Psyc 107 Exam 2

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

Messages from senses that provide a link to the environment

Front 2

perception

Back 2

Making sensations into meaningful experiences

Front 3

accessory structure in sensation

Back 3

Modifies energy, funnels information to sensory receptors

Front 4

transduction in sensation

Back 4

Environmental energy changed into neural energy (how it gets changed to neural energy)

Front 5

sensory receptors in sensation

Back 5

adapt to stimuli and stop firing as much

Front 6

sensory nerves in sensation

Back 6

Carry output from sensory receptors to central nervous system

Front 7

thalamus in sensation

Back 7

process and relay neural responses (except smell0

Front 8

sensory cortex in sensation

Back 8

Produces the sensation and perception, further processes happen

Front 9

amplitude

Back 9

determines loudness, signal strength, distance from base to peak

Front 10

wavelength/frequency

Back 10

determines pitch, distance between peaks, short wavelength means a high pitch, long wavelength means a low pitch, humans can hear between 20 and 20,000 Hz, normal conversation is from 2,000-4,000 Hz

Front 11

Describe hearing process

Back 11

Accessory structure modifies sound, it’s converted into neuronal signals, auditory nerves carry output from sensory receptors to central nervous system, neural energy travels to the thalamus, sound information gets relayed to the auditory cortex

Front 12

pinna

Back 12

visible, external part of the ear that serves as a concentrator, funneling sound waves from the environment into the structure of the ear

Front 13

tympanic membrane

Back 13

eardrum, when sounds hit it, it causes three tiny bones to vibrate in the middle of the ear

Front 14

Ear bones

Back 14

Hammer, anvil, and stirrup; vibration of these bones amplifies the vibration from the eardrum, and the last bone (stirrup) causes a membrane covering the opening of the inner ear to vibrate

Front 15

oval window

Back 15

a membrane whose vibrations set off another chain reaction in the inner ear

Front 16

basilar membrane

Back 16

Membrane that runs through the middle of the cochlea

Front 17

hair cells

Back 17

Receptors for sound; when they’re bent up against the other membrane, it causes them to send a neural message through the auditory nerve

Front 18

auditory nerve

Back 18

contains the axons of all the receptor neurons

Front 19

auditory cortex

Back 19

Interprets sounds

Front 20

nerve deafness

Back 20

Hair cells don’t fire in the cochlea (helped by cochlear implants)

Front 21

conduction deafness

Back 21

Middle ear bones are fused and can’t vibrate (helped by hearing aid)

Front 22

light intensity

Back 22

determines brightness, amount of energy in light, light wave amplitude

Front 23

wavelength of light

Back 23

determines color, distance between peaks

Front 24

saturation of light

Back 24

purity, determined by the combination of wave patterns

Front 25

Describe the vision process

Back 25

cessory structure modifies light -> light is converted into a neuronal signal -> Optic nerves carry output from sensory receptors through the optic chiasm to central nervous system -> Neural energy traveles to the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus -> visual information gets relayed to the visual cortex

Front 26

cornea

Back 26

transparent protective layer (lasik changes chape of cornea)

Front 27

pupil

Back 27

opening behind cornea

Front 28

iris

Back 28

color part of the eye, muscle that adjusts pupil, allows more or less light in

Front 29

lens

Back 29

Bends light rays through accommodation to focus

Front 30

accommodation

Back 30

coordinating changes in vergence, lens shape, and pupil size

Front 31

retina

Back 31

back surface of the eye

Front 32

fovea

Back 32

central part of retina, sharpest vision

Front 33

photoreceptors

Back 33

detect light

Front 34

rods

Back 34

peripheral, sensitive to light/no light

Front 35

cones

Back 35

3 pigments, center of retina, mostly in fovea, color vision and ability to see detail

Front 36

dark adaption

Back 36

When the eye recovers its ability to see when going from a brightly lit state to a dark state

Front 37

where is acuity the greatest

Back 37

in the fovea because it is dense in cone receptors

Front 38

blind spot

Back 38

Happens due to a “hole” in the retina where all the axons of ganglion cells leave the retina; there are no rods or cones here

Front 39

trichromatic color theory

Back 39

Any color of light can be produced by mixing pure versions of blue, green, and red light in different ratios. Three types of cones – short/blue, medium/green, long/yellow, explains color blindness

Front 40

opponent-process theory

Back 40

visual elements sensitive to color are grouped into three pairs, each pair member inhibits the other (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white). Explains after-images

Front 41

somesthetic senses

Back 41

senses of the body (taste, hearing, vision, smell, touch)

Front 42

skin senses

Back 42

Having to do with pressure, touch, temperature, and pain

Front 43

kinesthetic senses

Back 43

Having to do with the location of body parts in relation to each other

Front 44

vestibular senses

Back 44

Having to do with movement and body position

Front 45

gate control theory

Back 45

Pain signals pass through a “gate” (representation of relative balance in neural activity of cells in the spinal cord that receive information from the body and send information to the brain) located in the spinal cord

Front 46

absolute threshold

Back 46

The minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be detected 50% of the time; minimum intensity we can perceive

Front 47

subliminal stimuli

Back 47

Below 50% threshold, not aware you’re perceiving it

Front 48

supraliminal stimuli

Back 48

Above 50% threshold

Front 49

difference threshold

Back 49

Smallest detectable difference between stimuli. Relationship between perception of stimuli and actual strength of stimulus. Based on percentage. (+3% weight, you won’t notice)

Front 50

weber's law

Back 50

Smallest detectable difference in energy is a constant fraction of stimulus intensity

Front 51

liklihood

Back 51

organize elements based on most likely arrangement

Front 52

simplicity

Back 52

organize elements to provide simplest perception

Front 53

proximity

Back 53

close objects grouped

Front 54

similarity

Back 54

similar objects grouped

Front 55

continuity

Back 55

group to make continuous form

Front 56

closure

Back 56

group to fill in missing info

Front 57

figure-ground processing

Back 57

our perceptual processes actively try to assign some stimuli to the foreground (figure-part that has meaning) and some to the meaningless background (ground)

Front 58

perceptual constancy

Back 58

objects appear the same despite changes on the retina (size, shape, brightness)

Front 59

interposition

Back 59

or overlap. If one object seems to be blocking another object, people assume that the blocked object is behind the first object and, therefore, further away

Front 60

linear perspective

Back 60

the tendency for lines that are actually parallel to seem to converge (drawing a road pointed away from you)

Front 61

texture gradient

Back 61

items that are close are distinctly textured, but items far away have smaller and finer texture

Front 62

convergence

Back 62

a muscle cue in which the rotation of the eyes to focus on the object indicates whether it is near (high convergence) or far (low convergence) (eyes crossing to follow an object coming closer)

Front 63

binocular disparity

Back 63

the difference between the images that each eye sees. If something is close, it has high disparity, if something is far, it has low disparity

Front 64

bottom-up processing

Back 64

stimulus first analyzed into basic features

Front 65

top-down processing

Back 65

using knowledge and past experience to recognize stimuli

Useful when stimulus is ambiguous, use expectancies, schemas, motivation (virgin Mary on a grilled cheese)

Front 66

feature detectors

Back 66

cells that activate in response to specific features

Front 67

overt attention

Back 67

move your eyes to focus attention

Front 68

covert attention

Back 68

shifting attention without changing your body

Front 69

divided attention

Back 69

multitasking

Front 70

inattentional blindness

Back 70

blind to unattended information

Front 71

change blindness

Back 71

missing changes in environment due to inattentional blindness

Front 72

nonassociative learning

Back 72

impact of one stimulus, learning in its simplest form

Front 73

associative learning

Back 73

process by which two pieces of information from the environment are repeatedly linked so that we begin to connect them in our mind

Front 74

habituation

Back 74

adapting attention to constant stimulation, no longer new

Front 75

sensitization

Back 75

novel/new stimuli automatically attracts attention and causes an exaggerated response

Front 76

classical conditioning

Back 76

learning to elicit an involuntary, reflex-like, response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the response

Front 77

unconditioned stimulus

Back 77

original input that always elicits the unlearned response. Natural, preexisting, refletive

Front 78

unconditioned response

Back 78

an automatic and involuntary response

Front 79

conditioned stimulus

Back 79

previously neutral stimulus that now elicits the conditioned response (learned)

Front 80

conditioned response

Back 80

learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus

Front 81

extinction

Back 81

gradual disappearance of the conditioned response

Front 82

reconditioning

Back 82

quick relearning of conditioned response after extinction

Front 83

spontaneous recovery

Back 83

reappearance of conditioned response after extinction

Front 84

stimulus generalization

Back 84

stimuli similar enough to conditioned stimulus to elicit conditioned response

Front 85

stimulus discrimination

Back 85

stimuli different enough from the conditioned stimulus so that it does not elicit conditioned response

Front 86

operant conditioning

Back 86

learning consequences of behavior alters future behavior

Front 87

positive reinforcement

Back 87

good thing added, future response more likely

Front 88

negative reinforcement

Back 88

bad thing removed, future response more likely

Front 89

punishment I

Back 89

bad thing added, future response less likely

Front 90

punishment II

Back 90

good thing removed, future response less likely

Front 91

escape conditioning

Back 91

remove myself from a situation by making an excuse

Front 92

avoidance conditioning

Back 92

avoiding a situation in the first place

Front 93

primary reinforcers

Back 93

meets an organism’s basic needs (food, water)

Front 94

secondary reinforcers

Back 94

something you’ve learned to like (money)

Front 95

shaping

Back 95

reinforce responses that are closer to the desired response

Front 96

continuous reinforcement

Back 96

reinforcement every time a response occurs (learn faster)

Front 97

fixed ration reinforcement

Back 97

reinforcement after a fixed number of responses (putting set amount of money into a vending machine to get food)

Front 98

variable ratio reinforcement

Back 98

reinforcement after a varying number of responses (slot machines)

Front 99

fixed interval reinforcement

Back 99

reinforcement at the first response after a fixed time has passed (feeding cats at 9am and 7pm every day)

Front 100

variable interval reinforcement

Back 100

reinforcement at the first response after some varying period of time (sit in one place however long it takes for Reveille to walk by)

Front 101

latent learning

Back 101

learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement and is not demonstrated until later, when reinforcement occurs

Front 102

cognitive map

Back 102

mental representations of the environment

Front 103

insight

Back 103

complex problems can be solved using insight, “aha” moment

Front 104

observational learning

Back 104

when people learn by watching others responses

Front 105

vicarious conditioning

Back 105

learns the consequences of an action by watching others

Front 106

social learning theory

Back 106

learning by modeling and observational learning

Front 107

encoding

Back 107

Code information and put it into information

Front 108

acoustic encoding

Back 108

Store information as sound

Front 109

visual encoding

Back 109

Information mentally represented as an image

Front 110

semantic encoding

Back 110

Information as general meaning (getting the gist of something)

Front 111

storage

Back 111

Maintain in memory

Front 112

retreival

Back 112

Recover from memory

Front 113

levels-of-processing model

Back 113

How deep something is encoded. If something is processed more thoroughly, it is easier to remember

Front 114

maintenance rehersal

Back 114

Shallow processing, repetition, good for short term but not long term

Front 115

elaborative rehersal

Back 115

Deep processing, relating new information to information already in memory, mnemonics, visual imagery encoding and organizational encoding

Front 116

information-processing model

Back 116

classification of memories based on duration as sensory, short-term and long-term. Attention moves information between the stores

Front 117

sensory memory

Back 117

briefly retains information from sense organs

Front 118

short-term memory

Back 118

temporarily holds information in conscious

Front 119

long-term memory

Back 119

can retain information for long periods

Front 120

working memory

Back 120

manipulates information in short-term memory (add, subtract, multiply, divide)

Front 121

immediate memory span

Back 121

longest list of items that a person can repeat back in correct order immediately after presentation 50% of the time

Front 122

chunking

Back 122

organizing information into meaningful groups

Front 123

episodic memory

Back 123

memory of a specific event

Front 124

semantic memory

Back 124

facts

Front 125

procedural memory

Back 125

skills

Front 126

implicit long-term memory

Back 126

unintentional recognition and influence of prior experiences

Front 127

explicit long-term memory

Back 127

intentionally trying to remember, consciously aware of doing, not automatic

Front 128

semantic encoding

Back 128

processing and encoding of sensory input that has particular meaning or can be applied to a context

Front 129

primacy effect

Back 129

items from the beginning of a list are more likely to be recalled

Front 130

recency effect

Back 130

items seen most recently are more likely to be recalled

Front 131

transfer-appropriate processing

Back 131

how well does encoding match retrieval processes (study for multiple choice vs essay test)

Front 132

retreival

Back 132

calling up information stored in memory (remembering)

Front 133

recall

Back 133

retrieve without help

Front 134

recognition

Back 134

retrieval aided by clues

Front 135

retrieval clues

Back 135

stimuli that helps us remember and recognize information

Front 136

context-dependent memory

Back 136

memory can be helped or hindered by similarities or differences between learning and recall environments (study in coffee shop and test in quiet room)

Front 137

state-dependent memory

Back 137

memory can be aided or impeded by a person’s internal state (happy when studying, happy when testing)

Front 138

transience

Back 138

forgetting over time, use it or lose it, forget half of information by an hour later

Front 139

decay

Back 139

loss of a physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed due to not using it

Front 140

retroactive interference

Back 140

new information interferes with the retrieval of older information

Front 141

proactive interference

Back 141

older or previously learned material interferes with learning and subsequent retrieval of new information

Front 142

absent-mindedness

Back 142

a form of forgetfulness that results from inattention (lapse of attention that results in memory failure, issue with encoding)

Front 143

blocking

Back 143

the inability to retrieve some information once it is stored. Tip of the tongue, repression

Front 144

anterograde amnesia

Back 144

loss of events after an injury, unable to encode new long term memories, doesn’t affect procedural memories

Front 145

retrograde amnesia

Back 145

loss of events before an injury, old information cannot be recalled from memory, may recover some memories over time

Front 146

flashbulb memory accuracy

Back 146

Flashbulb memories are affected by decay and other memory types of forgetting just like other memories

Front 147

constructive processing memory accuracy

Back 147

In constructive processing, every time a memory is recalled, it is changed slightly for the next recollection

Front 148

false memory syndrome accuracy

Back 148

false memory syndrome happens by suggestion of others

Front 149

misinformation effect

Back 149

misleading information becomes part of the memory in misinformation effect

Front 150

grammar

Back 150

how words should be put together

Front 151

phoneme

Back 151

basic unit of sound in a language (single letter, consonant blends, pronunciation of letters) can change meaning is you change phoneme

Front 152

morpheme

Back 152

smallest unit of language with meaning (basic words, combination of phonemes, prefixes or suffixes)

Front 153

word

Back 153

combination of morphemes

Front 154

syntax

Back 154

system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences

Front 155

semantics

Back 155

rules that determine the meaning of words and sentences

Front 156

surface structure

Back 156

word string produced

Front 157

deep structure

Back 157

abstract relationships, why one sentence can have more than one meaning

Front 158

sensitivity period

Back 158

if children are not exposed to any human language before a certain age, their language abilities never fully develop (birth to 12 years old)

Front 159

language acquisition device

Back 159

system of principles a child is born with to help develop language

Front 160

how sensitivity period relates to Genie

Back 160

Genie was the first test subject they had to test these theories due to her unique predicament

Front 161

algorithms

Back 161

specific, step-by-step procedure for solving certain types of problems, formal solution, takes time and effort

Front 162

heuristics

Back 162

time saving mental shortcuts used in making complex and uncertain decisions and judgments, informal solutions, under time pressure or something unimportant or something very confusing

Front 163

anchoring-adjustment

Back 163

when making a decision, people tend to use rough estimation as a starting point or anchor and adjust slightly from that point, anchors aren’t always relevant

Front 164

representativeness

Back 164

the tendency to classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case, looks like a duck and walks like a duck so it must be a duck

Front 165

availability

Back 165

the tendency to base a judgment on how quickly or easily examples come to mind, events that are more available in memory are judged as more likely to occur, used in frequency probability judgments and social judgments

Front 166

conjunction fallacy

Back 166

when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event

Front 167

framing effects

Back 167

when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is frames

Front 168

confirmation bias

Back 168

seeking out information that confirms what you currently think

Front 169

mental sets

Back 169

sticking with an old strategy, even though a new one might work better

Front 170

functional fixedness

Back 170

using familiar objects in familiar ways, rather than creative ways

Front 171

multiple hypotheses

Back 171

it is hard to focus on multiple theories. The most available theories are not always the most correct (scratching on a window. From a tree or killer based on if you just watched a scary movie)

Front 172

intelligence

Back 172

a mental ability that enables people to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems

Front 173

purity/timbre

Back 173

determined by combination of wave patterns, sound quality (piano vs guitar playing the same note)

Front 174

false-consensus effect

Back 174

the tendency of people to overestimate the level to which other people share their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, our own opinions are important so everyone else must feel this way

Front 175

aptitude test

Back 175

measure a person’s readiness to learn and cognitive abilities

Front 176

achievement test

Back 176

measure what a person has accomplished

Front 177

reliability

Back 177

producing consistent results each time it is given to the same individual or group of people

Front 178

validity

Back 178

degree to which a test measures what it’s supposed to measure