Psych unit 2 textbook

Sensation

Process of detecting, converting, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain

Perception

Process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information into meaningful patterns

Bottom up processing

Information processing beginning at the bottom with raw sensory data that are sent up to the brain for higher level analysis which moves from parts to the whole

Top down processing

Information processing starting at the top with higher level cognitive processes and then working down moving from whole to the parts

Psychophysics

Studies link between the physical characteristics of stimuli and the sensory experience of them

Absolute threshold

Minimum amount of a stimulus that an observer can reliably detect

Difference threshold

Minimal difference needed to notice a stimulus change also called just noticeable difference

Subliminal

Pertaining to stimuli presented below conscious awareness

Sensory adaption

Sensory systems reduced responsiveness to unchanging stimuli

Gate control theory

Theory that pain sensations are processed and altered by mechanisms within the spinal cord

Vestibular sense

Sense of body movement and position, also called the sense of balance

Kinesthésies

Sensory system for detecting body posture, orientation, and movement of individual body parts

Illusion

False or misleading perception

Selective attention

Filtering out and attending only to important sensory messages

Feature detectors

Specialized neurons that respond only to certain sensory information

Habituation

The brains reduced responsiveness to unchanging stimuli

Perceptual constancy

Tendency for environment to be perceived as remaining the same even with changes in sensory input

Depth perception

The ability to perceive three dimensional space and to accurately judge distance

Binocular cues

Visual input from two eyes that allows perception of depth or distance

Monocular cues

Visual input from a single eye that contributes to perception of depth or distance

Retinal disparity

Binocular cue to distance in which the separation of the eyes causes different images to fall on each retina

Convergence

Binocular depth cue in which the closer the object, the more the eyes converge or turn inward

Perceptual set

Readiness to perceive in a particular manner based on expectations

Mental image

Mental representation of a previously stored sensory experience including visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, motor, or gustatory imagery

Concept

Mental representation of a group or category that shares similar characteristics

Cognition

Mental activities involved in acquiring, storing, retrieving, and using knowledge

Prototype

Representation of the best or most typical example of a category

Artificial concepts

Rules for inclusion are sharply defined

Natural concepts/prototypes

Based on personal best example or a typical representative of that concept

Hierarchies

Grouping specific concepts as subcategories which in broader concepts

Algorithm

Logical step by step procedure that if followed correctly will eventually solve the problem

Heuristic

Simple rule or shortcut for problem solving that does not guarantee a solution but does narrow the alternatives

Mental set

Persisting in using problem solving strategies that have worked in the past rather than trying new ones

Functional fixedness

Tendency to think of an object functioning only in its usual or customary way

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood or probability or an event based on how readily available other instances of the event are in memory

Representativeness heuristic

Estimating the probability of something based on how well the circumstances match our previous prototype

Creativity

Ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way

Divergent thinking

Thinking that produces many alternatives from a single starting point

Convergent thinking

Narrowing down alternatives to converge in a single correct answer

Language

Form of communication using sounds and symbols combined according to specified rules

Memory

Internal record or representation of some prior event or experience

Constructive process

Organizing and shaping of information during processing, storage, and retrieval of memories

Encoding, storage, retrieval (ESR) model

Memory is formed through three processes, getting information in, retaining information for future use, and recovering information

Encoding

Processing information into the memory system

Storage

Retaining information for future use

Retrieval

Recovering information from memory storage

Level of processing model

Degree or depth of mental processing occurring when material is initially encountered, determines how well material is later remembered

Maintenance rehearsal

Repeating information over and over to maintain it in short term memory

Elaborative rehearsal

Linking new information to previously stored material (also known as deeper levels of processing)

Parallel distributed processing model (connectionist model)

Memory results from weblike connection among interacting processing units operating simultaneously rather than sequentially

Three stage memory model

Memory storage requires passage of information through three stages (sensory, short term, and long term)

Sensory memory

First memory stage that holds sensory information; relatively large capacity but duration is only a few seconds

Short term memory

Second memory stage that temporarily stores sensory information and decides whether to send it on to long term memory; capacity is life’s to five to nine items and duration is about 30 second

Chunking

Grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit

Working memory

Alternate term for short term memory which emphasizes the active processing of information

Long term memory

Third stage of memory that stores information for long periods of time; its capacity is virtually limitless and its duration is relatively permanent

Explicit (declarative) memory

Subsystem within long term memory that consciously stores facts, information, and personal life experiences

Semantic memory

Subsystem of explicit/declarative memory that stores general knowledge; a mental encyclopedia or dictionary

Episodic memory

Subsystem of explicit/ declarative memory that stores memories of personally experienced events; a mental diary of a persons life

Implicit (nondeclarative) memory

Subsystem within long term memory consisting of unconscious procedural skills and simple classically conditioned responses

Recognition

Retrieving a memory using a specific cue

Priming

Prior exposure to a stimulus inhibits the processing of new information even when one has no conscious memory of the initial learning and storage

Encoding specificity principle

Retrieval is improved when conditions of recovery are similar to the conditions when information was encoded

Retroactive interference

New information interferes with remembering old information; backward acting interference

Proactive interference

Old information interfered with remembering new information; forward acting interference

Tip of the tongue phenomenon

Feeling that specific information is stored in long term memory but being temporarily unable to retrieve it

Misinformation effect

Memory distortion resulting from misleading post event information

Source amnesia/ source amnesia/ source misattribution

Forgetting the true source of a memory

Sleeper effect

Information from an unreliable source which was initially discounted, later gains credibility because the source is forgotten

Distributed practice

Practice or study sessions are interspersed with rest periods

Massed practice

Time spent learning is grouped into long unbroken intervals (cramming)

Long term potentiation

Long lasting increase in neural excitability which may be a biological mechanism for learning and memory

Retrograde amnesia/ backward acting amnesia

Loss of memory for events before a brain injury

Consolidation

Process by which neural changes associated with recent learning become durable and stable

Anterograde amnesia /forward acting amnesia

Inability to form new memories after a brain injury

Alzheimer’s disease

Progressive mental deterioration characterized by severe memory loss

Mnemonic device

Memory improvement technique based on encoding items in a special way

Intelligence

Global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment

Fluid intelligence

Aspects of innate intelligence, including reasoning abilities, memory, and speed of information processing that are relatively independent of education and tend to decline as people age

Crystallized intelligence

Knowledge and skills gained through experience and education that tend to increase over the life span

Standardization

Establishment of the norms and uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test

Reliability

Measure of the consistency and reproducibility of test scores when the test is readministered

Validity

Ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure

Receptors

Special cells in sense organs that detect and process sensory information from the environment

Three major factors involved in the act of paying attention to some stimuli and not others

Selective attention, feature detectors, and habituation

Prosopagnosia

Failure to know faces

Figure ground

Ground is always seen as farther away than the figure

Proximity

Objects that are physically close together are grouped together

Continuity

Objects that continue a pattern are grouped together

Closure

The tendency to see a finished unit from an incomplete stimulus

Similarity

Similar objects are grouped together

Visual closure

Watching tv that appears as a solid image but it a very fast streak of small dots

Reversible figure

Boundary between figure and ground that is sometimes so vague we have difficulty perceiving which is which

Linear perspective

Parallel lines converge or angle toward one another as they recede into the distance

Interposition

Object that obscure or overlap other objects are perceived as closer

Relative size

Close objects cast a larger retinal image than distant objects

Texture gradient

Nearby objects have a coarser and more distinct texture than distant ones

Light and shadow

Brighter objects are perceived as being closer than darker ones

Aerial perspective

Distant objects appear hazy and blurred compared to close objects because of intervening atmospheric dust or haze

Relative height

Objects positioned higher in our field of vision are perceived as farther away