Psychology: Sensation, Perception, Learning, Cognition, and Intelligence

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering classical and operant conditioning, sensation and perception, visual processing, problem-solving heuristics, language development, and theories of intelligence.

Learning

A long-lasting change in behaviour or mental state that comes from experience.

Associative Learning

Connecting the dots or linking things when they happen together.

Behaviourism (Historical View)

The view that psychology must study only observable actions and measures, rather than unobserved mental processes, grounded in the premise that universal processes and experience shape behaviour.

Conditioned Aversions

Dislikes or fears that develop because a stimulus previously made you sick.

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that initially does not trigger the targeted response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A former neutral stimulus that has learned to trigger a response after conditioning.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

A natural, automatic reaction that does not require learning (for example, food triggering salivation).

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned reaction that develops after conditioning has occurred (for example, a bell triggering salivation).

Acquisition

The phase in classical conditioning where the association between stimuli is learned.

Extinction

The phase in conditioning during which the learned response weakens.

Spontaneous Recovery

The phase in conditioning where an extinguished learned response returns.

Generalization

Responding similarly to stimuli that are related or similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Discrimination

Distinguishing between different stimuli so that the response is triggered only by the specific target stimulus.

Habituation

A decrease in response that occurs because a stimulus is repeatedly presented with no consequences.

Thorndike's Law of Effect

Principle stating that behaviours followed by positive consequences ($+$\text{ outcomes}) are repeated, while behaviours followed by negative consequences ($-$\text{ outcomes}) stop.

Operant Conditioning

A learning method developed by B. F. Skinner where behaviour is learned through consequences.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding desirable stimuli to increase the frequency of a behaviour.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing unpleasant or bad stimuli to increase the frequency of a behaviour.

Positive Punishment

Adding unpleasant or bad stimuli to decrease the frequency of a behaviour.

Negative Punishment

Removing desirable or good stimuli to decrease the frequency of a behaviour.

Continuous Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule where every instance of the desired behaviour is reinforced.

Intermittent (Partial) Reinforcement

Reinforcing the desired behaviour periodically rather than every time, creating a casino effect where the timing of rewards is unpredictable.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is delivered after a set number of actions.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is delivered after a random or unpredictable number of actions.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is delivered after a set amount of time passes.

Variable Interval Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is delivered after a random amount of time passes.

Observable Learning

Watching someone try or do something to see if they get rewarded or punished and acting accordingly; requires attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

Sensation

The detection of raw signals and physical energy emitted by physical objects.

Sense Receptors

Specialized cells that convert physical energy into electrical energy (nerve impulses) transmitted to the brain.

Transduction

The conversion of physical energy into electrical nerve impulses sent to the brain by sense receptors.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed for detecting the presence of a stimulus.

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

The minimal change in a stimulus required for detecting a change in that stimulus.

Weber Fraction

The variation in JND fraction that measures sensitivity to relative changes in a stimulus; a smaller fraction indicates higher precision, while a larger fraction indicates lower precision.

Perception

The brain's input process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Bottom-up Processing

Processing driven by raw sensory data that builds an interpretation piece by piece when the end result is unknown.

Top-down Processing

Processing driven by perceptual set, expectation, or previous knowledge that starts in the brain and shapes incoming sensory information.

Dual Process Theory (Vision)

A two-stage visual model where Stage One uses the trichromatic principle in retinal cones (blue, green, red) to capture incoming wavelengths, and Stage Two uses the opponent-process principle through paired channels (blue/yellow, green/red, white/black) in neural pathways before reaching the brain.

Interposition

A monocular depth cue where an overlapping object positioned on top is perceived as closer.

Linear Perspective

A monocular depth cue where objects appearing smaller are perceived as being further away.

Relative Size

A monocular depth cue involving parallel lines that grow closer as distance increases.

Texture Gradient

A monocular depth cue where visual details appear distinct and sharp up close but blurry far away.

Motion Parallax

A monocular depth cue where moving distance causes closer objects to appear to move more rapidly.

Binocular Disparity

A binocular depth cue where perceived movement and depth occur because the two eyes receive slightly different images.

Convergence

A binocular cue involving two eyes working together, providing depth feedback from ocular muscle movement.

Synesthesia

A sensory crossover condition where stimulation of one sense evokes another (for example, the sound of a musical note smelling like oranges).

Perceptual Set

A habitual way of perceiving based on previous experience, exposure, needs, beliefs, or emotions.

Cognition

The mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, and retrieving information.

Prototype

The ideal or most typical example representing a concept (for example, a hammer as a tool).

Exemplars

Specific, individual examples of a concept stored directly in memory (for example, a neighbour's dog).

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where decisions are made based on information that comes to mind easily.

Representative Heuristic

A mental shortcut where judgment is based on how closely an item matches an existing prototype.

Framing

The influence on decision-making caused by the specific wording, presentation, or context of information.

Anchoring

A cognitive phenomenon where the first piece of information encountered becomes an anchor or reference point for subsequent judgment.

Algorithm

A problem-solving method utilizing step-by-step rules that guarantee the correct answer.

Functional Fixedness

A brain trap characterized by seeing objects only in terms of their usual or customary function.

Mental Set

A brain trap involving persisting with familiar problem-solving strategies even when better alternatives exist.

Divergent Thinking

A key component of creativity characterized by producing many possible ideas, answers, or solutions.

Morpheme

The smallest unit of meaning in language, including free morphemes (stand-alone words) and bound morphemes (prefixes and suffixes).

Overregulation

Applying grammatical rules too broadly to words that are irregular exceptions (such as saying 'goed' for 'went' or 'mouses' for 'mice').

Holophrases

Single words uttered between 10 to 13 months that express an entire sentence (for example, saying 'milk').

Telegraphic Speech

A two-word language stage containing only essential words without extra grammar (for example, 'mommy go' or 'want cookie').

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A score derived from standardized testing quantified by the formula: $\text{IQ} = \frac{\text{mental age}}{\text{chronological age}} \times 100$.

Test Reliability

The characteristic of an intelligence test that produces consistent and constant scores over time.

Test Validity

The characteristic of an intelligence test indicating that it genuinely measures what it claims to measure.

Spearman's General Intelligence (g)

The theory that a single underlying general intelligence factor ($g$) influences performance across many different tasks.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

A model defining intelligence across three components: Analytical (problem solving), Creative (using experience to generate insight), and Practical (handling real-life situations).

Savant Syndrome

An exceptional form of intelligence where an individual displays extraordinary skills in a specific area despite having limitations in others.

Chitling Test

An intelligence assessment designed to demonstrate cultural bias in standardized intelligence testing.