MCAT- P/S High Yield Topics

binocular cues

depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes

monocular cues

depth cues available to either eye alone

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth

convergence

things far away, eyes relax. things close, eyes contract

motion parallax

things further away move slower

constancy

our perception of an object does not change, even if it looks different on the retina

Weber's Law

The threshold at which you can notice a just noticeable difference

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time, affected by individual's psychological state

signal detection theory

looks at how we make a decision about a stimulus in uncertain conditions

Hit

correctly sensing a stimulus

Miss

incorrectly missing a stimulus

false alarm

incorrectly perceiving a stimulus when nothing is there

correct rejection

correctly non responding because there is no stimulus present

bottom-up processing

a specific stimulus leads to a generalization

top-down processing

generalizations lead to specific findings

gestalt principle of similarity

gestalt principle of pragnanz

gestalt principle of proximity

gestalt principle of continuity

gestalt principle of closure

Fovea

part of retina with just cones no rods

Cones

photoreceptors that provide high resolution and color

Rods

photoreceptors that provide vision in the dark and are found more in the peripheral vision

blind spot

where the optic nerve leaves the eye, no cones or rods here

Visual field processing

All right visual field goes to left side of brain, all left visual field goes to right side of brain.

parallel processing

simultaneous processing of information that differs in quality

sensory adaptation

changes in sensitivity to a constant stimulus

somatosensory homunculus

creates a map of the body in the brain. more sensitive regions are given more area on the cortex.

Proprioception

sense of body position

Kinaesthesia

sense of body movement in space

Pheromones

chemical signal released by a species that is picked up by other animals and elicits an innate response

Chemoreceptors

respond to chemicals such as taste and smells

types of taste buds

sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami

alertness

awake and alert

beta waves

waves associated with being awake

alpha waves

waves associated with beginning to fall asleep

theta waves

waves associated with the early stages of sleep

delta waves

waves associated with deep sleep

order of sleep stages

1, 2, 3, 4, REM

N1 stage of sleep

associated with theta waves and hallucinations

N2 stage of sleep

associated with theta waves, sleep spindles, and K complexes

sleep spindles

inhibit some perceptions so we sleep through them

K complexes

help with memory consolidation while sleeping

N3 stage of sleep

delta waves dominate. this is where night terrors occur

REM sleep

most dreaming occurs here. alpha and beta waves dominate. desynchronous waves also present

circadian rhythm

sleep-wake cycle. controlled by melatonin

Freud's dream theory

says dreams are our unconscious thoughts and conflicts that need to be resolved

activation synthesis hypothesis

activation in the brainstem leads to synthesis in the frontal cortex. This is basically our brain trying to find meaning from random brain activity during dreams

obstructive sleep apnea

the throat is physically obstructing breathing during sleep

central sleep apnea

nothing is blocking the airway. it is a problem of ventilation control while sleeping

hypnotism

person becomes more susceptible to suggestions. lots of alpha waves

Meditation

lots of alpha waves and theta waves.

Depressants

depress neural activity, such as alcohol

Barbiturates

depress CNS

Benzodiazepines

upregulate GABA

Opiates

treat pain because they mimic endorphins

Stimulants

intensify neural activity, such as caffeine

Cocaine

stimulant that releases lots of serotonin and dopamine

meth

stimulant that releases lots of dopamine

Hallucinogens

cause hallucinations and altered perception

Reward pathway

Ventral tegmental area releases dopamine in response to pleasure. dopamine is then sent to the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex

cognitive behavioral therapy for drug abusers

help develop positive thoughts and coping strategies to resist cravings

divided attention

when focusing on 2 tasks, it is the process of switching between which task you are focused on

selective attention

focusing only on a specific stimulus in the presence of many

cocktail party effect

ability to focus on one voice among many, or when someone calls your name in a loud room

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere. such as the gorilla suit example

shadowing task

hearing different things in each ear and told to only listen to sounds in one ear. shows how we can selectively listen to certain stimuli

attenuation theory

less important input is weakened but is not entirely lost. can be recalled upon somewhat if it becomes important

Spotlight model of attention

we are aware of things on an unconscious level

Priming

simple exposure to a stimulus affects response of another stimulus even if we have not been paying attention to it

information processing model

our brains are similar to computers. we receive input from environment and process it and output a decision

working memory

information we are thinking about in the moment

serial position effect

tendency to recall the first and last items of a list

dual coding hypothesis

it is easiest to remember a word that is associated with a image rather than just an image or just a word

method of loci

uses dual coding hypothesis and creates a virtual roadmap of things to be remembered

long-term memory

relatively permanent and limitless storage of memory

explicit long term memory

facts or events that you can clearly describe

semantic memory

explicit memory for remembering simple facts

episodic memory

explicit memory for remembering specific events such as 13th birthday party

implicit memory

involve the memory of things that we may not articulate

procedural memory

implicit memory of skills such as riding a bike

Chunking

grouping info into categories that we already know

rote rehearsal

encoding info by repeating it over and over

Self-referencing

encoding info by relating it to yourself

spacing

encoding info by spreading out studying time across multiple days

retrieval cues

stimuli that help gain access to memories

state-dependent memory

if you learn something while drunk, you will remember it the next time you are drunk

source monitoring error

memory from one source is misattributed to another source

flashbulb memory

highly vivid and emotional memories

long-term potentiation

gradual strengthening of the connections among neurons from repetitive stimulation

decay

when we do not encode or recall a piece of information for a long time the connections become weaker in the brain

Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

it is very easy to forget information as it is just learned, but if it is remembered after the initial stage it is much harder to forget

retroactive interference

new learning impairs old information recall such as writing your new address

proactive interference

something learned in the past hinders new learning such as changing your password

crystallized intelligence

accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that increases with age

fluid intelligence

novel problem solving and forming new memories that decreases with age

Korsakoff's syndrome

dementia caused by lack of vitamin B1

retrograde amnesia

inability to recall previously encoded info

anterograde amnesia

inability to encode new info into memory

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational