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AP Psychology > Unit 4 > Flashcards

Unit 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is sensation?

A

Sensation is when you detect physical energy and then encode in it our brains

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2
Q

What is perception?

A

Perception is organizing sensory input and making it meaningful for you

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3
Q

What is bottom up and top down?

A

Sensation is bottom up because our senses bring info up to our brain.
Perception is top down because our minds interpret and make sense of the energy detected by senses

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4
Q

What is psychophysics?

A

Psychophysics is the study of physical energy and its impact on your psychological experience. “How do changes in the physical environment impact sensitivity to stimuli?”

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5
Q

What is transduction?

A

When sensory receptors convert energy (light, sound, chemical (taste/smell), heat) into information you can understand. (stimulus energy into neural impulses)

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6
Q

What does our emotional state do to perception?

A

Emotional state can have an impact on perception. If you are sad, objects might seem heavier, distances seem longer, tasks seem harder

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7
Q

What do expectations do to perception?

A

What we expect to see can change our perception (perceptual expectancy). When bored in class, you would be expecting to hear a bell and interpret similar sounds as the bell.

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8
Q

What is the absolute threshold?

A

Absolute threshold is the weakest level of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.
Absolute threshold for vision is candle in darkness 30 miles away. For sound, tick of a watch in complete silence seven meters away

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9
Q

What does a low absolute threshold mean?

A

The lower your absolute threshold, the more sensitive you are to that stimulus

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10
Q

What helps determine our sensitivity to stimuli?

A

The strength of the stimuli (like how loud sound is) and psychological state

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11
Q

What is the signal detection theory?

A

Our thresholds change when we are tired, distracted, or have expectations about expected stimuli.

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12
Q

What are the four classifications of the signal detection theory?

A

Hit - stimulus is present and person can detect it
Miss - stimulus is present but person can’t detect it
Correct Rejection - stimulus is absent and person thinks its absent
False Positive - stimulus isn’t present but person thinks it is

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13
Q

What is a subliminal stimuli?

A

A stimulus that is below absolute threshold (can’t detect it 50% of the time). Can create feeling without mind consciously understanding why.

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14
Q

What is priming?

A

Concept of using a stimuli to create a particular response to another stimuli. Count money vs count paper. Group that counted money could tolerate ice cold water for longer because money made them feel stronger and self-reliant

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15
Q

What does context do how we perceive a stimulus?

A

Context helps determine the stimulus we are experiencing

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16
Q

What is difference threshold?

A

The minimum difference between two stimuli. How much water needed to add in a glass to tell difference? (water added is difference threshold)

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17
Q

What is Weber’s law (just noticeable difference)?

A

Developed by Ernst Weber; difference thresholds increase in proportion to size of the stimulus + after constant exposure to stimulus, your nerve cells fire less frequently causing you to become less sensitive to it (sensory adaptation)

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18
Q

What is the most dominant sense for humans?

A

vision

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19
Q

What is the order that light moves?

A

Lens, cornea, pupils, rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic chiasm, occipital lobe

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20
Q

Explain the path of light from cornea to occipital lobe

A

Light passes through the cornea and enters eye through iris. Iris muscles contract and expand to change size of pupils to let more light in. Light then passes through lens. Through accommodation, light is focused by lens and flipped upside down. Inverted and focused image is projected on retina at back of the eye. At the back of retina, there are rods and cones (photoreceptors). If enough rods and cones are fired, bipolar cells are activated. Next to them are ganglion cells which make up optic nerve. The optic nerve cross at the optic chiasm and passes to the lateral geniculate nucleus (thalamus) to occipital lobe.

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21
Q

What is transduction?

A

Process of transforming incoming stimuli from senses into neural message in brain

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22
Q

Talk about Rods and Cones

A

Rods are activated by black and white and are very sensitive in low light conditions while cones are activated by color and have low sensitivity to dim light. When it becomes dark, we go through dark adaption where we switch from predominantly cone vision to rod vision. Highest concentration of cones at fovea. Rods are outside of retina which explains why our peripheral vision is black and white. Cones are each connected to own bipolar cell

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23
Q

What are feature detectors?

A

Feature detectors allow visual cortex to respond differently to different shapes because recognizes curves, vertical lines, motion

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24
Q

What are the only three wavelength of color we can detect?

A

Red, blue, green

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25
What factors determines colors we see?
Intensity of light (determines brightness), light’s wavelength (determines shade)
26
What are the two theories for why we can see color?
Trichromatic Theory and opponent process theory
27
Explain Trichromatic theory
Trichromatic Theory (Young-Helmhotz)- suggests we have three types of cones each sensitive to red, blue, green. Cones activate to produce color. Does not explain afterimage effect and color blindness
28
Explain Opponent-process theory
Opponent-process Theory - suggest cones in retina come in pairs. After staring for along time, receptors become tired and you see an opposing color afterimage. Explains why people with color blindness have trouble seeing pairs of colors.
29
What is perceptual set?
Person’s expectations as they approach situation
30
What are chemical senses and energy senses?
Chemical senses are taste and smell and energy senses are light and sound
31
What are the four rules of perceptual organization according to Gestalt psychologists?
Proximity, similarity, continuity, closure
32
What is proximity?
Objects closer together are more likely perceived as belonging in the same group
33
What is similarity?
Objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as being in the same group
34
What is continuity?
Objects that form a continuous form are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group
35
What is closure?
Objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived as belonging the same group even if there are gaps
36
What is the necker cube an example of?
Closure
37
What is the idea of Gestalt psychology?
Our perception is not based on the sum of the perceive objects’ parts but as a complete whole
38
What is the phi phenomenon?
The illusion of movement when visual stimuli are presented in rapid succession. Like how animation seems to be moving when it is actually just fast frames
39
What is the first thing your mind does when interpreting visual stimuli?
Determine figure-ground (foreground and background) can’t focus on both at the same time
40
What is visual capture?
The dominance of vision in our perception (if what we are seeing disagree with what we are hearing, vision always win)
41
What are binocular and monocular cues?
Binocular cues are clues about distance using both eyes while monocular cues are clues about distance using one eye.
42
What are the two binocular cues?
Retinal disparity and convergence
43
What is retinal disparity?
Most important cue. The slightly different view of image from each eye. Comparing the two views lets you judge the distance an object is from you. Degree of retinal disparity decreases as you move away
44
What is convergence?
The inward turning of your eye when objects are closer to you. Less important cue
45
What are some monocular cues?
Interposition, relative size and height, relative clarity, texture, linear perspective, motion parallax
46
What is interposition?
As object gets closer, part of it is cut off from visual field in one eye
47
What is Relative size and height?
Images closer appear larger and higher objects appear farther away
48
What is relative clarity?
Closer objects appear sharper, less hazy
49
What is texture?
You can see texture of objects that are closer. Objects look smoother further away
50
What is linear perspective?
Parallel lines seem to converge in the distance
51
What is motion parallax?
Images moving across your retina at different rates (like moon vs trees when you are riding car)
52
What is perceptual constancy and what are the three types?
Perceptual constancy is our ability to understand the object as constant. Three types are size, shape, and brightness constancy
53
What is size constancy?
Objects closer appear bigger but we know that its size remains constant even as it appears smaller when moving away
54
What is shape constancy?
Objects can look different from different angles but we know that it is the same shape
55
What is brightness constancy?
We perceive objects as the same color even in different lighting
56
What is the most dominant sense when you are born?
hearing
57
How is audition possible?
Our ears hear vibrations in the air called sound waves
58
Explain sound waves
Sound waves result from mechanical energy produced by vibrating molecules impacted by the source of sound. Compression and expansion of air produces sound. Compression determines height of wave (amplitude)
59
What is the absolute threshold for hearing?
0 decibels (dB)
60
What determines volume and pitch?
Higher amplitude = louder Short wavelength=high frequency=high pitch Long wavelength=low frequency=low pitch
61
How can we tell the difference from violin and piano playing the same note?
Timbre-the different purity or mixture of sound waves produced by each sound
62
What is the order that sound travels through our ear?
Pinna, auditory canal, ear drum, middle ear (hammer, anvil, stirrup), oval window, cochlea, hair cells in basilar membrane
63
Explain how sound travels from Pinna to auditory cortex in temporal lobe
Sound first travels into outer ear which is made up of the pinna, auditory canal, and eardrum. Then it travels through outer ear and eardrum into middle ear which consists of anvil, stirrup, and hammer. The vibrations of stirrup push against cochlea in the inner ear which is made up of the cochlea, basilar membrane, and semicircular canals. Hair cells in basilar membrane bend with sound vibrations and turn them into neural impulses before sending them along the auditory nerve to temporal.
64
What is happening when a person experiences hearing loss?
Sensorineural or conduction hearing loss
65
What is conduction hearing loss?
Damage to one the bones of the middle ear
66
What are the two theories to how we determine pitch?
Place and Frequency theory
67
What is the place theory?
Brain determines pitch based on the location of the hair cells moving. Hair Cells respond to different pitches based on where they are placed. Explains high pitch but not low pitch
68
What is the frequency theory?
Rate of neural impulses in the auditory nerve matches the sound frequency. Doesn’t explain how we hear high pitch sound
69
What are the four classes of sensations?
Pressure, warmth, cold, pain
70
How does touch illustrate embodied cognition?
What we are feeling can change how we interpret situation. Holding warm drink makes you treat strangers more kindly
71
Why don’t we feel pain with every touch sensation?
Gate control theory - you feel pain when sharp neural impulses pass through the gate in spinal cord. Only high priority neural messages from nociceptors create pain. Gate can be closed by large neural fibers activated by massage, electric stimulation, ice
72
What is sound localization?
We know sound’s location because it is louder in one ear or because it reaches one ear before the other
73
Where are the receptors cells for taste most concentrated?
On your tongue in papillae
74
Where are taste buds located?
On papillae, roof of mouth, and opening of throat
75
On papillae, roof of mouth, and opening of throat
On papillae, roof of mouth, and opening of throat
76
How do we taste?
Taste buds send information to brainstem then to the thalamus where they are sent to the primary gustatory cortex (taste cortex) in frontal lobe. Different tastes cause different parts of taste cortex to light up on fMRI
77
What are the five different tastes?
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami
78
What is another word for taste?
Gustation
79
What is another word for smell?
Olfaction
80
How do we smell?
Molecules from substance rise into the air and are absorbed into our noses. Those molecules trigger action potential along axons and axons pass into olfactory bulbs which transduce signal into neural message that are sent to brain. Olfactory bulbs connect to the brain directly through the amygdala and then proceed to the hippocampus. Sensory info about smell is also transmitted to hypothalamus and other structures in limbic system associated with memory and emotion. (no thalamus)
81
What is kinesthetic sense?
Kinesthetic sense helps keep track of the orientation of our bodies. Without, you won’t be able to sense where your eyes are to close them or where your toes are to touch them
82
What is the vestibular sense?
Vestibular sense helps us know where our bodies are in space. Semicircular canals in inner ear are most associated. The fluids in them tell us whether we are upright or lying down
83
What are nontasters and supertasters?
Nontasters have fewer than average tastebuds and supertasters have more.
84
How do you measure learning?
By change in observable behavior and it must originate from experience, not biological change (like puberty)
85
What are the two types of learning?
Associative learning and Cognitive learning
86
What is associative learning?
Learning that two events occur together (classical conditioning)
87
What is cognitive learning?
Acquiring new information by observation, listening, or reading
88
What did Ivan Pavlov do?
He was the first to experiment with associative learning (classical conditioning)
89
What are the factors of of classical conditioning?
NS, US(or UCS), UR(or UCR), CS, CR
90
What are the four types of timing in classical conditioning?
Delayed conditioning - NS presented just before US (most effective) Trace conditioning - NS is presented and taken away before US appears (moderately strong) Simultaneous conditioning - NS and US presented at same time (weak) Backwards Conditioning - US comes before NS (ineffective)
91
What did Watson and Rayner do?
Little Albert case
92
What is generalization?
When similar stimuli produce same response to CS
93
What is discrimination?
When they can tell difference between CS and other similar objects
94
What is extinction?
Unlearning a behavior - can happen when presenting CS without US
95
What is spontaneous recovery?
Presenting CS after training has stopped for a while so that CR can reappear
96
What is the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning?
Classical conditioning involves associations between stimuli (bell and food) and involve automatic behaviors (salivating) which are respondent behaviors while operant conditioning organisms connect actions with consequences (reward and punishment)
97
What is Thorndike’s instrumental conditioning?
Thorndike placed cats in puzzle box where lever would open the box to the fish outside. The cat eventually figured it out. Thorndike called this instrumental learning (type of associative learning)
98
What is the Law of Effect?
Behaviors that are followed by a reward are more likely to occur again while behaviors followed by punishment are less likely
99
What did B.F. Skinner do?
He coined the term operant conditioning while using Skinner Box
100
What is Skinner box?
Animals inside the box do a certain action like pecking a button to get food. Process of giving food is reinforcement
101
What are primary and secondary reinforcers?
Primary reinforcers are innately satisfying things (food, water, rest) and secondary (conditioned reinforcers) are learned (grades, money)
102
What is shaping?
Shaping is positively reinforcing behaviors to get closer to goal. Rewards are given when subjects get closer to desired behavior through “successive approximations”. (rewarding after learning ABC)
103
What is chaining?
Chaining is initially rewarding individual behavior in a sequence then only rewarding after they completed the whole sequence of behavior. (rewarding after saying entire alphabet)
104
What are the two types of reinforcement schedules?
Interval and ratio
105
What are interval schedules?
Based on time
106
What are fixed intervals and variable intervals?
Fixed are same every time and variable are random (tests are fixed, quizzes are variable)
107
What are ratio schedules?
Based on number of responses
108
What are fixed ratios and variable ratios?
Fixed ratio provides reinforcement after a fixed number of responses (paying factory workers more for producing more). Variable ratios are random and resistant to extinction (gambling)
109
What is the token economy?
Type of behavior therapy where people are rewarded for good behavior with tokens they can use to buy rewards
110
What did John Garcia and Robert Keolling do?
First to challenge idea that all associations can be learned equally. They gave rats liquid and hours later injected with substance that made them sick. Rats would not drink liquid again.
111
What assumption did Garcia and Koelling’s experiment contradict?
It contradicted the idea that the US had to immediately follow the CS for strong conditioning
112
What are taste aversions?
People who get sick after eating a certain food never want to eat it again. Biology can influence classical conditioning
113
What is Breland's instinctive drift?
Animals who have been operantly conditioned to perform certain tasks are likely to return to natural behavior. (killer whale will still be harmful even after fully conditioned)
114
What do cognitive psychologists think about Skinner, Pavlov, and Watson?
They disagree. Conditioning can be influenced by expectations and thinking plays important role in strengthening the conditioning.
115
What is the most important aspect of Pavlov’s conditioning?
Pairing of US and CS and the timing
116
What is Pavlov’s contiguity model?
Pairing US and CS together to change behavior
117
What did Robert Rescorla say about Pavlov?
He disagreed and said that strongest conditioning takes place because the CS tells organism that US will follow. The most important is not the pairing and timing of the two but is how well CS predicts appearance of US (contingency theory)
118
What are Pavlov’s,Rescorla’s, and Kamin’s theory called?
Pavlov - contiguity Rescorla - contingency Kamin - effect blocking
119
What did Leon Kamin say about Pavlov?
Kamin paired light (NS) with tone (CS) that had been classical conditioned with shock (US) to produce fear (UR). Animals did not associate light with shock. They blocked out a stimulus. (effect blocking)
120
Albert Bandura's theory
Social learning theory on how behavior is impacted by modeling and ideas of appropriate behavior in society
121
What are the two components of modeling?
Observation and imitation
122
What is observation and imitation?
Teenager observes parent driving and aggressive behavior and imitates it when he drives
123
What is Wolfgang Kohler's idea of insight?
Learning can occur in a sudden fashion because of insight and not gradual strenghting of conditioned response.
124
How did Kohler test his idea of insight?
He used chimpanzees. Chimapanzees tried over and over but couldn't banana then suddenly idea popped in

AP Psychology (9 decks)

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