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117 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Sensation
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The stimulation of sense organs
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Perception
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the selection, organization and interpretation of sensory input
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stimulus
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detectable input from the environment
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Threshold
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A dividing point between energy levels that do and do not have a detectable effect. EX: a light detecting lamp that turns on in the abscence of light. The level of light at which the light turns on is the threshold
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Absolute Threshold
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The minimal amount of stimulation that an organism can detect
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Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
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the smallest difference detectable between two stimuli
-> the smallest difference noticeable between nothing and something |
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Weber's Law
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States that the JND is proportional to the size of the stimulus
EX: Weber fraction for lifting weights is 1/30. Meaning you can detect the difference between a 300-gram weight and a 310-gram weight. But if you start with a 900-gram weight you wouldn't notice the difference until 930-grams. |
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Fechner's Law
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The magnitude of a sensory experience is proportional to the number of JNDs that the stimulus causing the experieence is above the absolute threshold
-> 3 equal increases of light in a dark room are perceived less and less than the initial light |
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Signal-detection Theory
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the detection of stimuli involves decision processes as well as sensory processes, both are influenced by a variety of factors besides stimulus intensity
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Subliminal Perception
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perceiving sensory input without conscious awareness
EX: subliminal messages in ads |
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Sensory Adaptation
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gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged stimulation
EX: smell something gross, as you grow accustom to the smell, you no longer smell it |
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Amplitude
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height of a light wave - affects perception of brightness
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Wavelength
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distance between peaks in a light wave - perception of colour
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The Lens
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transparent eye structure that focuses the light rays falling on the retina. It is capable of accommodation (when curvature of the lens adjusts to alter visual focus)
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Nearsightedness
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close objects are seen clearly, but distanct objects appear blurry
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Farsightedness
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distant objects are clearly seen, but close objects appear blurry
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The Pupil
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opening in the center of the iriss that helps regulate the amount of light passing into the eye
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Saccades
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the eye is constantly moving and fixating of various parts of the stimuli
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Retina
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neural tissue lining the inside back surface of the eye; absorbs light, processes images and sends visual info to the brain
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Optic Disk
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hole in the retina where the optic nerve fibres exit the eye
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Cones
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Visual receptors that play a key role in daylight vision and colour vision.
Concentrated in the center of the retina |
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Fovea
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spot in the center of the retina that contains only cones - greatest visual acuity
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Rods
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specialized visual receptors that are key for night vision
- concentrated in the sides of the retina |
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Dark Adaptation
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process in which the eyes become more sensitive to light in low illuminations
EX: going from sunny outside to dark theater |
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Light Adaptation
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eyes become less sensitive to light in high illumination
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Optic Chiasm
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point at which the optic nerves from the inside half of each eye cross over and project to the opposite half of the brain
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Parallel Processing
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simultaneously extracting different kinds of information from the same input
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Feature Detectors
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Neurons that respond selectively to very specific features of more complex stimuli
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Visual Agnosia
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Inability to recognize objects
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Prosopagnosia
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Inability to recognize familiar faces
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Feature Analysis
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The process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form
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Bottom-Up Processing
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progressing from individual elements to the whole
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Top-Down Processing
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progression from the whole to the element
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Distal Stimuli
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Stimuli that lie in the distance
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Proximal Stimuli
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stimuli that impinge directly on sensory receptors
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Convergence
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Involve sensing the eyes converging towards each other as they focus on closer objects
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Monocular depth cues
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clues about distance based on the image in either eye alone
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Perceptual Constancy
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how we view objects as stable in size, shape, brightness, hue and texture
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Cochlea
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Fuid-filled, coiled tunnel that contains the receptors for hearing
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Place Theory
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Perception of pitch corresponds to the vibration of different `places along the basilar membrane
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Frequency Theory
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perception of pitch comrresponds to the rate/frequency at which the entire basilar membrane vibrates
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Gustatory System
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Taste system
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Olfactory System
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Smell system
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Gate-Control Theory
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incominf pain sensation must pass through a "gate" in the spinal cord that can be closed in order to block pain
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Vestibular System
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Responds to gravity and keeps you informed of your body's location in space
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Consciousness
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Awareness of internal and external stimuli
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Mind Wandering
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People's experience of task-unrelated thoughts
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Electroencephalograph (EEG)
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device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp
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Biological Rhythms
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periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning
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Circadian Rhythms
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24-hour biological cycles found in humans and many other species
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Electromyograph (EMG)
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records muscular activity and tension
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Electrooculograph (EOG)
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which records eye movement
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Slow-wave sleep (SWS)
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consists of sleep stages 3 and 4, at this time high-amplitude, low-frequency delta waves become prominent in EEG recordings
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REM Sleep
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relatively deep stage of sleep marked by rapid eye movements; high frequencies, low-amplitude brain waves; and vivid dreaming
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Non-REM Sleep
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Consists of sleep stages 1-4, which are marked by an absence of rapid eye movements, relatively little dreming and varied EEG activity
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Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)
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Consists of the aferent fibres running through the reticular formation that influence physiological arousal
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Insomnia
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Chronic problems in getting adequate sleep
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Narcolepsy
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Disease marked by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking periods
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Sleep Apnea
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frequent, reflexive gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts sleep
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Nightmares
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Anxiety-arousing dreams that lead to awakening, usually from REM sleep
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Night Terrors
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"sleep terrors" are abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep, accompanied by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic
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Somnambulism
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(sleepwalking) occurs when a person arises and wanders about while remaining asleep
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REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD)
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marked by potentially troublesome dream enactments during REM periods
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Hypnosis
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systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility. It can cause: anesthesia, sensory distortions and hallucinations, disinhibition, posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia
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Dissociation
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Splitting off of mental processes into two separate, simultaneous streams of awareness
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Meditation
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Family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and rbing mental processes under greater voluntary control
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Psychoactive Drugs
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chemical substances that modify mental, emotional or behavioural functioning
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Narcotics
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(opiates) drugs derived from opium that are capable of relieving pain
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Sedatives
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sleep-inducing drugs that tend to decrease central nervous system (CNS) activation and behavioural activity
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Stimulants
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Drugs that tend to increase central nervous system activation and behavioural activity
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Hallucinogens
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Drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional unctioning, marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual experience.
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Tolerance
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refers to a progressive decrease in a person's responsiveness to a drug
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Physical Dependence
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When a person must continue to take a drug to avoid withdrawal
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Psychological Dependence
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when a person continues to take a drug to satisfy intense mental and emotional cravings for the drug
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Learning
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Any realtively durable change in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience
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Phobia
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Irrational fears of specific objects or siituations
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Conditioning
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Involves learning connections between events that occur in an organism's environment
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Classical Conditioning
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Type oof learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoed by another stimulus
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Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
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stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning
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Unconditioned Response (UCR)
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Is an unlearned reacition to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without preious conditioning
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Conditioned Stimulus
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Previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response
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Conditioned Response (CR)
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Learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning
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Evaluative Conditioning
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Refers to changes in the liking of a stimulus that results from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli
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Acquisition
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Refers to the initial stage of learning something
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Extinction
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The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency
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Spontaneous Recovery
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Is the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposure to the conditioned stimulus
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Renewal Effect
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If a response is extiguished in a different environment that it was acquired, the extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the originial environment where the acquisition took place
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Stimulus Genderalization
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Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to a new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
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Stimulus Discrimination
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Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimui that are similar to the original stimulus
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Higher-Order Conditioning
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A conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus
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Operant Conditioning
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Form of learning where responses come to be controlled by their consequences
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Law of Effect
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If a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and the response is strengthened
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Reinforcement
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Occurs when an event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response
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Reinforcement Contingencies
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rules that say whether responses lead to presentation of reinforcers
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Cummulative Recorder
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Creates a graphic record of responding and reinforcement in a Skinner box as a function of time
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Shaping
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Consists of the reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desires response
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Resistance to Extinction
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Occurs when an organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer has been stopped
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Discriminative Stimuli
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Are cues that influence operant behaviour by indicating the probable consequences (reinforcement or non-reinforcement) of a response
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Primary Reinforcers
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Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
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Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers
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events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers
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Schedule of Reinforcement
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Determines how often a response set will occur
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Continuous Reinforcement
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Occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced
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Intermittent (Partial)Reinforcement
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Occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced
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Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule
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Reindorcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses
Ex: A sales person gets a bonus for every 4th set of encyclopedias sold |
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Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedule
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Reinforcer is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses
Ex: a slot machine pays off every 6 times approx |
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Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule
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reinforcer gien for the first response that occurs after a fixed-time interval
Ex: a rat is rewarded for the first lever press every 2 minutes |
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Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule
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Reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable time
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Positive Reinforcement
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Occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus
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Negative Reinforcement
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Occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus
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Escape Learning
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Acquiring a response that decreases or ends aversive stimulation
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Avoidance Learning
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Acquiring a response that prevents aversive stiulation from occuring
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Punishment
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Occurs when an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response
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Instinctive Drift
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When an animal's innate response tendencies interfere with conditioning processes
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Preparedness
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Involves a species-specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways but not in others
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Latenet Learning
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Learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first occurs
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Observational Learning
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Occurs when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models
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Antecedents
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events that typically precede the target response
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