AP Psychology (Unit 2 and 3): COMPLETE

Examples are written in italics

What is perception?

How the brain interprets and organizes the sensory inputs

What is visual perception?

The process by which the brain interprets and organizes visual information received through the eyes

What does the brain use to perceive visual information (depth)?

Monocular and binocular cues

What are monocular depth cues?

Rely on one eye to perceive depth

What do monocular depth cues include?

Relative size, texture gradient, interposition, linear perspective, and relative clarity

What is relative size?

Objects farther away appear smaller on the retina

What is texture gradient?

Objects farther away appear smoother

What is interposition?

When a near object blocks the view of a distant one

What is linear perspective?

When parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, meeting at a vanishing point

What is relative clarity?

Objects farther away appear blurrier

What are binocular depth cues?

Rely on both eyes to perceive depth

What do binocular depth cues involve?

Retinal disparity and convergence

What is retinal disparity?

Perceiving depth using the difference in distance between the two images from both eyes

What is convergence?

When the eyes turn inward to focus on nearby objects

What does the Gestalt principle explain?

How we group stimuli to create meaningful wholes

What does the Gestalt principle include?

Proximity, similarity, symmetry, continuity, figure and ground, and closure

What is proximity?

Grouping nearby objects

What is similarity?

Grouping similar objects

What does the similarity principle explain?

Why anomalies (objects different than others) become our focal point

What is symmetry?

Perceiving objects as symmetrical

What is continuity?

Seeing smooth, continuous forms

What is figure and ground?

We separate what we see into two categories: object of focus and the background

What is closure?

Perceiving incomplete shapes as complete

What is the feature detector approach (theory)?

How the brain processes visual stimuli by breaking it down into specific features

The shape and color of a sign to recognize warnings

What is perceptual constancy?

The ability to perceive objects as having the same size, etc even when their appearance changes due to various conditions

What is motion detection?

The brain’s ability to track the movement of objects

What is apparent motion?

Perception of movement where no real movement is occurring

What are examples of apparent motion?

Phi phenomenon and the stroboscopic effect

What is the phi phenomenon

Stationary lights flashing in rapid succession create an illusion of motion

What is the stroboscopic effect?

A sequence of still images creates an illusion of motion

What is the autokinetic effect?

When a stationary point of light in a dark room appears to move or twinkle

What is attention separated into?

Selective and divided attention

What is selective attention?

Focusing on one stimulus or task while ignoring distractions or irrelevant information

What are potential weaknesses of selective attention?

Inattentional blindness and change blindness

What is inattentional blindness?

Where a person is so focused on a specific task that they fail to notice important stimuli in their environment, like missing a person waving at them

What is change blindness?

When a person fail to notice changes in the environment

What is the cocktail party phenomenon?

A specific example of selective attention, showing that although we focus on a specific stimulus or task while ignoring other distractions, our brain still subconsciously processes the surrounding information like your name

What is divided attention?

The ability to focus on more than one task or stimulus simultaneously

What are the two types of perception?

Bottom-up processing and top-down processing

What is bottom-up processing?

A theory that the brain processes information by breaking down a stimulus into its component parts. These parts are then processed by sensory receptors, and the brain gradually builds recognition or understanding based on this raw data

What is top-down processing?

A theory that the brain processes information by using prior experiences and knowledge

What is Weber’s law?

A theory that the larger the initial stimulus, the difference required to notice a change is also larger

What is priming?

An effect where you recent experience with a stimulus influences how you process or respond to similar stimulus later. It can be done both consciously or unconsciously

What is priming separated into?

Repetition and semantic priming

What is repetition priming?

When you are repeatedly exposed to a specific stimulus, it becomes easier to recognize that same or similar stimulus later

A person can recall math problems and equations more quickly after practicing them

What is semantic priming?

Exposure to one word influences the response to another related word

Recognizing the word "banana" faster after seeing the word "yellow" 

What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?

A phenomenon where you try to recall something but can’t quite get it out of your mind, even though you know it

What is learning separated into?

Associative and nonassociative learning

What is latent learning?

Learning that happens without any immediate reward, but becomes useful later when the situation calls for it, allowing us to create a cognitive map (mental maps of our environment)

What is insight learning?

A type of learning done where you solve a problem using a sudden understanding or realization

What is nonassociative learning?

A type of learning that occurs when an organism is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus

What is nonassociative learning separated into?

Habituation and sensitization

What is sensitization?

A temporary increase in responsiveness; hence, an exaggerated response due to a repeated or noxious stimulus

Water torture

What is desensitization?

Decreased emotional responsiveness to a noxious stimulus after repeated exposure

How can desensitization occur?

Naturally on its own or through systematic desensitization

What is systematic desensitization?

Treats anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear and avoid

What is associative learning separated into?

Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning

What is the Garcia effect?

A phenomenon where an organism learns to associate a particular taste or food with a negative experience, such as nausea or illness, leading to a strong aversion of that food

Why in the Garcia effect, aversion primarily works with food?

Because of our biological preparedness (our natural tendency to quickly learn things relevant to survival)

In the Garcia effect, aversion is highly resistant to extinction and can only be remembered by a single attempt. What is this called?

One-trial conditioning

What is classical conditioning separated into?

Forward and second-order conditioning

What is an unconditioned stimulus (US)?

The initially meaningful stimulus that caused a response

What is a conditioned response?

The learned response that occurs when exposed to the conditioned stimulus

What is forward conditioning?

A type of learning where the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented before the unconditioned stimulus (US)

What is second-order conditioning?

A process of turning a previous neutral stimulus (NS) into the conditioned stimulus (CS; from forward conditioning) using an already established conditioned stimulus (CS) rather than an unconditioned stimulus (US)

What is the order of occurrence in classical conditioning?

Acquisition, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery

What is acquisition?

When the neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US) enough times that the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), which then triggers a conditioned response (CR)

What is generalization?

The tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli

What is discrimination?

The ability to perceive and respond to differences among stimuli

What is extinction?

If the conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (US), the conditioned response (CR) gradually decreases and eventually stops

What is spontaneous recovery?

After extinction, if a period of time passes and the CS is presented again, the conditioned response (CR) may briefly reappear, even though it was previously extinguished

What is counterconditioning therapy?

Using classical conditioning to help clients unlearn harmful emotional responses

What is operant conditioning?

A type of learning where behavior is controlled by reinforcements (rewards) or punishments to increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior recurring

What is the law of effect by B.F. Skinner?

An idea that a behavior is more likely to recur if reinforced

What is shaping?

The process of training a learned behavior that would not normally occur

What is learned helplessness?

A psychological condition where an individual feels powerless to change their situation due to repeated failures

What is instinctive drift?

The limitation in shaping behaviors due to the fact that certain natural behaviors are essentially hardwired in the animal

What are primary reinforcements?

 Things that satisfy innate biological needs

What are secondary reinforcements?

Things that are learned through their association with primary reinforcers

Money

What are positive reinforcements?

Adding a reinforcing stimulus in order to encourage the behavior

What are negative reinforcements?

The removal of an aversive event in order to encourage the behavior

What is omission training?

A technique used to decrease or eliminate a behavior by withholding a reward until the desired behavior is demonstrated

What are the schedule of reinforcements?

The frequency with which an organism receives reinforcement for a given type of response

What is a schedule of reinforcement separated into?

Continuous reinforcement schedule, partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?

Every correct response that is emitted results in a reward

What is partial reinforcement schedule separated into?

Fixed-ratio schedule, variable-ratio schedule, fixed-interval schedule, and variable-interval schedule

What is a fixed-ratio schedule?

When the reward is given after a set number of behaviors

What is the variable-ratio schedule?

When the number of behaviors needed for reinforcement changes randomly

Ex. fishing, slot machines

What is the fixed-interval schedule?

When reinforcement is given after a set amount of time, as long as at least one behavior is done

Ex. salary payment, semester grades

What is a variable-interval schedule?

When a reinforcement is given at random times, as long as at least one behavior is done

Checking social media for notifications, pop quizzes, compliments from a teacher

What are positive punishments?

Pairing an unpleasant stimulus with the behavior

Ex. extra chore, receiving a fine

What are negative punishments?

The removal of a reinforcing stimulus after the the behavior has occurred

Ex. loss of screen time

Punishments typically have a lasting effect like reinforcements. Is this statement true or false?

False

What is social learning separated into?

Observational and vicarious learning

What is observational learning?

Learning by watching others perform a behavior

What is vicarious learning?

Learning by observing the outcomes like punishments and reinforcements

What is modeling?

Demonstrating a behavior for others to observe and imitate

What does the multi-store model explain?

How information is processed, stored, and retrieved, focusing on three key systems that information must pass through in order to be remembered

First, where does a stimulus enter?

Sensory memory, which includes echoic (auditory) and iconic (visual) memories

When a stimulus is in sensory memory, what kind of processing takes place?

Autonomic processing