lateralization

Examples of lateralization in the following topics:

• Transience and Encoding Failure

  • Both transience and encoding failure can limit our ability to store and, later, recall memories.
  • There is a limited capacity of working memory, so little can be remembered at a later time unless the information is encoded to long-term memory.
  • To form a memory in the brain, information must first be encoded and stored before it can be recalled for later use.

• Repressed Memories

  • Some research indicates that traumatic memories can be forgotten and later spontaneously recovered.
  • Some research indicates that memories of traumatic events, most commonly childhood sexual abuse, may be forgotten and later spontaneously recovered.
  • In one study where victims of documented child abuse were re-interviewed many years later as adults, a high proportion of the women denied any memory of the abuse.
  • According to the American Psychiatric Association, "most leaders in the field agree that although it is a rare occurrence, a memory of early childhood abuse that has been forgotten can be remembered later.

• Cognitive Development in Adulthood

  • Cognition changes over a person's lifespan, peaking at around age 35 and slowly declining in later adulthood.
  • Research has found that adults who engage in mentally and physically stimulating activities experience less cognitive decline in later adult years and have a reduced incidence of mild cognitive impairment and dementia (Hertzog, Kramer, Wilson, & Lindenberger, 2009; Larson et al., 2006; Podewils et al., 2005).

• The Fallibility of Memory

  • Storing a memory and retrieving it later involves both biological and psychological processes, and the relationship between the two is not fully understood.
  • However, this process can be impacted by a number of factors, and how well information is encoded affects how well it is able to be recalled later.

• Introduction to Memory Encoding

  • Memory encoding allows an item of interest to be converted into a construct that is stored in the brain, which can later be recalled.
  • Will you be able to find it later?
  • At a basic level, the process of encoding faces similar challenges: if information is improperly coded, recall will later be more challenging.

• Early Roots of Psychology

  • As this view holds that the mind and body are one and the same, it later became known as monism.
  • Built on structuralism's concern with the anatomy of the mind, functionalism led to greater concern with the functions of the mind, and later, to behaviorism.
  • He laid the groundwork for what would later become the theory of structuralism.
  • Describe the philosophical roots of what would later become the field of psychology

• The Endocrine System and Hunger

  • In the 1940s, the "dual-center" model, which divided the hypothalamus into hunger (lateral hypothalamus) and satiety (ventromedial hypothalamus) centers, was popular.
  • This theory developed from the findings that bilateral lesions of the lateral hypothalamus can cause anorexia, a severely diminished appetite for food, while bilateral lesions on the ventromedial hypothalamus can cause overeating and obesity.
  • The function of leptin is to suppress the release of neuropeptide Y (NPY), which in turn prevents the release of appetite-enhancing orexins from the lateral hypothalamus.

• Introduction to the Process and Types of Memory

  • Memory is the ability to take in information, encode it, store it, and retrieve it at a later time.
  • Memory is the ability to take in information, store it, and recall it at a later time.

• Physical Development in Adolescence

  • Males experience their growth spurt about two years later than females.
  • The first places to grow are the extremities (head, hands, and feet), followed by the arms and legs, and later the torso and shoulders.
  • Early maturing boys tend to be physically stronger, taller, and more athletic than their later maturing peers; this can contribute to differences in popularity among peers, which can in turn influence the teenager's confidence.

• Validity and Reliability of Personality Assessments

  • Reliability scales test the instrument’s consistency over time, assuring that if you take the MMPI today and then again five years later, your two scores will be similar.
  • Beutler, Nussbaum, and Meredith (1988) gave the MMPI to newly recruited police officers and then to the same police officers two years later.
  • When the test was given an additional two years later (four years after starting on the job), the results suggested high risk for alcohol-related difficulties.