Sensation, Perception, and Learning Review

These flashcards cover key concepts of sensation, perception, and learning, helping students prepare for exams by reinforcing vocabulary and definitions.

Sensation

The initial process where our sensory organs receive and detect stimuli from the environment.

Perception

The subsequent process where the brain organizes, interprets, and transforms sensory information into something meaningful.

Bottom-Up Processing

Processing that starts with basic sensory information from incoming stimuli and processes it for further interpretation.

Top-Down Processing

Processing that uses past experiences, knowledge, and expectations to understand and interpret sensory information.

Absolute Threshold

The weakest amount of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference - JND)

The minimum difference between two stimuli that can be noticed 50% of the time.

Weber's Law

The principle stating that for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage.

Gestalt Principles

Principles that describe how we naturally organize visual stimuli into wholes, including Figure-Ground, Proximity, Similarity, and Closure.

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive objects in three dimensions and to judge distance using binocular and monocular cues.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite varying sensory input, including size, shape, and color constancy.

Perceptual Set

The tendency to perceive stimuli in a specific way based on past experiences and expectations.

Learning

A relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from experiences.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where two stimuli become associated with each other.

Operant Conditioning

Learning that occurs when voluntary actions become associated with their consequences.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching and then imitating the behavior of others.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that does not initially cause an automatic response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US/UCS)

A stimulus that triggers an involuntary response without prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UR/UCR)

The reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the US, triggers a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the conditioned stimulus.

Reinforcement

The process where consequences increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Punishment

The application of a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring.

Schedules of Reinforcement

The different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement, including Fixed-Ratio, Variable-Ratio, Fixed-Interval, and Variable-Interval.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli.

Extinction

The process where a conditioned response decreases and eventually disappears.

Memory

The processes involved in the collection, storage, and retrieval of information.

Encoding

The process through which information enters our memory system.

Storage

The process of preserving and maintaining information in memory over time.

Retrieval

The process of accessing encoded and stored information from memory.

Shallow Processing

Processing that involves basic features of a stimulus and results in less permanent memories.

Deep Processing

Processing that involves thinking about the meaning of information and creating associations, leading to stronger, longer-lasting memories.

Sensory Memory

The stage that captures vast amounts of sensory stimuli for a very brief period.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The stage that temporarily maintains and processes a limited amount of information.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The stage with seemingly unlimited capacity for the storage of information of facts and experiences.

Explicit Memory

Memories that are consciously recalled, including facts (semantic) and personal experiences (episodic).

Implicit Memory

Memories that are not consciously recalled, such as skills and conditioned responses.

Mnemonic Devices

Techniques used to improve memory, including acronyms and visualization.

Priming

The stimulation of memories through the use of retrieval cues.

Recall vs. Recognition

Recall involves retrieving information without cues, while recognition involves matching incoming data to stored information.

Forgetting

The inability to access or retrieve information that has been previously encoded and stored.

Interference Theory

The theory stating that retrieval can be blocked by other information learned.

Sensation

The initial process where our sensory organs receive and detect stimuli from the environment.

Perception

The subsequent process where the brain organizes, interprets, and transforms sensory information into something meaningful.

Bottom-Up Processing

Processing that starts with basic sensory information from incoming stimuli and processes it for further interpretation.

Top-Down Processing

Processing that uses past experiences, knowledge, and expectations to understand and interpret sensory information.

Absolute Threshold

The weakest amount of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference - JND)

The minimum difference between two stimuli that can be noticed 50% of the time.

Weber's Law

The principle stating that for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage.

Sensory Adaptation

A decrease in sensitivity to a constant stimulus, allowing us to ignore unchanging information and focus on new stimuli.

Transduction

The process by which sensory receptors convert physical energy into neural impulses that the brain can understand.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise), considering psychological factors.

Rods

Photoreceptors in the retina responsible for vision in dim light and detecting black, white, and gray.

Cones

Photoreceptors in the retina responsible for clear, sharp vision and color perception, especially in bright light.

Trichromatic Theory

The theory stating that the retina contains three different color receptors—one sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

Opponent-Process Theory

The theory stating that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision, explaining afterimages and color blindness.

Gestalt Principles

Principles that describe how we naturally organize visual stimuli into wholes, including Figure-Ground, Proximity, Similarity, and Closure.

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive objects in three dimensions and to judge distance using binocular and monocular cues.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite varying sensory input, including size, shape, and color constancy.

Perceptual Set

The tendency to perceive stimuli in a specific way based on past experiences and expectations.

Learning

A relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from experiences.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where two stimuli become associated with each other.

Acquisition (Classical Conditioning)

The initial stage in classical conditioning where the conditioned stimulus (CS) begins to elicit the conditioned response (CR) after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US).

Spontaneous Recovery (Classical Conditioning)

The reappearance of a weakened conditioned response (CR) after a pause, without further conditioning.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A type of conditioning where a new neutral stimulus is paired with an already conditioned stimulus, eventually eliciting the conditioned response without the original unconditioned stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Learning that occurs when voluntary actions become associated with their consequences.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching and then imitating the behavior of others.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that does not initially cause an automatic response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US/UCS)

A stimulus that triggers an involuntary response without prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UR/UCR)

The reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the US, triggers a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the conditioned stimulus.

Reinforcement

The process where consequences increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Positive Reinforcement

The addition of a desirable stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal or reduction of an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior.

Primary Reinforcer

A reinforcer that is innately satisfying and does not require learning (e.g., food, water).

Secondary Reinforcer

A reinforcer that acquires its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer (e.g., money, praise).

Punishment

The application of a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring.

Schedules of Reinforcement

The different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement, including Fixed-Ratio, Variable-Ratio, Fixed-Interval, and Variable-Interval.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli.

Extinction

The process where a conditioned response decreases and eventually disappears.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not immediately expressed or observed until there is an incentive to do so.

Insight Learning

A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem, often referred to as an 'aha!' moment.

Memory

The processes involved in the collection, storage, and retrieval of information.

Encoding

The process through which information enters our memory system.

Storage

The process of preserving and maintaining information in memory over time.

Retrieval

The process of accessing encoded and stored information from memory.

Shallow Processing

Processing that involves basic features of a stimulus and results in less permanent memories.

Deep Processing

Processing that involves thinking about the meaning of information and creating associations, leading to stronger, longer-lasting memories.

Sensory Memory

The stage that captures vast amounts of sensory stimuli for a very brief period.

Iconic Memory

A very brief, photographic memory for visual information, lasting less than a second (part of sensory memory).

Echoic Memory

A very brief memory for auditory information, lasting about 2-4 seconds (part of sensory memory).

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The stage that temporarily maintains and processes a limited amount of information.

Working Memory

An active system that temporarily holds and manipulates information needed for complex cognitive tasks (often considered a more active form of STM).

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The stage with seemingly unlimited capacity for the storage of information of facts and experiences.

Explicit Memory

Memories that are consciously recalled, including facts (semantic) and personal experiences (episodic).

Episodic Memory

A type of explicit memory involving personal experiences and events (e.g., your first day of college).

Semantic Memory

A type of explicit memory involving facts, concepts, and general knowledge (e.g., the capital of France).

Implicit Memory

Memories that are not consciously recalled, such as skills and conditioned responses.