Processing the Environment and Behavioral Science

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering sensory perception, consciousness, biological psychology, learning, and social theories based on lecture notes.

Weber’s Law

States that the ratio of the incremental threshold ($\Delta I$) to the background intensity ($I$) is constant ($\frac{\Delta I}{I} = k$).

Absolute threshold of sensation

The minimum intensity of a stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus $50\%$ of the time.

Endolymph

The fluid filling the semicircular canals of the inner ear that shifts with head movement to help detect direction and strength of rotation.

Otolithic organs

Structures in the inner ear (utricle and saccule) that use calcium crystals on hair cells to detect linear acceleration and head positioning.

Signal Detection Theory

A framework for making decisions under conditions of uncertainty, focusing on discerning important stimuli from unimportant "noise."

Gestalt Principles

A set of principles (Similarity, Pragnanz, Proximity, Continuity, Closure) describing how humans typically group sensory stimuli into organized wholes.

Fovea

The central part of the macula in the retina that is completely covered in cones with no rods, allowing for high-resolution vision.

Phototransduction Cascade (PTC)

The molecular process that turns a rod off when light hits it, converting the light signal into a neural impulse.

Magnocellular pathway

A visual pathway specialized for motion detection that has high temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution and no color.

Organ of Corti

A structure in the cochlea that includes the basilar and tectorial membranes, where hair cells convert fluid vibrations into neural signals.

Basilar tuning

The process by which the brain distinguishes sound frequencies based on which hair cells in the cochlea are activated (base for high frequency, apex for low).

Proprioception

The cognitive awareness of the body's position in space based on sensors in the muscles that are sensitive to stretching.

C fibres

Small diameter, unmyelinated nerve fibers that transmit slow, lingering sensations of pain.

Labeled lines model

A gustatory model where each taste receptor has a separate axon that synapses on a specific part of the gustatory cortex.

Beta waves

Brain waves ($13-30\,Hz$) associated with alert consciousness, concentration, and increased stress.

K-complexes

Brain activity in stage $N2$ sleep that suppresses cortical arousal to keep one asleep and assists in memory consolidation.

Paradoxical sleep

Another name for REM sleep, because the brain appears active and awake while the body's muscles are paralyzed.

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

A region in the midbrain that produces dopamine and sends it to the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus.

Broadbent’s Early Selection Theory

An attention theory stating that all environmental information enters a sensory register before a selective filter identifies what to process further.

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

A component of working memory that processes visual and spatial information.

Method of loci

A mnemonic device involving the mental placement of visual representations of information within a familiar physical environment.

Explicit Memory (Declarative)

The category of long-term memory for facts (semantic) and events (episodic) that can be clearly described.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

The strengthening of synapses through repeated stimulation, considered a primary mechanism for learning.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

A memory disorder caused by a thiamine ($B1$) deficiency, characterized by severe memory loss and confabulation.

Conservation

The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in container shape, typically learned in Piaget's concrete operational stage ($7-11$ years).

Conjunction fallacy

The error of assuming that the co-occurrence of two specific events is more likely than a single more general event.

g factor

The concept of general intelligence that underlies consistent performance across different types of cognitive tasks.

Strong Linguistic Determinism (Sapir-Whorfian hypothesis)

The idea that language completely shapes a speaker's cognitive processes and understanding of the world.

Broca’s area

The part of the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production.

Limbic System

A group of brain structures (hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus) responsible for memory storage and emotional regulation.

James-Lange Theory

A theory of emotion stating that the experience of emotion is the result of perceiving physiological responses (Physiological $\rightarrow$ Emotion).

Appraisal theory of stress

States that stress arises more from the cognitive interpretation of an event (primary and secondary appraisal) than from the event itself.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-phase model of the physiological response to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Lower Motor Neurons (LMN)

Efferent neurons of the peripheral nervous system that control skeletal muscles; their malfunction leads to signs like atrophy and hypotonia.

Epigenetics

The study of changes in gene expression caused by factors other than the DNA sequence itself, such as methylation.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

An operant conditioning reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is delivered after a specific, consistent number of responses.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological discomfort felt when holding two conflicting cognitions, leading to a change in beliefs or behaviors to restore harmony.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize internal, dispositional factors when explaining the behavior of others while underemphasizing situational factors.

Social Facilitation

The phenomenon where the presence of others increases arousal, improving performance on simple tasks and hindering it on complex tasks.

Self-efficacy

A person's belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation or perform a specific task.