UIUC psych 100 unit 2 exam

sensation

stimulation of sense organs

Perception

brain interpretation of the raw sensory information

illusion

the way we perceive a stimulus doesn't match its physical reality

transduction

conversion of an external stimuli into a neural signal

sensory receptor

specialized cell that transmits signals to sensory neurons

sensory adaptation

sensory neurons adjust their sensitivity based on recent stimulus history

-percieving smell, adjusting to light/dark

aftereffects

opposing sensory or perceptual distortions that occur after adaptation

wave

sound and light

frequency

pitch

wavelength (light)

color

loudness

amplitude

Psychophysics

how our sensations correspond to physical events in the world

absolute threshold

lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervous system to detect a change 50% of the time

just noticeable difference

the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

webers law

the stronger the stimulus, the greater the change necessary for the detection of a difference

signal detection theory

theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions

signal- what your trying to detect

noise- similar stimuli that may compete with the signal and interfere with your ability to detect

signal to noise ratio

it becomes harder to detect a signal as background noise increases

stimulus present

respond yes

hit

stimulus present

respond no

miss

stimulus absent

respond yes

false alarm

stimulus absent

respond no

correct rejection

dichotic listening

The procedure of presenting one message to the left ear and a different message to the right ear.

cocktail party effect

important info pops up in a conversation that you are not attending

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

bottom-up processing

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

sensation

top-down processing

processing information based on previous experiences and knowledge

perception

perceptual set

perceptual set

a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way

sclera

white of the eye

pupil

circular hole through which light enters the eye

iris

Colored part of the eye

cornea

transparent layer covering the iris and pupil that helps focus light

lens

oval shaped disc that bends light

accommodation

changing the lens' shape to focus on the near/far objects

myopia

nearsightedness

eye too long

hyperopia

farsightedness

eye too short

retina

membrane at the back of the eye responsible for converting light into neural activity

rods and cones

fovea

visual acuity and high density of cones

in the retina

acuity

sharpness of vision

saccades

rapid movements of the eyes from one place to another

rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray

cones

colors

less plentiful than rods

optic nerve

bundles of axons that travel from the retina to the brain

blindspot

area of the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye

hue- color of light

wavelength

trichromatic theory

3 primary colors- blue, green, red

3 types of cones

opponent process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

depth perception

ability to judge distance and three-dimensional relations

Gestalt Principles

Principles that describe the brain's organization of sensory information into meaningful units and patterns.

common fate

the tendency to perceive objects that are moving together as belonging together

synchrony

perceived to occur at the same time- perceived as the same event

outer ear

funnel sound to eardrum

pinna, ear canal, eardrum

middle ear

transmits sounds from eardrum to the inner ear

ossicles, anvil, stirrup

inner ear

transducer sound

cochlea, basilar membrane

place theory

specific locations of the basilar membrane match tones with specific pitches

high frequency

middle frequency

combination of signals

volley theory

low pitch

clusters of nerve cells can fire together

low frequency

binaural cues

cues sound location that requires both ears

conductive deafness

occurs because of damage to the middle ear

sensorineural hearing loss

damage to hair cells or auditory nerve

learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

learning is adaptive

nonassociative learning

involves responding to a single stimulus

- habituation, sensitization

Habituation

process of responding less strongly over tome to repeated stimuli

getting used to a stimulus

background noise at a restaurant

sensitization

an increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus

Chinese water torture

associative learning

connections between 2 or more stimulus/events

classical + operant conditioning

classical conditioning

two stimuli are repeatedly paired

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that does not initially elicit a response

bell ringing

unconditioned stimulus

produces a reflexive/automatic response

food

unconditioned response

automatic response

salivation

conditioned stimulus

initially neutral, becomes associated with the unconditioned response

bell ringing

conditioned response

automatic response now triggered by conditioned stimulus

salivation

acquisition

learning phase when UCS is paired with CS

after which CS produces CR

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery

extinct CR emerges after a delay

renewal effect

sudden reemergence of a conditioned response following extinction when an animal is returned to the environment in which the conditioned response was acquired

generalization

response to stimuli that are similar to conditioned stimulus

discrimination

respond to a particular stimuli not similar stimuli

blocking

a prior association with a conditioned stimulus prevents learning of an association with another stimulus

Preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations more quickly than others

taste aversion

a learned avoidance of a particular food

fear conditioning

a type of classical conditioning that turns neutral stimuli into feared stimuli

Watson- little Albert experiment

operant conditioning

change in voluntary behaviors as a result of consequences

behavior is now under stimulus control

Skinner box- rats pressing buttons

discriminative stimulus

a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

reinforcement

increased likelihood of a behavior being repeated

behavior is strengthened

punishment

decreased likelihood of a behavior being repreated

behavior is weakened

positive

add something

negative

take something away

positive punishment

speeding ticket

positive reinforcement

getting stickers for working hard

negative reinforcement

leave the house early to avoid traffic jam

negative punishment

being grounded

reinforcement schedule- continuous

behavior is rewarded every time it is formed

faster acquisition, faster extinction

reinforcement schedule- partial

behavior is rewarded only some of the time

slower acquisition, slower extinction

fixed ratio, variable ration, fixed interval, variable interval

fixed ratio

reinforcement after a constant number of responses

a salesperson receiving a bonus for every 5 items sold

variable ratio

reinforce after a variable number of responses

gambling

fixed interval

reinforce after a constant amount of time

getting paid on the 1st every month

variable interval

reinforce after variable amounts of time

pop quiz at random intervals

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats

sticker chart

observational learning

learning by observing others

Albert bandura

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

attention, retention, initiation, motivation