AP Psych Unit 1B Test

Consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Active consciousness

planning and decision making

Passive consciousness

daydreaming and sleeping

naturally occurring altered states of consciousness 

sleeping, dreaming, and daydreaming

naturally induced altered states of consciousness 

hypnosis, meditation, and drug-altered consciousness

Cognitive neuroscience

relationship between the brain and cognitive processes

Duel processing

two neural pathways- conscious and unconscious

Parallel processing

the brain’s ability to process multiple pieces of information at the same time

Sequential processing 

information is processed in a step by step order 

Sleep

we are unconscious, but our brain is still active

Circadian rhythm

24 hour cycle of biological functioning 

Jet lag

disorientation from traveling across different time zones, which disrupts your circadian rhythm

EEG patterns

Brain wave patterns categorized by frequency

Alpha waves

Sleep stage 1- awake and sleepy

Delta waves

Stages 3+4- deep sleep

NREM

nonREM, anything that is not the REM sleep stage

Sleep deprivation studies

William Dement and Randy Gardner

Effects of sleep loss

difficulty concentrating, fatigue, irritibilty, unhappiness, obesity, high blood pressure, poor motor performance

Ghrelin

stimulates hunger

Cortisol

hormone that plays a role in the body’s stress response

Disrupting gene expression

altering the process of creating a protein from a gene 

Limbic system dominance w/food

the limbic system controls the emotional aspect of food

Microsleep

when there are sudden shifts between wakefulness and sleep

Hallucinations

the perception of something not present, can happen from lack of sleep

Hypnagogic sensations

vivid dream like experiences that happen in the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Can include any of the 5 senses

REM

Beta waves, dreams and full body paralysis (except eyes) happen

REM rebound

when the body compensates for sleep loss with longer periods of REM sleep

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

the brain’s internal clock

Why do we sleep?

safety, restorative value, memory, creativity, growth

Dream

involuntary sequences of mental imagery that happen during REM sleep

What we dream

depends on our waking experiences

Why we dream

Wish fulfillment, information processing, psychological function

physiological function of dreaming 

helps the brain process emotions, consolidate memories, and maintain healthy brain function 

activation synthesis theory

dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity while we sleep

consolidation (information processing theory) 

dreams help store and organize information from the day into long term memory

cognitive development theory

dreams reflect the dreamer’s level of cognitive and emotional development

insomnia

difficulty falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy 

a sleep disorder causing sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks 

REM sleep behavior disorder

acting out dreams due to lack of normal muscle paralysis during REM sleep

Sleep apnea

repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep 

somnambulism (sleepwalking)

walking or performing activities while sleeping

Sensation

the process of detecting physical energy through sensory organs

perception

the brain’s organization and interpretation of sensory information

sensory receptor

specialized cells that detect sensory stimuli (like light, sound, touch)

bottom up processing 

perception starting from sensory input and building up to recognition

top down processing

perception guided by experience, expectations, or prior knowledge

psychophysics

study of how physical energy relates to psychological experience

absolute threshold 

the smallest stimulus detected 50% of the time 

signal detection theory

predicts when we will detect weak signals amid background noise

subliminal

below the level of conscious awareness

difference threshold (just noticeable difference)

the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected

weber’s law

to notice a difference, stimuli must differ by a constant proportion

vision wavelengths

distance between light waves- determines color (hue)

hue

the color we see, determined by wavelength 

intensity

brightness, determined by wave amplitude

cornea

outer covering that blends light into the eye

pupil 

opening in the eye that lets light enter 

iris 

colored muscle controlling the size of the pupil 

retina

light sensitive layer at the back of the eye where images form

blind spot

area with no receptors where the optic nerve leaves the eye

visual (optic) nerve 

carries visual information from retina to brain 

Lens

focuses light on the retina by changing shape

Accommodation

process by which the lens shape changes to focus on near/far objects

nearsightedness 

can see only near objects clearly 

farsightedness

can see only far objects clearly

Fovea

central part of the retina with sharpest vision

photoreceptors

light detecting cells

transduction

converting sensory energy into neural impulses

rods 

detect dim light, black, and white 

cones

detect color and fine detail

Young-Helmholz trichromatic theory

we see color using three cone types: red, green, blue

opponent process theory 

We see colors in opposing pairs 

feature detectors

neurons responding to specific features

Afterimages

Visual impressions that remain the same after the stimulus is gone

Ganglion cells 

neurons in the retina that form the optic nerve 

dichromatism

color blindness where only two cone types function

monochromatism

complete color blindness

prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces

blindsight

ability to respond to visual stimuli without conscious seeing

parallel processing 

processing multiple aspects of vision at once 

hearing wavelengths

distance between sound waves

frequency

number of waves per second

Pitch

How high or low a sound is

Amplitude 

Height of sound waves; determines loudness 

Middle ear

amplifies sound

cochlea

fluid filled inner ear structure where sound waves trigger neural impulses

Inner ear 

contains cochlea and canals for hearing and balance 

Place theory

different pitches stimulate different places on a cochlea’s membrane

Volley theory

neurons fire in rapid alternation to match high frequencies

Frequency theory 

pitch is determined by the frequency of neural impulses 

conduction deafness

hearing loss from damage to outer or middle ear

Sensorineural deafness

hearing loss from damage to inner ear or auditory nerve

cochlear implant 

device that converts sounds to electrical signals to stimulate the auditory nerve 

sound localization

ability to locate a sound 

olfactory system 

sense of smell

thalamus

brain’s sensory relay (smell bypasses)

Pheromones

chemical signals affecting behavior in other members of the species

Gustation 

sense of taste 

Taste receptors

cells on the taste buds that detect flavor

umami

savory taste