Intro to General Psych Midterm Exam Study Guide

What is the distinction between sensation and perception?

Sensation is the process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from the environment. Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling recognition of meaningful objects and events.

How does bottom-up processing differ from top-down processing?

Bottom-up processing begins with sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. Top-down processing is guided by higher-level mental processes, constructing perceptions by drawing on experience and expectations.

What are the three basic steps common to all sensory systems?

All sensory systems receive sensory stimulation (often using specialized receptor cells), transform that stimulation into neural impulses (transduction), and deliver the neural information to our brain.

What is an absolute threshold, and what defines a subliminal stimulus?

An absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus $50$ percent of the time. A subliminal stimulus is input that falls below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

What does signal detection theory predict regarding stimulus detection?

Signal detection theory predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). It assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

What is the difference threshold, and how does Weber's law explain it?

The difference threshold (just noticeable difference) is the minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time. Weber's law states that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage rather than a constant amount.

What is sensory adaptation, and what benefit does it provide?

Sensory adaptation is diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. It increases focus by reducing background chatter and allows perception in a personally useful way.

What is a perceptual set, and what determines it?

A perceptual set is a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. It is determined by schemas that organize and interpret unfamiliar information through experience.

Based on the physical properties of light waves, how do wavelength and amplitude determine visual experience?

Wavelength determines hue (short wavelength/high frequency yields bluish colors; long wavelength/low frequency yields reddish colors). Amplitude determines brightness (great amplitude yields bright colors; small amplitude yields dull colors).

Through what process does the lens change its curvature and thickness to focus light rays onto the retina?

Accommodation.

How do rods and cones differ in quantity, location, and functional sensitivity?

Cones number about $6\text{ million}$, are located in the center of the retina (fovea), have low dim-light sensitivity, and provide high color and detail sensitivity. Rods number about $120\text{ million}$, are located in the periphery, have high dim-light sensitivity, and provide low color and detail sensitivity while detecting black, white, gray, and movement.

What is the order of neural cell activation in the retina when light enters the eye?

Light entering the eye triggers a chemical reaction in rods and cones at the back of the retina. This reaction activates bipolar cells, which in turn activate ganglion cells whose combined axons form the optic nerve.

What anatomical feature creates a blind spot in human vision?

The blind spot occurs at the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, because no receptor cells (rods or cones) are located there.

What structure allows half of each eye's visual information to cross to the opposite side of the brain?

The X-shaped optic chiasm.

What are the two primary theories that explain color processing?

The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory states that the retina has red-, green-, and blue-sensitive cones that respond in varying degrees. Hering's opponent-process theory states that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision.

What specialized neural network in the temporal lobe enables face recognition?

The fusiform face area.

What is parallel processing in visual perception?

Parallel processing is the brain's ability to process multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem—such as motion, form, depth, and color—simultaneously.

What is the figure-ground principle in Gestalt psychology?

Figure-ground refers to organizing the visual field into objects (the figure) that stand out as distinct from their surroundings (the ground).

What did Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk explore using the visual cliff?

They conducted visual cliff studies to explore depth perception in infants and young animals, demonstrating that depth perception is present, at least in part, at birth and amplifies with crawling experience.

What are monocular depth cues, and what are five examples?

Monocular cues are depth cues available to either eye alone. Examples include relative height, relative size, relative motion, linear perspective, interposition, and light and shadow.

Why do squares A and B in the checkerboard illusion appear to differ in brightness despite reflecting identical light?

Perception of brightness depends on relative luminance, where the brain computes an object's lightness relative to surrounding objects and visual context.

At what decibel level does prolonged sound exposure produce hearing loss?

Prolonged exposure to noise above $85\text{ decibels}$ can produce hearing loss.

What distinguishes sensorineural hearing loss from conduction hearing loss?

Sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness) is caused by damage to the cochlea's hair cell receptors or the auditory nerve. Conduction hearing loss is caused by damage to the mechanical system (eardrum and middle ear bones) that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

How does the brain compute the location of a sound source?

The brain computes a sound's location by comparing the slight differences in timing and intensity between sound waves striking one ear sooner and more intensely than the other.

How does gate-control theory describe pain transmission in the spinal cord?

Gate-control theory states that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that controls pain signals. Small nerve fibers send pain signals to open the gate, whereas activity in large fibers or brain-to-spinal-cord messages (like endorphin release) can close the gate.

What biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors influence personal pain experience?

Biological influences include nociceptor activity, genetic differences in endorphin production, and CNS processing. Psychological influences include attention to pain, learning, and expectations. Social-cultural influences include presence of others, empathy for others' pain, and cultural expectations.

What survival functions do the five basic taste sensations serve?

Sweet indicates an energy source; Salty indicates sodium essential to physiological processes; Sour indicates potentially toxic acid; Bitter indicates potential poisons; Umami indicates proteins to grow and repair tissue.

What path do odorant molecules follow in olfaction?

Odorants bind to receptors on olfactory receptor cells in the olfactory membrane. The activated cells send electrical signals that are relayed via converged axons through the bone to the olfactory bulb, which transmits signals to higher regions of the brain.

What is the difference between kinesthesia and the vestibular sense?

Kinesthesia is the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. The vestibular sense is the sense of overall body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

What is synesthesia?

Synesthesia is a phenomenon where brain circuits for two or more senses become joined to produce sensory blends (such as seeing sounds or tasting colors).

How is learning defined, and what are its three primary forms?

Learning is the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors. Its three main forms are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognitive learning.

In Ivan Pavlov's salivary conditioning experiment, what were the US, UR, CS, and CR?

The Unconditioned Stimulus (US) was food in the mouth; the Unconditioned Response (UR) was salivation; the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) was the tone; and the Conditioned Response (CR) was salivation to the tone.

How did Ivan Pavlov record salivation during his conditioning trials?

Pavlov diverted salivation from a dog's salivary gland through a tube into a measuring device that recorded drops of saliva.

What defines behaviorism according to John B. Watson?

Behaviorism is the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

What occurs during extinction and spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

Extinction is the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus (US) no longer follows a conditioned stimulus (CS). Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

How did Pavlov demonstrate stimulus generalization using bodily stimulation in dogs?

After conditioning salivation by stimulating a dog's thigh, Pavlov stimulated other body areas. Responses occurred across the body, with the strongest salivation coming from areas nearest the thigh.

What is Thorndike's law of effect?

The law of effect is the principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

What is the operational distinction between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement increases behaviors by presenting a desirable stimulus. Negative reinforcement increases behaviors by stopping or removing an aversive stimulus.

How do response rates differ across the four partial reinforcement schedules?

Fixed-ratio yields rapid responding after every $n^{\text{th}}$ behavior. Variable-ratio produces high response rates resistant to extinction after an unpredictable number of behaviors. Fixed-interval creates a scalloped pattern with rapid responding near the reinforcement time. Variable-interval produces slow, steady responding across random time intervals.

What is the difference between positive punishment and negative punishment?

Positive punishment administers an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment withdraws a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior.

What major drawbacks of physical punishment are identified by the APA?

Physical punishment suppresses rather than forgets behavior, does not replace unwanted behavior, teaches discrimination among situations, teaches fear, and may increase aggression by modeling violence.

What did John Garcia and Robert Koelling's taste-aversion research show about classical conditioning?

They showed that biological constraints predispose organisms to learn ecologically relevant associations (such as taste paired with illness) far more readily than arbitrary ones (such as light or sound paired with illness).

What are a cognitive map and latent learning in operant conditioning?

A cognitive map is a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. Latent learning is learning that occurs without obvious reinforcement but becomes apparent when an incentive is offered.

What did Albert Bandura demonstrate in the famous Bobo doll experiment?

Bandura demonstrated observational learning (social learning) and modeling, showing that children directly imitate aggressive behaviors observed in adults depending on vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment.

What are mirror neurons and where are they located?

Mirror neurons are frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another perform them, providing a neural basis for imitation, empathy, and observational learning.

In psychology, how is "sex" defined?

The biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex.

In psychology, how is "gender" defined?

The behavioral characteristics that people associate with boy, girl, man, and woman.

How many chromosomes do humans receive from each biological parent, and how many are unisex?

Most humans receive $23$ chromosomes from each biological parent, and $45$ of those chromosomes are unisex (the same for everyone).

How is aggression defined, and how do men and women typically differ in its expression?

Aggression is defined as any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally. Men admit to more aggression, especially extreme physical violence, while women are slightly more likely to commit relational aggression.

According to workplace gender bias statistics in the lecture, what is the career earnings difference between male and female doctors?

Over their careers, male doctors earn $\${2,000,000}$ more than female doctors.

What percentage of seats in the world's governing parliaments were held by men in 2024?

Men held $73\%$ of seats in the world's governing parliaments in 2024.

When during prenatal development do biological sexual characteristics become apparent and testosterone production trigger?

Biological sexual characteristics become more apparent around $6$ weeks after conception, and a single gene on the Y chromosome triggers testosterone development around $7$ weeks after conception.

Based on this slide diagram, how do prenatal hormone exposure and gender socialization interact to influence behavior?

Prenatal hormone exposure directly affects brain organization and external anatomy. External anatomy leads to gender socialization, which together with brain organization influences behavior.

What are primary and secondary sex characteristics, spermarche, and menarche?

Primary sex characteristics are reproductive organs; secondary sex characteristics are nonreproductive traits. Spermarche is the first ejaculation in males, and menarche is the first menstrual period in females.

What is the definition of intersex, and what are two examples of intersex conditions?

Intersex describes individuals born with combinations of male and female chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy. Examples include Klinefelter syndrome and Turner syndrome.

What is the social learning theory of gender identity?

It proposes that social behavior is learned by observing and imitating, and by being rewarded or punished.

How do cisgender and transgender identities differ?

Cisgender individuals have a gender identity that corresponds with their sex assigned at birth, whereas transgender individuals have a gender identity that differs from their assigned sex at birth.

According to Oxfam International (2021), what impact did the Covid pandemic have on women's employment worldwide in 2020?

In 2020, women worldwide lost $64$ million jobs and \\text{\\$800} billion in income.

What are the four stages of the sexual response cycle defined by William Masters and Virginia Johnson (1966)?

Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm, and Resolution (which includes a refractory period).

What is paraphilia, and when is it classified as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association?

Paraphilia is sexual arousal from fantasies, behaviors, or urges involving nonhuman objects, suffering of self/others, or nonconsenting persons. It is classified as a disorder only if the person experiences distress or if harm/risk of harm to self or others is entailed.

Which factors contribute to teen sexual risk taking, and which factors promote sexual restraint?

Risk taking is increased by alcohol use, impulsivity, mass media, and lack of communication about birth control/sexual health. Restraint is promoted by high intelligence, religious engagement, father presence, comprehensive sex education, and service learning participation.

What brain difference did Simon LeVay discover in relation to sexual orientation?

Simon LeVay found that a cell cluster in the hypothalamus is larger in straight men than in straight women and gay men.

According to this graph on the older-brother effect, how does the number of older brothers relate to same-sex attraction in right-handed versus non-right-handed men?

For right-handed men, the probability of same-sex attraction increases as the number of older brothers increases, whereas for non-right-handed men, the probability remains constant regardless of the number of older brothers.

How do evolutionary psychologists explain male and female mating preferences?

Women tend to prefer partners who offer joint offspring support and protection (affluent, tall, broad shoulders), while men tend to prefer youthful partners with smooth skin and healthy shapes that convey fertility.

What are the three major issues explored by developmental psychologists?

1. Nature and nurture (how genetic inheritance and environment interact). 2. Continuity and stages (whether development is a gradual, continuous process or a sequence of discrete stages). 3. Stability and change (which traits persist throughout life and how we change as we age).

Which major stage theorists are associated with cognitive, moral, and psychosocial development?

Jean Piaget developed a stage theory for cognitive development, Lawrence Kohlberg for moral development, and Erik Erikson for psychosocial development.

What are the three stages of prenatal development and their corresponding timeframes?

1. Zygote: From conception through 2 weeks (rapid cell division). 2. Embryo: From 2 weeks through 2 months (organ formation and development). 3. Fetus: From 9 weeks after conception until birth (recognizably human form).

What is a teratogen, and what characterizes fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FAS)?

A teratogen is an agent, such as a chemical or virus, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm. FAS involves physical and cognitive deficits in children caused by heavy maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, marked in severe cases by a small, out-of-proportion head and distinct facial features.

What reflex and sensory capabilities are present in a competent newborn?

Newborns arrive with automatic survival reflexes such as sucking, tonguing, swallowing, and breathing. They cry to elicit help, search for human sights and sounds (preferring face-like images and their mother's smell), and possess a biologically rooted temperament.

What is habituation, and how is it used in developmental research?

Habituation is a decrease in responsiveness with repeated stimulation. Developmental psychologists use it to study what infants can perceive, learn, and remember.

How does environmental enrichment affect neural development in rats?

Rats raised in an enriched environment develop significantly more complex dendritic branching and a thicker cerebral cortex compared to those raised in an impoverished environment.

What is infantile amnesia?

The inability of adults to consciously recall memories from the first few years of life (typically before age 3 to 4 years), which wanes as neural structures mature.

According to Jean Piaget, how do assimilation and accommodation adjust schemas?

Assimilation involves interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas. Accommodation involves adapting or modifying current schemas to incorporate new information.

What is object permanence, and when does it typically emerge?

Object permanence is the awareness that objects continue to exist even when not perceived. It develops during the sensorimotor stage, starting around 8 months of age.

What cognitive milestone is being tested in this demonstration, and at which stage is it mastered?

It tests conservation—the principle that physical properties like volume remain unchanged despite changes in form or container shape—which is mastered during the concrete operational stage (around age 7).

What characterizes Piaget's preoperational stage of cognitive development?

Spanning from about age 2 to 6 or 7 years, children can represent things with words and images and engage in pretend play and symbolic thinking, but lack logical mental operations and display egocentrism.

What is theory of mind, and at what age do children typically realize that others can hold false beliefs?

Theory of mind is the ability to infer and understand the mental states, feelings, and beliefs of oneself and others. Children worldwide typically realize between ages 3 and 4½ that others can hold false beliefs.

What did Harry and Margaret Harlow's monkey experiments demonstrate about attachment?

Their research proved that attachment is primarily based on body contact and contact comfort rather than simply being fed or nourished by a caregiver.

What is a critical period, and what is imprinting?

A critical period is an optimal period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development. Imprinting is the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period.

At what age does infants' distress over separation from their mothers peak?

Separation distress peaks at approximately 13 months of age, regardless of whether the infant has experienced day care or has been raised at home.

What are the four primary parenting styles identified by Diana Baumrind?

1. Authoritarian: Coercive and imposing strict rules. 2. Permissive: Unrestraining with few demands or limits. 3. Neglectful: Uninvolved, neither demanding nor responsive. 4. Authoritative: Confrontive, balancing high demands with high responsiveness.

How does the relative timing of brain maturation in adolescence impact behavior?

The limbic system, which processes emotions and reward seeking, develops earlier than the frontal lobe, which governs impulse control and decision making, causing emotional and risky behavior to outpace self-control.

What are Lawrence Kohlberg's three levels of moral thinking and their central focus?

1. Preconventional morality (before age 9): Focuses on self-interest and obeying rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards. 2. Conventional morality (early adolescence): Focuses on upholding laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order. 3. Postconventional morality (adolescence and beyond): Focuses on self-defined ethical principles and basic human rights.

What are the psychosocial stages proposed by Erik Erikson for adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood?

1. Adolescence: Identity vs. role confusion. 2. Young adulthood: Intimacy vs. isolation. 3. Middle adulthood: Generativity vs. stagnation. 4. Late adulthood: Integrity vs. despair.

What is emerging adulthood?

A period from age 18 to the mid-twenties, bridging adolescent dependence and full adult independence, characterized by feelings of being 'in-between'.

How do memory recall and recognition differ as individuals age through adulthood?

Recognition memory remains stable across adulthood, whereas recall ability steadily declines with age.

What is the modern psychological definition of consciousness?

Consciousness is defined as the subjective awareness of self and environment.

How did the study of consciousness evolve historically from the 1880s through the late twentieth century?

In the 1880s, psychology focused on describing and explaining states of consciousness. During the first half of the twentieth century, focus shifted to the direct observation of behavior, and by the 1960s, consciousness was nearly lost to the science of behavior. From the 1960s onwards, mental concepts reemerged through cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

What is cognitive neuroscience and what do cognitive neuroscientists suggest about consciousness?

Cognitive neuroscience is the interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition. Cognitive neuroscientists suggest that consciousness arises from synchronized brain activity.

What is selective attention and what is the cocktail party effect?

Selective attention is the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. The cocktail party effect is an example of selective attention, referring to the ability to attend to one voice among many.

What is inattentional blindness?

Inattentional blindness is the failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

What is change blindness?

Change blindness is a form of inattentional blindness characterized by the failure to notice changes in the environment.

How much does brain activity allocated to driving decrease during a conversation?

Brain activity allocated to driving decreases by an average of 37 percent when conversation occurs.

What is dual processing in psychology?

Dual processing is the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) tracks, affecting perceptions, memory, attitudes, and other cognitions.

What is blindsight?

Blindsight is a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

How do parallel processing and sequential processing differ?

Parallel processing is the brain's natural mode for processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously (unconscious and fast), whereas sequential processing involves focusing conscious awareness on a single particular stimulus at a time.

What is circadian rhythm?

Circadian rhythm is an internal biological clock that operates on a 24-hour cycle of day and night, regulating body temperature, wakefulness, and sleep patterns.

Based on the biological clock diagram below, how do the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and pineal gland regulate melatonin?

Bright morning light activates light-sensitive retinal proteins that trigger the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to decrease melatonin production by the pineal gland in the morning, while melatonin production increases in the evening.

What brain wave patterns are associated with relaxed awake states, deep N3 sleep, and REM sleep as shown in the EEG diagram below?

Relaxed awake states show regular alpha waves, deep N3 sleep shows slow, large delta waves, and REM sleep shows rapid brain waves resembling near-waking N1 sleep while the body remains internally aroused.

What are sleep spindles and during which stage of sleep do they occur?

Sleep spindles are bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity that aid memory processing; they occur during N2 sleep.