Psychology 1b

Consciousness

Awareness of yourself, alert William James — compared it to a stream, meaning it’s continuous and always flowing.

Circadian rhythm

Your body’s internal biological clock following a roughly 24-hour cycle

Jet lag

A temporary disruption of circadian rhythm caused by traveling across time zones

Awake

The conscious state when your brain shows active electrical patterns and you are alert to your surroundings. beta waves

N-REM sleep

All sleep stages except REM

REM sleep

Sleep stage with vivid dreams, fast brain waves, rapid eye movements, and temporary body paralysis.

Beta waves

Fast

Alpha waves

Slower waves appearing when you are relaxed but awake

Theta waves

Slower brain waves occurring during Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep

Hypnagogic sensations

NREM 1- transition from awake to asleep and the sensations that come with that like the Brief sensations of falling

Sleep spindles

Short bursts of rapid brain activity during sleep that help process memory.

K complex

Large waves during sleep that suppress outside noises and help maintain sleep.

Delta waves

Slowest

REM rebound

When you miss REM sleep, your body makes up for it by spending more time in REM the next night.

Melatonin

Sleep hormone released by the pineal gland in response to darkness

Sensation

The process of detecting physical energy (like light or sound) with our senses. eyes detect light, ears detect sound waves

Perception

Interpreting and organizing sensory information to make sense of the world.

Transduction

Converting physical energy (light

Absolute threshold

The smallest amount of stimulus energy we can detect 50% of the time.

Just-noticeable difference (JND)

The smallest change between two stimuli that can be noticed.

Weber’s Law

The principle that the JND is a constant percentage of the original stimulus; larger stimuli require larger changes to be noticed. a heavier item compared to a heavier item is harder to distinguish the difference than a light item with a light item

Sensory adaptation

When senses get used to a constant- so you stop noticing it over time.

Sensory interaction

When two or more senses work together to create a full experience.

Synesthesia

A condition where stimulation of one sense automatically triggers another

Cornea

The clear outer layer of the eye that protects it and bends (refracts) light to help focus.

Pupil

The black circular opening in the center of the iris that controls how much light enters the eye.

Iris

The colored part of the eye that adjusts the pupil size to regulate light intake.

Lens

makes vision clear

Retina

The inner back surface of the eye containing photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) that detect light and send visual signals to the brain.

Rods

Photoreceptors concentrated in the peripheral retina that detect black

Cones

Photoreceptors concentrated in the fovea that detect color and fine detail

Fovea

The central area of the retina with the highest concentration of cones

Bipolar Cells

Retinal cells that transfer signals from rods and cones to ganglion cells.

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries visual messages from the retina to the brain’s thalamus and visual cortex.

Blind Spot

Area on the retina where the optic nerve exits; contains no rods or cones

Accommodation

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

Nearsightedness

A condition where near objects are clear but distant objects appear blurry.

Farsightedness

A condition where distant objects are clear but near objects appear blurry.

Dark Adaptation

The process by which eyes adjust to low light after being in bright light.

Light Adaptation

The process by which eyes adjust to bright light after being in darkness.

Trichromatic Color Theory

the human eye has three types of cone cells, each sensitive to a different range of light wavelengths: red, green, and blue

Opponent-Process Theory of Color

The theory that color vision works in pairs (red-green

Afterimages (Negative)

Seeing the opposite color of an image after staring at it for a while due to opponent-process color mechanisms.

Photoreceptor Cells

Cells in the retina (rods and cones) that detect light

Ganglion Cells

Retinal cells that receive signals from rods and cones and send information to the brain. (Color Vision)

Color Vision Deficiency

Difficulty distinguishing certain colors due to missing or damaged cones.

Dichromatism

Missing one of the three cone types

Monochromatism

Missing two or all three cone types

Prosopagnosia

Inability to recognize familiar faces despite intact vision and memory.

Blindsight

Ability to respond to visual information without consciously seeing it due to brain damage.

Pinna

The outer part of the ear that collects sound waves and funnels them into the auditory canal.

Auditory Canal

The tube in the outer ear that directs sound waves to the eardrum.

Eardrum (AKA Tympanic Membrane)

A thin membrane that vibrates when struck by sound waves and transmits these vibrations to the middle ear bones.

The Ossicles (3 bones together)

Three tiny bones in the middle ear , mallues, incas, stapes they Amplify the waves

Oval Window

A membrane at the entrance to the cochlea that transmits vibrations from the ossicles to the cochlear fluid.

Cochlea

Spiral-shaped- where transduction occurs it houses the basil membrane

Basilar Membrane

A membrane inside the cochlea lined with hair cells that bend in response to fluid vibrations. where transduction occurs

Semicircular Canals

Fluid-filled loops in the inner ear that detect head rotation and movement

Vestibular Sense

The sense of balance and spatial orientation

Wavelength

The distance between sound waves

Amplitude

The height of a sound wave

Pitch Perception

How the brain interprets the frequency of sound to distinguish high and low notes.

Place Theory

Theory that different parts of the cochlea respond to different sound frequencies; high pitches activate hair cells near the start

Frequency Theory

Theory that the entire cochlea vibrates at the same rate as the sound frequency

Volley Theory

Groups of neurons take turns firing to match very high sound frequencies that one neuron alone couldn’t keep up with.

Sound Localization

The brain uses input from both ears to determine where a sound is coming from.

Conduction Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage or blockage in the outer or middle ear

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to hair cells in the cochlea or the auditory nerve; often due to aging or loud noise exposure.

Olfaction

The sense of smell

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by an individual that affect the behavior or physiology of others

Gustation

The sense of taste

Sweet

Taste that signals energy-rich nutrients like sugar or carbohydrates.

Sour

Taste that detects acids

Salty

Taste that detects sodium and other minerals essential for body function.

Bitter

Taste that warns of potential toxins; humans are very sensitive to it.

Umami

The savory

Oleogustus

The taste of fat

Non-taster

Person with fewer taste buds. needs strong flavors who does not taste strong bitterness. tastes food as bland

Medium taster

Person with an average number of taste buds experiencing normal taste sensations.

Super taster

Person with many taste buds

Hot Sensation

When warm and cold receptors in the skin are activated together

Gate-Control Theory

Theory that the spinal cord contains a “gate” that can block or allow pain signals to the brain.

Endorphins

The body’s natural painkillers

Phantom Limb Sensation

Feeling sensations

Vestibular Sense

The sense of balance and spatial orientation

Kinesthesia

The sense of body position and movement