Refined Psyc 100

Sensation: Using sensory systems to detect environmental stimuli.

• Sensory receptor cells convert stimuli into neural impulses (Sensory Transduction).

• Absolute Thresholds: Minimum stimulus detected (e.g., candle flame 50 km away).

• Difference Threshold: Smallest detectable difference between stimuli.

• Sensory Adaptation: Reduced response to repeated stimuli (e.g., clothes on skin).

Perception: Conscious recognition of sensory input.

• Bottom-up Processing: Sensory info travels to brain for processing.

• Top-down Processing: Perception influenced by memory and expectations.

• Signal Detection Theory: Detecting stimuli depends on both sensitivity and response criteria.

The Senses:

• Smell (Olfaction): Odourants detected by olfactory receptor neurons.

• Taste (Gustation): Taste buds on papillae detect sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and umami.

• Touch (Tactile Sense): Somatosensory receptors detect pressure, temperature, pain, vibration.

• Pain Pathways: Fast (sharp pain) vs. Slow (burning pain).

• Hearing (Audition): Sound waves processed in the cochlea.

  • Frequency Theory: Different rates of neural firing.

  • Place Theory: Different frequencies activate specific cochlear regions.

  • Sound Localization: Based on loudness and timing between ears.

• Vision: Light enters the eye, focused onto the retina, where rods (low light, peripheral) and cones (color, clarity) process information.

  • Trichromatic Theory: Three color receptors.

  • Opponent Process Theory: Color pairs inhibit each other.

  • Perceptual Constancies: Size and shape remain stable despite changes in environment.

• Other Senses: Kinesthetic (body position), Vestibular (balance, head movement).

Gestalt Laws of Perception: How we organize visual stimuli.

• Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, Figure-Ground.

Depth Perception:

• Binocular Cues: Retinal disparity, convergence.

• Monocular Cues: Relative height, texture gradient, linear perspective.

Learning

Associative Learning:

• Classical Conditioning: Learning by association.

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Naturally causes response (e.g., food).

  • Unconditioned Response (UR): Natural response (e.g., salivation).

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Initially neutral, becomes associated (e.g., bell).

  • Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to CS (e.g., salivation to bell).

  • Processes: Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, Stimulus Generalization, Stimulus Discrimination, Higher-Order Conditioning.

• Phobias: Conditioned fear, treated with systematic desensitization.

Operant Conditioning: Learning based on consequences.

• Reinforcement (Increases behavior):

  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding pleasant stimulus.

  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing unpleasant stimulus.

• Punishment (Decreases behavior):

  • Positive Punishment: Adding unpleasant stimulus.

  • Negative Punishment: Removing pleasant stimulus.

• Schedules of Reinforcement:

  • Continuous: Every response reinforced.

  • Intermittent: Fixed/variable ratio, fixed/variable interval.

• Shaping: Reinforcing successive approximations toward a behavior.

• Learned Helplessness: Repeated failure leads to giving up.

Observational Learning: Learning by watching others.

• Mirror Neurons: Fire when observing or performing an action.

• Vicarious Learning: Learning from consequences experienced by others.

Other Learning Types:

• Implicit Learning: Learning without conscious awareness.

• Latent Learning: Learning occurs but not demonstrated until needed.

• Insight Learning: Sudden realization of a solution.

• Factors That Facilitate Learning: Timing, Context, Attention.

• Stroop Effect: Conflict between automatic and controlled processing (e.g., reading color words in different ink colors).