Psych Exam Chapter 3, 6, And *

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consciousness

Back 1

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

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cognitive neuroscience

Back 2

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and laungauge)

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dual processing

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the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

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selective attention

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the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

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inattentional blindness

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failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

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change blindness

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failing to notice changes in the enviorment

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circadian rhythm

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the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle (temperature)

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REM sleep

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(rapid eye movement sleep) a recurring sleep stge during which vivid dreams commonly occur. also known as paradoxial sleep, bc muscles are relaxed

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alpha waves

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the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

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sleep

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periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness-as distinct from unconscious resulting from a coma, anesthia, or hibernation

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hallucinations

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false sensory expeirences, such as seeing something in absence of an external visual stimulus

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delta waves

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the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

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insomnia

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recurring problem in falling or staying asleep

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sleep apnea

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a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

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narcolepsy

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a sleep disorder characterized by temporary uncontrollable sleep attacks. the sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

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night terrors

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a sleep disorder characterised by high arousal and an appearance of being terrifed; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep, within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

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dream

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a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping persons mind. Dreams are notable for their halluncinatory imagery, discontinunuties, and incongruties, and for the dreamers dellusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

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manifest content

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according to freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden content)

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latent content

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according to freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content).

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REM Rebound

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the tendancy for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

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hypnosis

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a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will randomly occur

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posthypnotic suggestions

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a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized, used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

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dissociation

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a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur the same time as others

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memory

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the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

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encoding

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the processing of information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning

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storage

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the retention of encoded information over time

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retrieval

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the process of getting information out of memory storage

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sensory memory

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the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

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long-term memory

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the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. includes knowledge, skills, and expeirence

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short-term memory

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activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is shortly forgotten

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working memory

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a newer understanding of short term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

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automatic processing

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unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

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effortful processing

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encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

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rehearsal

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the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

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spacing effect

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the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

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serial position effect

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our tendency to recall best the last and first names on a list

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visual encoding

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the encoding of picture images

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acoustic encoding

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the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

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semantic encoding

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the encoding of meaning including the meaning of words

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imagery

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mental pictures, a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with the semantic encoding

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mnemonic

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memory aids with visual techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

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chunking

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organizing items into familiar, manageable units, often occurs automatically

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iconic memory

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a momentarily sensory memory of visual stimuli, a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a seconds

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echoic memory

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a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

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hippocampus

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a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

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recall

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a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in the blank test

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recognition

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a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test

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relearning

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a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

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priming

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the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

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mood-congruent memory

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the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with ones current good or bad mood

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deja vu

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that eerie sense that "ive experienced this before". cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

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proactive interference

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the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

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retroactive interference

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the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

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repression

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basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

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language

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our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

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phoneme

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in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit. ex: Chat (ch-a-t)

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morpheme

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in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word like a prefix. combo of 2 or more phenemes. ex: pre in preview

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grammar

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in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

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semantics

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the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning . ex: laugh-ed (shows past tense)

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syntax

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the rules of combining words into a grammatically sensible sentences in a given language

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babbling stage

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beginning at 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

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one-word stage

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stage of speech development that occurs in children ages one to two that is spoken mostly in single words

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two-word stage

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beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two word statements

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telegraphic stage

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early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram-"go car"-using mostly nouns and verbs

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aphasia

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impairment of lang., usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to broca's area (impairing speaking) or to wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

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broca's area

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controls lang. expression-an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

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wernicke's area

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controls lang. reception- a brain area in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

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linguistic determinism

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whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

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motor cortex

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word is pronounced

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broca's area

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control speech muscles via the motor cortex

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wernicke's area

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interprets auditory code

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angular gyrus

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transforms visual representations into an auditory code

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visual cortex

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receives written as visual stimulation

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bottom-up processing

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analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

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top-down processing

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info. processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

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psychophysics

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study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

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absolute threshold

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the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

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signal detection theory

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predicting how and when we predict and detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid backround stimulation. assumes detection deoends partly on a persons expeirence, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

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subliminal

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below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness

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priming

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the activation, often unconciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing ones perception, memory, or response

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difference threshold

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minumum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection of stimuli 50 percent of the time

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webers law

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to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ at a constant minumum percentage

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sensory adaptation

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diminished sensitivity as a consequence of of constant stimulation

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transduction

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conversion of one form of energy into another. in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies. sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses our brain can interpret.

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wavelength

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the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the next peak.

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hue

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dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as colors blue, green, etc

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intensity

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the level of energy each sound or light wave has. it is perceived through brightness or loudness, and determined by waves amplitude

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pupil

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the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

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iris

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a ring of muscle that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

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lens

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the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

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retina

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the light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

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accommodation

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the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

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rods

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retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones dont respond

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cones

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retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. the cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

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optic nerve

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the nerve that carries nerual impluses from the eye to the brain

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blind spot

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the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

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fovea

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the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's clone cluster

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feature detection

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nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle or movement

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parallel processing

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the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. contrasts with serial processing.

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young-helmholtz trichromatic theory

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theory that the retina contains three different color receptors (red, blue, and green) most sensitive- red, blue is least sensitive. when stimulated in combo, any color can be created

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opponent-process theory

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the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue) enable color vision.

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audition

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the sense or act of hearing

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gesalt

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an organized whole. gesalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to intergrate peices of information into meaningful wholes

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figure-ground

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the organization of the visual feild into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

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grouping

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the perpetual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

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depth perception

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the ability to see objects in the three dimensions although the images strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge distance

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visual cliff

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a labratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

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binocular cues

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depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

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retinal disparity

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a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing two images with the eyes the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity between two images, the closer the object

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monocular cues

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depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone (far away distance judging)

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phi phenomenon

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an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

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perceptual constancy

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perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, sizes, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

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color constancy

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perceiving familer objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wave lengths reflected by the object

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perceptual adaptation

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in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual feild

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perceptual set

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a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

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human factors psychologists

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a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical enviroment can be made safe and easy to use