CHAPTER 1: PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE Flashcards

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1
Q

define psychology

A

the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes. As such, psychologists are behavioral scientists

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2
Q

define the scientific method

A

the orderly, analytical process used in all sciences to analyze and solve problems

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3
Q

define individual

A

most often the subject of scientific analysis in psychology. This can include studying behavior that is affected by developmental change, as well as external environmental change

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4
Q

define behavior

A

observable, measurable action. The means by which both animals and humans adjust to their environment

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5
Q

define mental processes (cognitions)

A

the private, internal workings of the mind

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6
Q

what is attention and selection

A

selectively focusing on some stimuli and ignoring other stimuli

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7
Q

define dichotic listening

A

the presentation of two different messages at the same time, you are to ignore one message and attend to the other message

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8
Q

exceptions of dichotic listening

A

similarity of information and similarity in the level of meaningfulness of the message

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9
Q

what is the stroop effect

A

delay in reaction time between congruent and incongruent stimuli

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10
Q

Perception is a selective and active process that is influenced by what 2 things

A

external and internal factors

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11
Q

what 3 external factors direct your attention

A

contrast, repetition, and movement

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12
Q

what external factors direct your attention first

A

intensity of size or the intensity of the noise

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13
Q

how does contrast work in directing your attention

A

a new or novel stimulus that stands out front or contrasts with the background will grab ones attention. Large objects stand out in contrast to smaller objects. Background events are processed if they are novel and important.

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14
Q

what are the internal factors that direct your attention

A

motive and needs, preparatory set, interest, and emotional state and personality

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15
Q

how do your motives and needs work in directing your attention

A

people who are hungry, thirsty, or sexually aroused are likely to pay attention to events in the environment which will satisfy those needs

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16
Q

how does a preparatory set work in directing your attention

A

a persons is more ready to respond to one kind of sensory input but not two other kinds

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17
Q

what two factors are involved with preparatory sets

A

prior experience with the material and your temporary or enduring mood

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18
Q

define organization

A

The process of combining sensory input into perceptual objects

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19
Q

what 3 ways does Gestalt say psychologists perceptually organize our world

A

perceptual grouping, organizational patterns, and perceptual consistency

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20
Q

what is perceptual grouping

A

the tendency to perceive stimuli (seeing things) into meaningful holes or patterns

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21
Q

what are organizational patterns

A

your brain will organize groups through patterns instead of clusters of isolated stimuli

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22
Q

what are the 7 laws of perceptual organization

A

figure and ground, the principal of proximity or nearness, the principal of similarity of likeliness, closure, continuity, symmetry, and common fate

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23
Q

what is figure and ground

A

the tendency to perceive things (figures) standing out against the background ground. for example, black circles will stand out on a black notebook

24
Q

what is the cocktail party effect

A

the ability to focus one’s attention a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

25
Q

what is the principal of proximity and nearness

A

figures closer together in nearness are more likely to be grouped than those farther away

26
Q

what is the principal of similarity of likeliness

A

Items that have the same color, shape, or size tend to be perceived of parts of the same pattern

27
Q

what is closure

A

The ability to perceive a whole object when the object itself is not whole

28
Q

what is continuity

A

Items that continue a pattern or direction tend to be grouped together with the preceding items that set the pattern

29
Q

what is symmetry

A

The more symmetrical looking the stimuli the more of a chance you will perceive it as a figure

30
Q

what is common fate

A

elements which are perceived as moving together in the same direction form an organized group. For example, marching bands, schools of fish, flocks of birds

31
Q

what are the 3 types of perceptual consistency

A

size, shape, and color consistency

32
Q

what is perceptual consistency

A

a tendency to perceive objects as relatively stable and unchanging despite changing sensory information

33
Q

what is size consistency

A

tendency to perceive an object as being the same size regardless of distance

34
Q

what is the Ames room

A

the distance and angle skews your perception on the size of a person

35
Q

what is the honi phenomenon

A

we are accustomed to seeing people of different sizes but we are not used to seeing rooms with crooked floors and ceilings. You will therefore tend to distort the persons size rather than the rooms shape.

36
Q

what is shape consistency

A

the tendency to perceive objects as having the same shape regardless of the angle you look at the object

37
Q

what is brightness and color consistency

A

visual object appear constant in their degree of whiteness, grayness, or blackness regardless of the intensity of light falling from your eyes

38
Q

define accommodation

A

the role played by the muscles in and around your eyelids. To focus on nearby objects the eyelids have to round out. To look at far away objects your muscles have to flatten out

39
Q

what are the two types of depth perception

A

binocular depth perception and movement perception

40
Q

define depth perception

A

the ability to perceive the relative distance of objects in one’s visual field

41
Q

what is binocular depth perception

A

this is made up of two things. retinal disparity which is when the left and the right eye receive a different image based on the closeness and convergence which the joining of different images produced by retinal disparity so that a single image is seen

42
Q

what are the three factors of movement perception

A

real motion, apparent motion, induced motion, and phi

43
Q

what is apparent motion

A

the perception emotion when a stimulus is not actually moving

44
Q

what is stroboscopic motion

A

comes from the rapid presentation of separate images each slightly different from the preceding one

45
Q

what is induced movement

A

our vision incorrectly tells us that the figure is moving through the ground. You can watch the sun passing behind the cloud. The sun seems to be in motion but it is the clouds that are moving

46
Q

what is phi

A

if you arrange two spots of light in a totally dark room and then illuminate them alternately you create the effect of a single light moving from one position to another

47
Q

what are the 10 factors of perception

A

motivation, expectations, personality, sensory deprivation, drug induced experience, cultural differences, maturation, and context in which the stimulus is presented

48
Q

what is motivation of perception

A

a persons desires and needs may exert a strong influence on their perception

49
Q

what are expectations

A

knowing in advance what you are supposed to perceive influences you perception

50
Q

what is personality

A

capitalize on motivation and a persons needs

51
Q

what is sensory deprivation

A

whether it is a short long or critical period our perception is effected

52
Q

what is drug induced experience used for

A

used to test peoples perception

53
Q

what is learning perception

A

size constancy is learned first. Shape and brightness come later

54
Q

what is maturation

A

nature vs nurture

55
Q

what is nature vs nurture

A

nature means we were born with certain perceptual ways. Nurture is represented by the empiricists which say that it is influenced by previous experience. By 6 months they can see the face. Depth perception at 14 months old