Psychology Exam #2

transduction

converting one form of energy into another

absolute threshold

lowest intensity of a stimulus necessary for it to be percieved

Just Noticeable Difference

smallest change in intensity of a stimulus for the change to be percieved

Weber’s law

the more intense a stimulus the greater the change in intensity must be for the change to be perceived

bottom up processing

processing at entry level

top down processing

based on prior experiences

bottom up processing

stimulus shapes perception

top down processing

background shapes perception of stimulus

shape constancy

the knowledge that the shape of something remains the same no matter where it is or how one is looking at it

color constancy

the knowledge that the color of an object stays the same no matter its environment

perceptual set

relationship between stimuli and its context

cocktail party phenomenon

focusing on a particular stimulus while tuning out others

Iris

colored muscle which expands and contracts controlling the amount of light which is let into the eye

Pupil

the black part of the eye which light passes through

Cornea

transparent layer infront of the pupil and iris

Lens

structure behind the iris and pupil which allows for a focused and crisp image

Fovea

small depression in the back of the eye at which visual acuity is at its highest

Retina

membrane at the back of the eye which has photoreceptors

Rods

photoreceptors for low levels of light

Cones

photoreceptors for higher levels of light, responsible for color vision and higher visual acuity

bipolar cells

cells between the retina and the ganglion cells

ganglion cells

cells making up the optic nerve responsible for travel of images to the occipital lob for perception

Gestalt principles

perception of objects as wholes within their context

Phi phenomenon

an optical illusion where a still image appears to be moving

Trichromatic theory

color vision is based on the three primary colors of light

Opponent Process theory

color vision is a function of complementary and opposing colors

Monocular cues

size, texture, interposition, linear perspective, height in a plane, light and shadow, and motion parallax

Binocular cues

disparity, convergence

Visual cliff

test given to babies to test their depth perception

Ames room

room which uses visual cues to make people appear different

Synesthesia

senses being synched

Change blindness

difficulty detecting differences when eyes are moving, lights are flickering, or when watching a video

monochromats

completely color blind people

dichromats

people whose vision can distinguish two colors

trichromats

people with normal color vision

Pinna

outer ear

ear canal

tube from outer ear to ear drum

tympanic membrane

membrane forming the eardrum, vibrates as a result of sound

ossicles

small bones in the inner ear

ossicles

stirrup, anvil, hammer

cochlea

spiral cavity in the inner ear

basilar membrane

within the cochlea, provides support to hair cells

hair cells

primary sensory receptors in the ear

place

the pitch of a sound corresponds with a particular location on the basilar membrane

frequency

determines pitch, how quickly a wave repeats

volley theory

groups of neurons stagger their responses to follow pitch

Biaural

two ears

Monaural

one ear

5 basic tastes

sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami

phermones

odorless chemicals that serve as social signals to members of the same species

somatosensory

touch and pain

proprioception

awareness of body position

vestibular sense

movement, balance, and smooth movement

habituation

growing used to a stimulus and no longer responding to it

aversive conditioning

classical conditioning in which and unwanted behavior is paired with a negative stimulus

acquisition

learning phase of classical conditioning during which the conditioned response is developed

extinction

gradual decrease and eventual elimination of conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

sudden reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a delay

stimulus generalization

having a conditioned response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination

ability to distinguish on stimulus from another

latent inhibition

when a stimulus has been experienced alone many times making it more challenging to condition

operant conditioning

acquiring behaviors as a result of the outcome or consequences of the behavior

law of effect

behavior followed by a reward are more likely to be repeated

positive reinforcement

the addition (+) of a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior

negative reinforcement

the subtraction (-) of an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior

punishment

unpleasant stimulus given or pleasant stimulus being taken

fixed ratio

reinforcement is given after a set number of responses

fixed interval

reinforcement is given after a set amount of time

variable ratio

reinforcement is given after a specific number of responses, average

variable interval

reinforcement is given after an average amount of time

partial reinforcement

when reinforcement is only given sometimes

premack principle

pairing a less frequent behavior with a more frequent behavior

token economies

rewarding desired behaviors with tokens or other secondary reinforcement

latent learning

learning that is not directly observable

observational learning

learning by watching others

mirror neurons

neurons that fire when one preforms an action and when one observes an action

conditioned taste aversion

conditioning leading to avoidance of a food or taste

instinctual drift

tendency of animals to return to innate behaviors

memory illusion

a false but convincing memory

field memories

remembering from original perspective

observer memories

remembering from a third person point of view

span of short term memory

less than 20 seconds

sensory memory

very brief memory storage

iconic memory

visual sensory memory

echoic memory

auditory sensory memory

eidetic memory

high detail image memory

retroactive interference

new information interferes with old information

proactive interference

old information interferes with new information

short term memory capacity

7 + or - 2 items

effects of experience on memory recall

exposure improves memory

maintenance rehearsal

repeating information in order to memorize it

elaborative rehearsal

linking stimuli in a meaningful way

permastore

extremely long lasting memories

primacy

remembering things from the beginning of a list

recency

remembering things from the end of a list

Von Restorff effect

remembering distinctive stimuli

serial position curve

remembering beginning and the end

explicit memory

can be stated or explained

implicit memory

procedural memory

semantic memory

facts