Psychology (Exam #2)

Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behavior through experiences

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together

classical conditioning

learn to associate two stimuli and thus anticipate events

operant conditioning

learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequences

cognitive learning

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

neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response

unconditioned response (UR)

an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, can trigger a conditioned response

conditioned response (CR)

a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus

higher-order conditioning (second-order conditioning)

conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus

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

reinforcement

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

shaping

guiding behavior towards closer and closer approximations of desired behavior

positive reinforcement

increases behavior by presenting a pleasurable stimulus

negative reinforcement

increases behavior by stopping or reducing an aversive (undesirable) stimulus

primary reinforcer

a natural reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (unlearned)

conditioned reinforcer (secondary reinforcer)

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

reinforcing a response only part of the time

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedule

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

punishment

an event that decreases the behavior

positive punishment

administer an aversive (undesirable) stimulus to decrease behavior

negative punishment

withdraw a rewarding stimulus

preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations that enhances survival

taste aversion

avoiding certain types of food after getting sick.

instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biological predisposed patterns

latent learning

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

observational learning (social learning)

learning by observing others

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

antisocial behavior

negative, destructive, unhelpful behavior

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment (taking in information using our senses)

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

perception

the process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, transforming it into meaningful objects and events

bottom-up processing

information processing that begins at the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information (what am I seeing?)

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions by drawing on our experience and expectations (is this something I've seen before?)

transduction

the transformation of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulus energy needed to a detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

subliminal

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

signal detection theory

predicts how and when we detect the presences of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimulus required for detection 50% of the time

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

blocking

a previously learned thought process prevents or delays the learning and conditioning of new behavior

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

what can affect our perception?

context, motivation, emotion

rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral (side) and twilight (night) vision

cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

the retina contains three different types of color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue - which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

opponent-process theory

opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision

Hubel and Wiesel

discovered feature detectors (nerve cells in visual cortex that responds to specific features - edges, lines, angles, movements)

fusiform face area

a region in the temporal lobe of the brain that helps us recognize the people we know

parallel processing

processing many aspects (motion, form, depth, color) of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

gestalt

our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

figure-ground

the 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

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 experiment

tested depth perception in infants and young animals

binocular cues

depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes

retinal disparity

by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance (the greater the difference, the closer the object)

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone (ex. smaller = further away)

motion perception

objects traveling towards us grow in size and those moving away shrink in size

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

color constancy

ability to perceive colors as relatively constant over varying illuminations (light sources)

brightness/lightness constancy

ability to perceive an object as having a constant brightness even when its illumination changes

shape constancy

ability to perceive the shape as constant even when our retinas receive changing images of them

size constancy

ability to perceive an object as having unchangeable size, even while distance varies

sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system (eardrum and middle ear bones) that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

place theory (place coding)

the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated; explains how we hear high pitches

frequency theory (temporal coding)

the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch; explains how we hear low pitches

gate-control theory

spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that controls transmission of pain messages to the brain

phantom limb sensation

feel pain or movement in nonexistent limbs (pain is all in our brain)

endorphin

natural pain-killers

social influence theory

hypnotic subjects may simply be imaginative actors playing a social role

dissociation theory

proposed that hypnosis is a special dual-processing state of dissociation

selective attention

hypnosis does not block sensory input, it blocks our attention to those stimuli

taste sensations

sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami

taste-exposure phenomenon

we come to like what we eat

supertaster

more tastebuds than others; sensitive to spicy and bitter foods

kinesthesia

our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

proprioceptors

position and motor sensors in muscles, tendons, and joints that provide constant feedback to the brain

vestibular sense

our balance sense; fluid in the inner ear stimulate hair-like receptors that sends signal to the cerebellum

semantic priming

priming using words (ex. right-wrong)

perceptual priming

priming using images

memory

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

recall

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time

recognition

identifying items previously learned

relearning

learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of information we can know without actively thinking about; how we encode implicit memories

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort; how we encode explicit memories

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

George Miller's Magic Number

the number of objects an average human can hold in working memory is 7 ± 2

working memory

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