Processing the Environment and Social Structures Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering sensory perception, neurological systems, psychological theories, social structures, and demographic dynamics based on the lecture notes.

Retinal disparity

A binocular cue for depth perception that occurs because the eyes are approximately $2.5\,inches$ apart, providing slightly different images to the brain.

Convergence

A binocular cue for depth perception where the eyes relax when looking at objects far away and contract when looking at objects close by.

Motion parallax

A monocular cue for depth perception where objects farther away appear to move slower than objects closer to the observer.

Weber’s Law

A principle stating that the ratio of the incremental threshold to the background intensity is constant, expressed by the formula $\frac{\Delta I}{I} = k$.

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

The smallest threshold at which an individual is able to notice a change in any sensation $50\%$ of the time.

Absolute threshold of sensation

The minimum intensity of stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus $50\%$ of the time.

Semicircular canals

Structures in the inner ear (posterior, lateral, and anterior) filled with endolymph that allow for the detection of head movement and rotational strength.

Otolithic organs

The utricle and saccule, which contain calcium crystals attached to hair cells, used to detect linear acceleration and head positioning.

Signal Detection Theory

A psychological framework used to evaluate how individuals make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, discerning between important stimuli and unimportant noise.

Bottom-up processing

Sensory analysis that begins with the stimulus and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information; perception is built from the smallest pieces of information.

Top-down processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, such as background knowledge and expectations, used to fill in blanks in perception.

Pragnanz

A Gestalt principle stating that reality is often organized and reduced to the simplest form possible, such as seeing the Olympic rings as circles rather than complex shapes.

Fovea

A specialized part of the retina completely covered in cones with no rods, allowing for the highest resolution of visual detail.

Rhodopsin

A multimeric protein found in the disks of rods that contains retinal; it triggers the phototransduction cascade when hit by light.

Parvocellular pathway

A visual processing pathway specialized for high spatial resolution (detail) but poor temporal resolution (motion).

Magnocellular pathway

A visual processing pathway characterized by high temporal resolution and poor spatial resolution, used primarily for detecting motion.

Tympanic membrane

Also known as the eardrum, it vibrates in response to pressurized sound waves and transfers those vibrations to the ossicles.

Organ of Corti

A structure in the cochlea that includes the basilar membrane and the tectorial membrane, responsible for transducing sound waves into neural impulses via hair cells.

Basilar tuning

The process by which the brain differentiates sound frequencies because hair cells at the base of the cochlea are activated by high frequencies ($1600\,Hz$) and those at the apex by low frequencies ($25\,Hz$).

TrypV1 receptor

A specialized receptor sensitive to both temperature (thermoception) and pain (nociception).

Glomerulus

A structure in the olfactory bulb where all olfactory epithelial cells sensitive to a particular type of molecule synapse together.

Labelled lines model

A model of gustation suggesting that each taste receptor cell has an individual axon that remains separate all the way to the gustatory cortex.

Beta waves

Brain waves with a frequency of $13-30\,Hz$ associated with alertness, active concentration, and increased stress.

Sleep spindles

Bursts of brain activity in N2 sleep that help inhibit certain perceptions to maintain a tranquil state and allow individuals to sleep through loud noises.

Circadian Rhythms

Regular body rhythms that occur across a $24\text{-hour}$ period, controlled by melatonin produced in the pineal gland.

Activation Synthesis Hypothesis

The theory that dreams are the brain's attempt to find meaning from random brain activity originating in the brainstem (activation) and interpreted by the cortex (synthesis).

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

An area in the midbrain that produces dopamine, serving as the starting point for the brain's reward pathway.

Inattentional blindness

The failure to perceive objects that are not in the focus of attention even when they are in the visual field.

Iconic memory

A type of sensory memory for visual information that lasts approximately $\frac{1}{2}\,second$.

Phonological loop

A component of working memory responsible for processing verbal information, including words and numbers.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic device that involves associating information to be remembered with specific physical locations in a familiar environment.

Explicit Memory (Declarative)

A category of long-term memory involving facts (semantic memory) and events (episodic memory) that can be clearly described.

Anterograde amnesia

The inability to encode or form new long-term memories following a brain injury or medical condition.

Accommodation

In Piaget's theory, the process by which children modify their existing schemas to acquire knowledge about novel experiences.

Conservation

A milestone in Piaget's concrete operational stage ($7-11\,years$) where a child understands that quantity remains the same despite changes in the shape of a container.

Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorfian) Hypothesis

The theory that speakers of different languages utilize different cognitive processes because language shapes how they understand and experience the world.

Kluver-Bucy syndrome

A condition resulting from bilateral destruction of the amygdala, characterized by hyperorality, hypersexuality, and disinhibited behavior.

James-Lange Theory

A theory of emotion stating that the experience of emotion is the result of perceiving physiological responses (Physiological $\rightarrow$ Emotion).

Cannon-Bard Theory

A theory of emotion proposing that physiological arousal and the experience of emotion occur simultaneously.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Selye's model for the three distinct stages of stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Lower motor neuron signs (LMN signs)

Physical indicators of lower motor neuron abnormalities, including atrophy, fasciculations, hypotonia, and hyporeflexia.

Corticospinal tract

A collection of upper motor neuron axons that travel from the cerebral cortex through the brainstem and cross to the opposite side of the spinal cord to meet lower motor neurons.

Substantia nigra

A structure in the brainstem that is part of the basal ganglia; its loss of dopaminergic neurons is the hallmark of Parkinson's Disease.

Heritability

The extent to which the variability of traits in a population can be attributed to genetic differences; it is a measure of the difference in a trait, not the percentage of a trait that is genetic.

Fixed-action pattern

An innate, complex behavioral trait that is performed without interruption and is not modifiable by experience.

Incentive Theory

A theory of motivation suggesting that behavior is driven by the presentation of external intangible or tangible rewards following an action.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The psychological discomfort experienced when an individual holds two or more conflicting cognitions, often leading to alterations in beliefs or behaviors to reduce the tension.

Libido

In psychoanalytic theory, the natural energy source and instinctual drive for survival, growth, and pleasure.

OCEAN

An acronym for the Big Five personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Bobo Doll Experiment

A study conducted by Albert Bandura demonstrating observational learning and the learning-performance distinction in children.

Schizophrenia

A psychotic disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and abnormal dopamine activity in the mesocorticolimbic pathway.

Amyloid plaques

Abnormal clumps of beta-amyloid protein that occur in the spaces between neurons, often found in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Groupthink

A phenomenon where individual members of a cohesive group suppress their own opinions to maintain harmony, often leading to poor decision-making.

Bystander Effect

A social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present due to the diffusion of responsibility.

Folkways

The mildest type of social norm, consisting of common rules or manners (e.g., saying thank you) that lack severe consequences when violated.

Existential self

The most basic part of self-concept; the realization that one is separate and distinct from others and that the self is constant over time.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

In Vygotsky’s theory, the sensitive instruction area between what a learner cannot do and what they can do with guidance.

Looking Glass Self

Charles Cooley's concept that an individual's sense of self is shaped by their interpersonal interactions and their perception of how others view them.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional (internal) influences when analyzing another person's behavior.

Glass ceiling effect

A social phenomenon where certain groups, particularly females, are poorly represented in higher-level positions within a company despite their qualifications.

Social reproduction

The process by which social inequality is transmitted from one generation to the next through social institutions like education and the economy.

Environmental justice

The study and advocacy for the fair distribution of environmental benefits (like parks) and burdens (like waste facilities) across all groups in society.

Democratic Transition

A model showing changes in a country's population where stabilization occurs as it moves from high birth/death rates to low fertility/mortality.

Intersectionality

A theory that examines how various social identities (race, gender, culture) overlap to create unique modes of discrimination or privilege for an individual.