AP Psychology Topic 1.6 Test

Transduction

• converting one form of energy into another that our brain can use

• ex: light and soundwaves converted to sight and hearing

Absolute threshold

refers to the minimum level of stimulus required to detect a stimulus ½ of the time

• anything below this threshold is “subliminal” which can prime us and and affect future decisions

Priming

a psychological phenomenon where exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus without conscious guidance

subliminal messages

sensory stimuli that are presented below the threshold of conscious perception, meaning they are hidden or flashed too quickly for the conscious mind to notice, but are still registered by the subconscious

difference threshold

• “just noticeable difference”

• minimum difference between two stimuli (in weight, temp, etc.) for a person to detect the difference half the time

Ex: you need to add 0.50 lbs to a 10lbs weight to notice a change

weber’s law

difference thresholds increase with the magnitude of the stimulus

Ex: if you need to add 0.50 lbs to a 10lbs weight to notice a change, you would need to add a 1.5lb increase to a 30 lb weight to perceive a similar difference

Sensory adaptation

• Function: diminishes sensitivity to stimuli as result of constant stimulation which turns attention to new stimuli

• eyes constantly move to avoid this

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive things in a certain way, shaped by our expectations, experiences, emotions, and context

Psychophysics

the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Signal detec­tion theory

a model that explains how we make decisions about detecting a faint stimulus ("signal") when there is background noise or distraction

Expectations, motivations, and emotions and their effect on perception

Expectations: perceptual set, priming

motivations: Our desires and needs highlight desired objects in our perception.

Emotions: Your current mood can bias your interpretation of neutral events.

Wave­length 

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

= hue

Amplitude

= intensity/brightness

• height of sound wave

Cornea

protects eye/bends light

Pupil

• small opening in the middle of the eye

Accommodation

the cognitive process of adjusting existing mental frameworks (schemas) to incorporate new information that doesn't fit existing beliefs

Iris

colored muscle that dilates/constricts in response to light

Retina

blood vessel tissue on eyeball’s inner surface

• light creates rxn in rods and cones

Rods and cones

photoreceptor cells in the retina that convert light into neural signals

Fovea

the central pit in the retina that contains a high concentration of cone cells, responsible for sharp, detailed, and color vision

Bipolar cells/Ganglion cells

• crucial neurons in the retina that transmit visual information to the brain

• Bipolar cells receive signals from rods and cones and relay them to the ganglion cells

• The ganglion cells then send these signals, via their axons which form the optic nerve, to the brain for further processing

Optic nerve

ganglion cell axons twined together

Blind spot (Optic disc)

where it exits the eye and enters the brain

Hue

the dimension of color (determined by wavelength)

Feature detectors

• neurons in the visual cortex that respond to specific features of a visual stimulus (angles, edges, lines, etc.)

Parallel processing

• The brain can carry out multiple tasks simultaneously → effiency

• Sensory details are processed in separate areas of the brain that combine to form an image

• Details are then compared with our memories/experiences to enable perception

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

• there are 3 types of color receptor cones in our eyes (red, blue, green)

• all colors we see are stimulated combos of these cones

Opponent-process theory

• cones compete and color vision is the result

• explains why we can see after -images

Stroop Effect

delay in perception when stimuli are “mismatched”

Color blindness

• people with missing rods or cones, gene mutations, or eye damage may have color blindness

Restored vision

studies on individuals who gain sight after a period of blindness → revealing that experience is crucial for perception.

Perceptual adaptation

• the brain's ability to adjust to a new or changed sensory field

• allows you to adapt to things like seeing through a new prescription for glasses or even an upside-down visual field

Audition

the psychological sense of hearing,

Amplitude

=loudness

Frequency

= pitch

Decibels

a unit of measurement for sound intensity, which is perceived as loudness

Conduction hearing loss

a type of hearing impairment caused by problems with the outer or middle ear that block sound waves from reaching the inner ear

Sensorineural hearing loss

a type of hearing loss that occurs due to damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve

Cochlear implant

a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to individuals with severe hearing loss → amplifier

Place theory

explains how we hear different pitches by linking them to the specific location of the hair cells that are stimulated along the cochlea's basilar membrane

Frequency theory

explains how we perceive pitch, proposing that the rate at which the auditory nerve fires determines the pitch we hear

 Describe the sense of touch.

a complex mix of sensations mediated by the skin's receptors that detect pressure, warmth, cold, and pain

Pain

• Pain is controlled through a combination of medical and psychological treatments.

Nociceptors

detect potentially damaging stimuli and send pain signals to the brain

Mechanoreceptors

specialized sensory receptors that detect and respond to mechanical stimuli like texture, pressure, and vibration

Thermoreceptors

specialized sensory receptors in the skin and other tissues that detect temperature changes → sending signals to the brain to maintain homeostasis

Gate-control theory

theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

• “gate” is opened by pain signal activity traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by brain info

How the biopsychosocial approach views pain (psychological influences such as our expectations and social influences such as the presence of others)

• Bio: The pain circuit is the body’s alarm system

  • nociceptors detect hurtful chemicals, temperatures, and pressures

  • gate control theory

• Psycho: pain is perception

  • distraction can limit the experience of pain

• Social:

  • social contagion - if others feel pain, we feel more pain

  • high pain tolerance is result of social factors

Phantom limb sensations

feeling pain in a limb that isn’t there

Taste

• gustation: a chemical sense (6 types)

• Receptor cells in taste buds send messages to the temporal lobe

• expectations have huge influence (top-down processing)

Sensory interaction

senses can influence each other (ex: smell and taste)

Synaesthesia

an experience of sensation in which one system of sensation is experienced through another

Smell (olfaction) process       

• chemical sense

• receptor cells in the nasal passage → olfactory bulb → limbic system (closely tied to emotions and memory/temporal lobe

Describe the senses of taste and smell, and comment on their interaction.

• sweet, sour, bitter, umami, salty, oleogustus

• smell and taste = flavor

Kinesthesis

how we coordinate movement without having to constantly watch our movements

Vestibular sense

the sense of balance and movement, located in the inner ear's semicircular canals and vestibular sacs

Semicircular canals

chambers in the ear responsible for balance

Vestibular sacs

chambers in the ear with hair-like receptors responsible for balance