Final Flashcards
(108 cards)
1
Q
Neurons
A
cells in the nervous system that communicate with one-another to perform information processing tasks
2
Q
Sensory neurons
A
receives information from the external world and convey this information to the brain
3
Q
Motor neurons
A
conducts signals from the spinal cord to the brain to produce movements
4
Q
Interneurons
A
connects all other neurons and itself
5
Q
Cell body (SOMA)
A
Coordinates the information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive
6
Q
Dendrite
A
Receives information from neurons and relays it to the cell body
7
Q
Axon
A
Transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands
8
Q
Myelin sheath
A
provides insulating layer of fatty material composed of glial cells
9
Q
Synapse
A
region between the axon
10
Q
Conduction
A
Movement of an electric signal within a neuron from the dendrites to the cell body then axon
11
Q
Transmission
A
Movements of electric signals from one neuron to another over the synapse
12
Q
Action Potential
A
a rapid depolarization of the neuron
13
Q
Resting potential
A
the state of the neuron prior to the sending of a nerve impulse
14
Q
Terminal Buttons
A
knoblike structures that finish off the axon
15
Q
Neurotransmitters
A
Chemicals that transmit information across the synapses to dendrites
16
Q
Receptors
A
Parts of the cell membrane that prevent a new electric signal
17
Q
Receptor sites
A
Binds with neutron transmitters
18
Q
Inhibitory
A
Does not stimulate the brain
19
Q
Excitatory
A
Stimulates the brain
20
Q
Sensation
A
Simple stimulation of a sense organ
21
Q
Perception
A
The organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation
22
Q
Transduction
A
an electrical impulse that can be interpreted by the brain
23
Q
Sensory and Perceptual Processes
A
translation of physical energies into nerve impulses
24
Q
Psychophysicists
A
measure the minimum amount of a stimulus needed for detection
25
Psychophysics
measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus
26
Absolute Threshold
minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the time
27
Threshold
is a boundary
28
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
The minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
29
Weber’s Law
The just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity
30
Signal Detection Theory
The response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s decision criterion.
2 conditions -
Stimulus
present,
stimulus absent
31
Sensory adaptation
Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions
32
Habituation
sensations fading with time
33
Adaptive value
Frees senses to be more sensitive to changes in environment
34
main 3 cells in a retina
- Photoreceptors
- Neuronal cells
- Glial cells
35
Neuronal cells found in the retina
- Ganglion cells
- Amacrine cells
- Bipolar cells
- Horizontal cells
36
Retina
Photoreceptors transduce light energy into electrical impulses
37
Photoreceptors
light-sensitive pigments that transduce light into neural impulses
38
Reinforcement
The consequences of behaviour determine whether it will be more or less likely to occur
39
Dogmatism
the tendency for people to cling to their assumptions
40
Operational definition
Description of a property in concrete, measurable items
41
Validity
The goodness with which a concrete event defines a property
42
Psychology
The study of thought and behaviour
43
Independent variable
the experimenter manipulates under controlled conditions
44
Dependant variable
The outcome/response to the experimental manipulation
45
Cofounding variable
Variable whose influence on the dependant variable cannot be separated from the independent variable
46
Mean
Average of a series of numbers
47
Median
Middle value of a series of numbers
48
Mode
Most commonly occurring value in a series of numbers
49
Explicit memory
Conscious recall of facts and events
50
Priming
Kind of implicit memory that arises when recall is improved by earlier exposure of the same stimulus
51
Implicit memory
Memories we don’t deliberately remember or reflect consciously
52
Encoding
the brain takes in new information; first stage of long-term memory formation
53
Maintenance
Repetition of information
54
Elaborative
Focuses on information’s meaning, understanding & organizing them
55
Hierarchy
A way of organizing related pieces of information
56
Chunking
Combining items into larger units of meaning
57
Schemas
Mental frameworks that develop from our experiences
58
Dual coding theory
Memory enhanced if use both verbal and visual codes
59
Procedural memory
knowledge for almost any behaviour or physical skill we have learned
60
Semantic memory
Our memory for facts & knowledge
61
Episodic memory
Memory for the experiences we’ve had
62
Retrieval
Stimuli that lead to activation of information stored in long-term memory
63
Interference memory
Disruption of memory because other information competes with the information we are trying to recall
64
Retrospective memory
Disruption of memory because new experiences/information causes people to forget previously learned information
65
Prospective memory
Disruption of memory because previously learned information interferes with the learning of new information
66
Constructive processes
Piecing together bits of information in ways that intuitively ‘make sense’
67
Levels of processing
The concept that the more deeply people encode information, the better they will recall it
68
Dark adaptation
Progressive improvement in brightness sensitivity in low illumination
68
Visual transduction
Absorption of light changed rate of neurotransmitter release
69
Amnesia
Memory loss due to brain injury or disease
70
Anterograde amnesia
The inability to remember events and experiences that occur after an injury or AFTER the onset of a disease
71
Retrograde amnesia
The inability to recall events or experiences that happened BEFORE an injury or disease
72
Refractory period
neuron returning to its resting state and cannot generate an axon potential
73
Classic conditioning
Learning to associate a conditioned stimulus with a conditioned response; based on reflexes
74
Ivan Pavlov
Came up with the idea of classical conditioning, taught dogs through association
75
Ethology
The scientific study of animal behaviour
76
Unconditioned response (UCR)
The learner’s natural reaction to a stimulus
77
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Stimulus that elicits an automatic response
78
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
After association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response
79
Conditioned response (CR)
A behaviour that the learner learns to perform when presented with the conditioned stimulus
80
Habituation
Decrease in response strength to a repeated stimulus
81
Sensitization
Increase in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus
82
Extinction
The weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response in the absence of reinforcement
83
Spontaneous recovery
The sudden reappearance of an extinguished response
84
Trichromats
Normal colour vision
85
Dichromats
Deficient in one system (red-green most common)
86
Monochromats
Sensitive to black-white only
87
Bottom-up processing
Analysis of individual stimulus elements that re-combine into unified whole
88
Top-down processing
Existing knowledge, concepts, ideas, expectations
89
Role of attention
Focusing on certain stimuli & filtering out other information
90
Inattentional blindness
‘Looking’ without ‘seeing’ the whole picture
91
Perceptual Organization – Gestalt principles
Gestalt = pattern, shape, form; Wholes we perceive are more than sum of their parts
92
Gestalt laws of organizations
- Similarity
- Proximity
- Closure
- Continuity
93
Operant conditioning
The process of changing behaviour by changing the consequences
94
Reinforcer
Something that increases the frequency of a behaviour
95
Primary reinforcers
Innate, unlearned reinforcers that satisfy basic biological needs
96
Secondary reinforcers
Reinforcers that are learned by association, usually by classic conditioning
97
Positive reinforcement
The addition of a stimulus after a behaviour occurs that increases how often that behaviour will occur
98
Negative reinforcement
The removal of a stimulus after a behaviour to increase the frequency of the behaviour
99
Punishment
Stimulus that decreases the frequency of a behaviour
100
Positive punishment
The addition of a stimulus after a behaviour occurs that decrease the behaviour
101
Negative punishment
The removal of a stimulus after a behaviour occurs that decrease the behaviour
102
Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcement of a behaviour every time it occurs
103
Intermittent reinforcement
Reinforcement of a behaviour but not after every response
104
Schedules of reinforcers
Patterns of intermittent reinforcement distinguished by whether reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses or after a certain amount of time has passed
105
Faxed ratio schedule
Pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which reinforcement follows a set number of responses
106
Fixed interval schedule
Pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which responses are always reinforced after a set period of time has passed
107
Variable interval schedule
A pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which responses are reinforced after different amounts of time
