from Module 21 - Stress)
physiology of stress responses and what changes they produce in your body
    sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medulla/adrenaline response
    hypothalamus/pituitary/adreanl cortex/corticoids response
types of stress appraisals
relationship between type of appraisal and physical responses to stress
Selye's general adaptation syndrome (3 stages and what happens in each)
what are psychosomatic symptoms?
the mind-body connection
psychoneuroimmunology
sources of stress (hassles, major life events, situational stressors, conflict (types), anxiety)
factors influencing your response to stress
personality differences (hardiness, Type A and Type B, locus of control, optimism vs pessimism)
coping strategies (problem-focused vs emotion-focused)
social support
thought substitution (negative to positive) and making challenge appraisals
biofeedback, relaxation training, meditation

(from Modules 5-6)
sensation vs perception
receptors, transduction, sensory adaptation
Electromagnetic energy; visible spectrum, light waves & their characteristics (wavelength and amplitude)
Parts of the eye and their functions
The structure of the retina; characteristics of rods vs cones; location of visual cortex
Theories of color vision; color blindness
Sound waves and how they relate to the sounds we hear
Parts of ear, cochlea, hair cells; auditory cortex
Theories of pitch perception
How do we localize where a sound is coming from
Dangers of loud sounds
conduction deafness vs neural deafness
cochlear implant
visual implants
Vestibular system(semicircular canals), motion sickness; Meuniere’s disease
Taste sensation (taste buds) location and function,  sensory interaction of taste and smell
Individual differences in taste sensitivity
Smell (olfaction) sensation; olfactory receptors; pheromone
Touch sensation, especially pain - what stimulates pain receptors
gating of pain messages; stimuli that "close the gate"; endorphins, acupuncture
where perceptual processes occur in brain
Perceptual organization (figure/ground, Gestalt organizational rules)
Perceptual constancies that help us perceive the world and its objects as stable
Depth perception (7 monocular(artist's) vs 2 binocular cues); binocular or retinal disparity, convergence; illusions where
depth perception cues lead us astray
Perceptual set (e.g. effects of expectancy, motivation, past experience, cultural influences)

(from Modules 9 and 10 - Basic Forms of Learning or Conditioning)
Basic forms of learning (conditioning)
Learning associations
Classical conditioning (ucs, ucr, neutral stimulus, cs, cr); Ivan Pavlov
Acquisition, generalization, extinction, spontaneous recovery
examples of classical conditioning
conditioned emotional response (Watson)
conditioned physiological responses (e.g. immune changes)
(systematic desensitization will be covered later in the semester)
Instrumental conditioning; law of effect; Thorndike
Operant conditioning; Skinner; shaping an operant response
operant chamber or Skinner box; cumulative recorder
Reinforcement (positive vs negative reinforcement & punishment, primary vs secondary reinforcers)
ways of modifying behavior without using punishment
Shaping a response, contingencies, schedules of reinforcement
continuous reinforcement
partial reinforcement
FR, VR, FI, and VI schedules of reinforcement
Acquisition, generalization, extinction, spontaneous recovery of operant behaviors
Discriminative stimuli
accidental reinforcement and superstitious behavior
cognitive learning
Observational learning or social learning;Bandura; modeling, BoBo doll study
Cognitive maps (Tolman)
insight learning
biological preparedness
behavior modification