Psych 101 Exam 3

Binocular Cues for Depth Perception

Closer object -->greater convergence

Monocular Cues for Depth Perception

Can use only 1 eye, When objects are far away, Relative size, Relative clarity, Linear perspective

What is perceptual constancy?

interpretation of changing sensations as perception that is relatively consistent

Color constancy

consistent perception of color of objects although the amount of light changes

Lightness constancy

consistent perception of shade of objects although the amount of light changes

Shape constancy

perception that object’s shape remains constant despite changing shape of retinal image

Size constancy

perception that the size of objects remains constant despite different sizes of images on retina

Classical conditioning

learning to respond to a new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the response

How did Pavlov study classical conditioning?

Noticed that dogs salivated at mere sight of food dish – learned to associate dish with food --> Could dog be taught to associate food with other things? --> Presented food with neutral stimulus (bell) -->Measured salivation in response to neutral stimulus (bell) presented alone

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

stimulus that automatically elicits response without prior conditioning

Unconditioned response (UR)

innate response to unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a conditioned response due to its association with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (CR)

learned response to a stimulus that did not originally elicit the response

Acquisition

stage of conditioning in which the association between the 2 stimuli (US and CS) is being learned

Generalization(Classical)

conditioned response to stimuli that are not the conditioned stimulus (but are similar to the CS)

Discrimination (Classical)

conditioned response occurs only to a specific stimulus

Extinction

failure to exhibit the CR to the CS (because the CS no longer predicts the US)

Spontaneous recovery

reappearance of the CR to the original CS after extinction, Tends to be short-lived

Second-order (higher-order) conditioning

new neutral stimulus becomes associated with previously conditioned stimulus – becomes new CS, Tends to be weaker than first-order conditioning

Conditioned aversion

classically conditioned association between a CS and a US that causes an unpleasant response, John Garcia (1966) – discovered conditioned aversions to flavored water in rats

What was Watson and Raynor’s study with Little Albert?

Paired loud noise with rat = fear, Albert generalized fear to other fuzzy objects

Counterconditioning

replacing unwanted CR with wanted response

Mary Cover Jones' experiment in Counter conditioning

unwanted response = fear of rabbit, Pair rabbit (CS) with stimulus (e.g., cookies) that produces pleasant feelings that are incompatible with fear response, Purpose – to eliminate unwanted response

Operant Conditioning

instrumental conditioning

Law of effect (Thorndike)

the tendency of an organism to produce a behavior depends on the effect the behavior has on the environment

Skinner box (operant chamber)

Hungry animal placed in box--> Presses bar --> receives food pellet (reinforcer) --> increases
bar pressing

Reinforcement

consequence of behavior that increases the probability that the behavior will occur

Punishment

consequence of behavior that
decreases the probability that the behavior will occur

Shaping

reinforcing closer and closer
approximations of the desired response

successive approximations

responses that are
increasingly similar to the desired response

Positive reinforcement

presentation of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior --> increases probability of behavior

Negative reinforcement

removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior --> increases probability of behavior

Positive punishment

unpleasant stimulus follows behavior --> decreases probability of behavior

Negative punishment

removal of pleasant stimulus after a behavior --> decreases probability of behavior

Generalization

after a behavior is reinforced in one
situation, it is performed in a different situation

Discrimination

a behavior that is reinforced in one
situation is not performed in a different situation

Extinction

after the reinforcer is withdrawn, the behavior
decreases

Spontaneous recovery

after extinction, the behavior reappears

Continuous reinforcement

consequences are the
same each time the behavior occurs

Intermittent (partial) reinforcement

consequences are given only some of the times the behavior occurs

Ratio schedules of reinforcement

reinforcement is given after the behavior is exhibited a certain number of times

Interval schedules of reinforcement

reinforcement is
given after a certain amount of time

Fixed-ratio

reinforcement for a fixed proportion of
responses emitted

Variable-ratio

reward for some percentage of responses, but unpredictable number of responses required before reinforcement

Fixed-interval

reinforcement for responses after a fixed amount of time

Variable-interval

reinforcement for responses after an amount of time that is not constant

Extrinsic motivation

pursuit of goal for external rewards

Intrinsic motivation

pursuit of activity for its own sake

Overjustification effect

too much reward --> undermines intrinsic motivation

Observational learning

learning by observing the behavior of others

Modeling

imitating others’ behavior

Bandura

experiments with Bobo doll

Encoding

getting information into memory

Storage

maintaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

pulling previously encoded and stored information from memory

Sensory memory

system that holds sensory information (e.g., visual, auditory) for a very brief time after the stimulus disappears

Iconic memory

visual sensory memory

Sperling Iconic Memory (1960)

flashed 12 letters for 1/20 sec --> then signaled Ps to recall top, middle, or bottom row

Echoic memory

auditory sensory memory

Short-term memory

or information that is available to consciousness for about 20-30 seconds

Long-term memory

relatively permanent memory

Explicit memory

conscious recollection of material from long-term memory (declarative)

Semantic memory

memory of general knowledge

Episodic memory

memory of personally experienced events

Implicit memory

not brought to mind consciously, but expressed in behavior (nondeclarative)

Procedural memory

memory for the performance of skills

Priming

prior exposure to a stimulus affects responses to a later stimulus

Recall

producing memories using minimal retrieval cues

Recognition

knowledge of whether one has previously been exposed to information

Relearning

learning occurs more quickly the second time it is learned

Chunking

organizing information into smaller, meaningful pieces to facilitate memory

Mnemonics

strategies and tricks for improving memory

Rehearsal

repeating some information

Maintenance rehearsal

rote repetition of material

Elaborative rehearsal

thinking about the meaning of the information

Levels of processing (Craik & Tulving, 1975)

information can be processed at different depths, from shallow to deep

Shallow processing

superficial features, such as physical appearance

Deep processing

cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its meaningful properties rather than its perceptual characteristics.

Encoding specificity

specific cues are encoded with the memory

Context-dependent memory

environment in which something is learned serves as cue for retrieval

State-dependent memory

physical or mental state in which something is learned serves as cue for retrieval

Encoding failure

memory fails to form due to lack of attention or processing

Storage decay

after memory has been stored, may fade

Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve

after forming a memory, majority of forgetting occurs initially

Retrieval failure

storied memories cannot be accessed

Anterograde amnesia

Memory loss for information encountered after head injury

Retrograde amnesia

Memory loss for information from before head injury

Heuristics

simple rules for making complex decisions/judgments

Representativeness heuristic

tendency to see someone or something as belonging to a particular group or category by evaluating how similar this person or thing is to a typical person or thing in that category

base-rate fallacy

using the representativeness heuristic means ignoring base rates

Base rates

frequency with which given events or cases occur in the population

Availability heuristic

strategy for making judgments based on how easily specific kinds of information can be brought to mind

Simulation heuristic (counterfactual thinking)

imagining alternative version of actual events shapes emotional response

OUTCOMES OF BILINGUALISM

Greater cognitive flexibility
• Protection against cognitive decline
• Higher academic achievement in upper grades
• Better executive control
• Additional area of brain activation

Perseverance effect (belief perseverance)

beliefs tend to persist in the face of disconfirming information

Confirmation bias

tendency to search for and use information that is consistent with our existing beliefs

Stereotype threat

threat felt when stereotype is salient to targets of negative stereotypes

Fixed mindset

performance is assumed to reflect ability that is unchangeable

Growth mindset

performance is assumed to reflect effort that is modifiable

Motivation

factors that direct and energize behavior