Modules 5-8 Psychology 1000 Review

Acquisition

Period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response

Associative Learning

Form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)

Classical Conditioning

Learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then gets paired or associated with the behavior

Cognitive Map

Mental Picture of the layout of the environment

Conditioned Response (CR)

Response caused by the conditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Continuous Reinforcement

Rewarding a behaviour every time it occurs

Extinction

Decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus

Fear Conditioning

A type of classical conditioning that elicits a fear response

Fixed Interval Reinforcement Schedule

Behaviour is rewarded after a set amount of time

Fixed Ratio Reinforcement Schedule

Set number of responses must occur before a behaviour is rewarded

Higher-Order Conditioning (or second-order)

Using a conditioned stimulus to condition a neutral stimulus

Insight

The sudden understanding of a solution to a problem

Instinct

Unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behavior; are thought to be more prevalent in lower animals than in humans

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it

Law of Effect

Behaviour that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and behaviours that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged

Learning

Changes in behaviour or knowledge that is the result of experience

Model

Person who performs a behavior that serves as an example in observational learning

Negative Punishment

Taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behaviour

Negative Reinforcement

Taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behaviour

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

Stimulus that does not initially elicit a response

Observational Learning

Type of learning that occurs by watching others

Operant Conditioning

Form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behaviour is demonstrated

Partial Reinforcement

Rewarding behaviour only some of the time

Positive Punishment

Adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behaviour

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behaviour

Primary Reinforcer

Has innate reinforcing qualities (food, water, shelter, sex)

Punishment

Implementation of a consequence in order to decrease a behaviour

Radical Behaviourism

Staunch form of behaviorism developed by B. F. Skinner that suggested that even complex higher mental functions like human language are nothing more than stimulus-outcome associations

Reflex

Unlearned, automatic response by an organism to a stimulus in the environment

Reinforcement

Implementation of a consequence in order to increase a behavior

Secondary Reinforcer

Has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (money, gold stars, stickers, poker chips)

Shaping

Rewarding successive approximations toward a target behaviour

Spontaneous Recovery

Return of a previously extinguished conditioned response

Stimulus Discrimination

Ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

Stimulus Generalization

Demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Natural (unlearned) behaviour to a given stimulus

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Stimulus that elicits a reflexive response

Variable Interval Reinforcement Schedule

Behaviour is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed

Variable Ratio Reinforcement Schedule

Number of responses differ before a behaviour is rewarded

Vicarious Punishment

Process where the observer sees the model being punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behaviour

Vicarious Reinforcement

Process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behaviour

Absolute Threshold

The minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

Afterimage

The continuation of a visual sensation after the stimulus is removed

Amplitude

The height of a wave

Basilar Membrane

A thin strip of tissue within the cochlea that contains the hair cells which serve as the sensory receptors for the auditory system

Binaural Cue

Two-eared cue to localize sound

Binocular Cue

Cue that relies on the use of both eyes

Binocular Disparity

Slightly different view of the world that each eyes receives

Blind spot

Point where we cannot respond to visual information in that portion of the visual field

Bottom-Up Processing

System in which perceptions are built from sensory input

Closure

Organizing our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

Cochlea

Fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells of the auditory system

Cochlear implant

Electronic device that consists of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array to directly stimulate the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain

Conductive Hearing Loss

Failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles

Cone

Specialized photoreceptor that works best in bright light conditions and detects colour

Congenital Deafness

Deafness from birth

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (Congenital Analgesia)

Genetic disorder that results in the inability to experience pain

Cornea

Transparent covering over the eye

Deafness

Partial or complete inability to hear

Decibel (dB)

Logarithmic unit of sound intensity

Depth Perception

Ability to perceive depth

Electromagnetic Spectrum

All the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment

Figure-Ground Relationship

Segmenting our visual world into figure and ground

Fovea

Small indentation in the retina that contains cones

Frequency

Number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period

Gestalt Psychology

Field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts

Good Continuation (Continuity)

We are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines

Hair Cell

Auditory receptor cell of the inner ear

Hertz (Hz)

Cycles per second; measure of frequency

Inattentional Blindness

Failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention

Incus

Middle ear ossicle; also known as the anvil

Inflammatory Pain

Signal that some type of tissue damage has occurred

Interaural Level Difference

Sound coming from one side of the body is more intense at the closest ear because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through the head

Interaural Timing Difference

Small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear

Iris

Coloured portion of the eye

Just Noticeable Difference

Difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the stimuli

Kinaesthesia

Perception of the body’s movement through space

Lens

Curved, transparent structure that provides additional focus for light entering the eye

Linear Perspective

Perceive depth in an image when two parallel lines seem to converge

Malleus

Middle ear ossicle; also known as the hammer

Meissner’s Corpuscle

Touch receptor that responds to pressure and lower frequency vibrations

Ménière’s Disease

Results in a degeneration of inner ear structures that can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and an increase in pressure within the inner ear

Merkel’s Disk

Touch receptor that responds to light touch

Monaural Cue

One-eared cue to localize sound

Monocular Cue

Cue that only requires one eye

Neuropathic Pain

Pain from damage to neurons of either the peripheral or central nervous system

Nociception

Sensory signal indicating potential harm and maybe pain

Olfactory Bulb

Bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe, where the olfactory nerves begin

Olfactory Receptor

Sensory cell for the olfactory system

Opponent-Process Theory of Colour Perception

Colour is coded in opponent pairs; black-white, yellow-blue, and red-green

Optic Chiasm

X-shaped structure that sits just below the brain’s ventral surface; represents the merging of the optic nerves from the two eyes and the separation of information from the two sides of the visual field to the opposite side of the brain

Optic Nerve

Carries visual information from the retina to the brain

Pacinian Corpuscle

Touch receptor that detects transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations

Pattern Perception

Ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes

Peak or Crest

Highest point of a wave

Perception

Way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced

Perceptual Hypothesis

Educated guess used to interpret sensory information

Pheromone

Chemical message sent by another individual

Photoreceptor

Light-detecting cell