Psychology/Sociology MCAT - 100 page doc (MCAT QUICK STUDY)

visual cues

depth, form, motion, constancy

binocular cues

retinal disparity and convergence

monocular cues

relative size, interposition, relative height, shading and contour, and motion parallax

Just noticeable difference

threshold at which youre able to notice a change in any sensation

Weber's law

Delta I/I = K (JND is delta I)

absolute threshold of sensation

minimum intensity of stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time. Influenced by psychological states of: expectations, experience, motivation, alertness

Subliminal stimuli

stimuli below absolute threshold

semicircular canal

inner ear - "__________" (posterior, lateral, and anterior). Filled w/ endolymph and causes it to shift that allows us to detect what direction our head is moving in and the strength of rotation

otolithic organs

(utricle and saccule) help us to detect linear acceleration and head positioning. Ca crystals attached to hair cells in viscous gel. pulls on hair cells and triggers action potential. dizziness and vertigo

d

strength of signal in signal detection theory variable

c

strategy of signal in signal detection theory

Bottom up

type of processing: stimulus influences our perception.

Top down

Type of processing: background knowledge influences perception

Gestalt principles

similarity, pragnanz, proximity, continuity, closure

Conjunctiva

first layer light hits

cornea

transparent thick sheet of tissue

anterior chamber

space filled with aqueous humor, which provides pressure to maintain shape of eyeball

pupil

hold made by iris, determines eye color

lens

bends the light so it goes to back of eyeball

suspensory ligaments

attached to ciliary muscle. two things together form the ciliary body, which secretes the aqueous humor

posterior chamber

area behind ciliary muscle, filled w/ aqueous humor

vitreous chamber

filled w/ vitreous humour, jelly like substance to provide pressure to the eyeball

retina

filled w/ photoreceptors

macula

special part of retina rich in cones

fovea

completely covered in cones, no rods

choroid

pigmented black in humans, network of blood vessels

sclera

whites of eyes

400nm-700nm

Violet-Red

light turns off rod, turns on bipolar cell, turns on retinal ganglion cell, travels to optic nerve

pathway of rod cell activation

phototransduction cascade

when light hits rods and cones. when light hits its turned off

rods

are rods or cones more numerous in the human eye?

rhodopsin

rods contain _____?

photopsin

cones contain ________?

rods

have slow recovery time? rods or cones

cones

have fast recovery time? rods or cones

pinna

first place sound waves hit ear - outer ear

external auditory meatus

auditory canal - after pinnus - outer ear

tympanic membrane

eardrum - constricts whenever noises are too loud - outer ear

20-20000Hz

range we can hear

basilar tuning

varying hair cells in cochlea. Hair cells at the base of cochlea are activated by high frequency sounds, and those at apex by low frequency sounds

Primary auditory cortex

What brain structure receives information from the cochlea?

adaptation

change over time of receptor to constant stimulus. push down ith hand, receptors experiences constant pressure. But after a few seconds no longer fires

amplification

considered upregulation. Light hits photoreceptor in eye and cause cell to fire. When cell fires can be connected to 2 cells with also fire action potential

kinaesthesis

movement of the body

A-beta fibers

fast fibers thick and covered in myelin (less resistance, high conductance)

A-delta fibers

smaller diameter, less myelin

C fibers

small diameter, unmyelinated (lingering sense of pain)

consciousness

awareness of self and environment

beta waves

waves associated w/ being awake and concentrating

alpha waves

daydreaming and not focused. disappear in drowsiness but reappear during deep sleep

theta waves

drowsiness right before you fall asleep

delta waves

deep sleep or coma

N1

theta waves, hypnagonic hallucinations, hypnic jerks

N2

deeper stage of sleep, harder to awaken, theta waves, sleep spindles, and K-complexes

N3

delta waves, sleep walking/talking

REM

similar to beta waves seen awake. dream part, paralysis

pineal gland

this gland produces melatonin

Prefrontal cortex

region of brain activity that is decreased during REM sleep. This is why dreams defy logic.

Freud

who believed that our unconscious thoughts are from our desires

Manifest content

what happens during the dream are called?

Latent content

what the hidden meaning behind event in dream is?

Activation synthesis hypothesis

hypothesis of dreaming that states that a brain gets a lot of neural impulses to the brainstem that is sometimes interpreted by the front cortex. Tries to find meaning

central sleep apnea

presence of apneas without obstruction. Problems with control system for ventilation

Cheyne-Stokes breathing

period of oscillations while breathing then flat. hyperventilation can occur while asleep. caused by medication or obesity

dissociation theory

Theory of hypnotism and is an extreme form of divided consciousness

Social influence theory

Theory of hypnotism and people do and report whats expected of them, like actors caught up in their roles.

Barbituates

Drug that depresses your CNS. used to induce sleep or reduce anxiety. side effects are reduced memory, judgement and concentration, with alcohol can lead to death.

Benzodiazepines

Drug that sleep aids or anti-anxiety. Enhances brains response to GABA

opiates

Drug used to treat pain and anxiety. heroine and morphine. not a depressant. act on endorphins. leads to euphoria.

Caffeine

Drug that inhibits adenosine receptors

Cocaine

releases so much dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine that it depletes brains supply. intense crash after.

amphetamines and methamphetamines

trigger release of dopamine, euphoria up to 8 hours. unable to regulate dopamine as long term addicts

ecstasy

stimulant and hallucinogen. increases dopamine, serotonin, and euphoria. artificial feeling of social connectedness

ventral tagmental area

This region of the brain (in midbrain) sends dopamine to the amygdala (says something was enjoyable), nucleus accumbens (controls motor functions), prefrontal cortex (focuses attention and planning), and hippocampus (memory formation).

cognitive behavioral therapy

type of drug tx that addresses both cognitive and behavioral components of addiction. long lasting!

motivational interviewing

type of interview that helps patient find intrinsic motivation for change.

exogenous

things that we dont have to tell ourselves to look for them. can direct our attention

endogenous

things we have to tell ourselves to recognize. Like the cocktail party effect (ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd)

shadowing task

task where left ear hears one things and right ear hears another thing

Broadbent's early selection theory

Theory that all info goes to sensory registor which is then transferred to selective filter and finally perceptual processes.

Deutch and Deutch's late selection theory

selective filter after perceptual processes

Treismans attenuation theory

instead of selective filter have attenuator. weakens but doesn't eliminate input from unattended ear.

spotlight model of attention

model of attention that is selective attention. takes in from 5 senses, but doesn't pay attention to everything. aware on unconscious level.

information processing model

model that brain gets input, processes, and sends output

working memory

what you are thinking about at the moment

dual coding hypothesis

is easier to remember words associated with images. can use method of loci.

long term memory

memory where capacity is unlimited. 2 main categories explicit (declarative) and implicit (non-declarative)

explicit memory

memory: facts/events you can clearly describe. anytime you are taking a test you are using semantic memory (has to do with words. second type is episodic memory (event relation memories)

implicit memory

thats you may not articulate such as riding a bicycle, procedural memories

encoding

transferring sensory information into memory

rote rehearsal

saying something over and over again to remember something. least effective

misleading information

observed video of car crash, asked how fast cars were going. some people got owrd hit and some got smash. if people received smashed, more likely to say there was glass on the ground.

false information

inaccurate recollections of event

long-term potentiation

repeated stimulation, the same pre-synaptic neuron converts into greater post-synaptic neuron - stronger synapse, and when it lasts longer called?

retroactive

type of interfering where new learning impairs old info (writing new address)

proactive

type of interfering where info you learned in past impairs learning in future (new password)

implicit memory and recognition

when aging what remains stable for cognitive abilities?

semantic memories, verbal skills, and crystallized IQ

when aging what improves for cognitive abilities

recall, episodic memories, processing speed, prospective memory, and divided attention

what cognitive abilities decline with age?

retrograde amnesisa

inability to recall info previously encoded