AP Phyc Unit 1

What is the Opponent Process Theory?

The theory that color vision is controlled by three opposing pairs: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white. When one color in the pair is stimulated, the other is inhibited.

What are different psychological perspectives?

• Biological: Focuses on the body, brain, and genetics.

• Behavioral: Emphasizes learning from the environment.

• Cognitive: Studies mental processes like thinking.

• Humanistic: Focuses on free will and self-growth.

• Psychoanalytic: Stresses unconscious drives (Freud).

• Sociocultural: Examines influence of society and culture.

• Evolutionary: Looks at behavior through the lens of survival.

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What is Weber’s Law?

The principle that the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

What are common sleep disorders?

• Insomnia: Trouble falling/staying asleep.

• Sleep Apnea: Breathing stops during sleep.

• Narcolepsy: Sudden sleep attacks.

• Night Terrors: Extreme fear during sleep (non-REM).

• Sleepwalking: Walking during NREM sleep.

What are the parts of the ear and their functions?

• Outer ear (pinna): Collects sound.

• Eardrum (tympanic membrane): Vibrates from sound.

• Middle ear (ossicles): Amplify vibrations.

• Cochlea: Transduces sound to neural signals.

• Auditory nerve: Sends signals to the brain.

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What are the parts of the eye and their functions?

• Cornea: Protects and focuses light.

• Pupil: Controls light entry.

• Iris: Muscle that changes pupil size.

• Lens: Focuses light on retina.

• Retina: Contains rods and cones.

• Optic nerve: Sends signals to the brain.

What is accommodation in vision?

The process by which the lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

What do rods and cones do?

• Rods: Detect light/dark; work in low light.

• Cones: Detect color and fine detail; need more light.

What are major brain areas and their functions?

Occipital lobe: Vision.

Temporal lobe: Hearing and memory.

Parietal lobe: Touch and spatial awareness.

Frontal lobe: Thinking, planning, movement.

Cerebellum: Balance and coordination.

Thalamus: Sensory relay.

Amygdala: Emotion.

Hippocampus: Memory.

What is the concept of Random Assignment?

Placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance to reduce bias and ensure groups are similar.

What are research ethics principles?

• Informed consent.

• No harm.

• Confidentiality.

• Debriefing.

• Right to withdraw.

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How do you find mean, median, and mode?

• Mean: Add all values and divide by number.

• Median: Middle number (order first).

• Mode: Most frequent number.

How to read correlation on graphs?

• Positive correlation: As one increases, so does the other.

• Negative correlation: One increases, the other decreases.

• Zero correlation: No relationship.

What is the Just Noticeable Difference (JND)?

he smallest difference in stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time.

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How does the blind spot work?

The part of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye has no photoreceptors, creating a blind spot.

What is transduction and where does it occur?

Eye: Retina.

Ear: Cochlea.

Nose: Olfactory bulb.

Tongue: Taste buds.

Skin: Sensory receptors.

What are amplitude and frequency in senses?

Amplitude: Height of wave → intensity/loudness (sound) or brightness (light).

Frequency: Number of waves → pitch (sound) or color (light).

What is the absolute threshold?

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

What are the stages of sleep?

1. Stage 1 (NREM): Light sleep.

2. Stage 2: Sleep spindles.

3. Stage 3: Deep sleep (delta waves).

4. REM sleep: Dreaming, body paralyzed, brain active.

What is sensory interaction?

The principle that one sense may influence another (e.g., smell affects taste).

What causes afterimages?

Staring at a color for a while fatigues its receptors, and the opposing color appears when you look away.

A person with more taste buds than average

making them highly sensitive to taste, especially bitterness.

What happens when brain areas are damaged?

Broca's area: Speech production issues.

Wernicke’s area: Understanding language issues.

Occipital lobe: Vision problems.

Hippocampus: Memory loss.

Amygdala: Emotional regulation problems.

What is Gate Control Theory?

The spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks or allows pain signals to pass to the brai

What is color blindness?

A genetic condition where individuals can’t perceive certain colors correctly, often red-green.

What is Trichromatic Theory?

Color vision is based on three types of cones: red, green, and blue.

What happens in each stage of sleep?

Stage 1: Drowsy, hallucinations.

Stage 2: Light sleep, sleep spindles.

Stage 3: Deep, restorative sleep (delta).

REM: Dreams, memory consolidation, muscle paralysis.

What is sound localization?

The ability to detect where a sound is coming from based on which ear hears it first and louder.

What are different research methods?

Experiments: Cause-effect.

Surveys: Attitudes, opinions.

Case studies: In-depth single subject.

Naturalistic observation: Watching without interference.

Correlational studies: Identify relationships, not causation.

What is the Volley Theory?

A theory that groups of neurons fire alternately to match the frequency of a sound above 1000 Hz.

What is Activation-Synthesis Theory?

Dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity during REM sleep.

What is Consolidation Theory?

The idea that sleep helps strengthen and stabilize memories formed during the day.

What is the difference between rods and cones?

Rods: Night vision, no color, peripheral.

Cones: Color vision, detail, central vision (fovea)