Psychology 101, Exam 3

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

the process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

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perception

Back 2

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

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bottom-up processing

top-up processing

Back 3

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors & works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

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

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transduction

Back 4

conversion of one form of energy into another.

in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret.

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psychophysics

Back 5

the 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

Back 6

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

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signal detection theory

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predicting how & when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). assumes there is no single absolute threshold & that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

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subliminal

Back 8

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

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priming

Back 9

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

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difference threshold

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the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd).

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Weber's law

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the principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum %.

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sensory adaptation

Back 12

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant exposure.

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perceptual set

Back 13

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

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wavelength

Back 14

the distance from the peak of 1 light or sound wave to the peak of the next. electromagnetic wavelengths from the short blips of cosmic ways to the long pulses of radio transmission.

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hue

Back 15

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light.

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intensity

Back 16

the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness and is determined by the wave's amplitude (height).

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pupil

Back 17

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

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iris

Back 18

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

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lens

Back 19

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

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retina

Back 20

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

Back 21

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

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rods

Back 22

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't 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 neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

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blind spot

Back 25

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

Back 26

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

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trichromatic theory

Back 27

the theory that the retina contains 3 different receptors -- one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue -- which, when stimulated in combo, can produce the perception of any color.

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opponent-processing theory

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the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision.

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feature detectors

Back 29

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

Back 30

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of info processing for many functions, including vision.

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gestalt

Back 31

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into a meaningful whole.

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figure-ground

Back 32

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

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grouping

Back 33

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

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depth perception

Back 34

the ability to see objects in 3d although images that strike the retina are 2d; allows us to judge distance.

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visual cliff

Back 35

a lab 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 2 eyes.

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retinal disparity

Back 37

by comparing images from the retinas in 2 eyes, the brain computes distance -- the greater the disparity (difference) between the 2 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.

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phi phenomenon

Back 39

an illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

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perceptual constancy

Back 40

perceiving objects as unchanging even as lighting and retinal images change.

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color constancy

Back 41

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing lighting alters wavelengths reflected by the objects.

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audition

Back 42

the sense or act of hearing

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frequency

Back 43

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

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pitch

Back 44

a tone's experienced highness or lowness and depends on frequency.

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middle ear

Back 45

chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

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cochlea

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a coiled, bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

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inner ear

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the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

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sensorineural hearing loss

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the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness; caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves.

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conduction hearing loss

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less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

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cochlear implant

Back 50

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

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place theory

Back 51

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

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frequency theory

Back 52

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

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nociceptors

Back 53

sensory receptors that enable the perception of pain in response to potentially harmful stimuli.

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gate-control theory

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the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or info coming from the brain.

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kinesthesia

Back 55

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

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vestibular sense

Back 56

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

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sensory interaction

Back 57

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

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embodied cognition

Back 58

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

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language

Back 59

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

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phoneme

Back 60

the smallest distinctive sound unit.

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morpheme

Back 61

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

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grammar

Back 62

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 deriving meaning from sounds.

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syntax

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the set of rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences.

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babbling stage

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beginning ~4 months of age, the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.

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one-word stage

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age 1-2, a child speaks mostly in single words.

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two-word stage

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~age 2, a child speaks mostly in two word sentences.

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telegraphic speech

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early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs.

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linguistic determinism

Back 69

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

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intelligence

Back 70

the mental potential to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

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general intelligence (G)

Back 71

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

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savant syndrome

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a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental abilities has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

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emotional intelligence

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the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

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intelligence test

Back 74

a method for assessing a person's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

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achievement test

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a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

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aptitude test

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a test designed to predict a person's future performance

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aptitude

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capacity to learn.

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mental age

Back 78

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. thus, a child who does as an average 8 year old is said to have a mental age of 8.

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Stanford-Binet

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the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test.

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intelligence quotient (IQ)

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defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100.

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Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Back 81

the WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; contain verbal and performance subtests.

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standardization

Back 82

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

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normal curve

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the bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes, with most scores falling near the average, with a few extreme scores.

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reliability

Back 84

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting.

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validity

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the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

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content validity

Back 86

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

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predictive validity

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the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict.

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intellectual disability

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a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of below 70 and difficulty adapting to the demands of life.

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Down syndrome

Back 89

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

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heritability

Back 90

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.

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stereotype threat

Back 91

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.