Psych GRE

When does reception take place?

when receptors detect a stimuli

What is sensory transduction?

the process in which physical sensation is changed into an electrical message for the brain

What is the pathway for sensory transduction?

signal, collection, transduction, processing, action

What does the Nativist Theory say?

that perception and cognition are largely innate and genetically based. humans are born with all their perceptual capacities

What does the empiricist theory say?

that perception is learned and develops as the individual adapts to their environment

what does the structuralist theory say?

that perception is the sum total of sensory input. one can understand the mind with its basic components. bottom-up processing

what is bottom-up processing?

information starts at the senses and goes up to the brain

what does Gestalt psychology say?

that people tend to see the world in terms of organized wholes rather than parts. top-down processing

what is top-down processing?

information starts at the brain and goes down to the senses

what is absolute threshold?

the minimum amount of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time

what is differential threshold?

the minimum difference that must occur between two stimuli in order for them to be perceived as different

what is terminal threshold?

the upper limit above which a stimuli can be perceived

what is psychophysics?

the study of quantitative relations between psychological senses and physical stimuli

who coined psychophysics?

Gustav Fechner with Elements of Psychophysics

What does Weber’s Law state?

that a stimulus needs to be increased by a constant fraction of its original value in order to be perceived as different

what does Fechner’s Law state?

the strength of a stimulus must be significantly increased to produce a difference in sensation

what does J.A. Swet’s Theory of Signal Detection (TSD) state?

that people detect stimuli not only because they can but because they want to

what is the cornea?

the clear protective coating on the outside

where is the lens?

behind the cornea

what does the ciliary muscle do?

allows the lens to bend in order to focus an image

where is the retina?

in the back of the eyew

what does the retina do?

receives light images

what are receptor cells?

rods and cones on the retina that are responsible for sensory transduction

what is photopigmentation?

the process of converting an image into an electrical message for the brain

what do Rods do?

they dim in the dark for night vision

where are rods located?

along the sides of the retina

what do cones do?

process colors and daylight

where are cones located?

in the center of the retina

what is the fovea?

the center of the retina that sees fine detail

where does light go after passing through the receptors?

the horizontal cells, bipolar cells, and amacrine cells

what is the optic chiasm?

where half of the nerves from the optic nerve of each eye cross over to join the other eye

where does information go after traveling through the optic chiasm?

the striate cortex and visual association areas

who came up with the opponent-color theory?

Ewald Hering

what does the opponent-color theory state?

that two-types of color-sensitive cells exist, cones for blue-yellow colors and cones for red-green colors. When one type of cone is stimulated, the other is inhibited

who proposed the trichromatic theory?

Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtzw

hat does the trichromatic theory state?

that there are three types of receptors in the retina: cones that respond to red, blue, or green

where do opponent-process theory and trichromatic theory work?

the opponent-process theory works in the lateral geniculate body and the trichromatic theory works in the retina

what is lateral inhibition?

what allows the eye to see contrast and prevents repetitive information from being sent to the brain . the idea that once one receptor cell is stimulated, the others are inhibited

what did David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel do?

discover that cells in the visual cortex are complex and specialized that they only respond to certain stimuli

what is binocular disparity?

how our eyes view objects from different angles which makes 3-dimensional shapes

what is apparent size?

it gives us clues about how away an object is based on its size

what is interposition?

when one object obscures another, the partially covered one is perceived as being further away

what is linear perspective?

when two parallel lines converge with distance

what is texture gradient?

how we see texture or fine detail more clearly when its closer to us

what is motion parallax?

how we perceive motion through the displacement of objects over time

what did Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk do?

developed the visual cliff

what is the visual cliff?

a thick layer of class above a surface that dropped off sharply

What is the McCollough Effect

The McCollough effect is a phenomenon in which after viewing a colored grating pattern for an extended period, black and white gratings appear to have a faint hue complementary to the original colors. It is a visual illusion that demonstrates the long-lasting effects of adaptation in the human visual system.

what is a mental set?

A tendency to approach problem-solving or decision-making situations in a particular way based on past experiences or preconceived notions.

What is minimum principle?

The tendency to see what is the easiest

What is figure-ground reversal patterns?

visual illusions where the perception of an image alternates between two possible interpretations of the foreground and background

What are impossible objects?

visual representations that appear to be three-dimensional objects but cannot exist in reality.

What is the moon illusion?

the phenomenon where the moon appears larger when it is near the horizon compared to when it is higher in the sky.

what is the phi phenomenon?

the illusion of perceiving continuous motion when two or more adjacent stationary objects are presented in quick succession.

WHat is the Muller-Lyer illusion?

A visual perception phenomenon where two lines of equal length appear to be different due to the presence of arrow-like tails or fins at the ends of the lines.

What is the Ponzo illusion?

a visual illusion where two identical lines appear to be different lengths due to the presence of converging lines in the background.

What is the auto kinetic effect?

The perceived movement of a stationary object in a dark environment. It occurs due to small involuntary eye movements and the absence of visual reference points.

What is the purkinje shift?

the phenomenon where there is a shift in visual sensitivity from cone cells to rod cells in low light conditions.

What did Robert Frantz find?

Infants prefer complex displays

What frequency do humans hear at best?

1,000Hz

What does the outer ear consist of?

The pinnacle and auditory canal

What does the middle ear consist of?

The tympanic membrane, ossicles, and stapes

How does the eardrum work?

Sound bounces off of it and causes the ossicles to vibrate

What does the inner ear consist of?

The oval window and cochlea

What is Herman con Helmholtz known for?

The place-resonance theory

What is the place-resonance theory?

A concept in auditory perception that explains how we perceive different pitches or frequencies of sound. According to this theory, different frequencies of sound stimulate different areas along the basilar membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear. This stimulation then leads to the activation of specific auditory nerve fibers, which send signals to the brain for processing.

what do free nerve endings detect?

pain and temp. changes

what do Meissner’s copuscles detect?

touch and contact

what do pacinian copuscles detect?

displacements of skin

what is physiological zero?

the temperature detected that is not warm or cold

what do endorphins do?

reduce or eliminate pain

what is vestibular sense?

it allows us to orient ourselves in space and maintain balance

what do semicircular canals do?

detect head motion and maintain equilibrium

what is kinesthetic sense?

the awareness of the body’ movement

What is the hindbrain composed of?

myelencephalon, metencephalon, and reticular formation

what does the medulla control?

reflexes, sleep, attention, and movement

what does the metencephalon control?

the pons and cerebellum

what does reticular formation control?

alertness, thirst, sleep, and involuntary muscles

what does the tectum control?

vision and hearing

what does the tegmentum control?

opiate effects and sensorimotor system

what is the forebrain made up of?

diencephalon and telencephalon

what does the limbic system control?

fleeing, fighting, feeding, and dornicating

what does the cingulate gyrus control?

emotions and decisions

what is sleep stage W?

the wake stage which is 50% alpha waves (7-14hz) and beta waves (15-30hz).

What is sleep stage N1?

occurs when falling asleep with theta waves (4-7hz) and lasts 1-7 minutes

what is sleep stage N2?

when episodes of sleep spindles and K complexes alternate and the heart slows down

what is sleep stage N3?

deep sleep with delta waves (4hz)

what is sleep stage R?

REM sleep which is 20-25% of sleep time and where dreams occur

where is melatonin secreted from?

SCN

what do hallucinogens do?

cause disordered thoughts and visions

what do stimulants do?

stimulate the CNS

what do narcotics do?

reduce pain, cause euphoria and drowsiness

what did E. L. Thorndike create?

the puzzle box

what did did Kurt Lewin develop?

the theory of association

What did John Watson find?

the school of behaviorism

what did Clark Hull create?

the hypothetico-deductive model

What did Albert Bandura discover?

observational learning