AP Psychology Unit 4/5 Vocab

Absolute Threshold

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

Accommodation

The eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Addiction

Compulsive craving and use of a substance.

Alcohol Use Disorder

Prolonged and problematic alcohol use.

Alpha Waves

The slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

Amphetamines

Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up functions.

Audition

The sense or act of hearing.

Barbiturates

Drugs depressing the central nervous system, impairing memory and judgment.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of both eyes.

Blind Spot

The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a 'blind' spot because no receptor cells are located there.

Bottom-Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

Circadian Rhythm

The biological clock regulating bodily rhythms on a 24-hour cycle.

Cocaine

A powerful stimulant producing increased alertness and euphoria.

Cochlea

A coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that triggers nerve impulses in response to sound waves.

Cochlear Implant

A device converting sounds into electrical signals to stimulate the auditory nerve.

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if lighting alters the wavelengths reflected.

Conduction Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system conducting sound waves to the cochlea.

Cones

Retinal receptors concentrated near the retina's center and function in daylight or well-lit conditions.

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Delta Waves

The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

Depressants

Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Depth Perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions, allowing judgment of distance.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

Dissociation

A split in consciousness that allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously.

Dream

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts in a sleeping mind.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

A stimulant and mild hallucinogen causing euphoria and social intimacy.

Embodied Cognition

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

Ernest Hilgard

Known for his theory of dissociation in hypnosis.

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

The claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input.

Feature Detectors

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, like shape, angle, or movement.

Figure-Ground

The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time, determining pitch.

Frequency Theory

Theory that the brain reads pitch by monitoring the frequency of neural impulses.

Gate-Control Theory

Theory that the spinal cord has a gate that blocks or allows pain signals to the brain.

Gestalt

An organized whole; gestalt psychologists emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Hallucination

A false sensory experience with no external stimulus.

Hallucinogens

Drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images.

Hue

The color we experience, determined by the wavelength of light.

Hypnosis

A social interaction involving a subject's openness to suggestions.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

Inner Ear

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, perceived as brightness or loudness.

Iris

The colored part of the eye, a muscle that controls the size of the pupil.

Kinesthesia

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Latent Content

The hidden meaning of a dream, per Freud.

Lens

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina.

LSD

A powerful hallucinogenic drug causing visual distortions.

Manifest Content

The remembered storyline of a dream.

Methamphetamine

A highly addictive stimulant that affects dopamine levels.

Middle Ear

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea with three tiny bones that concentrate vibrations on the cochlea's oval window.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Narcolepsy

A disorder causing uncontrollable sleep attacks.

Near-Death Experience

An altered state of consciousness reported after close brushes with death.

Nicotine

A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco.

Night Terrors

High arousal and appearance of terror during NREM-3 sleep.

NREM Sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep encompassing all stages except REM.

Opiates

Drugs that reduce pain and anxiety.

Opponent-Process Theory

Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Parallel Processing

The brain's ability to process many aspects of a problem simultaneously.

Parapsychology

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Perceptual Adaptation

The ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in illumination and retinal images.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Phi Phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off.

Pitch

A tone's highness or lowness, depending on frequency.

Place Theory

Theory linking the pitch we hear with the location where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

Posthypnotic Suggestion

A suggestion made during hypnosis to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.

Priming

The activation of certain associations, predisposing perception, memory, or response.

Psychoactive Drug

A chemical that alters perceptions and moods.

Psychophysics

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them.

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

REM Rebound

The tendency for REM sleep to increase after deprivation.

REM Sleep

A sleep stage with vivid dreams and relaxed muscles, while other systems are active.

Retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing rods and cones and processing visual information.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from both eyes.

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Sensation

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or auditory nerves.

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity due to constant stimulation.

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another.

Sigmund Freud

Proposed theories on dreams, particularly manifest and latent content.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise.

Sleep

A periodic, natural loss of consciousness.

Sleep Apnea

A disorder with temporary cessations of breathing and awakenings.

Stimulants

Drugs that excite neural activity and increase body functions.

Subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Substance Use Disorder

Continued substance craving and use despite risks.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

A pair of hypothalamic cell clusters controlling circadian rhythm.

THC

The major active ingredient in marijuana causing mild hallucinations.

Tolerance

Diminished drug effect with regular use.

Top-Down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, drawing on our experience and expectations.

Transduction

The conversion of one form of energy into another, as in transforming stimulus energies into neural impulses.

Vestibular Sense

The sense of body movement and position, including balance.