Unit 7 Psychology Terms

Circadian Rhythm

The body's internal clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle over a 24-hour period.

Stages of sleep

Different phases of sleep characterized by distinct EEG patterns.

NREM Sleep

Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, consisting of stages NREM 1, NREM 2, and NREM 3.

Hypnogogic sensations

Vivid sensory phenomena that occur during the transition to sleep.

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep, also called paradoxical sleep, where dreaming occurs.

REM rebound

The increased duration of REM sleep following a period of sleep deprivation.

Activation-synthesis theory (dreams)

A theory that proposes dreams are the brain's effort to make sense of neural activity during sleep.

Consolidation theory (dreams)

The theory suggesting that sleep plays a role in consolidating memories and learning.

Insomnia

A sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.

REM sleep behavior disorder

A condition where individuals act out their dreams during REM sleep.

Sleep apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep.

Somnambulism

Also known as sleepwalking, it involves walking or performing other activities while still asleep.

Transduction

The process of converting physical stimuli into neural signals.

Absolute threshold

The minimum intensity of stimulus that can be detected at least 50% of the time.

Just-noticeable difference

The smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be detected.

Weber’s Law

A principle that states that the Just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

Sensory adaptation

The process by which sensory receptors become less sensitive to constant stimuli over time.

Sensory interaction

How one sensory modality can influence another.

Synesthesia

A condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic experiences in another pathway.

Blind spot

The area of the retina without photoreceptors, where the optic nerve exits the eye.

Accommodation

The process by which the lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances.

Nearsightedness

A condition also known as myopia, where distant objects appear blurry.

Farsightedness

A condition also known as hyperopia, where nearby objects appear blurry.

Rods

Photoreceptors in the retina that detect light and dark and help with night vision.

Cones

Photoreceptors in the retina responsible for color vision.

Trichromatic theory

The theory that states color vision is based on the activation of three types of cones: red, green, and blue.

Opponent-process theory

The theory that color perception is controlled by the activity of three opposing pairs of colors.

Afterimages

Visual illusions that occur when a color stimulus is removed, leading to a perception of the complementary color.

Occipital lobes

The area of the brain responsible for visual processing.

Prosopagnosia

A cognitive disorder characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces.

Blindsight

A condition in which a person is unable to consciously see but can respond to visual stimuli.

Place theory

The theory that perception of pitch is related to the place along the cochlea where the sound wave stimulates hair cells.

Frequency theory

The theory that proposes the frequency of the auditory nerve impulses corresponds to the frequency of a tone.

Sound localization

The ability to determine the origin of a sound in space.

Conduction deafness

Hearing loss due to problems with the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Sensorineural deafness

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea or the auditory nerve.

Chemical senses

The senses of taste (gustation) and smell (olfaction), which detect chemical stimuli.

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by an individual that affect the behavior or physiology of others.

Gustatory cells

Cells responsible for the sense of taste, detecting five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.

Supertasters

Individuals with heightened sensitivity to taste due to a higher number of taste buds.

Touch

The sense that detects pressure, temperature, and pain through various receptors in the skin.

Gate control theory

The theory that the perception of pain is controlled by a gate mechanism in the spinal cord that can be opened or closed.

Phantom limb syndrome

The sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached and may be painful.

Vestibular sense

The sense responsible for balance and spatial orientation, involving the semicircular canals.

Kinesthesis

The sense that provides feedback about body position and movement.

Priming

A technique in which exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus.

Schemas

Cognitive structures that help organize and interpret information.

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Gestalt Principles

The rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements as organized patterns.

Attentional blindness

A psychological lack of attention not associated with any vision defects or deficits.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Binocular depth cues

Visual cues to depth or distance that require the use of both eyes.

Monocular cues

Visual cues to depth or distance that can be perceived with one eye.

Perceptual constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable despite changes in sensory input.

Apparent motion

The perception of movement when there is none, as in stroboscopic motion.

Visual capture

The phenomenon where vision dominates the other senses.

Muller-Lyer Illusion

A geometric illusion in which two lines of equal length appear to be different lengths due to arrow-like ends.