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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Sensation |
The process by which our sense organs and receptors detect and respond to sensory information that stimulates them. |
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Perception |
The process by which we give meaning to sensory information. |
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1) Reception |
Detecting & responding to incoming sensory information. |
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2) Transduction |
Energy is converted into neural impulses |
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3) transmission |
sending the neural impulses to the relevant brain areas. |
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4) Interpretation |
Organizing this incoming information. |
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1) Vitreous Humour 2) Cornea 3) Pupil 4) Iris 5) Aqueous Humour 6) Retina 7) Blind spot 8) Optic nerve |
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How light travels through the eye: |
1) light enters through the Cornea 2) light then travels through the Aqueous humour 3) then continues through the Pupil 4) Then through the Iris 5) light then enters the lens 6) after incoming light passes through the lens, it continues through the vitreous humour 7) It then reaches the Retina at the back of the eye 8) after information is processed in the retina, it is sent along the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain. |
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Rods |
- Respond to very low levels of light - very poor at detecting the fine details in an image - not involved in colour vision |
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Cones |
- respond to high levels of light - detects fine detail - used for colour vision |
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Gestalt Principles: |
Figure ground closure proximity similarity |
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Figure ground + closure |
Figure Ground: we separate a visual field into a 'figure' which stands out from its surroundings 'ground'. Closure: the tendency to mentally 'close up' or ignore gaps in a visual image to perceive the object as complete. |
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Similarity + Proximity |
Similarity: the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image that have similar features such as size, shape or colour as belonging together as a group. Proximity: The tendency to perceive partsof a visual image which are positioned close together as belonging together in a group. |
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Depth Perception |
The ability to accurately estimate the distance of objects |
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Depth Cues: Binocular + Monocular |
Binocular: - Convergence - Retinal Disparity Monocular: - Accommodation - Pictorial cues = Linear perspective, interposition, texture gradient, relative size, height in visual field. |
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Convergence + retinal disparity |
Convergence: the brain detecting and interpreting depth or distance from changes in the tension in the eye muscles from when the eyes turn inwards to focus on objects. Retinal Disparity: Refers to the very slight differences in the location of the visual images on the two retina which enables us to make judgments about the depth or distance of an object. |
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Accommodation |
The automatic adjustment of the shape of the lens to focus an object in response to changes in distance. |
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Pictorial cues: |
Linear Perspective: the joining of parallel lines as they go into the distance. Interposition: occurs when one object partially blocks another, and the partially blocked object is seen as further away. Texture Gradient: the gradual loss of detail that occurs in a surface as it gets further away. Relative size: the tendency to visually perceive the object that produces the largest image on the retina as being closer. Height in the visual field: objects that are closer to the horizon are perceived as being more distant than objects located further from the horizon. |
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Perceptual constancies |
Size constancy shape constancy Brightness Constancy Orientation constancy |
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Factors influencing Perceptual set |
Context - setting/environment Motivation - see what we want to see Emotional state - feelings Past experience - personal Culture - way of life of a community |
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From Mouth to Brain: |
1) Stimulus 2) Reception: molecules stimulate taste receptors. 3) Transduction: Taste receptors convert molecules into signals sent to the brain via the facial nerve. 4) Perception: Sent to the thalamus then to the gustatory cortex. |
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Influences on taste perception |
Age Genetics Culture Perceptual set |
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Perceptual Distortion |
Involves an inconsistency or 'mismatch' between a perceptual experience and physical reality. |
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Judgments of Flavour |
Auditory sensations Visual sensations smell colour intensity texture |
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Synaesthesia |
Is a real, involuntary perceptual experience in which stimulation of one sense produces additional unusual experiences in another sense. |
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Social Cognition |
Involves how we interpret, analsye and use information to make judgments about others in different social situations. |
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Person Perception |
refers to the mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about the personal characteristics of other people. |
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First Impressions |
are primarily based on the way people look and the way they act |
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Impressions from physical impressions: |
Halo Effect: is a cognitive bias in which the impression we form about one quality of a person influences our beliefs and expectations about the person in other qualities. |
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Impressions from non-verbal communication |
- body language - eye contact - facial expressions |
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Attribution |
is the process by which people explain the causes of their own and other people's behaviour |
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Personal Attribution |
is an explanation due to the characteristics of the person invovled, such as their personality, attitude, motivation or mood. these are internal factors |
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Situational attribution |
is an explanation due to external factors such as the actions of another person. |
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The fundamental attribution error |
is the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors and underestimate the impact of situational factors on other people's behaviour. |
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Actor-observer bias |
our tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational causes but attribute others' behaviour to internal factors. |
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Self-serving bias |
when judging ourselves we tend to take the credit for our successes and attribute failures to situational factors. |
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Culture and attribution: Individualist & collectivist cultures |
Individualist = achieving individual goals is the focus Collectivist cultures = achieving group goals is more important than individual. |
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Attitude |
An attitude is an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue. |
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The Tri-component Model of Attitudes |
Affective component: refers to the emotional reactions and feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue. Behavioural component: refers to the way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions . Cognitive component: refers to the beliefs we have about an object, person, group, event or issue. |
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Factors influencing attitude formation |
Classical conditioning Operant conditioning Observational conditioning |
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Classical conditioning |
Repeated association of different stimuli. e.g advertisements
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Operant conditioning |
we repeat behaviour if it has a desirable consequence. e.g. a reward such as praise punishment can influence the formation of attitudes. |
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Observational conditioning |
we model our behaviour by watching other people who we admire. |
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Repeated exposure |
If we are exposed to a person, group or issue repeatedly, we can develop a positive attitude. |
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Stereotyping |
The process of grouping people into a category based on what we know about them. |
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A stereotype |
Is a collection of beliefs that we have about the people who belong to a certain group, regardless of individual differences among members of that group. |
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Stigma |
A negative label associated with disapproval or rejection by others who are not labelled in that way. |
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Ingroups |
any group that you belong to or identify with as an ingroup such as school, peer group, family. |
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Outgroup |
An group you do not belong to or identify with. |
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Prejudice |
holding a negative attitude towards members of a group, based solely on their membership of that group. |
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Discrimination |
Positive or negative behaviour that is directed towards a social group and its members. |
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Difference between prejudice and discrimination |
Prejudice is an attitude and discrimination is behaviour arising from that prejudice. |
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Status and Power |
Status - the importance of an individual's position in a group, as perceived by members of the group. Power - an individual's ability to control or influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviour of another person. |
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Main two types of power |
Legitimate Power Coercive power |
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The effects of status and power within groups |
Status and power within a group are often linked to the role of each individual has in the group. |
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Zimbardo Experiment |
Stanford Prison - wanted to investigate the psychological effects of being either a prison guard or a prisoner. - Role of prison guard had large amounts of power and status; however the role of the prisoner carried minimal power and little or no status. - The results showed that the behaviour of normal men can be signiciantly affected when a role that are given involves considerable power and status. |
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Prison experiment ethical concerns |
- Was unethical because people suffered and others were allowed to inflict pain and humiliation on their fellows over an extended period of time. - there was no deception as participants were aware that their rights would be suspended. |
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Obedience |
Occurs when we follow the commands of someone with authority. |
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Milgram experiment |
- investigated factors invovled in determining obedience to an authority figure. - Results showed that of the 40 participants, none stopped administering the shocks before 300 volts and 26 continued to administer the shocks. |
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Milgram experiment ethical concerns |
- after the experiment, all participants(the teachers) were debriefed and informed that the learners did not actuallyreceive the electric shocks that they administered and that they were actuallyconfederates of the experiment. |
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Factors affecting obedience |
social proximity - the closeness between two or more people. Legitimacy of authority figure - individual's are more likely to be obedient when the authority figure is perceived as being legitimate and having power. Group Pressure - individual's are more likely to be obedient where there is little or no group support for resisting the authority figure. |
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Conformity |
The tendency to adjust one's thoughts, feelings and behaviour in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual or group |
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Asch experiment |
- Investigated group pressure to conform. - studied the factors he believed influenced conformity, such as group size and whether or not the group is in complete agreement on what should be said and done. |
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Factors affecting conformity |
Group size Unanimity - complete agreement Informational influence - occurs when conformity results from a need for direction and information on the correct response. Normative influence - occurs when our response in a group situation is guided by one or more social norms. Culture Social loafing - the tendency of an individual to make less effort when involved in a group activity than when working alone. Deindividuation - is the loss of individuality that can occur in a group situation. |
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Social Norms |
Standard or rules that govern what people should or should not do in different social situations. |
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Factors influencing helping or reluctance behaviour |
Personal Factors - we are more likely to help someone in need of help if we feel empathy for them Mood - people are more likely to help when they feel good. Competence - we are more likely to help someone if we have the skills to do so. |
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Altruism |
Pro-social behaviour focused on the well-being or benefit of others without any thought to personal gain or reward. |
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Factors influencing reluctance to help |
Diffusion of Responsibility - when in a situation where help is needed and others are present, one or more people should take responsibility for helping. Social Influence Audience inhibition - presence of others at the scene increases embarrassment cost-benefit analysis - weighing up the personal and social costs of helping against the benefits of helping. |
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Experimental research designs |
Independent-groups design: involves randomly allocating members of the sample to either the control or experimental group. quick and easy. Matched-participants design: eliminates participant differences by pairing each participant on a certain characteristic they share. Repeated-measure design: only one group of participants are used and exposed to both the control and the experimental conditions |
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Qualitative Quantitative |
- involves the collection of non-numerical data - involves the collection of numerical data. |
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Extraneous variables |
Any variable other than the IV that can cause a change in the DV. they are 'unwanted' because they can make it hard for the researcher. |
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Independent variable Dependent variable |
- The variable in which the researcher changes in order to assess its effects on participants' responses. - the variable that is measured. |
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Sampling procedures |
Convenience sampling random sampling |
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Validity Reliability |
- means that the research study has produced results that accurately measure the behaviour or event that it claims to have measured. - refers to the consistency, dependability and stability of the results from a research study. |
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Ethics |
Confidentiality - researcher must collect all information related to participants in a manner that does not dispose their identity. Voluntary participation - each participant has the right to choose to willingly take part in the research and must not be forced. Informed consent - researcher must first fully explain the true purpose of the experiment and then obtain a written permission on a consent form in order to take part. Deception - should not be used unless it is really necessary. if it does occur, participants need to be fully debriefed at the end. Debriefing - occurs after the experiment has concluded. |