Psych Notes

Sensation

Stimulation of sensory organs; taking in stimuli from the environment.

Transduction

Transformation of sensory energy from the environment into neural signals.

Perception

The brain's process of making sense of sensory signals, involving organization and interpretation of sensory input.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (just-noticeable difference)

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

Weber's Law

The perception of stimulus change is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus.

Bottom-Up Processing

Perception that begins with individual sensory information bits and constructs perceptions.

Top-Down Processing

Perception formed based on experiences and past knowledge.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory that explains how we discern between important stimuli and background noise, including response biases.

Gestalt Psychology

A psychological approach that emphasizes the tendency to organize sensory input into meaningful wholes.

Classical Conditioning

Learning through association, where an involuntary response becomes associated with a stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Learning where behavior is shaped and maintained by consequences, such as reinforcement or punishment.

Reinforcement Schedules

The timing and frequency with which reinforcement or punishment is given in behavior conditioning.

Cognitive Memory

The process of maintaining information over time, consisting of encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Short-Term Memory

A temporary storage system that holds a limited amount of information for a brief period.

Long-Term Memory

A capacity for storing information over long periods, with potentially unlimited storage.

Instinct Theory

The perspective that certain behaviors are biologically hard-wired and instinctual.

Drive-Reduction Theory

The theory suggesting that behaviors are motivated by the need to reduce drives arising from basic biological needs.

Optimum Arousal Theory

The theory that individuals seek an optimal level of arousal to maintain motivation.

Incentive Theory

A theory that postulates external stimuli can motivate behavior based on rewards.