Psychology Chapters 4-6

Front 1

perception

Back 1

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information in order to form meaningful representations (making sense of what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell - making sense of the world around us)

Front 2

Elements of Perception

1. Application of Cognitions (top-down component - involves your past experiences &

knowledge)

2. Attention and Organization

3. Sensation (bottom-up component)

Back 2

Elements of Perception

Front 3

recognition

Back 3

What is the object's function?

Front 4

identification

Back 4

What is the object?

Front 5

psychophysics

Back 5

the study of the correspondence between physical stimulation and psychological experience (how well we perceive distal objects from proximal information)

Front 6

distal stimulus

Back 6

physical object in the world

Front 7

proximal stimulus

Back 7

the optical image on the retina

Front 8

absolute threshold

Back 8

the minimum amount of physical energy needed to produce a reliable sensory experience, stimulus level that can be consciously detected 50% of the time

Front 9

difference threshold

Back 9

the smallest physical difference that can be detected between a stimuli 50% of the time

Front 10

sensory adaptation

Back 10

sensory receptors change their sensitivity to a stimulus due to a period of unchanged stimulation, which allows a more rapid reaction to new sources of information

Front 11

response bias

Back 11

the tendency for an observer to favor responding a particular way because of factors unrelated to the study

Front 12

signal detection theory

Back 12

approach to the problem of response bias, emphasizes the process of making a judgment about the presence or absence of stimulus events

Front 13

Weber's Law

Back 13

the more intense the standard stimulus the larger the increment needed to get a noticeable difference

Front 14

transduction

Back 14

conversion of one form of physical energy to another

Front 15

sensory receptors

Back 15

specialized cells that convert physical signals into cellular signals that are processed by the nervous system

Front 16

1. Vision

2. Auditory

3. Gustatory

4. Olfactory

5. Somatosenses

Back 16

Five Sensations

Front 17

cornea

Back 17

transparent bulge on outside of the eye, bends light into the eye

Front 18

iris

Back 18

colored part of the eyes, blocks out light

Front 19

pupil

Back 19

gap in the center of the eye that allows light into the eyeball

Front 20

lens

Back 20

flips the light upside down, focuses the light on the back of the retina

Front 21

retina

Back 21

the back of the eyeball that contains photoreceptors and convert light into responses

Front 22

fovea

Back 22

area of the retina that contains packed photoreceptive cells (cones) and forms the the point of sharpest vision

Front 23

optic nerve

Back 23

back of the eyeball where there are no photoreceptive cells, blind spot; carries info from the eye to the brain

Front 24

1. Rods - night vision, no color

2. Cones - daytime vision

Back 24

Two Types of Photoreceptive Cells

Front 25

our eyes only detect three colors (wavelengths), we have just 3 types of cones

1. Short Wave - blue

2. Medium Wave - green

3. Long Wave - red

Back 25

Trichromatic Theory

Front 26

(Hering) inputs from cones are read by ganglion cells which produce either-or inputs of three systems (black/white, red/green, yellow/blue)

Back 26

Opponent Process Theory

Front 27

ganglion cells

Back 27

integrates impulses from many bipolar cells into a single firing rate

Front 28

bipolar nerve cells

Back 28

nerve cells that combine impulses from many receptors and send the results to ganglion cells

Front 29

visual pathways

Back 29

outputs from ganglion cells are combined in the visual cortex, allowing us to perceive many different colors and shades

Front 30

pinna

Back 30

visible part of the ear outside the head

Front 31

ear canal

Back 31

tube that runs from the outer ear to the ear drum

Front 32

tympanic membrane

Back 32

ear drum, thin membrane that separates the out ear from the middle ear

Front 33

ear bones

Back 33

transfers the vibrations of the eardrum into waves in the fluid and membranes of the inner ear

Front 34

cochlea

Back 34

fluid-filled coiled tube, primary hearing organ

Front 35

basilar membrane

Back 35

membrane in the cochlea that when set into motion stimulates hair cells that produce the neural effects of auditory stimulation

Front 36

auditory nerve

Back 36

nerve that carries impulses from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus of the brain

Front 37

papillae

Back 37

small structures on the tongue that give it it’s rough texture, most contain taste buds

Front 38

taste buds

Back 38

taste receptors

Front 39

gustatory cells

Back 39

detect the 5 basic tastes

Front 40

1. Salty

2. Sweet

3. Sour

4. Bitter

5. Umami (savory, associated with protein-rich foods)

Back 40

5 Basic Tastes

Front 41

nasal cavity

Back 41

air filled space above and behind the nose that conditions air to be received by other areas of the respiratory tract

Front 42

olfactory cilia

Back 42

tiny hair-like structure that trap smells

Front 43

cranial nerve

Back 43

carries smells directly to the brain

Front 44

olfactory bulb

Back 44

the center where odor-sensitive receptors send their signals, located just below the frontal lobes of the cortex

Front 45

cutaneous

Back 45

the skin senses that register sensation of pressure, warmth, and cold

Front 46

vestibular

Back 46

tells how one’s body is oriented in the world with respect to gravity

Front 47

kinestethic

Back 47

sense concerned with bodily position and movement of the body parts relative to one another

Front 48

visceral

Back 48

inner body senses dealing with organs

Front 49

attention

Back 49

the concentration of mental effort on sensory stimuli or mental events

Front 50

1. Selected - focusing on one thing (goal oriented)

2. Divided - concentrated on more than one thing (goal oriented)

3. Captured - attention forced upon you (not goal oriented)

Back 50

Types of Attention

Front 51

inattentional blindness

Back 51

people’s failure to perceive objects when their attention is focused elsewhere

Front 52

cocktail party effect

Back 52

hearing your name across a room catches your attention

Front 53

organization

Back 53

separating objects from their surroundings, seeing them as having meaningful form and discerning their distance and motion

Front 54

1. Figure-ground separation -

stimuli must be classified as objects (figures) or backdrop (ground)

2. Grouping - stimuli must be grouped according to Gestalt's rules

3. Constancy - the properties of objects must be perceived as being constant despite changing conditions

4. Motion Perception - objects must be perceived as being either stationary or moving

5. Depth Perception - objects must be seen as existing in three-dimensional space

Back 54

Organizational Tasks

Front 55

1. Proximity - people group together the nearest elements

2. Similarity - people group together the most similar elements

3. Continuation - people experience lines as continuous even when they are interrupted

4. Connectedness - elements that are connected by uniform visual properties are perceived as being more related than elements that are not connected

Back 55

Gestalt's Rules

Front 56

binocular depth cues

Back 56

uses information from both eyes using two sources: convergence and disparity

Front 57

convergence

Back 57

degree to which the eyes inward to fixate on an object

Front 58

disparity

Back 58

positions of images in your two eyes, the way that your left eye and your right eye view slightly different images

Front 59

monocular

Back 59

only requires info from one eye: occlusion, size, clarity, linear perspective, texture gradient

Front 60

motion parallax

Back 60

as you move, the relative distances of objects in the world determine the amount of motion in your retinal image of the scene

Front 61

illusion

Back 61

an experience of a stimulus pattern in a manner that is demonstrably incorrect but shared by others in the same perceptual environment

Front 62

1. Identification

2. Recognition

3. Interpretation

Back 62

What cognitions do we apply to perception?

Front 63

1. Using prior knowledge - helps recognition and identification
2. Following beliefs, hopes, and expectations - resolves uncertainty
3. Apply context - adjusts individual elements to make the overall image coherent

Back 63

Types of Cognition

Front 64

consciousness

Back 64

degree of awareness of internal events and the external environment; prevents us from being overloaded with info and helps us to reason and plan; emerges from social integration of separate brain events (the more parts of the brain you use, the more conscious you are)

Front 65

1. Waking

2. Sleeping

3. Alternate

Back 65

States of Consciousness

Front 66

1. Attended information - info that you are focusing on at any moment

2. Unattended information - representation of stimuli not being focused on (appears to be ignored, processed at a low level)

3. Preconscious memory - memory that can be brought to the mind and focused on when necessary

4. Unconscious - thought process that occurs without us being aware of it

5. Non-conscious - process that occurs without us being aware (Ex: breathing)

Back 66

Levels of Consciousness

Front 67

circadian rhythm

Back 67

consistent pattern of cyclical body activities determined by an internal clock; causes variations in arousal, body temperatures, and hormone productions; naturally 24.18 hours, adjusted to 24 hours by external cues (light levels, clocks); regulated by the pineal gland

Front 68

sleep

Back 68

period of time when your experience of the outside world is largely turned off; neurons are repaired; neuron connectors (memory) is consolidated; growth hormones released; brain processes information unconsciously

Front 69

Stage 1: very light sleep, theta waves (deep relaxation), may experience falling sensation and “hypnotic jerks” (caused by the brain misinterpreting muscle relaxation)

Stage 2: light sleep, theta waves with sleep spindles and K-complexes (deep relaxation plus bursts of effort to stay asleep, shutting out external disturbances), breathing becomes more regular, less sensitivity to external stimuli

Stages 3 & 4: deep sleep, delta waves (very slow brain activity, limited monitoring of outside world for danger), little sensitivity to outside world (almost impossible to wake), and waking causes disorientation; growth hormones released

Back 69

Stages of Sleep

Front 70

REM sleep

Back 70

paradoxical sleep, beta waves (the same pattern of intense mental activity as during waking hours), body’s muscles are paralyzed and genital arousal occurs, 80% of time spent dreaming (content is vidid and intense; about 40% of non-REM sleep is spent dreaming, but content is mundane), dream facilitate learning and memory (neutral consolidation)

Front 71

1. Neonates - 16 hours

2. Young Adults - 8 hours

3. Old Adults - 6 hours

*Need a good balance of deep and REM sleep.

Back 71

Sleep Requirements

Front 72

1. fatigue and impaired concentration (short-term)

2. depressed immune system (long-term)

Back 72

Sleep Debt Causes:

Front 73

1. Insomnia - chronic inability to sleep, linked with anxiety/excitement (intrusive thoughts and feelings)

2. Narcolepsy - the irresistible compulsion to sleep, disturbed sleep order (awake to REM directly), emotionally triggered, cataplexy (all muscle relax, like fainting), genetic basis

3. Sleep Apnea - temporary cessations of breathing causing frequent momentary awakenings (narrowing of upper respiratory system

4. Somnambulism (sleep walking) - bodily arousal during deep sleep (NREM) initiated by unconscious brain processes

5. Night Terrors - emotional arousal during during deep sleep initiated by unconscious brain processes, occurs in stage 4, experiences terror only, not nightmares, duration varies

6. Daytime Sleepiness - excessive sleepiness during daytime (disturbance in circadian rhythm; Ex: jet lag)

Back 73

Sleep Disorders

Front 74

subjective insomnia

Back 74

underestimating time asleep

Front 75

alternate state

Back 75

any transformation to normal waking consciousness, practiced in all cultures

Front 76

1. Hypnosis

2. Meditation

3. Hallucinations

4. Psychoactive Drugs

Back 76

Alternate States

Front 77

hypnosis

Back 77

social interaction in which one person suggest to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behavior will occur

Front 78

1. Hypnotic susceptibility

2. Belief in hypnotist (expectations)

3. Absorption (high imaginative focus)

4. Social perspective (obedience/conformity)

Back 78

Suggestibility in Hypnosis is Influenced By:

Front 79

meditation

Back 79

the practice of intentional contemplation, uses mental concentration devices such as sounds (Mantra) and breathing (Pranayama), regulated attention, reduces stress and anxiety

Front 80

mindfulness

Back 80

Non-judgmental awareness of current feeling, type of meditation

Front 81

halluncinations

Back 81

perception in the absence of sensory stimulation, top-down process (can’t distinguish between internal and external information

Front 82

psychoactive drugs

Back 82

substances that alter conscious awareness of reality

Front 83

1. Withdrawal

2. Dependence

Back 83

Consequences of Psychoactive Substances

Front 84

withdrawal

Back 84

experiencing painful or unpleasant symptoms after stopping taking a drug

Front 85

1. Physiological - needing drug to avoid withdrawal

2. Psychological - wanting a drug for pleasure

Back 85

Two Types of Dependence

Front 86

1. Hallucinogens - substances that alter sensory perception by influencing the release of neurotransmitters
2. Opiates - substances that suppress physical sensation and influence mood by mimicking endorphins
3. Depressants - substances that slow down mental and physical activity by inhibiting neural impulses in the CNS (Ex: alcohol & barbiturates)
4. Stimulants - substances that speed up mental and physical activity by increasing neural activity in the CNS

Back 86

4 Classifications of Drugs

Front 87

learning

Back 87

process based on experience that results in a relatively consistent change in behavior or behavior potential

Front 88

plasticity

Back 88

the brain’s ability to modify itself

Front 89

behaviorism

Back 89

the branch of psychology which holds all behaviors (including mental events) are caused by external factors

Front 90

1. Stimuli - pre-existing environmental conditions (antecedents)

2. Responses - the reactions organisms make to stimuli (behaviors)

3. Consequences - the results of those responses

Back 90

Observable Factors in Behaviorism

Front 91

Classical Conditioning

Back 91

type of learning where an association is made between stimuli, and one stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a reflexive response that was originally triggered by another stimulus

Front 92

Ivan Pavlov

Back 92

founder of classical conditioning, Russian physiologist; studied the digestive process; found that stimuli can become associated with one another

Front 93

unconditional stimulus

Back 93

anything that naturally elicits a reflexive behavior

Front 94

unconditioned response

Back 94

the behavior elicited

Front 95

conditioned stimulus

Back 95

anything that does not elicit a reflexive behavior initially (is neutral), but which does produce a response after conditioning

Front 96

conditioned response

Back 96

the behavior is elicited

Front 97

1. Acquisition - the strengthening of a conditioned response, achieved by pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus, pairing must be contiguous (close in time) and contingent (one must predict the other)

2. Extinction - the wakening of a conditional response, achieved by breaking the pairing of the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus

3. Spontaneous Recovery - re-appearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest-period, occurs because acquisition learning decays more slowly that extinction does

4. Stimulus Generalization - automatic - extension or conditioned response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus (Ex: If bitten by a dog, fear of all dogs.); increased similarity causes increased conditioned response

5. Stimulus Discrimination - learning - to respond differently to stimuli that differs from the control stimulus (Ex: If never bitten by a calm dog, only fearing snarling dogs.)

Back 97

Process of Classical Conditioning

Front 98

John B. Watson

Back 98

“the father of American Behaviorism”, extended the application of classical conditioning to humans (Ex: conditioned emotional reactions)

Front 99

Operant Conditioning

Back 99

a type of learning in which an association is made between a voluntary behavior and its consequences, and these consequences then control the probability of the behavior re-occurring

Front 100

Thorndike

Back 100

operant conditioning theorist, used “puzzle box”, formulated the “law of effect”

Front 101

Skinner

Back 101

operant conditioning theorist, used “operant chamber”, formalized operant conditioning terms, procedures and processes

Front 102

law of effect

Back 102

positive consequence leads to doing something more, negative consequences lead to doing something less

Front 103

shaping

Back 103

behavioral method that reinforces responses that successively approximate and ultimately match the desired response

Front 104

instinctual drift

Back 104

the tendency for a learned behavior to drift back to an instinctual behavior over time

Front 105

reinforcement

Back 105

consequences that increases the likelihood of a behavior

Front 106

punishment

Back 106

consequences that decrease the likelihood of a behavior

Front 107

1. Contingencies - the methods of how reinforcement and punishment can be used to influence behavior

2. Schedules - the method of when reinforcements (or punishments) can be delivered in order to influence behavior

Back 107

Procedures of Operant Conditioning

Front 108

1. Positive Reinforcement

2. Negative Reinforcement

3. Positive Punishment

4. Negative Punishment

Back 108

Types of Contingencies

Front 109

fixed-ratio interval

Back 109

reinforcement given every nth response (reward every fixed amount of behaviors)

Front 110

variable-ratio interval

Back 110

reinforcement given on average every nth response (Ex: slot machines)

Front 111

intervals

Back 111

based on passage of time

Front 112

fix-interval schedule

Back 112

reinforcement given on 1st response after set time

Front 113

variable-interval schedule

Back 113

reinforcement given on the first response after an average time

Front 114

observational learning theory

Back 114

when an organism’s actions are influenced by the observation of others (models/imitation); we have predisposition to imitate

Front 115

direct reward/punishment

Back 115

we imitate more if we are rewarded for imitation and less if we are punished

Front 116

vicarious reward/punishment

Back 116

we imitate models who are rewarded more than models who are punished