AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1-4 (copy)

acetylcholine

motor movement; lack of this is associated with Alzheimer's diseas. Linked to memory.

dopamine

motor movement and alertness; lack of dopamine is associated with Parkinson's disease; an overabundance is associated with schizophrenia

endorphins

pain control; involved in addictions

serotonin

mood control; lack of this is associated with clinical depression

GABA

important inhibitory neurotransmitter; seizures and sleep problems

glutamine

excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory; migraines and seizures

norephinephrine

alertness, arousal; depression

proximity

objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group

similarity

objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group

continuity

objects that are arranged in a continuous line or curve are more likely to be perceived as in a group

closure

similar to top down processing. objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to b perceived as belonging in the same group even if the image contains gaps that the mind needs to fill

retinal disparity

our right eye and left eye view objects at slightly different angles

convergence

to focus on an object moving closer, our eyes must move closer as well.

cornea

transparent covering of the eye; focuses on an image

pupil

a hole that light travels through

iris

colorful part of the pupil that controls how much light enters the eye. contracts and dilates. a muscle that controls the pupil.

lens

flips the image we are seeing upside down; bends to focus light rays onto the retina

retina

controls visual and sensory preceptors. containing receptor rods and cones plus layers of other neurons (bipolar, ganglion cells) that processes visual information

fovea

contains most of the eye’s cones; necessary for activities where visual detail is important, such as driving or reading.
the central point in the retina.

cones

Cones cluster around the fovea, the retinas area of central focus .
use bipolar cells to help us see detail in an image, one bipolar cell to one cone, help precieve color, unresponsive in dim light

rods

in charge of peripherall vision. light sensitive, perceive the outlines of images, allow us to see in low lighted areas, multiple rods contain one bipolar cell, located around the retina, enable. Black and white vision; sends a combined message.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

The food in Ivan Pavlov's dog experiment

shaping

watching how something originally behaviors then continue to add a positive reinforcement for correct behavior and no reinforcement for the wrong behavior.

unconditioned stimuli

a stimulus that naturally and automatically releases an unconditioned response

unconditioned response

an unlearned, naturally occurring response

conditioned stimulus

after an association with an unconditioned stimuli, a stimulus can trigger a conditioned

conditioned response

a learned response to previous neural stimulus

what is the food in Pavlov's experiment?

UCS

what is salivation in Pavlov's experiment?

UCR and CR

what is the bell in Pavlov's experiment?

CS

accquistion

when one links a neural stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

extinction

dimished response that occurs when the UCS no longer signals a CS

spontaneous recovery

after a small amount of time the mind will begin creating a response to CS

stimulus generalization

the tendency to response to stimuli similar to the CS. If you are kidnapped by someone who has black shoes, you will most likely have a fear of black shoes.

stimulus discrimination

The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and irrelevant stimuli. Has survival value because it's lets us limit our learned responses to appropriate stimuli-as in fleeing from a rampaging lion but not from a playful kitten.

operant conditioning

behavior that operates on the environment. In operant conditioning, we associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence. It forms associations between behaviors and resulting events. Rewards and punishments. Attempts to shape behavior.

E.L. Thornike

proposed Law and Effect/Trial-and-Error. He discovered that responses that produce desirable results will be learned by an organism. He created a Puzzle Box where he found that hungry cats would solve a puzzle to receive food outside of the box.

B.F. Skinner

Using Thornike’s law of effect as a starting point. Skinner developed the operant chamber or the “Skinner’s Box” by using food to study operant conditioning.

Primary Reinforcers

Innately reinforcing stimuli that usually satisfy some biological need like food or water

Secondary Reinforcers

Learned reinforcers. Gains its power through association with primary reinforcers. For example, grades, praise, smiles of approval and applause. More commonly used.

Positive Reinforcement

Adds a desirable stimulus. Increasing a certain behavior by presenting a positive reinforcer. A positive reinforcer is any presented stimuli that strengthens a behavior. For example, paying someone for their work.

Negative Reinforcement

Removes an aversive stimulus. Increases behavior by stopping negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is removed after a response to strengthen the response. Not a punishment. For example, taking Advil to cure a headache.

what is the difference between respondents and operant behavior?

Respondents are automatic reponses to a stimulus while operant behavior operates on the environment to produce a rewarding or negative stimuli.

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs. Best choice for mastering a behavior; however if a stimuli is not continuous being reinforced, extinction occurs and the behavior stops.

Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement

Reinforcing a response only part of the time. Learning is slower but resistence to extinction is greater. Example, playing a slot machine.

Fixed-Ratio

Reinforce behavior after a set number of responses. For example, coffee shops may reward you a free drink after you purchase 10.

Variable-Ratio

Provide reinforcers after an unpredictable number of responses. For example, slot-machines.

Fixed-Interval

Reinforce the first response after a fixed period of time. People check more frequently for mail as the delivery time approaches. Tuesday discount prices.

Variable-Interval

Reinforce the first response after a variable amount of time. People check more frequently for mail as the delivery time approaches. **When a schedule is unknown.**

Positive Punishment

Decrease in response by adding/giving an aversive stimulus. Give a traffic ticket for speeding. What would need to be given in order to stop a behavior

Negative Punishment

Withdraw a rewarding stimulus. Take away a misbehaving teen’s driving license. What would need to be taken away in order to stop a behavior.

Cognitive Map

a mental image of the layout of one’s enviroment. For example, rats participating in a maze created a cognitive map of the maze. Edward Tollmen.

Latent learning

Latent learning, as shown in rats' learning of cognitive maps or children's delayed imitation of others' behavior, indicates that we can learn from experience, but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Mary Cover Jones

used an early form of desensitization to prove that fears/phobias could be unlearned. For example, Peter had an extreme fear of rabbits. Peter was given his favorite food while slowly bringing a rabbit closer to him. Eventually Peter no longer feared rabbits.

Taste-aversion

a type of classical conditioning. is a biological tendency in which organisms learn to avoid food with a certain taste after one single experience, if eating it is followed by illness. Conditioned by John Garcia.

Insight learning

Problem solving occurs by means of a sudden reorganization of perceptions. Founded by Kohler when conducting an experiment with chimps.

Observational Learning

a form of learning in which new responses are acquired after watching others’ behavior and the consequences of their behavior. An example of this is from Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment. Baking.

Wilhelm Wundt

created the first experimental psychology laboratory in Germany. Trained subjects in introspection- recording cognitive responses to basic stimuli. Later went onto explain structuralism- the idea that the mind operates by combining subjective emotions and objective sensations.

hypothesis

expresses a relationship between two variables

independent variables

a variable that is manipulated in the experiment. brings change to the y-axis. can be dosage or real vs placebo

dependent variables

how we measure the experiment. dependent on the independent variable. would be the affect of a drug.

What is the average IQ?

100

regression toward the mean

after an extraordinary thing occurs it will be followed by a more typical thing

confounding variables

outside factors that affect the data. for example, age or height.

mode

most common data value

Stage 1 of Sleep

When the eyes close, your body enters NREM-1 sleep where hallucinations of fantastic images may occur. Just drifting to sleep. when alpha waves occur

Stage 2 of Sleep

20 minutes into sleep is the NREM-2 sleep which contains sleep spindles, or bursts of rapid brain-wave activity. In this state you are clearly asleep. Referred to as the k-complex, jolt of brain activity.

Stage 3

A deep sleep that is hard to awaken from. delta waves.

Stage 4

Deepest sleep of all and the hardest to wake up from. The brain releases delta brain waves.

Freud’s Wish Fulfilment theory

Dreams provide a “psychic safety value”- expressing unacceptable feelings. Manifest and latient content.

Information Processing theory

Occurs during REM sleep as the brain deals with daily stress and events. Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories.

Cognitive Development theory

Dream content reflects dreamer’s cognitive development- their knowledge and understanding.

Physiological Function theory

Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways

alcohol

a depressant that lowers our inhibitions and slows brain activity that controls judgment, memory, and slows body functions.

barbiturates

drugs that depress the central nervous system, reducing anxiety, such as Xanax, Ambien, Rohpynol (roofie).

opiates

cause pain relief. Pupils constrict, breathing slows, and lethargy sets in. Can involve GABA release or Glutamine inhibition.

stimulants

excite neural activity and speed body functions. Floods the synapses with dopamine. Speeds up bodily processes. May flood synapses with norepinephrine/epinepinephrine. Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, Ecstasy, Amphetamines, and Meth. Amphetamines suppress appetite, increase concentration, reduce fatigue, or increase anxiety and irritability.

availability heuristic

the first available thought that comes to mind whatever increases the ease of retrieving information increases its perceived availability. Jumping to conclusions. Anything that makes information pop into the mind such as its vividness and recency can make it seem like a common place.

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match a particular prototype. For example assuming that a short, slim man who likes to read poetry is an Ivy League English professor over a truck driver.

transduction

when signals are transformed into neural impulses

Trichromatic Theory

hypothesizes that we have three types of cones in the retina; ones to see green, red, and blue. cannot explain the occurance of afterimages and color blindness.

Opponent Process Theory

states that the sensory receptors arranged in the retina come in pairs: red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white. Explains color blindness and afterimages.

ear drum

vibrates with sound, sending vibrations to bones In the middle of the ear.

Bottom-up processing

Begins with sensory receptors and works up the brain to higher level thinking. Sensation.

Top-down processing

Constructs perceptions from a sensory input by drawing on expectations and experiences 

Weber’s Law

to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than constant amount). To preserve light intensity there must be a 8%, 2% in weight, and 0.3% in tone frequency.

Signal detection theory

Predict when we will detect weak signals. Assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, and alertness. 

Inattentional blindness

occurs when an individual fails to perceive an unexpected stimulus in plain sight

the Hammer, Avail, and Striprup

pick up the vibrations and send them to the **cochlea**

cochlea

 is a snail shaped tube in the inner ear that transmits sound waves into neural messages. The vibrations cause the fluid inside the cochlea to move, causing ripples in the basilar membrane, bending the hair cells. **Damage to the cochlea is hair cell receptors can cause sensorineural hearing loss.** Nerve damage cannot be reserved.

conduction hearing loss

Damage to the mechanical system of the ear that conducts sound waves to the cochlea that cannot be reserved. May be “corrected” with surgery or hearing aides.

Phantom-limb sensation

Suggest that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” That controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain.

Kinesthesis

The system for sensing the position and movement of the individual body parts. **Located in our joints, tendons, and muscles**. Provides instant feedback of moving to the brain. Vision helps the kinesthesis system.

Vestibular Sense 

The sense of body movement and position including the sense of balance. **Located in the inner ear.** Balance can be thrown off in your ears. Works with the cerebellum to restore balance. Acts instantly. 

Gate-control theory

explains why we feel pain the way we do. some pain messages have a higher priority than others; those swing open the gate doors and shuts it for low priority messages.

Phi phenomenon

can be experienced when a series of light bulbs are turned on and off at a particular rate, it will appear to be moving in one light.

Stroboscopic effect

perceiving objects to be moving when they are not

shaping

watch how something originally behaviors then continue to add a positive reinforcement for correct behavior and no reinforcement for the wrong behavior. Shaping helps us understand what organisms are able to percieve by searching for ‘correct’ behavior. 

insight learning

Problem solving occurs by means of a sudden reorganization of perceptions. Kohler founded insight learning by conducting an experiment with chimps.