Psych Exam #2 (chapter 6, 7, & 8)

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli.

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors it works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.

Top-down processing

information processing guided by higher level mental processes as when we construct perception strong on our experience and expectations

transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation the transforming of stimulus energies such as sight sound and smell into impulses our brain can interpret.

Psychophysics

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

absolute threshold

the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect; the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

Signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulus. assumes there is no single absolute threshold, and that detection depends partly on a person's experience expectations motivations and alertness.

Subliminal

below 1's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

priming

the activation often unconsciously of a certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception memory or response.

Different threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required bulleted section 50% of the time. we experience a difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.

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).

Sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. When constantly exposed to an unchanging stimulus, we become less aware of it because our nerve cells fire less frequently.

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. A set of mental tendencies and assumptions that affect, top-down, what we hear, taste =, feel, and see.

Gestalt

german word meaning "form" or a "whole." an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasis our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. "in perception, the whole may exceed the sum of its parts."

Figure-ground

To separate faces from their backgrounds; Te organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

proximity

we group nearby figures together

continuity

we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones. This pattern could be a series of alternating semicircles, but we perceive it as two continuous lines--one wavy, one straight.

closure

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object. Thus we assume that the circles on the left are complete but partially blocked by the (illusory) triangle. Add nothing more than little line segments to close off the circles and your brain stops constructing a triangle.

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. infants could perceive death

binocular cue

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes.

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance -- the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Monocular cues

a depth cue, such as interposition or 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 color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

size consistancy

we perceive an object as having a constant size, even while our distance from it varies.

perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

critical period

an optimal period when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences is required

learning

the process of acquiring through experience new and reality enduring information or behaviors

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. the events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning.

classical conditioning

we learn to associate two stimuli and this to anticipate events. A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov's classic experiment , the first stimuli (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food).

operant conditioning

we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence.

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language.

behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

neutral stimulation (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that edicts no response before conditioning.

unconditioned response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salvation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally -- naturally and automatically -- triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

acquisition

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulas begins triggering the conditioned response. in operant conditioning, the strengathing of a reinforced response.

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is one conditioning experience paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning)

NS

Neutral stimulus

US

unconditioned stimulus

UR

unconditioned response

CS

conditioned stimulus

CR

conditioned response

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of a extinguished conditioned response.

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses . (in operant conditioning, BLANK occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations).

discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. ( in operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher.

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

operant chamber

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (as known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animals rate of bar pressing or key pecking.

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guid behavior towards closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting BLANK. Any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
(add a desirable stimulus. Ex: pet a dog that comes when you call it; pay someone for work done).

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing BLANK. any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. negative is not a punishment. (remove an aversive stimulus. Ex: Take painkillers to end pain; fasten seatbelt to end loud beeping )

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one hat satifies a biological need.

conditioned reinforcer "secondary reinforcers"

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer.

reinforcement schedule

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

variable- ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after an unpredictable number of responses.

punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows.

Positive punishment

administer an aversive stimulus. Ex: spray water on a barking dog; give a traffic ticket for speeding.

negative punishment

withdraw a rewarding stimulus. EX: take away a misbehaving teens driving privileges.

preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value.

instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revery to biologically predisposed patterns.

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's enviorment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognative map of it.

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

intrinsic motivation

a desire to preform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

extrinsic motivation

a desire to preform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

observational learning

learning by observing others

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientist believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy.

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test; retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time.

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple -choice test; identifying items previously learned.

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again; learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time. When you study for a final exam or engage a language used in early childhood, you will relearn the material more easily than you did initially.

encoding

get information into our brain

storage

retain the information going into our brain

retrieval

later get the information in our brain back out

parallel processing

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless store house of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." Also called "declarative memory"

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection Also called "nondeclarative memory"

procedural memory

automatic skills ( how to ride a bike)