MM2 Intro to Psychology PSYC101 Dr. Hansen

Chapter 3 (cont.), Chapter 5, and Chapter 7

Central NS

the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral NS

the nervous system outside of the skill and vertebral column, as well as the specialized sensory endings (retinal cells, touch receptors, hair cells in the ear, etc.)

Autonomic NS

the part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates all the automatic functions that keep you alive, functional, and healthy.

contains the parasympathetic and sympathetic NS

Somatic NS

the part of the peripheral nervous system that contains the neurons and nerves that control the muscles for voluntary movement and bring sensory information from the body to the brain.

includes nerves that connect to muscles and joints in the neck, arms, legs, and torso

Sympathetic NS

the division of your autonomic nervous system that is responsible for things we do that require excitement.

“fight-or-flight”

Parasympathetic NS

the division of your autonomic nervous system that is responsible for resting, digestion, and repairing the body. Recovering and becoming sexually aroused.

Afferent (Sensory) Nerves

carrying impulses back to the CNS from the organs and muscles.

Efferent (Motor) Nerves

axons that carry electrical impulses away from the central nervous system to trigger neurotransmitter or hormone release in an organ or muscle.

Cerebellum

helps coordinate movements and problem-solving; motor coordination; rhythm and timing machine; “little brain”

Amygdala

apart of the limbic system

responsible for the increased secretion of adrenalin in the body during our fight-or-flight response.

receives input from all of our senses. uses this information to make calculations about the emotional value and intensity of a stimulus.

Hippocampus

apart of the limbic system

is set up as a loop of neurons that are activated when we are forming memories.

Thalamus

the relay station for much sensory information

Hypothalamus

helps control several functions in the autonomic and endocrine systems. When this structure is damaged, we observe deficits in regulating hunger response, sexual behavior, body temperature, and aggression.

The Cerebral Cortex

the wrinkled, outermost layer of the brain that handles high-level thinking, memory, language, and body movements

Occiptal Lobe

primarily concerned with processing light stimuli

deals with vision

Temporal Lobe

the part of your brain right about your ear. Neurons in this area of the cortex assist us with tasks like forming memories and processing sound input from the auditory nerves.

contains Wernicke’s area - an important area for the processing and understanding of language

deals with hearing, language processing, and memory

Frontal Lobe

primarily tasked with decision-making and movement.

deals with intelligence, personality, and voluntary muscles

Parietal Lobe

heavily involved in functions like processing numbers and performing calculations.

deals with spatial location, attention, and motor control

Prefrontal Cortex

receives input from all parts of the cerebral cortex. helps us decided when, why, and how we do things

Sensation vs. Perception

elementary parts of the environment that the brain uses to create meaning. The features of the environment, like the electromagnetic wavelengths of light or changes in air pressure that create sound, that we use to create an understanding of the world.

vs.

the processing of stimuli to create a sensory understanding of the world.

Bottom-Up Processing

the processing of physical messages delivered to the senses. The neural processing that starts with the physical message or sensations.

• The early-level analysis that prepares the information for use.

Top-Down Processing

the integration of a person’s beliefs, memories, and expectations into their sensory experiences to create a perception. Combines incoming neural messages with our understanding of the world to interpret information in such a way that it has value.

Absolute Threshold

the level of intensity required to create a conscious experience.

the point of intensity required for a participant to detect the stimulus 50 percent of the time. 

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)

the smallest amount of a particular stimulus required for a difference in magnitude to be detected

depends on a ratio known as Weber's Law

• the more intense the stimulus, the larger the required change to notice a difference. 

Signal Detection Theory(Hit, Miss, False Alarm, Correct Rejection)

used to determine how sensitive individuals are to stimuli (and how biased their responses are)

“hit rate,” which means they are likely to detect more stimuli when they are presented

likely to say that a stimulus was present when it was not. We call these instances false alarms.

miss rate - tend to say they did not perceive a stimulus even when one was presented

correct rejection rate, so they are more likely to say there was no stimulus when no stimulus was presented

The Stoop Effect

a delay in reaction time and an increase in errors that happens when your brain processes conflicting information—such as trying to name the ink color of a word when the word itself spells out a different color (e.g., the word "RED" printed in blue ink)

Emotion Induced Blindness

a cognitive psychology phenomenon where a task-irrelevant, emotionally arousing image (a distractor) captures a person's attention so strongly that they fail to notice a neutral target image right after it

Inattentional Blindness

a psychological phenomenon where you fail to notice a clear, unexpected object or event in your visual field because your attention is focused on a different task

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

the human brain's ability to focus on a single voice or conversation while filtering out competing background noise (such as at a crowded party or noisy restaurant)

Sensory Adaptation

an automatic, physiological process where your sensory receptors become less sensitive to a constant, unchanging stimulus over time

adaptation of sensory information

• ex) darkness then sudden light

Retina

the thin layer of tissue on the back of each eye that contains the photosensitive receptor cells.

Rods

one kind of photoreceptor in the retina; it typically is most responsive to low levels of light. Night Vision

Cones

a type of photoreceptor in the retina that is typically most responsive to bright lighting conditions and is responsible for communicating information about acuity (fine detail) and color.

Blindspot

a spot on the retina where there are no photoreceptors

it is not noticed because the brain uses information from the other eye and the assumptions about the world to “fill in” the gap.

Optic Chiasm

an X-shaped structure where the optic nerves from each eye cross before the message is sent to the thalamus.

o   Information from the right side of both eyes is sent to the left hemisphere, while information on the left side of the retina in both eyes is sent to the right side of the brain.

Trichromatic Theory of Color

a theory of color vision that proposes that color information is identified by comparing the activation of different cones in your retina.

o   Ex) when you see a blue car, it is because the car is reflecting short wavelengths to your eye, which activate the S-cones and but the M- or L- cones.

Opponent Process Theory (afterimages)

a theory of color vision that suggests that cells in the visual pathway increase their activation when receiving information from one kind of cone and decrease their activation when they see a second color.

Pathway of Auditory Information

cochlea → auditory nerve → brain stem → temporal lobe

Cochlea

a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear where the auditory hair cells are located.

Intensity

Interaural level Differences - the brain compares intensity differences of sound as it arrives at each ear in order to understand object location.

Timing

Interaural time Differences - comparisons made between the small differences in arrivals time of a sound in each ear.

Pathway of Touch

receptors → spinal cord → thalamus → somatosensory cortex of parietal lobe

Thermoreceptors

receptors in the skin specifically designed to detect changes in temperature.

Pain (Role of Endorphins)

an adaptive response to tissue damage.

Nociceptors detect ____ and send a signal to our brains.

highly subjective.

When a limb has been damaged, we reduce the use of the limb because of the ___ we experience

Gate-Control Theory of Pain – a theory of pain perception that suggests that painful stimuli can be blocked in the spinal cord when you are engaged in other activities.

Papillae

the little bumps on the surface of the tongue where tastebuds are located.

Taste Buds

where the papillae are located on the tongue

The 5 Taste Qualities

sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory)

Olfactory Bulb

a neural structure in the forebrain that acts as the initial processing and relay center for the sense of smell (olfaction)

Olfactory Nerve

the first and shortest cranial nerve in the human body, responsible for carrying the special sense of smell from the nasal cavity directly to the brain

Smell’s Connection to Memory and Emotion

Our sense of smell links directly to the brain's emotional and memory hubs, bypassing the relay stations that other senses must use

• ex) early life connection (nostalgia)

Kinesthetic Sense

refers to our sense of where our bodies are in space and how to move the body to accomplish specific tasks.

o   Relies heavily on our sense of touch.

Vestibular Sense

known as our sense of balance.

The sensory cells of the vestibular system are located in the cochlea.

• Movement, posture, and acceleration.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

does not naturally elicit a response; has no meaning.

o   Ex) initial neutral stimulus was the white laboratory coat that did not naturally make dogs drool. Over time, this _________ is repeatedly presented just before an unconditional stimulus (meat powder). In doing so, the __ becomes a CS.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

a biologically important event requires no conditioning to affect behavior. Produces the UR

•   Ex) Pavlov’s food for the dogs

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

an innate reflex. A biologically important response occurs because of an unconditional stimulus.

•   Ex) Salivation production.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

requires learning to be meaningful and is only meaningful because the event tells us something about the unconditional stimulus. Signals or predicts an unconditional stimulus.

-  Ex) A laboratory coat

Conditioned Response (CR)

a learned response that occurs to the conditioned stimulus in preparation for the unconditioned stimulus. A conditional reflex.

•   Ex) Salivation to prepare for the upcoming food.

Continguity

Contingency

the principle that ideas, memories, or behaviors become linked simply because they occur close together in time or space

Contingency

“if, then” relationships between the conditional stimulus (abbreviated as CS) and the unconditional stimulus (abbreviated as US) necessary for learning to occur

Conditioned Fear/Phobias: Little Albert Experiment

demonstrated how human emotional responses, such as fear, can be learned through classical conditioning

• Initial Baseline: At about 9 to 11 months old, an infant known as "Little Albert" showed no fear when exposed to neutral stimuli like a live white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, cotton, and masks.

• The Conditioning Pairing: Watson and Rayner paired the appearance of the white rat with a loud, startling noise made by striking a steel bar with a hammer just behind Albert's head.

• The Conditioned Response: After repeated pairings, Albert learned to associate the rat with the frightening sound. Eventually, he cried and tried to crawl away at the sight of the white rat alone.

Classical Conditioning in Advertising

pairing a brand or product with a stimulus that already triggers a strong emotional response

• ex) using a celebrity to promote a product

Classical Conditioning in Drug Tolerance/Habitation

environmental cues associated with drug use trigger an automatic, protective response in the body, minimizing the drug's effects and requiring the user to take higher doses to get the same high.

Imagine someone who drinks five cups of espresso every single morning at their office desk.

• The Routine: Over time, the brain associates the office desk, the morning time, and the smell of coffee with a massive surge of caffeine

Classical Conditioning in Taste Aversion

occurs when an animal or human develops a strong avoidance of a specific food or drink after associating it with nausea, vomiting, or sickness

• ex) getting food poisoning and never wanting to eat that food again

Stimulus Generalization

an effect in which an animal notices similarities between objects and responds to the objects as if they were the same

ex) in training, pigeons learn that they get food in the presence of a vertical line. in testing, they peck not only at vertical lines but also at other stimuli that looks like the vertical line

Stimulus Discrimination

an effect in which an animal notices differences between objects and responds to the objects as though they were different

ex) pigeons learn that they get food in the presence of a vertical line. pigeons learn that they do not get food in the presence of a horizontal line

Acquisition

the initial stage of learning when a human or animal first connects a neutral stimulus to an involuntary response (in classical conditioning) or associates a behavior with a consequence (in operant conditioning)

Extinction

the signal occurs without what’s signaled and the conditional response goes away; the conditional stimulus is presented alone, and the conditional response decreases.

o   Not unlearning.

Spontaneous Recovery

an effect in which, after extinction and a break without the signal or what’s signaled, the signal occurs alone, and the conditional response reappears.

o   Light + food = pecking occurs to both (acquisition)

o   Light alone = pecking slowly diminished (extinction)

o   Rest period without light or food

o   Light alone = pecking returns (spontaneous recovery)

Counterconditioning

a psychological technique that replaces an unwanted emotional response to a stimulus by pairing that stimulus with a new, incompatible positive response

• The Problem: The white coat, the smell of the clinic, and the sound of the dental drill (Stimuli) instantly trigger extreme panic and crying (Unwanted Response).

• The Counterconditioning: The pediatric dentist stops wearing the white coat, gives the child a tablet to watch their favorite funny cartoon, and hands them a cool sticker or toy the moment they sit in the chair (New Positive Stimuli).

Law of Effect (Thorndike)

satisfaction leads to stronger associations between stimuli and responses

discomfort weakens associations between stimuli and responses

• The Action: You tell your dog to "shake" and lift its paw. The dog places its paw in your hand.

• The Pleasant Consequence: You immediately give the dog a piece of cheese and enthusiastic praise.

• The Law of Effect in Action: Because the consequence was highly rewarding, the dog learns to connect the behavior with the treat. The next time you ask to shake, the dog will eagerly offer its paw because it wants that pleasant outcome again.

Shaping

involves selecting and reinforcing more complex responses that look like the response you want while extinguishing simpler forms of the target response.

rewarding successive approximations of the desired behavior

Reinforcement

increases behavior

Positive Reinforcement

behavior is followed by a rewarding consequence

rewarding stimulus is “added”

• ex) sticker for good grade on spelling test

Negative Reinforcement

behavior is followed by a rewarding consequence

AVERSIVE (unpleasant) stimulus is REMOVED

• ex) cleaning your room to get your mother to stop nagging you

Avoidance Reinforcement

occurs when an organism learns a behavior to prevent an unpleasant stimulus from happening in the first place.

Primary Reinforcers

events that you’ll work for without prior conditioning

innately satisfying

ex) food, water, activity, warmth

Secondary Reinforcers

events that you’ll work for only after prior conditioning

becomes satisfying through experience (repeated associated with a pre-existing reinforcer)

ex) tokens, stickers, passing grades

Continuous Schedule of Reinforcement

behavior reinforced after every response (continuously)

leads to rapid learning

extinction happens quickly when reinforcement stops

Partial Schedule of Reinforcement

behavior reinforced after some (but not all) responses

responding is more durable/eliminated slowly

Learned Helplessness

experiencing an aversive situation you can’t control prevents you from learning to control other aversive situations

Punishment

decreases behavior

Positive Punishment

behavior followed by an aversive consequence

aversive (unpleasant) stimulus is “added”

• ex) spanking

Negative Punishment

behavior followed by an aversive consequence

rewarding stimulus “removed”

• ex) timeout, grounding, priso

Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcement

• Immediate Reinforcement: Offering a reward instantly after a behavior occurs.

• Delayed Reinforcement: Offering a reward minutes, hours, or days after a behavior occurs.

• Immediate Reinforcement: Right after your workout, your brain releases a rush of endorphins, giving you a "runner's high" and an instant mood boost. Because you feel good right away, you are motivated to go back tomorrow.

• Delayed Reinforcement: The main reasons you went to the gym—building muscle, losing weight, and improving your long-term health—won't actually happen for months of consistent effort.

Applied Behavior Analysis

a scientific, data-driven therapy that focuses on understanding and changing specific behaviors to improve a person’s real-world functioning

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

children were observes, and adults were models for behavior

children watched an aggressive or neutral model interact with a Bobo doll

children who watched an aggressive adult interact with a Bobo doll later imitated that behavior with the Bobo doll

Observational Learning - learning that occurs when a person observes and imitates behavior

Social Cognitive Theory

a psychological model developed by Albert Bandura which states that people learn behaviors by watching others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences