Psych Midterm 2

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies (or presence of particular molecules) from our environment

Front 2

perception

Back 2

process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Front 3

process of feeling things

Back 3

stimulus (physical event) --> receptors (assembled in organs, diffuse, selective, sensitive to particular range) --> brain (coding, decoding, perception)

Front 4

transduction

Back 4

conversion of physical or chemical stimulus into electrochemical messages for transmission as nerve impulses to the brain.

Front 5

sensory modalities: vision

Back 5

electromagnetic energy (photons that travel in waves)

Front 6

audition

Back 6

pressure waves

Front 7

taste and smell

Back 7

chemical senses

Front 8

skin senses (somesthetic)

Back 8

touch, pressure, temperature, pain

Front 9

kinesthesia

Back 9

receptors in muscles and joints

Front 10

vestibular

Back 10

head and body orientation (balance)

Front 11

what is proprioception?

Back 11

related to kinesthesia and vestibular: body position, movement, and balance

Front 12

bottom-up processing

Back 12

analysis that begins with sensory receptors and works up to brain's integration of sensory info. individual elements of a stimulus are integrating to form a whole

comprehension: phonemes (basic sounds), morphemes (words, prefixes, suffixes), sentences (phraases), meaning (thought, idea)

Front 13

top-down processing

Back 13

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

pre-existing concepts, knowledge, ideas, and anticipations that influence the interpretation of the stimulus.

production: meaning, sentences, morphemes (workds, prefixes, suffixes), phonemes (basic sounds)

Front 14

psychophysics

Back 14

study of how physical energy or other sensory properties relate to our psychological experience.

Front 15

Fechner: 22nd October 1850

Back 15

relative increase in mental intensity, he realized, might be measured in terms of the relative increase in physical energy required to bring it about.

Front 16

absolute thresholds

Back 16

part of psychophysics: minimal stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (light, sound, pressure, taste, odor) 50% of the time.

Front 17

difference thresholds

Back 17

minimum difference that a person can detect b/w two stimuli, 50% of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.

Weber's law: principle that, to perceive their difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than constant amount)

Front 18

signal detection theory (SDT)

Back 18

predicts how and when we detect presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background noise (other stimulation). assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and detection depends on experience, expectation, motivation, fatigue. (ratios of "hits" to "false alarms")
detecting blips on radar screen, monitoring equipment at intensive care nursing station, noticing whimper from a baby, etc.

Front 19

subliminal stimulation

Back 19

stimulation that is below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness. at slightly below absolute threshold, we still detect stimuli some of the time (subliminal). no scientific evidence that subliminal messages have hidden persuation on human behavior.

Front 20

sensory adaptation

Back 20

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant or recurring stimuli: sensory mechanisms have evolved to detect change in the nature and intensity of stimuli.

Front 21

selective attention

Back 21

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. we focus our awareness on only a limited aspect of all that we are capable of experiencing.

cocktail party effect: ability to attend selectively to only one voice among many.

necker cube. they're all circles, but we think there's a box in the picture

look at two pictures and see difference b/w them (baseball)

Front 22

characteristics of waves for color and sounds

Back 22

wavelength (frequency): color
short wavelength/high freq - blueish, high-pitched sounds)
long wavelength/low freq - reddish, low-pitched sounds

amplitude:
great amplitude - bright colors, loud sounds
small amplitude - dull colors, soft sounds

Front 23

iris

Back 23

muscle that expands and contracts to change the size of opening (pupil) for light

Front 24

cornea

Back 24

transparent tissue where light enters the eye

Front 25

lens

Back 25

foruses the light rays on the retina

Front 26

retina

Back 26

contains sensory receptors that proces visual info and send it to the brain

Front 27

normal vision

Back 27

rays of light converge on retina of normal eye. occurs for both neaby objects, and with appropriate readjustments in the curvature of the lens, for objects far away

Front 28

nearsighted vision

Back 28

in the eye of a person with nearsighted vision, the light rays from distant objects focus in front of the retina. when image reaches the retina, rays are spreading out, blurring the image.

Front 29

farsighted vision

Back 29

in the eye of person with farsighted vision, light rays from nearby objects come into focus behind the retina, resulting in blurred images.

Front 30

optic nerve

Back 30

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Front 31

blind spot

Back 31

point where optic nerve leaves the eye, because there are no receptor cells located here, it creates a blind spot

Front 32

fovea

Back 32

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

Front 33

path of light --> vision

Back 33

rods and cones convey info to bipolar cell. then to ganglion cell.

Front 34

rods and cones

Back 34

more rods, cones are center of retina, rods on periphery. rods are sensitive to dim light, cones are color sensitive and detail sensitive

Front 35

retina

Back 35

light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing receptor rods and cones plus layers of other neurons (bipolar, ganglion) that process visual info.

Front 36

visual info processing

Back 36

optic nerves connect to thalamus in the middle of the brain, and thalamus to visual cortex to the back.

Front 37

feature detection

Back 37

nerve cells in the visual cortex respond to specific features, like edges, angle, and movement.

Front 38

shape detection

Back 38

specific combinations of temporal lobe activity occur as people look at shoes, faces, chairs and houses.

Front 39

visual information processing

Back 39

processing of several aspects of the stimulus simultaneously is called parallel processing. the brain divides a visual scene into subdivisions such as color, depth, form and movement.

Front 40

flow of sensation to recognition

Back 40

scene --> retinal processing with rods, cones, bipolar, ganglion --> feature detection with bars, edges, gradients of light --> abstraction: brain's higher-level cells respond to combined information from feature-detector cells --> recognition: brain matches constructed image with stored images

Front 41

color vision and young-helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

Back 41

three types of cones (each with own pigment)
each maximally responsive to limited range of visual spectrum: short wavelength(blue), med (green), long (red). color perception based on relative activity of 3 types of cones

Front 42

properties of pigments: color mixing, subrtractive

Back 42

subtractive: an object absorbs colors and the colors seen are those reflected.

if you mix more colors of paint, more colors are absorbed until you get like dark gray.

Front 43

properties of lights:

Back 43

additive: white made up of all colors
primary colors are not produced by mixing two other colors: green, red, blue. all other colors are mixture of primaries.
secondary colors: colors produced by mixing 2 primaries: green+red=yellow
complementary colors: colors of spectrum that when combined produce white or near white light (opponent colors)

Front 44

opponent-process theory (ewald herring)

Back 44

trichromatic theory can't explain:
1. why yellow is included in primary colors and is perceived as primary color
2. why certain forms of color blindness occur
3. the perception of after images.

systems organized at the level of bipolar cells, ganglion cells (retinal layer), lateral geniculate (thalamus), and visual cortex are inhibited or opposed by pairs of cones.

we process four primary colors opposed in pairs of red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white.

Front 45

color constancy

Back 45

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths of light reflected by the object. however, when context changes, color of an object may look diff.

Front 46

visual capture

Back 46

when vision competes with other senses vision usually wins.

Front 47

how do we form meaningful perceptions from sensory info?

Back 47

we organiz it using Gestalt psychology, we form "whole." the brain organizes and interprets limited info from our senses to make our perceptual awareness more coherent.

Front 48

subjective contours

Back 48

they're pictures of individual items, but we make subjective analysis and fills in contours.

Front 49

perceptual ambiguity

Back 49

young and old lady.

Front 50

form perception (Gestalt principles of organization)

figure-ground and grouping

Back 50

figure-ground: organization of the visual field into objects (figure) that stand out from the surroundings (ground)

grouping: perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Front 51

grouping principles

Back 51

proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, connectedness

Front 52

depth perception

Back 52

enables us to judge distances. gibson and walk suggested that human infants have depth perception and newborn animals. we can see in 3D and see depth and allows us to judge distance

Front 53

binocular cues:
retinal disparity and convergence

Back 53

retinal disparity: images from 2 eyes differ, closer the object, the larger the disparity (finger sausage)

convergence: neuromuscular cue, two eyes move inward for near objects.

Front 54

monocular cues

Back 54

interposition, relative size, relative motion, relative height, texture gradient (coarse near, fine far), linear perspective, light and shadow (nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes. dimmer one seems farther), relative brightness, clarity

Front 55

phi phenomenon

Back 55

when lights flash at certain speed they tend to present illusions of motion. neon signs use this principle to create motion perception.

Front 56

perceptual constancy

Back 56

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination of retinal image chage: opening door. (color, shape, size)

Front 57

lightness constancy

Back 57

we perfceive an object as having constant lightness even when its illumination varies. perceived lightness depends on relative luminance: the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings. (red car, in the dark, still red)

Front 58

color constancy

Back 58

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination filters the light reflected by the object.

Front 59

consciousness

Back 59

our awareness of ourselves and our environments, awareness of one's own thoughts and of stimuli in the external environment.

Front 60

freatures of consciousness:
focus
structure (3)
attributes
flow

Back 60

focus: focus of an individual's attention either outward or inward (environment or to thoughts and psychological states)
structure:
1. foreground: things that capture our attention
2. background: continuing, constant thoughts related to time and place, personal identity, and functioning of the body
3. aerial perspective: observing our own consicous thought processes

attributes: significant or meaningless, organized or disorganized, clear or fuzzy
flow: "stream of consciousness"

Front 61

biological rhythms

Back 61

circadian: 24 hr (sleep)
ultradian: shorter than 24 (REM sleep, day dream, etc.)
infradian: greater than 24, menstral cycle
circannual: approximately once a year. migratory behavior, hibernation

Front 62

free running

Back 62

if you don't have clock, internal clock will be longer, activity shifts.

Front 63

how do we measure sleep activity

Back 63

right and left eye movements
EMG (muscle tension in throat and chin)
EEG (brain waves)

Front 64

electroencephalogram EEG

Back 64

records gross average electrical potentials of neurons and fibers (axons) in the brain

beta: 13-30
alpha 8-12
theta 4-6
delta <3
brain waves characterized in terms of frequency or amplitude

Front 65

wakefulness is characterized by

Back 65

high frequency (beta waves)
low amplitude
desynchronized pattern of electrical activity

Front 66

sleep onset characterized by

Back 66

decrease in frequency of brain waves (slow waves)
increase in amplitude
synchronized pattern of electrical activity (larger number of neurons begin to fire with same temporal pattern)

Front 67

awake and alert

Back 67

during strong mental engagement brain exhibits low amplitude, fast, irregular beta waves. a person awake in conversation shows beta activity

Front 68

awake but relaxed

Back 68

when eyes are closed, but the individual is awake, brain activity lows down to large amplitude, slow, regular alpha saves. a meditating person exhibits alpha brain activity.

Front 69

alpha waves, delta waves, and hallucinations

Back 69

alpha: slow waves of a relaxed, awake brain
delta: large, slow waves of deep sleep
hallucinations: false sensory experiences

Front 70

stage 1

Back 70

drowsiness, presleep
"hypnogogic" sensations: sensation of falling or floating; hallucinations
alpha waves more prominent

Front 71

stage 2

Back 71

light sleep
occurrence of nocturnal jerk (wake up, shocked, look around)
alpha waves disappear
sleep spindles: 1-2 sec bursts (rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity)

Front 72

stage 3 (slow wave sleep)

Back 72

brain waves become more synchronized: slower frequency, higher voltage.
delta waves predominate

Front 73

stage 4: deep sleep (slow wave sleep)

Back 73

coma-like state
occurrence of sleep irregularities (night terrors, sleepwalking), sleep talking
slow delta waves make up more than 50% of EEG

Front 74

REM sleep

Back 74

after reaching deepest sleep stage, the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1. although still asleep, the brain engages in low amplitude, fast and regular beta waves, much like awake-aroused state.
desynchronized EEG characterized by beta waves
rapid eye movements
intense autonomic activity (heart race, erection)
muscular paralysis (no sleep walking)
occurrence of dreams
(paradoxical sleep)

Front 75

sequence of sleep

Back 75

1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, rem, 2, 3, 4, 3
stage 4 shortens and then disappears altogether
REM lengthens as period of sleep progresses

Front 76

freuds wish-fulfillment dream theory

Back 76

dreams provide a "psychic safety valve" - expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings: contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content - hidden meaning
lacks any scientific support: drams may be interpreted in many diff ways.
manifest and latent content. latent: unacceptable, forbidden, dnangerous desires that are represnted from consciousness and are translated into symbolic form. converted to manifest content.

Front 77

information-processing dream theory

Back 77

dreams help us sort out the day's events and consolidate our memories
but why do we sometimes dream about things we have not experienced?

Front 78

physiological function theory

Back 78

regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways. this may be true, but it doesn't explain why we experience meaningful dreams

Front 79

activation-synthesis theory

Back 79

REM sleep triggers impulses that evoke random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories
individual's brain is weaving stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer
physiological theory that dreams erupt from natural activity that spreads from brainstem: other brain regions become activated. neural activity in several brain regions occurs randomly. dreams are brain's attempt to make sense out of random neural activity. random, like people come in and out, change of setting. make sense when you're dreaming, but when you're awake, doesn't. control dreams.

Front 80

cognitive theory of dreams

Back 80

dream content reflects dreamers' cognitive development: their knowledge and understanding
does not address the neuroscience of dreams

Front 81

REM and dreams

Back 81

does everyone dream? 8-90% of times, people will recall dreaming if awoken during REM. eye movements don't parallel actions in dreams
we typically dream of events in our daily lives
dreams outside REM is usually verbal, repetitive and fleeting.

Front 82

brain activity associated with REM

Back 82

occipital cortex
geniculate
pons: induction of REM, activation of neurons in pons
PGO waves- initiation of these waves.

Front 83

functions of REM

Back 83

adaptation to life experiences: stress, learning, longer REM. like remembering and concepts, more REM. Watson and Crick theory: REM is like housekeeping, pruning in and out.
consolidation of info into memory
removal of irrelevant info from memory
provides stimulation for growth and maintenance of the nervous system.
when learning, theta waves in hippocampus, and when REM, increase in theta activity, so it's integrating info and learning. a lot more REM when baby, then decrease.

Front 84

effects of REM sleep deprivation

Back 84

brains are dying to get back into REM. REM rebound when you get deprived, shoots up and come back down in REM.

Front 85

who exhibits REM?

Back 85

mammals and birds (all warm-blooded vertebrates)
EXCEPT: spiny anteater (egg-laying mammal)
dolphin.

Front 86

effects of sleep loss

Back 86

fatigue, impaired concentration, depressed immune system, greater vulnerability to accidents
leads to stress--> cortisol (kill brain cells) -->suppress immune system

Front 87

sleep theories:

Back 87

sleep protects: sleeping in darkness when predators loom kept our ancestors out of harms way
sleep recuperates: sleep helps restore and repair brain tissue. slow-wave sleep associated with decreased brain metabolic rate, fewer neurons fire, replenish. increase in brain temp following vigorous activity associated with increases in slow wave sleep (stage 4), increase in mental activity associated with increases in slow-wave sleep. (stage 4)
sleep helps remembering: sleep restore and rebuilds our fading memories
sleep and growth: during sleep pituitary gland releases growth hormone. older people release less of this hormone and sleep less

Front 88

insomnia

Back 88

difficulty sleeping, related to stress, drugs, pain and other disturbances. age related: older people tend to sleep less. preoccupation w/ trying to get to sleep.

Front 89

sleep apnea

Back 89

disturbance in sleep due to blocking airways: stop breathing and need to wake up to catch breath, may underlie sudden infant death syndrome

Front 90

narcolepsy

Back 90

sudden attacks of sleepiness: uncontrollable sleep seizures: fall asleep at the wheel

Front 91

cataplexy:

Back 91

loss of muscle reflexes (atonia) muscular paralysis that occurs during wakefulness (precipitated by strong emotion or sudden event) like REM, collapse

Front 92

REM without atonia

Back 92

REM sleep accompanied by motor activity that appears to accompany dreaming, act out dream.

Front 93

learning

Back 93

relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

Front 94

associative

Back 94

learning that involves relations b/w events: b/w two or more stimuli, between a stimulus and a response, or between a response and its consequences. classical (pavlonian) and operant (instrumental) conditioning

Front 95

nonassociative

Back 95

has to do with response that get diminished or amplified. happens in less complex animals as well, like adaptation, habituation. sensitization: exposed and called to attention, overreact with next exposure.

Front 96

pavlov

Back 96

1849-1936
russian physician, neurophysiologist. nobel prize 1904, studied digestive secretions. learning new associations.

Front 97

classical conditioning

Back 97

acquisition (initial learning): the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response (CR)
Stimulus Contiguity: pairing of the stimuli (neutral stimulus; UCS) in time with the CR as a consequence.

Front 98

pavlov's experiment

Back 98

UCS (food in mouth)
UCR (salivation)
neutral stimulus (tone)
no salivation

neutral stimulus tone+UCS (food in mouth)
UCR (salivation)
CS (tone)
CR (salivation.

Front 99

thunder and lightening

Back 99

neutral stimulus: lightening
UCS: thunder
CS: lightning
CR: since anticipating thunder.

Front 100

procedures and degrees of effectiveness

Back 100

delayed conditioning: highly effective
Trace conditioning: somewhat effective
simultaneous conditioning: not very effective
backward conditioning: ineffective.

Front 101

extinction

Back 101

diminishing of the conditioned response (CR). reduction is responding that occurs whenever the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Front 102

spontaneous recovery

Back 102

the reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR. the weakened return of the CR following the passage of time without exposure to the CS.

Front 103

stimulus generalization

Back 103

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses.

Front 104

stimulus discrimination

Back 104

learned ability to distinguish b/w a CS and other stimuli that do not signal an UCS. learning to respond to a specific stimulus and not to other stimuli that are similar to the original one.

Front 105

taste aversion learning, john garcia, applies to biologically relevant behavior

Back 105

conditioning occur with long delays between neutral/conditional stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
unfamiliar food (neutral stim.)+sickness(UCS)--> avoidance of food (UCR)
after conditioning:
presence of food (CS)--> avoidance of food (CR)

Front 106

operant behavior (instrumental)

Back 106

operates (acts) on environment
produces consequences

Front 107

respondent behavior

Back 107

occurs as an automatic response to stimulus
behavior learned thru classical conditioning.

Front 108

operant conditioning

Back 108

type of learning in which behavior is strenthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment. learning that is based on consequences of one's behavior.

Front 109

law of effect (edward thorndike)

Back 109

thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Front 110

BF skinner

Back 110

1904-1990: elaborated Thorndike's law of effect, developed behavioral technology

Front 111

operant chamber, skinner box

Back 111

chamber with bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a food or water reinforcer
contains device to record responses.

Front 112

positive reinforcement

Back 112

reinforcer that produces an increase in behavior by producing pleasure or satisfaction
a hug, TV on.

Front 113

negative reinforcement

Back 113

reinforcer that produces an increase in behavior that removes displeasure or dissatisfaction
like seat belt turns off buzzer

Front 114

punishment

Back 114

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

Front 115

stimulus in the mouse set up

Back 115

light or tone

Front 116

response

Back 116

lever press

Front 117

reinforcer (SR)

Back 117

food (SR+)
termination or shock (SR-)

Front 118

shaping

Back 118

the process in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired goal (method of successive approximations)

Front 119

discriminative stimulus

Back 119

stimuli that lead to reinforcement but not others that do not. light & press lever --> food

Front 120

stimulus control

Back 120

a condition in which a specific stimulus can reliably produce a behavior.

Front 121

primary reinforcer

Back 121

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (food, water, etc.)

Front 122

secondary (conditioned) reinforcer

Back 122

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power thru its association with a primary reinforcer (money, tokens, praise, etc.) encouragement

Front 123

continuous reinforcement

Back 123

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. prone to extinction, b/c if you stop once, it'll give up

Front 124

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

Back 124

reinforcing a response only part of the time. results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction.

Front 125

fixed ratio schedule

Back 125

the desired response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses have occurred (like have to press 10 times to get food)
faster you respond the more rewards you get.
different ratios
very high rate of responding (press fast)
like piecework pay

Front 126

variable ratio schedule

Back 126

reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses occur
average ratios
like gambling, fishing
very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability

Front 127

fixed interval schedule

Back 127

the desired response is reinforced after a specified time has elapsed
response occurs more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near
like checking for mail at certain time of day.

Front 128

variable interval schedule

Back 128

response is reinforced at unpredictable time intervals.
produces slow steady responding
like pop quiz

Front 129

punishment

Back 129

aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows
powerful controller of unwanted behavior

Front 130

positive punishment

Back 130

administer an aversive stimulus. spanking; a parking ticket

Front 131

negative punishment

Back 131

withdraw a desirable stimulus

time-out from privileges such as TV; revoked driver's license

Front 132

intrinsic motivation

Back 132

desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective

Front 133

extrinsic motivation

Back 133

desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishments

Front 134

cognitive map

Back 134

mental representation of layout of one's environment
example: after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

Front 135

latent learning

Back 135

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Front 136

classical conditioning vs. operant conditioning

Back 136

involuntary, automatic response. acquisition due to associating events; CS announces UCS. Extinction: CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone. Cognitive processes: subjects develop expectation that CS signals the arrival of UCS.
biological predispositions: natural predispositions constrain what stimuli and responses can easily be associated.

operant:
response is voluntary, operates on environment.
acquisition is associating response with a consequence (reinforcer or punisher).
extinction when responding decreases when reinforcement stops.
cognitive processes: subjects develop expectation that a response will be reinforced or punished; they also exhibit latent learning, without reinforcement.
biological predispositions: organisms best learn behaviors similar to their natural behaviors; unnatural behaviors instinctively drift back toward natural ones.

Front 137

observational learning

Back 137

learning by observing others

little boy watching TV and imitating behavior.

Front 138

modeling

Back 138

process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

copy WWF by wrestling with brothers

Front 139

alfred bandura's experiment

Back 139

bobo doll, we look and we learn. (observational learning)

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prosocial behavior

Back 140

positive, constructive, helpful behavior
opposite of antisocial behavior.

(part of good news that models can have prosocial effects)

Front 141

memory

Back 141

any indication that learning has persisted over time thru the storage and retrieval of information

Front 142

flashbulb memory

Back 142

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

(can involve sense of arousal or hormones)

Front 143

perceptual learning

Back 143

ability to recognize stimuli that have been perceived before

Front 144

stimulus-response learning (associative)

Back 144

ability to perform a particular behavior when a particular stimulus is present

Front 145

motor learning

Back 145

component of stimulus-response learning. learning to make new response that involve changes in neutral circuits that control a particular behavior (ride a bike)

Front 146

relational learning

Back 146

learning the relationship among individual stimuli (spacial, episodic, observational) w/ respect to time

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encoding

Back 147

processing of info into the memory system or the brain

Front 148

storage

Back 148

retention of encoded info over time

Front 149

retrieval

Back 149

process of getting info out of memory storage

Front 150

process of memory, watching a crowd

Back 150

external events (sensory input)--> sensory memory (attention to important or novel information, encoding)--> short-term memory (encoding and retrieving going backwards)--> long term memory

Front 151

iconic memory

Back 151

brief memories of sensory information (fraction of a second to a few seconds at most). reflects continuation of sensory neural activity (sensory buffers) after stimulus is withdrawn

Front 152

short-term memory

Back 152

temporary, typically lasting several seconds to minutes (some say hours or up to a day). fleeting, unless repeated, will forget. limited capacity (7+-2), grouped

Front 153

intermediate-term memory

Back 153

temporary, but lasting longer than short-term memory, parking your car and remembering

Front 154

long-term memory

Back 154

permanent, unlimited capacity

Front 155

working memory

Back 155

memory of specific events; what one is doing, what one has done, what has just happened. processing of info in STM or LTM during retrieval.

Front 156

rehearsal

Back 156

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

Front 157

spacing effect

Back 157

tendency for distributing studying or practice to yield better long-term retention than achieved thru massed study or practice (spaced studying beats cramming)

Front 158

serial position effect

Back 158

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Front 159

herman ebbinghaus

Back 159

retention curve: more times a list of nonsense syllables is practiced on day 1, fewer repetitions are required to relearn it on day 2

Front 160

trick with serial position effect

Back 160

if immediate recall, true, last items remembered best. but if later recall, only first items recalled well

Front 161

semantic

Back 161

encoding meaning, including meaning of words (easier to remember if you remember meaning). best way

semantic encoding or deep processing of a word produces better recognition of it later than does attending to its sound or appearance (shallow processing)

Front 162

acoustic

Back 162

encoding the sound, especially of words

Front 163

visual

Back 163

encoding the picture images

Front 164

imagery

Back 164

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

Front 165

mnemonics

Back 165

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Front 166

chunking

Back 166

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically (short term memory)
more meaningful chunk, easier to encode

Front 167

declarative memory (explicit)

Back 167

(long term) memory that is directly accessible to conscious recollection; facts and info acquired thru learning, deals with what. can demonstrate it.

Front 168

episodic memory

Back 168

(long term) autobiographic memory that pertains to a person's history. recollection of a particular episode or relate an event to a particular time and place.

Front 169

semantic memory

Back 169

generalized memory, such as knowing the meaning of a word without knowing where or when you learned the word.

Front 170

nondeclarative (procedural) memory (implicit)

Back 170

memory that is shown by performance rather than by conscious recollection. deals with how. behaviors you demonstrate.

Front 171

skill learning

Back 171

learning to perform a challenging task in repeated trials in one or more sessions.

Front 172

priming

Back 172

exposure to a stimulus (word or picture) followed by the presentation of a portion of the stimulus

last name of previous pres of US.

Front 173

conditioning

Back 173

learning of associations b/w two or more events.

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synaptic changes for storing memories in the brain

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increased synaptic efficiency makes for more efficient neural circuits

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long-term potentiation (LTP)

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an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation believed to be neural basis for learning and memory. learn first time, and second time, it's been primed so it's triggered easier and faster.

induced within seconds and lasts for hours and days
initially discovered in the hippocampus; subsequently demonstrated to occur in other brain regions.
hippocampus doesn't hold memory for long, but if long enough, info will be transferred to another part, like cortex.

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hippocampus

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involved in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory

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cerebral cortex

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storage of certain types of long-term memory, but other brain regions also involved.

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forgetting, 3 parts

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encoding failure: short-term to long-term didn't happen
storage decay: occurs more rapidly without rehearsal.
Retrieval failure: long-term to short-term

forgetting can happen at any stage

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more on retrieval failure

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interference: proactive interference: (forward-acting) the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info
retroactive interference: (backward-acting) the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old info.

motivated forgetting: repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

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improving memory

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1. study repeatedly to boost long-term recall
2. spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about material
3. make material personally meaningful
4. use mnemonic devices
5. refresh memory by activating retrieval cues
6. recall events while they are fresh, before you encounter possible misinformation
7. minimize interference
8. test your knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what you don't know yet.

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cognition

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mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

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cognitive psychologists study

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concept formation, problem solving, decision making, judgment formation

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concept

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mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. schemas

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prototype

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mental image or best example of a category: matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

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algorithm

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step-by step, methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. contrasts with the usual speedier, but also more error-prone, use of heuristics

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heuristic

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simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. mental short-cut, usually speedier than algorithms, more error-prone than algorithms

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insight

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sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
contrasts with strategy-based solutions

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confirmation bias

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obstacle to problem solving: tendency to search for info that confirms one's preconceptions (jury, defendant looks guilty, so look for supporting evidence).

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fixation

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obstacle to problem solving: inability to see a problem from a new perspective, impediment to problem solving.

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functional fixedness

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tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions. impediment to problem solving (coin can be used as screwdriver)

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mental set

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tendency to approach a problem in a particular way
especially a way that has been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem

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representative heuristics (in making decisions and forming judgments

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representative heuristic: judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes. may lead one to ignore other relevant info. (prototype of a nurse as a female or a police as a male)

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availability heuristic (decision making)

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estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common. (like airplane crash happens more... not true)

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overconfidence (decision making)

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tendency to be more confident than correct
tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments
(overconfident of writing a paper in 2 hours before due)

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framing

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the way an issue is posed
how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments. (75% lean vs. 25% fat)

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belief bias

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tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning
sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalid.

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belief perseverance

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clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. (riskier or cautious firefighters?)

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artificial intelligence

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designing and programming computer systems to do intelligent things, to simulate human thought processes using intuitive reasoning, learning, and understanding language

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computer neural networks

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computer circuits that mimic the brain's interconnected neural cells. performing tasks like learning to recognize visual patterns and learning to recognize smells.

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language

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our spoken, written, or gestured works and the way we combine them to communicate meaning. made up of units of sound, units of meaning, and structure.

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phonemes

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smallest distinctive sound unit in a spoken language.
b-a-t has 3
ch-a-t has 3

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morpheme

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smallest unit that carries meaning may be a word or a part of a word.

milk, pump-kin, un-for-get-table

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grammar

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system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others. divides into semantics and syntax.

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semantics

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set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language (like -ed makes it past)
also, study of meaning

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syntax

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rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language (black cat, gato negro)

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bottom-up processing

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listening: phonemes --> morphemes --> sentences --> meaning

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language development

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children learn their native languages much before learning to add 2+2.

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babbling stage

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beginning at 3-4 months, stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language. not imitation of adult speech

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one-word stage

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from age 1-2. stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

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two-word stage

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beginning at about age 2. stage in speech development during which a child speaks in mostly two-word statements

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telegraphic speech

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early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram "go car" using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting auxiliary words

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BF skinner and operant learning in language

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make associations of sights and sounds, modeling (imitate words and syntax of others), reinforcement (reward success with smiles, hugs, etc., when child says something right)

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noam chomsky

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inborn universe grammar:

human brains are "prewired" to readily learn the specific grammar of whatever language we hear.
"language acquisition device" grammar switches in the brain are turned on as children experience their language
we are born with hardware (brain) and operating device: experience writes the software.

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cognitive neuroscience: statistical learning and critical periods

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doesn't assume inborn" linguistic rules. changes in brain (neural) network connections gradually occur with experience. neural networks provide the basis for ability to learn the statistical aspect of human speech/language.

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evidence for involvement of neural networks

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using brain scans, adults who learned a second language early in life use the same area of frontal lobe when recounting and event in either the native or second language.
those who learned the second language after childhood display activity in the adjacent brain area while using their second language. diff parts communicate/interact together. specialization, solidify for certain functions.

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genes

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design mechanisms for a language, and experience modifies the brain.

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linguistic determinism

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whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

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language influences thinking

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when a language provides words for objects or events we can think about these objects more clearly and retain them. it is easier to think about two colors with two diff names than colors with same name.

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thinking in images

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to a large extent, thinking is language based, but we also think in images.

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animals and language

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bees communicate by dancing.

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gestured communication

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animals show communication thru gestures as do humans. it is possible that vocal speech developed from gestures during evolution.

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sign language

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ASL has been instrumental in teaching communication form to chimps.

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computer assisted language

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bonobo pygmy chimps can learn even larger vocab, and perhaps semantic nuances in learning language.

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criticism for animals and language

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1. apes gain limited vocab with great deal of difficulty unlike children who develop vocab at amazing rates
2. chimps can make signs to get rewards, just as pigeon pecks at the key gets reward
3. chimps use signs meaningfully but lack syntax
4. presented with ambiguous info people tend to see what they want to see.

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intelligence

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ability to acquire new knowledge, to think and reason effectively, and to deal adaptively to new situations

whatever the intelligence tests measure, which tends to be school smarts.

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conceptual difficulties

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psychologists believe that intelligence is a concept and not a "thing"

when we think of intelligence as a trait, we commit to an error called REIFICATIONS: viewing an abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing.

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controversies about intelligence (2)

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is intelligence a single overall ability or several specific abilities?
2. with modern neuroscience techniques can we locate and measure intelligence within brain?

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intelligence test with Alfred Binet

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method of assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them to those of others, using numerical scores

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intelligence testing: william stern

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IQ: defined originally as ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied y 100.
IQ=ma/ca x 100
contemporary tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

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intelligence testing: lewis terman

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Stanford-Binet: widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence tet, revised by Lewis Terman at Sanford.

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assessing intelligence: David Wechsler

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intelligence should be measured as a group of distinct but related verbal and nonverbal abilities.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
most widely used intelligence test
subtests: verbal and performance (nonverbal)

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standardization

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defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested "standardization group"

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norml curv (normal distribution formed from standardized test)

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the symmetrical bell-saped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes
most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near extremes

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mental retardation

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condition of limited mental ability
indicated by intelligence score below 70
produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life
varies from mild to profound

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down syndrome

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retardation and associated physical disorders caused by extra chromosome 21 in one's genetic makeup

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mild retardation

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50-70 IQ, 85%
may learn academic skills up to 6th grade level.
adults may, with assistance, achieve self supporting social and vocational skills

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moderate

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35-49 IQ. 10%
may progress to second grade level. adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

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severe

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20-34 IQ. 3-4%.
may learn to talk and to perform simple work tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

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profound

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below 20. 1-2%. require constant aid and supervision.

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reliability of assessing intelligence

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the extent to which test yields consistent results. test on 2 halves of test, alternate forms, or retesting

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validity of assessing intelligence

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how a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

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intelligence

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ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

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factor analysis

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statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test.
used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score
(verbal: vocab, reading comprehension; spatial ability factor; reasoning ability factor)

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general intelligence (g)

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factor that charles spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities
measured by every task on an intelligence test (general mental capacity or ability)

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crystallized intelligence

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use of existing knowledge:
-most language functions (vocab)
-application of culturally acquired problem-solving methods (school based and home based knowledge)

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fluid intelligence

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solving new problems (inductive reasoning/creative problem solving)

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brain damage

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brain damage may diminish one ability but not to others

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savant syndrome

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condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill: computation, drawing, musical ability

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robert sternberg: 3 aspects of intelligence

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-analytical (academic problem-solving): intelligence: assessed by intelligence tests, well defined problems having single right answer
-creative intelligence: demonstrated in reacting adaptively to novel situations and generating novel ideas
-practical intelligence: often required for everyday tasks, which are frequently ill-defined, with multiple solutions

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social intelligence

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cantor and kihlstrom: the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully

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emotional intelligence

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salovey and mayer: ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions. critical part of social intelligence and not necessarily related to academic aptitude.

4 parts: perceiving emotions, using emotions to facilitate thought, understanding emotions, and managing emotions

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5 parts with creativity

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expertise: a well developed knowledge base
imaginative thinking: ability to see things in novel ways
adventuresome personality: seeks new experiences rather than following the pack
intrinsic motivation: motivated to be creative from within
a creative environment: creativity blooms in creative and supportive environment.

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brain function and intelligence: related??

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modest correlation +.44 between brain volume (MRI scan) and intelligence test score
highly educated people have more synapses
intelligence may be related to processing speed (quick-witted) with perceptual speed and neurological speed.

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genetic influences on intelligence

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most genetically similar people have the most similar scores

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heritability

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proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes
variability depends on range of populations and environments studied.