psych stuff

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus intensity detected on half of the attempts.

Basilar membrane

A membrane in the cochlea containing auditory hair cells.

Binocular cues

Depth cues that rely on information from both eyes.

Cones

Retinal receptors that support color vision, especially in bright light.

Depth cues

Visual information used to perceive distance and three-dimensional space.

Feature detectors

Visual cortex neurons that respond to features such as lines, angles, and movement.

Frequency theory

The account that pitch is indicated by the frequency of auditory nerve firing.

Fovea

The retinal region associated with sharp central vision.

Gustation

The sense of taste, including salty, sour, bitter, and umami sensations.

Just noticeable difference (JND)

The smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected half of the time.

Monocular cues

Depth cues available when viewing with one eye.

Olfactory bulb

A neural structure above the nasal cavity that relays smell information to the olfactory cortex.

Opponent-process theory

The account that color perception involves pairs of visual processes working in opposition.

Perception

The organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information.

Place theory

The account that pitch depends on where the basilar membrane is stimulated.

Retinal disparity

The difference between the images received by the two eyes, used to perceive depth.

Sensation

The detection of stimuli by sensory receptors.

Sensory adaptation

Reduced awareness of a stimulus that remains constant over time.

Signal detection

The ability to distinguish a stimulus from its absence or from other stimulus intensities.

Tonotopic organization

The arrangement of auditory frequencies in neighboring regions of the auditory cortex.

Transduction

The conversion of physical stimulus energy into neural signals.

Trichromatic theory

The account that color vision depends on the combined activity of three types of cone photopigments.

Vestibular sense

The sense of balance.

Visual pathways

The neural routes carrying visual information from the retina through the optic nerve, optic chiasm, and thalamus to the visual cortex.

Wavelength

The distance between successive wave peaks; in vision it relates to color, and in hearing it relates to pitch.

Weber’s law

The principle that the JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.

What pathway

The ventral visual stream, running from the occipital to temporal regions and supporting object recognition.

Where pathway

The dorsal visual stream, running from the occipital to parietal regions and supporting spatial processing.

Activation-synthesis theory

The view that dreams arise as the brain makes sense of its activity during sleep.

Alcohol expectancy

The expectation that alcohol will produce a particular effect, which can influence its use and perceived effects.

Arousal

A person’s level of alertness.

Consciousness

Awareness of the internal and external world.

Default mode network

Connected brain regions that become more active when attention is not focused on the surroundings.

Inattentional blindness

Failure to notice a stimulus because attention is focused elsewhere.

Insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

Mind wandering

Awareness drifting away from the current activity or surroundings.

Narcolepsy

A disorder involving sudden attacks of sleep.

Night terrors

Abrupt awakenings during sleep accompanied by intense emotional arousal.

Obstructive or central sleep apnea

A condition involving pauses in breathing during sleep.

REM behavior disorder

A condition in which a person acts out dreams while asleep.

REM sleep

A sleep stage with rapid eye movements and brain activity resembling wakefulness.

Selective attention

The focused direction of awareness toward particular information.

Subliminal influence

The effect of a stimulus on a person without conscious awareness of its influence.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

A brain structure that regulates sleep and arousal cycles.

Withdrawal

Physical or psychological effects that occur when a person stops or reduces use of a drug.

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)

Walking or performing other actions while asleep.

Stage 1 sleep

A shallow sleep stage associated with theta waves.

Stage 2 sleep

A sleep stage associated with K-complexes and sleep spindles.

Stage 3 sleep

A deeper sleep stage associated with delta waves.

Tolerance

The need for increasingly larger doses of a drug to achieve the same effect.

Unihemispheric sleep

A sleep pattern in which one brain hemisphere sleeps while the other remains alert.

Change blindness

Failure to notice a change in a scene or stimulus.

Circadian rhythm

A roughly 24-hour cycle of sleep and arousal that can continue without light cues.

Drug dependence

Reliance on a drug, which may involve physical or psychological effects when use stops.

Fixed mindset

The belief that intelligence is unchanging.

Growth mindset

The belief that intelligence can be developed.

Hallucinogens

Drugs that alter sensation and perception.

Intersensory interaction

The influence of information from one sense on the perception of another.

Opioids

Pain-reducing drugs derived from opium.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase central nervous system activity.

Depressants

Drugs that reduce central nervous system activity.

Anterograde amnesia

Difficulty forming new long-term memories after brain trauma.

Attention

The process that allows information to be selected and taken in for learning.

Chunking

Grouping small pieces of information into larger units to aid memory.

Cued recall

Retrieval of a memory with related information provided as a cue.

Echoic memory

Brief sensory memory for auditory information.

Elaborative encoding

Encoding that connects information to personal experience or existing knowledge.

Encoding

The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory.

Encoding failure

Failure to remember information because it was not effectively encoded.

Episodic memory

Explicit memory for personal experiences.

Explicit memory

Memory for information that can be consciously recalled.

False memory

A memory of an event that is inaccurate or did not occur.

Flashbulb memory

A vivid memory associated with an emotionally significant event.

Free recall

Retrieval of stored information without cues.

Infantile amnesia

The inability of adults to recall early childhood episodic memories.

Long-term memory

Memory storage that can retain information for extended periods.

Memory storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

Misinformation effect

The alteration of memory for an event after exposure to misleading information.

Motivated forgetting

The proposed blocking or forgetting of upsetting memories because of a motivation to avoid them.

Proactive interference

Difficulty remembering new information because older information interferes.

Recall

Retrieval of information from memory.

Retroactive interference

Difficulty remembering older information because newer information interferes.

Retrograde amnesia

Loss of memory for events that occurred before brain trauma.

Semantic encoding

Encoding information by its meaning.

Semantic memory

Explicit memory for facts and general knowledge.

Sensory memory

Brief storage of information received through the senses.

Short-term memory

A temporary memory store that holds information for a short period.

Serial position effect

The tendency to remember items at the beginning or end of a sequence better than those in the middle.

Working memory

The active maintenance and processing of information in short-term memory.

Alzheimer’s disease

A neurodegenerative disease that impairs memory and other mental functions.

Implicit memory

Memory expressed through skills or processes without conscious recollection.

Iconic memory

Brief sensory memory for visual information.

Rehearsal

Repetition of information to keep it available in short-term memory.

Achievement test

A test that measures learned knowledge or skills.

Affect heuristic

A mental shortcut that uses feelings to make judgments and decisions.

Algorithm

A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem.

Availability heuristic

A mental shortcut that estimates likelihood or frequency based on how readily information comes to mind.

Bounded rationality

The tendency to choose an option that is good enough rather than seeking the best possible option.

Category

A group of objects, events, or stimuli that share features.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek and weigh evidence that supports existing beliefs.