Intro to Psychology: EXAM 2

Over chapters 5, 6, and 7.

What is sensation?

The detection of external physical stimuli by the sense organs and transmission of that information to the brain.

What is perception?

The brain’s process of organizing, interpreting, and integrating sensory input to create an internal representation of the external world.

What are sensory receptors?

Specialized cells that detect physical stimulation and convert it into neural signals.

What is transduction?

The process by which sensory receptors convert physical energy from stimuli into neural signals that the brain can interpret.

What is the absolute threshold?

The minimum amount of stimulation required for a person to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time.

What is the difference threshold (just noticeable difference)?

The smallest detectable difference between two sensory stimuli.

What does Weber’s Law state?

The size of the just noticeable difference is proportional to the size of the original stimulus.

What is sensory adaptation?

A decrease in sensitivity to a constant and unchanging stimulus over time.

What are the main parts of the eye and their functions?

Cornea – transparent outer layer; Pupil – opening controlled by the iris; Iris – colored muscle regulating light; Lens – focuses light on retina; Retina – contains rods and cones.

What are rods and cones?

Rods detect dim light and poor detail; Cones detect color and fine detail in bright light.

What is the blind spot?

The point on the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye and contains no photoreceptors.

Describe the pathway of visual information.

Light → Retina → Optic Nerve → Thalamus → Primary Visual Cortex (Occipital Lobe).

What does light amplitude determine?

Brightness.

What does light wavelength determine?

Color (hue).

What are the main theories of color perception?

Trichromatic Theory (three cone types) and Opponent-Process Theory (opposing color pairs).

What are Gestalt principles?

Rules the brain uses to organize sensory input into meaningful wholes such as proximity and closure.

What is figure-ground organization?

The ability to distinguish an object (figure) from its background (ground).

What is bottom-up versus top-down processing?

Bottom-up = driven by sensory input

Top-down = influenced by expectations and experience

What is a perceptual set?

A mental predisposition to perceive things based on expectations.

What are binocular cues?

Depth cues that require both eyes, such as binocular disparity.

What are monocular cues?

Depth cues visible to one eye like linear perspective and texture gradient.

What is a motion aftereffect?

An illusion of opposite motion after viewing movement for a long time.

What is stroboscopic motion?

The illusion of motion from rapid presentation of still images.

What is object constancy?

Perception of objects as constant in size, shape, color, and lightness despite sensory changes.

What are the main structures of the ear?

Outer ear collects sound; Middle ear transmits via eardrum and ossicles; Inner ear (cochlea and basilar membrane) transduces sound through hair cells.

Describe the hearing pathway.

Sound → Auditory Canal → Eardrum → Cochlea → Auditory Nerve → Thalamus → Auditory Cortex.

What is the 60/60 rule for hearing?

Listen at 60 percent volume for no more than 60 minutes.

What causes noise-induced hearing loss?

Prolonged exposure to loud sounds that damage hair cells in the cochlea.

What physical properties of sound correspond to perception?

Amplitude = loudness; Frequency = pitch in hertz.

What are temporal and place coding?

Temporal coding for low pitch uses neuron timing

Place coding for high pitch depends on location of stimulation on the basilar membrane.

How do we localize sound?

By comparing arrival time and intensity differences between ears.

What is the vestibular sense?

The sense of balance located in the semicircular canals of the inner ear.

What are the five basic tastes?

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

What is the pathway of taste information?

Tongue → Facial Nerve → Thalamus → Primary Gustatory Cortex.

Who are supertasters?

People with more taste buds and greater taste sensitivity.

What influences taste preferences?

Texture, culture, and past experience.

What is the olfactory epithelium?

Tissue in the nasal cavity containing odor receptors.

What is the olfactory bulb?

The brain structure that processes smell and sends it to the olfactory cortex without passing through the thalamus.

What brain regions process smell?

Pleasantness → prefrontal cortex; Intensity → amygdala.

How many odors can humans detect?

Over one trillion.

What touch receptors exist?

Warmth, cold, pressure, and pain receptors.

What does the primary somatosensory cortex do?

Processes touch; areas with greater sensitivity take up more space (e.g., lips and fingers).

What is the kinesthetic sense?

Sense of body position and movement from muscle and joint receptors.

What are fast and slow pain fibers?

Fast fibers (myelinated) signal sharp pain; slow fibers (unmyelinated) signal dull pain.

What is the gate control theory of pain?

The spinal cord acts as a gate that can block or allow pain signals based on brain input.

How can pain perception be reduced?

Through distraction, music, or relaxation techniques.

What is learning?

A change in behavior resulting from experience or acquired knowledge.

What is behaviorism?

A theory that focuses on how the environment determines learning.

Who were key behaviorists?

John Watson (tabula rasa idea) and B. F. Skinner (animal learning experiments).

What are the three main types of learning?

Non-associative, Associative, and Learning by watching others.

What is non-associative learning?

Learning about a single stimulus such as a sound or sight.

What is habituation?

Decreased response after repeated exposure to a harmless stimulus.

What is sensitization?

Increased response after repeated exposure to a stimulus that is threatening or rewarding.

What is associative learning?

Learning that two events or stimuli are related.

What are the three ways we learn by watching others?

Observational learning, Modeling, and Vicarious conditioning.

What is observational learning?

Learning or modifying behavior after watching someone else.

What is modeling?

Imitating behavior that has been observed.

What is vicarious conditioning?

Learning to act or avoid based on seeing others rewarded or punished.

What is classical conditioning?

A learning process where a neutral stimulus elicits a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces that response.

Who discovered classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov through his dog salivation experiments.

What are the four steps of classical conditioning?

1 Unconditioned Stimulus → Unconditioned Response; 2 Add neutral stimulus; 3 Pair Neutral Stimulus with Unconditioned Stimulus; 4 Neutral Stimulus becomes Conditioned Stimulus eliciting Conditioned Response.

Define: Unconditioned Stimulus

Naturally elicits stimulus

What is acquisition?

The gradual formation of a Conditioned Stimulus

What is extinction?

When the Conditioned Stimulus is no longer paired with Unconditioned Stimulus and Conditioned Response weakens.

What is spontaneous recovery?

Reappearance of a weakened Conditioned Response after extinction.

What is stimulus generalization?

Similar stimuli to Conditioned Stimulus produce the same Conditioned Response.

What is stimulus discrimination?

Ability to distinguish between Conditioned Stimulus and similar stimuli.

Give an example of classical conditioning in film.

Jaws theme music signals fear before the shark appears.

What is a phobia?

An acquired irrational fear disproportionate to real threat.

Describe the Little Albert study.

A white rat paired with a loud noise caused fear that generalized to other objects.

What is counterconditioning?

Pairing a feared stimulus with a pleasant experience to reduce fear.

What is conditioned taste aversion?

Avoidance of food that once caused illness after a single pairing.

What did Rescorla’s cognitive model show?

Learning depends on how surprising the Unconditioned Stimulus is and how predictive the Conditioned Stimulus is.

What is operant conditioning?

Learning where the consequences of actions determine future behavior.

Who proposed the Law of Effect?

Edward Thorndike – satisfying outcomes increase behavior, annoying outcomes decrease it.

Who expanded on the Law of Effect?

B. F. Skinner with systematic study of reinforcement.

What is a reinforcer?

A stimulus that increases likelihood of a behavior.

What is shaping?

Reinforcing successive approximations toward a desired behavior.

What are primary reinforcers?

Biological needs like food or water.

What are secondary reinforcers?

Learned rewards like money or praise.

What is positive reinforcement?

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior.

What is negative reinforcement?

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior.

What is positive punishment?

Adding something unpleasant to reduce behavior.

What is negative punishment?

Removing something pleasant to reduce behavior.

What is continuous reinforcement?

Reinforcing every correct response; produces rapid learning but weak persistence.

What is partial reinforcement?

Reinforcing only sometimes; slower learning but stronger resistance to extinction.

What are four reinforcement schedules?

Fixed interval, Variable interval, Fixed ratio, Variable ratio.

Give examples of each schedule.

Fixed Interval – paycheck; Variable Interval – pop quiz; Fixed Ratio – paid per task; Variable Ratio – slot machine.

What is the partial reinforcement extinction effect?

Behavior learned under partial schedule persists longer after reinforcement stops.

Why is punishment often ineffective?

It can create fear, anxiety, and is often misapplied.

What are side effects of physical punishment?

More aggression, low self-esteem, and poor relationships.

What is a better alternative to physical punishment?

Negative punishment like time-outs or loss of privileges.

What is behavior modification?

Using operant conditioning techniques to replace unwanted behaviors with desired ones.

What are the six steps of behavior modification?

Identify behavior, set goals, monitor, select reinforcer and schedule, reinforce, adjust.

What role does dopamine play in learning?

Dopamine release strengthens reinforcement associations.

What is latent learning?

Learning without reinforcement shown later when needed.

Who demonstrated latent learning?

Edward Tolman with rats that developed cognitive maps of mazes.

What is a cognitive map?

A mental representation of environmental layout.

What limits conditioning?

Biological predispositions that favor natural behaviors.

Who conducted the Bobo doll study?

Albert Bandura (1961).