Psych Unit 2 Exam Revision

Sensation:

the process of our sensory receptors detecting an environmental stimulus and converting that stimulus into neural activity.

Perception:

refers to the process by which we give meaning to information. This is a conscious experience where we interpret sensations.

Transduction:

the process of sending sensory information as 'Action Potentials' to relevant areas of the brain.

Sensory receptors are found in

the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and internal organs.

Sensory receptors function to

receive and process sensory information.

Functions of rods are for

night vision, and are not very good at detecting finer details nor colour.

Functions of cones are to respond to

high levels of light and are responsible for finer details and colour.

Depth perception is the ability to

perceive distance to objects using the visual system and visual perception.

Pictorial cues are used to

create depth and distance on two dimensional surfaces, like paper.

Linear perspective is the

convergence of parallel lines as they recede into the distance.

Interposition is when

one object blocks another and the blocked image is perceived as further away than the one blocking.

Texture gradient is the

gradual reduction of detail in a surface as it recedes into the distance.

Relative size is

visualising something that is closer to you as larger. And that is smaller as further away.

Height in the visual field is the

the location of things in your visual field, that is closer to the horizon is further away.

The Gestalt principles are

Figure-Ground Proximity
Continuity
Closure
Similarity
Proximity

Figure-Ground Proximity is when

we make an object centre of focus while the rest becomes background (e.g. teacher at front of class)

Closure is when

we mentally fill in gaps of incomplete images (e.g. disabled sign)

Similarity is when

we perceive similar features such as size, shape and colour (e.g. school uniform)

Proximity is when

we perceive parts of a visual image that are close together with a group. We separate group bits to see the whole picture (e.g. spaces between words, word vs W O R D)

Retinal disparity refers to

the very slight difference in the location of visual images on the retinas, which enables us to make judgements about the depth or distance of an object.

Perceptual set is a

predisposition to perceive things in a certain way. E.g. appearance of food in ads.

Context refers to

the environment in which a perception is made.

Motivation refers to

internal processes which activate behaviour that we direct towards achieving a particular goal.

Emotional state refers to

that different emotions can 'set' us to perceive information in a particular way which is consistent with the emotion being experienced.

Past experience refers to that

our unique combination of past experiences also predispose, or 'set', us to perceive information in a particular way.

Perceptual consistencies refers to

the tendency to perceive an object as remaining stable and unchanging despite any changes that may occur to the image casted on the retina. Perceptual consistencies are size, shape and brightness consistency.

Size refers to

the ability to perceive an object as being the same size despite the fact that the size of its retinal image changes depending on its distance from the observer.

Shape refers to

when an object is perceived as having the same shape when viewed at different angles.

Brightness refers to

the tendency to perceive a familiar object as having the same brightness under different conditions of illumination.

Taste receptors are

proteins that recognise taste stimuli of various types, thereby functioning as the initial component in the process of sensing and discriminating ingested material.

We experience bitterness because

it is produced by a variety of different substances and is generally described as undesirable.

Difference age in taste:

- Ability to taste substances is already well-developed at birth
- Children are much more responsive to taste than adults.
- Children have more taste receptors than adults
- Taste perception fades with age as part of normal ageing process
- Mistakenly believed that older people have a problem with taste, when they are actually experiencing a problem with smell

Different methods of sampling are

convenience sampling
random sampling
stratified sampling

Convivence sampling is

sampling that is at convivence to the researcher. E.g. your class.

Random sampling is

where each member of the population had an equal chance of being chosen. E.g. pulling names out of a hat.

Stratified sampling is

when researchers divide a population into homogeneous subpopulations called strata based on specific characteristics (e.g., race, gender identity, location, etc.).

Research designs are

independent groups, repeated measures, and matched participants.

Independent groups are

where each participant is randomly located to one of two or more groups.

Repeated measures are

when the participant is in both the experimental and control group.

Matched participants are

where each participant in one condition matches a participant in the other condition/s, on one or more participant variable related to the experiment.

Hypothesis is made up of

a prediction, the population, IV, and DV.

IV is

a condition that the experimenter systematically manipulates, changes, or varies in order to gauge its effect on another variable.

DV is

the condition in an experiment that is affected by the IV and is used to measure the IVs effect.

Ethical considerations are

- protection and security of participants' information
- confidentiality
- voluntary participants
- withdrawal rights
- informed consent procedures
- deception
- debriefing

Protection and security of participants' information:

make participants aware of how personal information will be protected.

confidientiality:

refers to the obligation of the researcher not to use or disclose private information for any purpose other than that for which it was given to them.

voluntary participants:

The researcher must ensure participants voluntarily consent to be involved in a study.

withdrawal rights:

Participants have an unconditional right to withdraw from a study at any time without giving reason for doing so.

informed consent:

Consent is a voluntary choice for participants and must be based on sufficient information and adequate understanding of both the proposed research and the consequences of participation in it.

deception:

Occurs when participants are deliberately misled or not fully informed about the aim or some other aspect of the research.

debriefing:

Involves clarifying each participant's understanding of the nature of the research as soon as possible after it has been conducted.

Social learning is

learning by observing others with the goal of adapting one's behaviour in a social contexts.

The five basic tastes are

sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami.

Sweet is caused by

sugar or artificial sweetness, milacid juices.

Sour is

acid solutions like lemon juice or vinegar. It helps us judge ripeness of fruit.

Bitter is

an undesirable or unpleasant toxic chemical or poison.

Umami is

savoury, rich, mouth filling taste. Found in meat, cheese, mushrooms etc. Found in amino acids, breast milk is first source.

Supertasters are

people who taste certain flavours and foods more strongly than other people.

Synaesthesia is

a perceptual experience in which stimulation of one sense involuntarily produces additional unusual experiences in another sense. E.g. seeing colours when hearing music.

Social Cognition is

how we make sense of the world.

Person perception refers to

the mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about the personal characteristics of other people.

The Halo Effect is

is a cognitive bias in which the impression we form about a person influences our beliefs and expectations about the person in other qualities.

Attitudes are

an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event, or issue.

The Tri-component model of attitudes are

Affective component, Behavioural component, and Cognitive component.

Affective component refers to

the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event, or issue. E.g. loves music

Behavioural component refers to

the way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions. E.g. works on music a lot, running to keep fit.

Cognitive component refers to

the beliefs about an object, person, group, event, or issue. E.g believes music is best subject

Limitation of Tri-component model of attitudes is

that there can be inconsistencies between a person's attitudes and their actual behaviour.

Advantage of Tri-component model of attitudes is

the three are usually consistent, creates a strong attitude.

Factors that can influence attitudes and behaviour are

strength, accessibility, social context, and perceived contact.

Strength of the attitude refers to

that the stronger the attitude, the more likely it is to be stable, consistent over time, resist change, and can influence/predict behaviour.

An accessible attitude also intertwines with

the strength of the attitude.

Social Context...

whether an attitude leads to an actual behaviour is dependent on the situation in which that person is in at the time.

Classical conditioning is

a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are paired together repeatedly.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) is

what automatically leads to an unconditioned response (UCR).

Unconditioned Response (UCR) is

the automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

The neutral stimulus (NS) occurs

before conditioning where there is no conditioned response.

The conditioned stimulus (CS) is

the neutral stimulus (NS) after conditioning that leads to a conditioned response (CR).

The conditioned response (CR) is

the response to the conditioned stimulus (CS), now after conditioning.

Operant conditioning is

consequences that lead to changes in voluntary behaviour.

Types of operate conditioning are;

positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement (escape and active avoidance), positive punishment and negative punishment.

Social learning is

the importance of the social environment in which learning occurs as we watch others and also see the consequences of how people think, feel, and behave.

Stereotypes are

a collection of beliefs that we have about the people who have about the people who belong to a certain group, regardless of individual differences among members of that group.

Prejudice is defined as

holding a negative attitude towards the members of a group based solely on their membership of that group.

Discrimination refers to

the positive or negative behaviour that is directed towards a social group and its members. This occurs towards a single person or a specific group.

The difference between prejudice and discrimination is

that prejudice is the attitude while discrimination is the behaviour.

Two methods that can be used to reduce prejudice are

intergroup contact and a superordinate goal.

Intergroup contact is

Increasing direct contact between two groups who are prejudiced against each other.

A superordinate goal is

a goal that cannot be achieved by one group alone and overrides other existing goals which each group might have.

Difference between status and social power is status refers to

the importance of an individual's position in the group, as perceived by members of the group, while social power is when power (ability to control or influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviour of another person) is involved in a social interaction.

A role is

the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences the way in which they function or act in different situations and life in general.

The aim of Zimbardo's prison experiment was

to find the effects of roles, labels and social expectations of either being a prison guard or prisoner.

The hypothesis of Zimbardo's prison experiment was

that the participants will conform to the roles and social expectations of their roles.

The conclusion of Zimbardo's prison experiment was

that it revealed how people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are strongly stereotyped as those of prison guards.

Two ethical concerns of Zimbardo's prison experiment were

withdrawal rights and informed consent.

Obedience occurs when

we follow the commands of someone with authority or the rules, or laws, of society.

Milgram conducted his obedience experiment to

to investigate factors that can influence obedience to an authority figure.

Milgram's aim was

to investigate factors that influence obedience.

The results of Milgram's experiment were

that most people would administer the shocks, even if the 'learner' was visibly in pain when the person pf authority told them to.

The conclusion of Milgram's experiment was

that people obey either out of fear or out of a desire to appear cooperative--even when acting against their own better judgment and desires.