AP Psych unit 3
Are people driven more by internal or external motives?
People are driven by both internal motives (personal values) and external motives (societal expectations), depending on the individual and context.
Do experimental results teach about “all” humans?
Experimental results may not apply to all humans due to demographic limitations; caution is needed in generalizing findings.
Does knowledge of psychological concepts provide a better understanding of peoples’ everyday actions?
Knowledge of psychological concepts enhances understanding of everyday actions by providing frameworks for interpreting behavior.
Do perception or reality influence people more?
Perception often influences behaviors and decisions more than objective reality, as it is shaped by expectations, culture, and experiences.
Bottom-Up Processing: This is a type of processing that begins with the sensory input and builds up to the final perception. It relies on the data obtained from our senses.
Example: When tasting a new dish for the first time, you rely on your senses of taste, smell, and texture to form an overall impression of the food.
Top-Down Processing: In contrast to bottom-up processing, top-down processing involves the use of pre-existing knowledge, expectations, and experiences to interpret and understand sensory information.
Example: When reading a friend's handwritten note, you can understand it even if some letters are unclear because your brain uses context and your knowledge of their handwriting style to fill in the gaps.
Internal Factors: These are influences that come from within an individual, such as biological and psychological processes that affect perception and behavior.
Example: A person's mood can affect how they perceive a movie; if they are feeling happy, they may interpret a comedy more favorably.
Perceptual Set: This refers to a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, caused by expectations, experiences, and context.
Example: If you expect to see a specific brand logo on a product, you might overlook other similar products that don’t match your expectation, even if they are in view.
Schemas: These are cognitive frameworks or concepts that help organize and interpret information. Schemas influence how we process and understand new information based on our past experiences.
Example: A child has a schema for a dog based on their experiences with their pet, which may include barking and a furry appearance; this influences how they interpret what a new dog is like.
External Factors: Influences that come from the environment and context surrounding an individual, affecting perception, behaviors, and experiences.
Example: The lighting in a restaurant can influence the perception of a meal's quality; dim lighting may make the food seem more romantic and enjoyable.
Context: This refers to the circumstances or factors surrounding an event or situation that influence perception and meaning.
Example: A person laughing during a funeral may be perceived differently if one understands they are recalling a fond memory rather than being insensitive.
Experiences: Previous interactions or events that shape a person’s understanding and perception of current stimuli.
Example: Someone who has had bad experiences with dogs may feel anxious when encountering new ones, leading to a negative perception of them.
Culture: The shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group that influence how its members perceive the world.
Example: Different cultures may interpret colors differently, such as white representing purity in some cultures but mourning in others.
Expectations: These are beliefs about what will happen in the future that can shape our experiences and perceptions.
Example: If you expect a new restaurant to be excellent based on recommendations, you may overlook minor flaws in service.
Gestalt Principles: Psychological principles that describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied.
Example: An advertisement using similar colors and shapes for products encourages consumers to perceive them as part of the same brand.
Figure-Ground: The ability to distinguish an object (the figure) from its background (the ground).
Example: In a crowded park, a child can spot their parent (figure) even though it is filled with other people (ground).
Similarity: The principle stating that we group similar items together when perceiving visual stimuli.
Example: When looking at different fruits in a basket, you may group all the apples together because they share a similar color and shape.
Proximity: The principle that suggests items that are close together are perceived as part of the same group.
Example: In a classroom, desks arranged close together may be perceived as a collaborative group of students.
Closure: The tendency to perceive incomplete figures as complete objects.
Example: When looking at a broken circle, your mind fills in the gaps to perceive it as a whole circle.
Monocular Cues: Depth perception cues that require only one eye to provide information about distance and depth.
Example: When you look at a painting on a wall, you can perceive its depth even with just one eye open, as the cues necessary for depth perception are still present.
Relative Clarity: A monocular cue where objects that appear clearer are perceived as closer than those that are hazier.
Example: On a foggy day, a tree close to you appears more defined compared to a distant building that seems blurry; thus, you perceive the tree as nearer.
Relative Size: A monocular cue that suggests that smaller objects are perceived as further away compared to larger objects, assuming that they are similar in size.
Example: A person standing far away appears smaller than someone standing close to you, leading you to conclude that the farther person is at a greater distance.
Texture Gradient: A monocular cue where the texture of an object appears finer as the distance increases, providing a sense of depth.
Example: The texture of a gravel road looks very distinct close up, but as you look farther down the road, the pebbles appear smoother and harder to distinguish.
Interposition: A monocular cue where one object obstructs another, leading us to perceive the obstructed object as being farther away.
Example: When standing behind a bush, you cannot see the tree behind it; your brain interprets that the bush is in front of the tree.
Linear Perspective: A monocular cue based on the fact that parallel lines seem to converge as they recede into the distance, indicating depth.
Example: The sides of a long, straight road appear to come together in the distance as they extend out toward the horizon, suggesting depth.
Binocular Cues: Depth perception cues that involve both eyes working together to gauge distance and depth.
Example: When playing catch, your eyes work together to judge the distance of the ball coming towards you, helping you catch it effectively.
Retinal Disparity: A binocular cue that involves the differences in images between the two eyes, with greater disparity indicating closer distances.
Example: If you look at your finger and observe how its position appears different against the background when alternating between your left and right eye, this helps in assessing its distance.
Convergence: A binocular cue where the inward turning of the eyes when focusing on a nearby object informs distance perception—the more inward the eyes turn, the closer the object.
Example: When looking at a pencil close to your nose, your eyes turn inward. The more they converge, the closer you perceive the pencil to be.
Size Constancy: Understanding that an object’s size remains the same despite its distance from us.
Example: A person is recognized as the same size whether they are standing close to you in your living room or far away in a large park.
Shape Constancy: Recognizing that an object’s shape remains constant regardless of the angle from which we view it.
Example: A door is perceived as rectangular whether it is opened slightly or fully, although it may look different from each angle.
Brightness Constancy: The perception that the brightness of an object does not change even with varying illumination conditions.
Example: A white shirt appears white whether you are outdoors in bright sunlight or under indoor lighting, due to our brain's adjustment for brightness.
Apparent Movement: The perception of movement of an object that is stationary, often created by the interaction of various stimuli or the way in which they are presented.
Example: Watching a flipbook where consecutive images create the illusion of motion, even though the images themselves do not move.
Selective Attention: The process of focusing on a specific object in the environment for a certain period, while ignoring other stimuli.
Example: A student studying in a library focuses on reading their textbook, despite the noise of other students talking and the sound of a coffee machine in the background.
Cocktail Party Effect: The ability to focus on a particular conversation in a noisy environment, such as a crowded room.
Example: At a wedding reception, you are able to hold a conversation with your friend while ignoring the loud music and the chatter of other guests around you.
Divided Attention: The capacity to simultaneously process multiple sources of information or perform multiple tasks at once.
Example: A person is cooking dinner while simultaneously talking on the phone and listening to a podcast.
Change Blindness: A phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer, often due to a lack of attention during the moment of shift.
Example: In the classic "door study," people fail to notice when a person asking for directions is replaced by a different individual during a brief interruption such as a door passing between them.
Inattention Blindness: The failure to see visible objects when attention is focused elsewhere, leading to a lack of awareness of unexpected occurrences.
Example: While watching a video of a basketball game, viewers fail to notice a person in a gorilla costume walking through the scene because they're focusing on counting the number of passes made by the players.
Cocktail Party Effect: The ability to focus on a particular conversation in a noisy environment, such as a crowded room.
Divided Attention: The capacity to simultaneously process multiple sources of information or perform multiple tasks at once.
Change Blindness: A phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer, often due to a lack of attention during the moment of shift.
Inattention Blindness: The failure to see visible objects when attention is focused elsewhere, leading to a lack of awareness of unexpected occurrences.
Definition: Priming is a psychological phenomenon where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus, often unconsciously. It prepares individuals to respond in a certain way based on prior experiences.
Example: If someone sees the word "bread," they are more likely to think of "butter" shortly afterward compared to someone who hasn't been primed with that word.
Signal Detection Theory: A framework for distinguishing between signal (important information) and noise (irrelevant stimuli) in uncertain conditions.
For example, in medical screening, a doctor must interpret test results to decide whether a patient truly has a disease (true positive) or whether the positive result is a false alarm.
Absolute Threshold: The minimum amount of stimulus energy needed for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.
Example: Hearing a clock ticking from a distance of 20 feet in a quiet room.
Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference - JND): The smallest difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time.
Example: Noticing the difference in weight when adding 1 ounce to a 10-ounce bag, but not noticing the change when adding 1 ounce to a 100-ounce bag.
Subliminal Threshold: The level of sensory stimulation below which it is not possible to consciously detect a stimulus.
Example: A commercial flashing a message quickly (e.g., "Drink Coca-Cola") in between movie scenes that viewers are not consciously aware of, yet it might influence their desire for the product.
Weber’s Law: The principle stating that the change needed to notice a difference in a stimulus is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus; larger stimuli require a larger change to be noticed.
Example: If you are holding a 10-pound weight, you might notice a difference if an additional pound is added, but if you are holding a 100-pound weight, you would need more than 5 pounds added to notice a difference.
Sensory Adaptation: The decreased sensitivity to a constant stimulus over time, as these stimuli are no longer novel or attention-grabbing.
Example: Not sensing the smell of your own home after being there for a long time, but noticing it immediately when you first enter.
Sensory Interaction: The principle that one sense may influence another, such as taste and smell working together to enhance flavor perception.
Example: The flavor of food tasting bland when you have a cold and your sense of smell is impaired.
Synesthesia: A condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway, such as seeing numbers in color.
Example: A person with synesthesia may see the number "5" as green or hear music in colors, experiencing a blending of sensory perceptions.
Retina: The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye where visual information is processed.
Example: The retina captures images when you look at a sunset, allowing you to see the color gradients.
Blind Spot: The area of the retina where there are no photoreceptors, resulting in a lack of vision in that spot.
Example: When you hold a piece of paper with text at a certain angle, you can sometimes see the text disappear from your field of view due to your blind spot.
Rods: Photoreceptor cells in the retina that are responsible for vision in low light conditions (night vision).
Example: You can see stars in the night sky thanks to the rods in your retina, which work well in dim light.
Peripheral: Refers to the outer areas of the visual field, which are more sensitive to motion than to detail.
Example: You notice a car approaching from the side using your peripheral vision while walking down a street.
Lens: A transparent structure in the eye that helps focus light onto the retina.
Example: When you look through a camera, the lens adjusts to focus on either near or far subjects, similar to how your eye lens works.
Accommodation: The process by which the lens changes shape to focus on objects at various distances.
Example: When reading a book and then glancing at a clock on the wall, your lens accommodates by changing shape to focus on the different distances.
Nearsighted: A vision problem where close objects are seen clearly, but distant objects appear blurry (myopia).
Example: A person with nearsightedness can read a text message on their phone but struggles to see a sign across the street.
Farsighted: A condition where distant objects are seen more clearly than close objects (hyperopia).
Example: An elderly individual may read a book held at a distance easily but squints when looking at text closely.
Pupil: The adjustable opening in the center of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering.
Example: When you walk into a dark room from bright sunlight, your pupils dilate to let in more light.
Cornea: The clear, front surface of the eye that helps focus light as it enters.
Example: When you get a scratch on your cornea, it can be painful and cause blurry vision until it heals.
Iris: The colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil.
Example: Your eye color is due to the iris, which also adjusts the pupil size in response to light.
Fovea: The small, central region of the retina with the highest concentration of cones, providing the sharpest vision.
Example: When you focus on a friend's face in a photo, you are using the fovea to see the details clearly.
Cones: Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision and visual acuity in bright light conditions.
Example: When looking at a colorful painting in daylight, the cones in your retina are actively working to perceive the colors vividly.
Color Vision: The ability to perceive differences in wavelengths of light as different colors.
Example: A person with normal color vision can distinguish between a ripe banana (yellow) and a ripe avocado (green).
Wavelengths: The distance between successive peaks of a wave, affecting color perception (short = blue, medium = green, long = red).
Example: A rainbow displays a spectrum of colors ranging from blue (short wavelengths) to red (long wavelengths).
Opponent Process Theory: A theory of color vision that suggests color perception is controlled by opposing pairs (e.g., red-green, blue-yellow).
Example: After staring at a bright red image, looking at a white surface may produce a green afterimage due to the opposing color processing.
Afterimage: A visual illusion that occurs after staring at an image and then looking away, resulting in a lingering impression.
Example: You may see a green spot after staring at a bright red picture for too long and then looking away.
Ganglion Cells: Neurons in the retina that receive input from photoreceptors and transmit visual information to the brain.
Example: Ganglion cells send signals to your brain about the visual information from what you are staring at, like a laptop screen.
Trichromatic Theory: A theory of color vision that posits that the retina includes three types of color receptors (cones) sensitive to red, green, and blue light.
Example: The color television uses red, green, and blue as primary colors to create the full spectrum of colors.
Photoreceptor Cells: Specialized cells in the retina (rods and cones) that convert light into electrical signals for visual processing.
Example: Photoreceptor cells are essential for seeing in different lighting conditions, whether bright or dim.
Prosopagnosia: A condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces, often due to brain damage.
Example: A person with prosopagnosia may have difficulty recognizing their close friends or family members in both photographs and real-life settings.
Blindsight: A phenomenon where individuals can respond to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them, usually due to damage to the primary visual cortex.
Example: After a stroke that affects visual perception, a person may still be able to avoid obstacles in their path without realizing they are doing so.