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iGCSE Psychology > Module 8: Sleep and Dreaming > Flashcards

Module 8: Sleep and Dreaming Flashcards

1
Q

Explain NREM sleep

A
  • Stage 1: light sleep, easily woken, alpha/theta brainwaves, eye movements slow
  • Stage 2: late night, brain activity bursts (spindles), body temperature drops, heart rate slows, eye movements stop
  • Stage 3: transition between 2 and 4
  • Stage 4: deep sleep, slow delta waves, hard to wake, sleepwalking/nightmares in children
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2
Q

Explain REM sleep

A
  • Rapid eye movement
  • Dreaming - 2hrs per night
  • Sensory blockade
  • Movement inhibition (spinal cord neurons turned off by pons)
  • Heart rate/blood pressure rises
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3
Q

Explain the sleep cycle

A
  • Five cycles (1 = 90mins)
  • Deep sleep and little REM –> light sleep and long REM (up to an hour)
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4
Q

What are the functions and benefits of sleep?

A
  • Deep sleep stops after age ~65
  • Sleep needed for learning and survival
  • 20% of sleep is REM, 50% for babies
  • Dreaming can occur in NREM
  • Adults need 7-8hrs, teens need 9hrs
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5
Q

Explain circadian rhythms

A
  • Controlled by suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) which is set by external triggers
  • 24 hour cycle (sleep/wake, body temperature)
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6
Q

Explain zeitgebers as an external influence on sleep

A
  • Environmental cues (light/dark cycle, seasons, hunger)
  • Entrainment - biological rhythms being matched to external triggers
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7
Q

What are the strengths and weaknesses of zeitgebers as an external influence on sleep?

A
  • Strengths: Practical applications (aid shift workers), Mistlberger & Skene (2004) found light a strong influence on sleep
  • Weaknesses: Differing findings (Siffre 1975), studies usually unnatural
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8
Q

Explain ultradian rhythms

A
  • Less than 24 hours
  • Sleep/REM cycle, heart rate, hunger, etc
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9
Q

Explain internal influences on sleep

A
  • Biological clock internal, keeps all rhythms synchronised
  • Hormones: adrenaline/cortisol affect sleep, sleep resets hormones
  • Melatonin signals need to sleep, released by pineal gland (trigger by darkness)
  • Melatonin works as medication for insomnia/jet-lag (not shift workers)
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10
Q

What are the strengths of internal influences on sleep?

A
  • Evidence from animal studies
  • Miles et al (1977) human study on blind person
  • Li-You Chan et al. (2015) evidence for melatonin
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11
Q

What are the weaknesses of the theory of internal influences on sleep?

A
  • Cannot always generalise animals studies to humans
  • Evidence relating to blindness is weak
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12
Q

What are the symptoms of insomnia?

A
  • Difficulty falling asleep
  • Waking a lot in the night
  • Not feeling refreshed waking up
  • Feeling stressed/irritable
  • Acute/chronic, 1 in 3 people, more common in older people
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13
Q

Give explanations for insomnia

A
  • Jet lag/night shifts
  • Health conditions (physical/mental)
  • Medication, food, drink (hormones affected)
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14
Q

What are the symptoms of narcolepsy?

A
  • No control over sleep/wake cycle
  • EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness)
  • Hallucinations and vivid dreams
  • Cataplexy in 70% - loss of muscle power/tone due to onset of strong emotions (e.g laughter)
  • Sleep paralysis and abnormal REM
  • Affects 1 in 2000 people
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15
Q

Give explanations for narcolepsy

A
  • Lack of hypocretin
  • May be genetic
  • Stress/trauma
  • May have evolutionary benefit (play dead)
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16
Q

Explain Freud’s theory of dreaming

A
  • We repress unconscious wishes/desires and dreams can uncover them (through dreamwork)
  • Know them, they’re released from the subconscious, you no longer take up energy repressing them, no more anxiety
17
Q

Explain dreamwork (of Freud’s theory of dreaming)

A
  • How the mind protects itself by hiding unconscious desires in dreams:
  • Condensation - many ideas appear as one
  • Displacement - what seems important is not (shifting away focus)
  • Secondary elaboration - added details to make sense of story
  • Symbolic meanings different for everyone, knowledge of patient needed
18
Q

What are the strengths of Freud’s theory of dreaming?

A

Qualitative, detailed, focused - strengthens validity

19
Q

What are the weaknesses of Freud’s theory of dreaming?

A

Cannot be tested/shown as true or false - unscientific

20
Q

Explain Hobson and McCarley’s (1997) Activation-Synthesis theory of dreaming

A
  • Activation: neurons randomly activated –> messages (thoughts) sent in brain - all information internally generated
  • Synthesis: brain makes sense of internal info the same way it does with external - this creates dreams
21
Q

What are the strengths of Hobson and McCarley’s (1997) Activation-Synthesis theory of dreaming?

A
  • Evidence: senses blocked so dreams must be internal, pons active during cats’ dreaming
  • Model still being used/investigated today
22
Q

What are the weaknesses of Hobson and McCarley’s (1997) Activation-Synthesis theory of dreaming?

A
  • Animal studies not always generalisable
  • Dreams often linked to previous days’ events (not entirely random)
  • Has been built on/amended (didn’t last on its own merits)
23
Q

What was the background of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Psychosexual stages of development
  • 3-5yrs old: phallic stage, gendered behaviour through identifying with same-sex parent, oedipus complex
24
Q

What were the aims of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Help the individual
  • Gather evidence for theory on how children develop (psychosexual stages)
25
Q

What was the procedure of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Detailed information from Hans’ parents
  • Dreams and phobia of horses (including but not limited to)
  • Only some information from Little Hans himself
26
Q

What were the results of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Hans saw a horse fall in the street & had a fear of horses (black around mouth): horses = father (moustache), unconscious fear (oedipus complex), rearranged father to ‘grandfather’ role to alleviate anxiety
  • Early dream, mother was gone: fear father would take mother away (oedipus complex)
  • Dream, big & crumpled giraffe, takes small giraffe and big one shouts at him: mother and father, oedipus complex (Hans denied this)
27
Q

What were the conclusions of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Evidence for Oedipus complex (fear of father, wanting to posses mother)
  • Fear of horses an example of this
28
Q

What are the strengths of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • In-depth detailed qualitative analyses
  • Carefully documented, reflective account, scientifically carried out
29
Q

What are the weaknesses of Freud’s (1909) Little Hans study?

A
  • Parents followers of Freud’s ideas, so information passed on was biased
  • Case studies not generalisable and unsuited for building theories (as Freud was doing)
  • Learning explanation for horse phobia - saw a horse fall and die
30
Q

What was the background of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Replicate previous 1962 study (also conducted by Michael Siffre, on himself and others - 24hr clock for him, 48hr for others)
  • NASA sponsored the study
31
Q

What were the aims of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Investigate how astronauts would react to not having zeitgebers to set biological clock
  • Find whether ‘natural’ sleep cycle 24hr or 48hr
32
Q

What was the procedure of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Spent 14 Feb 1972 - Sep 1972 alone in a cave in Texas
  • No indication of date/time, woke up and turned lights on, was tired and turned lights off
  • Memory/physical tests taken after waking up
33
Q

What were the results of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Became depressed/suicidal, desperate for companionship
  • Short term memory negatively affected
  • Sleep-wake cycle initially longer than 24hrs, but then ranged from 18-52hrs
34
Q

What are the strengths of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Significant quantitative and qualitative data
  • Long period - 6 months, ensure no patterns could be found in the sleep-wake cycle
35
Q

What were the conclusions of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Body clock manageable, though erratic/variable without zeitgebers
  • Companionship required
36
Q

What are the weaknesses of Siffre (1973) 6 Months Alone in a Cave?

A
  • Lights upon waking - external cue
  • Case study, not generalisable (to astronauts)

iGCSE Psychology (10 decks)

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