Psych 101 Exam 2

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works to the brain's integration of sensory info (assembling/building)

top-down processing

info process guided by higher level mental processes, drawing on our experiences and expectations

priming

prior information that alters what we expect to perceive

perceptual parsing

a process where our visual system divides everything we see into components (most importantly into figure and ground)

binocular depth cues

information gathered from both eyes to help judge depth and distance

monocular depth cues

depth and distance cues that require the use of only one eye

retinal binocular disparity

A binocular cue that uses the difference between the images the two eyes see to determine the distance of objects.

relative motion parallax

distance of objects from viewer determines their relative motion (nearby objects appear to pass by quickly and distant objects appear to pass more slowly)

perceptual constancies

the ability to retain an unchanging percept of an object despite variations in the retinal image

circadian rhythms

daily biological cycles that are about 24 hours long

Stage 1 of a Typical Night's Sleep

very light sleep

Stage 2 of a Typical Night's Sleep

transitioning from a light to deep sleep (40%)

Stage 3 and 4 of a Typical Night's Sleep

slow wave sleep, deep sleep, when sleep talking/walking occurs

REM sleep

paradoxical sleep, rapid eye movements, most vivid dreaming, psychological arousal increases, muscle paralysis

REM Behavior Disorder

those with this disorder do not experience muscle paralysis during REM sleep causing them to act out their dreams while they are still sleeping

restorative theory

(individual) sleep allows us to recharge our bodies and recover from fatigue

"cell phone battery"

evolutionary theory

(species) sleep's main purpose is to increase a species chances of survival

consolidation theory

(biological) sleep strengthens the neuronal connections that serve as the basis for learning and memory

insomnia

chronic inability to sleep normally (linked with anxiety and depression)

narcolepsy

characterized by an irresistible composition to sleep during the daytime

sleep apnea

causes a person to stop breathing while sleeping

activation-synthesis theory

(biological) brainstorm bombards higher brain centers with random neural activity (activation) then the cerebral cortex interprets activity and creates a dream (synthesis)

Freud's Psychoanalytical Theory

(psychological) dreams symbolize wish fullfilment

"royal road to unconscious"

psychoactive drugs

chemicals that affect mental processes and behavior by temporarily changing conscious awareness

tolerance

individual requires greater dosages of the drug to achieve the same effect

withdrawal

after reducing or ceasing intake,physical or psychological symptoms occur

depressants/sedatives

decrease CNS activity (alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines)

stimulants

increase CNS activity (amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, ecstasy) also decreased appetite and causes paranoia

hallucinogens

marijuana, LSD, PCP

opiates (narcotics)

pain killers (morphine, heroin, codeine)

classical conditioning

association between two stimuli

unconditioned stimuli

does not require prior learning

unconditioned response

automatic, biological response

conditioned stimuli

A previously neutral stimulus that an organism learns to associate with an unconditioned stimulus.

conditioned response

the newly learned response

sensation

the process by which sensory organs in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, and other tissues receive and detect stimuli

perception

the organization and interpretation of sensory stimuli by the brain

-knowledge-based processing

psychophysics

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

absolute threshold

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

just noticeable difference (JND)

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

Weber's Law

JNDs are proportional to the size of the original stimulus (starts from a number, not 0)

cornea

transparent shield over the eye

pupil

allows light in and controls it

iris

colored part

lens

elastic structure behind pupil (thinner: nearby, thicker when far away and with age)

focuses image onto the back of the eye

retina

has receptors (rods and cones)

lines back of the eye

rods

concentrated in the edges of the retina

black and white vision

most active in dim illumination

cones

concentrated in the center of the retina

color vision

most active in bright illumination

fovea

point of central focus

only cones

blind spot

optic disk on the back of the eye that has no receptor cells (brain fills the holes)

Optic Nerve

power cord to brain's visual cortex

pinne

funnel sound waves and focuses them toward the ear drum

auditory canal

leads to eardrum

ossicles

bones that press - hammer, anvil, stirrup

cochlea

receptor cells and hair cells line the membrane

auditory nerve

sends info to the rest of the brain "power cord"

acquisition

when you start doing something you didn't use to do (instinct)

initial learning of a conditional response

extinction

stopping certain responses

the diminishing of a conditional response

generalization

the tendency for stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimuli to elicit a conditioned response

organism learns to respond to more than one CS

spontaneous recovery

they reappear once, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

operant conditioning

organisms act on the environment instead of stimuli

rewarded acts increase in frequency

punished acts decrease in frequency

positive reinforcement

a response is strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

ex. child cleans room - parents give candy

negative reinforcement

a response is strengthened by the subsequent removal of an aversive stimulus

ex. child cleans room - parents stop nagging

positive punishment

a response is weakened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

ex. child kicks sibling - parents scold

negative punishment

a response is weakened by the subsequent removal of a stimulus

ex. child kicks sibling - parents take away toy

shaping

reinforces guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

primary reinforcers

reinforcers that are innately reinforcing, such as those that satisfy biological needs (food, water,sex)

secondary reinforcers

serve as reinforcers through their repeated pairing with primary reinforcers

ex. money, compliments, hugs

reinforcement schedules

dictate how often reinforcement should be given

continuous reinforcement

reinforces the behavior each and every time it occurs

partial reinforcement

reinforces behavior intermittently

administered via schedules (\# of responses per time)

observational learning

watching someone do something and learning

4 steps of observational learning

1. pay attention to the model's behavior

2. retain info on memory

3. be physically capable of reproducing the behavior

4. be motivated to display the behavior

explicit memory

involves conscious effort

implicit memory

does NOT involve memory

declarative memory

memory for facts and events