then lead to an increase in feeding and body weight. It was then assumed that the rat's satiety centre was not working correcting which usually indicates when we're full. At the time of the study it couldn't be said whether or not the study accurately showed the role of the VN however later studies have had
Discuss the nature of sleep, including two explanations of the functions of sleep
Discuss the nature of sleep, including two explanations of the functions of sleep The restoration theory of sleep involves sleeping to recover, repair and to grow. Oswald stated that REM sleep is needed to replenish neurotransmitters in the brain and help the brain recover, while NREM sleep is used to restore bodily processes and functions. Oswald also said that sleep restores energy, removes waste from the body and repairs cells. There is a lot of empirical evidence to support this, for example babies undergo far more REM sleep compared to an adult - this can be explained because of the amount of energy a growing brain requires due to increased protein synthesis for cellular growth; this study has high ecological validity because it is a naturalistic experiment and it can also be generalised to all babies as they all undergo large amounts of REM sleep. Most human growth hormone is released during the first stages of sleep; this supports the restoration theory as growth hormone is necessary for growth and repair, however despite a correlation we cannot imply cause and effect, that the burst of growth hormone is related to restoration functions in sleep. Another source of empirical evidence is that people who have damaged their brain in cases such as drug overdoses, spend longer in REM sleep which supports the theory that REM sleep is when the brain recovers and repairs,
Discuss research into Biological Rhythms.
Discuss research into Biological rhythms (Circadian and Ultradian) The Circadian rhythm lasts for 24 hours, during which humans demonstrate a series of bodily changes including body temperature, respiration and metabolism. The cycle that psychologists are most interested in is the ‘sleep/wake cycle. Bodily rhythms appear to show a similar pattern for people with different lifestyles, so it seems these rhythms are a result of nature rather than nurture (our upbringing). Psychologists are interested in finding out whether they cycles are indeed natural or whether they rely on external cues from the environment… To test this Aschoff and Wever (1962) studied a number of volunteers that agreed to spend time isolated from the outside world in a disused WWII bunker in Munich – after a month of isolation from external cues (zeitgebers) they adopted a 25 hour cycle. Siffre took part in a similar study but in this research he was the only participant. He spent six months in a cave with low light conditions. The findings were that the sleep/wake cycle gradually settled down to 25 hours. Siffre carried out a few more experiments like this for shorter periods of time but still found the same results… From these two pieces of research two suggestions arise: There must be an endogenous pacemaker in control of the Circadian rhythm, since even in the absence of external cues we
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of stress on the immune system and coronary heart disease.
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of stress on the immune system and coronary heart disease. (18) The immune system is made up of cells and chemicals that seek and destroy bacteria and viruses. When someone is experiencing a stressful situation, all the body's resources are diverted and this suppresses the immune system by stopping the production of white blood cells-lymphocytes. Over a long period of time, (a long-term stress response), the person's immune system stops functioning properly and is left open to infection. Long-Term stress can affect the cardiovascular system. Short-term stress involves the suppression of the immune system, known as immunosupresssion- as part of the need to divert all resources into coping with the emergency. Various studies have been devised to test whether stress makes us more vulnerable to infection and illness. Research on both humans and animals has supported the theory that stress can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. Brady et al's study of stress and the development of ulcers showed that monkeys being given electric shocks, every 20 seconds in 6 hour sessions, proved that the 'executive' monkeys-who pushed the lever to delay shocks- would develop illnesses and later die. Brady's findings showed that the 'executive' monkeys were more likely to develop an illness (ulcers) and later die. The illness and death
Outline and evaluate two methods of stress management
Outline and evaluate two methods of stress management. One physiological method of treatment is Biofeedback. Physiological methods help people cope with the effects of stress by changing the way the body responds to it. With biofeedback the aim is to teach the client how to relax. The person learns how to regulate the symptoms of stress in real-life stressful situations. There are 4 steps involved. Firstly, the person is attached to a machine that monitors the body's response to stressors and then gives feed back on heart rate and blood pressure etc. The person then learns to control these symptoms and reduce the effect that stress has on the blood pressure etc. They may learn to take deep breaths which slows down the heart rate and makes them feel relaxed. Relaxation acts as a reward and encourages the person to repeat this as an involuntary action. As a final step the person is then taught to use this in a real life stressful situation. It has been discovered that biofeedback is especially useful on children and teenagers where a drug therapy would not have been suitable. Children who went through biofeedback have gained control over the symptoms of stress such as migraines and also showed an increase in enthusiasm and more positive attitudes. It is also an effective treatment as it aims to treat the cause of the problem as well as the symptoms. It can give clients a
Dreams - What do dreams mean, why would we have them?
Dreams To the common dictionary a dream is defined as "a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep." I agree with this statement because these things do occur in dreams. But what do dreams mean, why would we have them? And are they healthy for us? Dreams are vivid images and ideas that do, in fact, express emotions. Despite this, the most important factor of dreaming is the meanings it conveys about ones personal life. In my opinion all dreams have a significant meaning. . . "One of the things that we're familiar with in dreaming is the sense that familiar or prosaic objects are being put in very bizarre circumstances or situations" (King). I believe that having dreams is the best way of really discovering who you are. Dreams are uncontrollable, which makes them all the more frightening, tantalizing and vividly expressing who you are. Dreams seem to be the human subconscious speaking out and taking control. Dreams can express happiness, and sadness in ones life. I myself have experienced dreams which have made me come to realizations about myself. In keeping a dream journal you can communicate your ultimate creativity. Although dreams are the best form of communicating ones own wishes, it is the hardest thing to interpret. In my opinion, every dream has a hidden meaning. What though is the meaning
S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder also known as the winter blues.
hinkelman1 Theresa Hinkelman Flanders ENC1101 1/14/02 A Blue Season S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder also known as the winter blues. Symptoms include- lack of energy, increase in intake of carbs, increase in eating sweets, increased weight gain, excessive increase in sleep, sluggish throughout day, socially withdrawn during fall and winter months, lost interest in sexual activity, feelings of sadness, emptiness, or anxiousness. So people with this disorder complete turn opposite manic in a sense in the spring or summer months. They get a massive burst of energy and are almost borderline obsessively productive, like a build up of energy just bursting out. these are the people whose episodes are sever and can be controlled with a mood stabilizer such as lithium, the individual might also be diagnosed with bipolar disorder (formerly called manic depressive illness). Six percent of patients are severe enough to require hospitalization. People with S.A.D. whose depression and lack of energy become debilitating to the point that it affects their work and relationships. The body produces the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland (hypothalamus) deep in the brain while we sleep. It has a slowing effect on the nervous system and induces sleep. People with seasonal affective disorder
