Unit3 (phy)
A complete flashcard review set covering all key concepts, definitions, and examples from your Unit #3 Intro to Psychology Study Guide (Sensation, Perception, and Consciousness):
Section 1: Sensation & Perception Foundations
Gestalt Psychology
Definition: The perspective in psychology most interested in studying the processes of sensation and perception.
Sensation
Definition: The stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the brain.
The 5 Main Senses: Sight, smell, hearing, tasting, touch.
Perception
Definition: The process of the brain organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning.
Section 2: Interpreting Sensations
Absolute Threshold
Definition: The weakest amount of a stimulus that can be sensed (varies from person to person).
Example: Dogs having a better sense of hearing or smell than humans.
Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference - JND)
Definition: The minimum amount of change needed in a stimulus to notice a difference.
Examples: Noticing a temperature change in a room, or turning up/down the TV volume.
Signal Detection Theory
Definition: Suggests that what we sense depends on physical stimuli, state of mind, and background noise.
Example: In a noisy classroom, paying attention specifically to the teacher's voice over background noise.
Sensory Adaptation
Definition: Becoming more attuned/sensitive to weak sensations and less sensitive to unchanging sensations over time.
Examples:
Your eyes adjusting to a dark room.
Becoming used to the sound of city traffic after living with it for a while.
Section 3: Gestalt Rules of Perceptual Organization
Similarity
Definition: Grouping together items that are alike or similar.
Example: Grouping players wearing the same color jersey as one team.
Proximity
Definition: Grouping together objects that are physically near one another.
Example: Seeing three pairs of people standing close together rather than six individual people.
Figure-Ground Perception
Definition: Perceiving an object/figure as standing out against an indistinct or background setting.
Example: Reading black text (figure) against a white page (ground).
Closure
Definition: Perceiving a complete, whole figure even when there are gaps in what your senses receive.
Examples:
Retelling a story and filling in forgotten details with new information to make it complete.
Seeing a dashed circle outline as a complete circle.
Continuity
Definition: Grouping individual stimuli into smooth, continuous patterns rather than disjointed parts.
Example: Perceiving a wavy line crossing a straight line as two continuous lines intersecting.
Common Fate
Definition: Perceiving objects moving together in the same direction and speed as a single group.
Examples:
Perceiving a group of people running in the same direction as having the same destination.
A flock of birds flying together in formation.
Phi Phenomenon (Perception of Movement)
Definition: Perceiving motion when static images or lights flash in rapid succession (e.g., stroboscopic motion).
Example: A flipbook or marquee lights blinking in sequence to look like a moving dot.
Section 4: Meanings & Levels of Consciousness
Consciousness (General)
Definition: How awake and aware you are of yourself and your environment.
Three Meanings of Consciousness:
Sensory Awareness: Awareness of environment through the five senses.
Example: Smelling food in the cafeteria.
Direct Inner Awareness: Awareness of internal thoughts, images, emotions, and memories without using physical senses.
Example: Imagining what it would feel like to jump into a cool pool on a hot summer day.
Sense of Self: Realization that you exist as an individual, separate from other people and the surrounding world.
Three Levels of Consciousness:
Preconscious: Information not currently in immediate awareness, but can easily be recalled.
Example: Recalling what you ate for breakfast or your childhood home address.
Subconscious / Unconscious: Hidden or buried feelings, desires, and memories operating below awareness.
Example: Hidden fears or selfish impulses influencing behavior without realizing it.
Nonconscious: Involuntary biological functions occurring without conscious control or perception.
Example: Hair or fingernail growth, pupil dilation, or blood pressure regulation.
Altered States of Consciousness:
Daydreaming, Hypnosis, Meditation, Sleep, Fatigue, and Drug/Alcohol Influence.
Section 5: Sleep Cycles & Sleep Disorders
Typical Sleep Pattern:
Go through approximately 5 to 6 sleep cycles during a typical 8-hour night.
Cycle Progression: Stage 1 → Stage 2 → Stage 3 → Stage 4 → Stage 3 → Stage 2 → Stage 1 → REM.
Stages of Sleep:
Stage 1: Lightest stage of sleep (lasts 1–7 minutes); features hypnagogic states and myoclonias (sudden muscle twitches/falling sensations).
Stage 2: Accounting for most time (~30 minutes per cycle); muscle tension, heart rate, and body temperature begin to decrease.
Stages 3 & 4: Deepest stages of sleep; hardest to awaken from. (Stage 4 is where soundest sleep occurs).
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: Stage consisting of vivid, dreamlike images; eyes flicker, muscles remain paralyzed; accounts for roughly 20% of total sleep.
Sleep Disorders & Phenomena:
Insomnia: Inability to fall or stay asleep (often linked to stress).
Nightmares: Vivid, disturbing dreams occurring during REM sleep.
Night Terrors: Severe, terrifying arousal during deep sleep (Stages 3 & 4); high physiological reaction, often with no memory of content.
Sleepwalking / Sleep Talking: Occurs across non-REM stages.
Sleep Apnea: Sleep disorder causing repeated, prolonged pauses in breathing (lasting at least 20 seconds).
Narcolepsy: Sudden, uncontrollable falling asleep during awake hours directly into REM/Stage 4 sleep.
Sleep Paralysis: Temporary inability to move or speak when waking up or falling asleep while body remains relaxed.
Lucid Dreaming: Awareness that you are dreaming while inside a dream, often allowing conscious control.
REM Behavior Disorder: Failure of normal sleep paralysis during REM sleep, causing individuals to physically act out their dreams.