Unit 4 & 5 (Psychology Myers)

Sensation

- detection of a stimulus
- seeing black and white blobs

Perception

- interpretation of a stimulus
- seeing that black and white blobs make a cow
- on continuous process

Bottom-up processing

- analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
- no prior knowledge
- break it down, seeing that the tree and sun and background are all Snoop Dog

Top-down processing

- information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
- prior knowledge
- knowing to change clocks during DST

Selective attention

- the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
- having a conversation with someone in a very public, noisy and crowded place (choosing to focus on them and listen to them)

inattentional blindness

- failure to notice an unexpected item
- moon-walking bear

Change blindness

- failure to notice obvious change
- 21 changes in the "whodunnit room"

psychophysics

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Signal detection theory

- Ratio of "hits" to "false alarms"
- Your expectations are much higher in a moment so you'll hear a buzz or feel a vibration when you wouldn't usually
- You might hear a rustling in the bushes and think it's a person when alone but not when you are with friends

subliminal messaging

messages that are sent below your conscious threshold

Priming

- Masking stimulus
- Activating of a concept that can influence your behavior
- Incidental exposure
- Seeing 55 all day and not realizing it and then picking 55 as the random football player choice

Difference threshold

- the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd)
- being able to tell that one light is brighter than another

Weber's law

- the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
- proportion is the important factor
- If it's only 10% to get something slightly better you most likely will add it ($ example)

Sensory Adaptation

- diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
- You feel yourself putting on your shorts, but like 5 min later you don't notice them anymore

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses our brains can interpret

Wavelength

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of comic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

Pupil

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which lights enters

Iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Lens

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

Retina

- detects lights, allowing us to see color
- rods and cones

Accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Cones

retinal receptor cells that are
concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Optic Nerve

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

Blind Spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

Fovea

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

Feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

Parallel processing

- the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
- We can detect multiple things at once
- Color, motion, form, depth

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

Opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Audition

the sense or act of hearing

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (i.e. per second)

Pitch

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Middle Ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Inner ear

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

Place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Frequency theory

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
- problems with the eardrum or three bones of the middle ear

Sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

Cochlear Implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Kinesthesis

- the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
- typing without looking at hands
- moving limbs with one eye closed

Vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Gate-control theory

when you stub your toe a gate in your brain and spinal cord open up and make you yell, when you grab your foot another gate opens up causing competing stimulation making the loud ow a quiet ow (pain decreases a little)

Sensory interaction

- the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
- food tastes blander when you have a stuffy nose

Gestalt

- an organized whole
- Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
- how little parts can make a whole

Figure-ground

- the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
- arrow in FedEx logo
- goodwill logo

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

Retinal Disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

Color constancy

- perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
- strawberries always being perceived as red even when there are no red pixels

Perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Perceptual set

- a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
- being able to recognize something in road that might be dangerous when driving

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Consciousness

an awareness of ourselves and our environment

Circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

REM sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.

Alpha waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

Sleep

periodic, natural loss of consciousness - as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

Hallucinations

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Delta waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

NREM sleep

non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep

Insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Sleep Apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Night Terrors

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

Dream

a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

Manifest content

according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from it's latent or hidden content)

Latent Content

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content

REM Rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

Hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Posthypnotic suggestion

a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Psychoactive drug

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods

Tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Withdrawl

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Physical Dependence

a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

Psychological Dependence

a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions

Addiction

compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences

Depressants

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Barbiturates

drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

Opiates

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Amphetamines

drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Methamphetamine

a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels

Ectasy (MDMA)

a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.

Hallucinogens

psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

LSD

a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide)

Near-Death Experience

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

THC

the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

choice blindness

- failing to detect a mismatch in your original choice
- you being blind to the reason for your actions
- blonde-brunette card switch