Chapter 4 Flashcards
psychophysics
study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the perception of those stimuli
two point threshold
point where the perception of two points touching the skin changes from ‘one point percived’ to ‘two points percived’
weber’s law
as stimulus A increased in intensity, it takes larger differences between stimulus A and stimulus B for a person to dect the differences
jnf (just noticeable difference)
point where the difference between two stimuli becomes just barley detectable
absolute threshold
point on the continuum of a physical dimension where an increase in physical stimulation results in the initial perception of a stimulus
difference threhold
point on the continuum of a physical demension where a difference between two stimuli is first detected
method of limits
ascending trails (stimuli is first above the threshold, the increased till detected) desending trials (stimuli is first well above threshold, then decreased until no longer detected)
method of constant stimuli
stimuli of varying physical intensities are presented in random order
method of adjustment
the subject directly controls a physical stimulus, adjusting it until it is barley dtected
introspection
method of expericening some phenomenon and then describing the conscious experience of the phenomenon
internal perception
observers would give brief verbal responses to controlled stimuli
mental chronometry
reaction time research - goal was to measure the time taken for mental events
personal equation
calibrating the reaction of different astronomers against eachother - because different reaction times among astronomers yielded different measurments
subtractive method
method of measuring mental events - reaction times for simple tasks where subtracted from reaction times of more complicated tasks
complication experiement
subtractive method - reaction times for simple tasks where subtracted from reaction times of more complicated tasks
voluntarism
the mind actively organizes information
apperception
high level of awareness, in which we focus our full attention on some object and apprehend it fully
nonsense syllables
consonant-vowel-consonant combinations
serial learning
memorizing a list of verbal stimuli and repeating it back in order of presentation
saving method
the difference between the amout of time to learn a list of nonsense syllables and the time it takes to relearn the list later
remote assocition
indirect associations between list items separted by more then a single item
ecological memory
study of memory as it occurs in everyday situations
retroactive inhibition
interference from some activity the intervines between the learning of a list of stimuli items and its recall
just’s law
if two associations have equal strength, additional practice strengthens the older association more then the newer
memory drum
device for presenting verbal stimuli in a memory experiement
systematic experimental introspection
experience of complex mental events was followed by detailed descriptions
fractionalism
complicated events were broken down into sections, then separated introspections were accomplished for each section
mental set
giving observers instructions that make them think a certain way
imageless thought
and thought process that couldnt be reduced to mental images
conscious attitudes
mental process as hesitation and doubt occured during imageless thought
