Exam 2 Flashcards
sensation
process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimuli
visual image, sounds, etc.
perception
process of organizing and interpreting sensory information
allows us to reorganize/give meaning to objects and events
3 steps of perception
reception - sensory neurons stimulated
transformation/transduction - changing stimuli to neural impulses
transmission - sending neural info to brain
prosopagnosia
sensation without perception
blindsight - all 3 steps of sensation are occurring but brain processing area damaged so no perception
low level vision
finding edges, detecting colors, locating objects in space
sensation
mid level vision
determining object features, separating objects from background
perception
high level vision
object, face, and scene recognition
bottom-up processing
small pieces of info combine to form perception
input used to interpret
assumes no effect from cognition or previous experience
top-down processing
assumes prior experience has effect
expectations, theories, concepts guide selection and combination of info into perception
concepts and input used to interpret
absolute threshold
minimum level of stimulus intensity needed to detect a stimulus half the time
subliminal stimuli
below our threshold for being able to consciously detect a stimulus
below absolute threshold
cannot be used to learn complex knowledge
primed
picking up content that unconsciously affects our thoughts and choices
perceptual set
what we expect to sense, which influences what we do sense
top-down processing
wavelength of light
determines color/hue
amplitude of light
intensity
determines brightness
accomodation
changing shape of lens to focus on near or far objects
blind spot
where the optic nerve leaves the eye, no receptor cells here
path of light thru eye
enters thru cornea
passes thru pupil and iris, then lens
inverted object projected to retina
retina sends neural impulses to brain
retina
light triggers photochemical reaction in rods and cones at back
bipolar cells then activated
bipolar cells activate ganglions whose axons converge to form optic nerve
cones
fewer # than rods
center of retina
high color and detail sensitivity
bad in low light
rods
more than cones
periphery of retina
good in low light
poor color and detail sensitivity
visual cortex
located in occipital lobe
optic nerve goes thru thalamus to VC
trichromatic theory
3 types of cones: RGB
leads to color blindness (missing red or green)
caused by different opsins in cones, respond to different wavelengths
opponent-process theory
ganglion cells respond to pairs of primary colors
red vs green
yellow vs blue
negative afterimage
caused by adaptation to firing rates
blue light inhibits yellow cells
blue light ends and yellow cells “rebound” firing faster than normal so we see yellow
gestalt principles
how parts are grouped together into a whole
proximity: if they are nearby each other
similarity: if they are similar somehow
closure: if they complete a figure
good continuity: not changing direction
symmetry: often found despite disorganization
common fate: objects that move together
perceptual constancy
top-down processing
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
shape, size, brightness, color
color constancy
brain compensates for shading
perceiving familiar objects to have constant color despite changing illumination changing the color
brightness constancy
brains compensating for shadowing by perceiving constant color shade/brightness
shape constancy
constant shape despite different sensory images
frequency of sound
corresponds to perception of pitch
amplitude of sound
loudness/volume
hearing
pressure changes in cochlear fluid cause basilar membrane to bend hair cells lining surface
hair cells trigger impulse in adjacent nerve cells that converge to form auditory nerve
auditory nerve > thalamus > auditory cortex
McGurk effect
sight influencing sounds heard
ba vs. fa
conductive hearing loss
sound is not reaching inner ear
caused by disruption of ear canal, damage to eardrum, malfxn in ossicles
treatable with surgery or hearing aid
sensorineural hearing loss
inner ear, generally damaged hair cells
caused by loud noise, aging, viruses
sometimes treatable with Cochlear implant
cochlear implant
microphone and signal processor
electrode array inserts into cochlea, follows snail-like curl and rests on entire basilar membrane
processor analyzes sounds and stimulates electrodes on different parts of membrane based on pitch
cutaneous senses
touch, temperature, pain
touch
encapsulated mechanoreceptors
movement of skin results in movement of receptor dendrites, located within encapsulated endings
temperature
cold sensors located just below epidermis
warmth sensors located more deeply in skin
nociceptors
pain receptors
intense pressure, high-threshold mechanoreceptors (striking, stretching, pinching)
heat, acids, capsaicin receptors
environmental irritants (chemicals) receptors
Why is pain important?
evolutionary: protects us from repeatedly damaging our bodies
Insensitivity could mean we constantly harm ourselves without knowing
CIPA
congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis
inability to feel pain, heat, or cold
can still feel normal touch pressure
phantom limb pain
sensation that an amputated limb is still attached to the body
pain, pressure, tickling, temp reported
unknown cause, cortical reorganization or PNS possible
causes of phantom limb pain
cortical reorganization: loss of limb results in adjacent regions moving in to that territory
peripheral nervous system: improper inputs to nerve endings at the site of amputation
taste
sweet: energy source
sour: potentially toxic acids
umami/savoriness: proteins to grow and repair tissue
bitter: potential poisons
salty: sodium for physiological processes
neurochemistry of taste
taste receptor cells send messages to thalamus then to temporal lobe
papillae and taste buds
3 types of papillae
circumvallate: one at bottom middle
foliate: some on sides at middle
fungiform: tip
papillae
small protuberances of the tongue
taste buds
groups of 20-50 receptor cells located in papillae
cilia protrude thru pores of taste bides into saliva coating tongue
cells wear out quickly, replaced every 10 days
smell steps
- odorants bind to receptors
- olfactory receptor cells activated, send signals to olfactory bulb
- signals relay down axons to higher regions of brain
odors and perception
humans can recognize up to 10k odorants, only 339 different receptor types
molecules can bind to multiple receptor types, providing unique neural representation of odor
path of smell
bypasses thalamus
travels to to temporal lobe and limbic system, influencing learning and emotion
can form powerful learned associations
vestibular sense
allows us to sense position and movement of head and body, enabling balance
fluid filled chambers with hair cells send signals about movement, orientation
vestibular sacs, semicircular canals
sensory interaction
when different senses influence each other
sensory interaction
when different senses influence each other
learning
acquire new and relatively enduring info and behaviors
relatively long term change in behavior based on experience
classical conditioning
learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate future events
after repeated exposure to 2 stimuli in sequence,
natural response to one stimulus can be triggered by new, predictive stimulus
operant conditioning
changing behavior in response to consequences
cognitive learning
acquiring new behaviors and information through observation and info, rather than direct experience
behaviorism
watson and skinner
believed mental life was much less important than behavior as a foundation for psychological science
saw applications for controlling human behavior
pavlov
noticed dogs would salivate in response to neutral stimuli like seeing food or food dish, hearing footsteps
neutral stimuli no longer neutral
critical for survival
Pavlov’s experiments
isolated dog and measured saliva output in response to various neutral stimuli
neutral stimulus
one which does not trigger a response before conditioning (bell)
unconditioned stimulus and response
one that triggers a response naturally, without any condition (food itself)
conditioned response
after conditioning, response to conditioned (formerly neutral) stimulus`
acquisition
initial stage of learning/conditioning
association between neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus is acquired
afterwards, UR is triggered by CS, strength of association increases
strength of CR
likelihood and intensity of NS triggering CR
timing of acquisition
NS must be before US
allows us to prepare for benefits/threats
extinction
diminishing of conditioned response
US stops appearing with CS, so CR decreases
spontaneous recovery
following a rest period, presenting CS alone might lead to return of CR
renewal
change of context after extinction can cause a robust return of conditioned responding
generalization
tendency to have CR triggered by related stimuli, more stuff makes you drool
discrimination
learned ability to only respond to a specific stimuli, preventing generalization, less stuff makes you drool, specific pitch of bell
watson and fear
Little Albert conditioned to be fearful of white rats, then generalized this fear to other soft and furry things
operant conditioning
act of chosen behavior (“response”) is followed by reward or punishment from environment
reinforced behavior more likely to be tried again
punished behavior less likely to be chosen in future
classical vs. operant conditioning
classical: NS before respondent behavior, triggers that behavior
operant: stimulus follows operant behavior, reinforcing or punishing it
operant behavior
chose behaviors which “operate” on the environment
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely
behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences became less likely
cats solving puzzle faster to get reward
reinforcement
any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
+: adding something desirable (warmth)
-: removing something unpleasant (cold)
successive approximation
when something is unlikely to perform desired behavior, can reward any behavior that comes close
primary reinforcer
innately reinforcing stimulus, e. g. one that satisfies biological need
food, water, sex, shelter
secondary reinforcer
gains its reinforcing power thru association with primary reinforcer
money, grades, etc.
delayed reinforcement
dogs only respond to immediate reinforcement
humans can link a consequence to a behavior even if not linked sequentially
delaying gratification, related to impulse control, allows long term goal setting
continuous reinforcement
reward after target every single time, learning is rapid, extinction occurs quickly
partial/intermittent reinforcment
rewards given part of the time
target behavior takes longer to be acquired but is more resistant to extinction
punishment
weakens behavior that it follows
+: adding something undesirable
-: ending something pleasant
critical period
period during which specific biological or environmental events are required for normal development to occur
sensitive period
time in an organism’s development during which a particular experience has an especially profound effect
teratogen
agent that can reach embryo or fetus during prenatal development
chemicals, viruses
newborns
have reflexes: rooting, startle
demonstrate learning: habituation and prefernces
maturation
biologically-driven growth and development enabling orderly (predictably sequential) changes in behavior
lift head, sit up, crawl, walk
sets sequence, but not timing of events
early neural development
womb: # of neurons grows by 750k per minute in middle trimester
birth: connections b/t neurons proliferate
infancy: connections formed in less complex parts of brain (stem, motor cortex, limbic system)
early childhood: neural connections in association areas proliferate
infantile amnesia
memories not formed like in adulthood
can still learn skills (procedural memories) and implicit memories
explicit memories start around age 3
encoding or retrieval issue due to different way of thinking in adults
cognition
the mental activities that help us function
problem solving
Piaget’s theory
mind develops through series of universal stages
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
schemas
script to understand the world
mental containers built to hold our experiences
images, models, concepts
used to assimilate info, adjusted thru accomodation
assimilation
interpret experience using existing schemas
accommodation
adapt schemas to incorporate new info
sensorimotor stag
birth to 2 years
experiencing world through senses and actions
object permanence, stranger anxiety
preoperational stage
about 2 to 6-7
representing things with words and images, using intuitive rather than logical reasoning
pretend play, egocentrism
concrete operational
7-11 years
thinking logically about concrete events, grasping concrete analogies, performing arithmetical operations
conservation, mathematical transformations
formal operational
age 12 thru adulthood
abstract reasoning
abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning
object permanence
awareness that things continue to exist after losing sight of them
develops about 8 months
learned through games like peekaboo
egocentrism
difficulty perceiving things from other people’s POV, resolves around 6 years
theory of mind
ability to read mental state of others
conservation
of number: 5-6
of volume: 9-10
quantity remains the same despite changes in shape
Harlow’s monkeys
showed that attachments are vital to infants
always seek emotional ties
strange situations test
- mother and child placed in strange room and allowed to explore
- stranger enters, talks to mother, approaches child while mother leaves room
- mother returns
secure, insecure-anxious, insecure-avoidant
show level of attachment between mother and child
secure attachment
60% of children, feel distress when mother leaves and seek contact with her when she returns
insecure attachment, anxious style
cling to mother and less likely to explore environment
may get loudly upset when mother leaves and remain upset after her return
insecure attachment, avoidant style
seeming indifferent to mother’s departure and return
deprivation of attachment
lower IQ scores, double rate of anxiety symptoms
children do not readily recover from abusive past
resilient
ability of children to bounce back, attach and succeed after an abusive past
authoritarian parenting style
“too hard”
parents impose rules “because I said so” and expect obedience
permissive parenting style
“too soft”
parents submit to kid’s desires, not enforcing limits or standards for child behavior
authoritative parenting style
“just right”
parents enforce rules, limits, and standards but also explain, discuss, listen, and express respect for child’s ideas and wishes
predicts high self-reliance, social competence, self-esteem, and low aggression
nature vs. nurture?
puberty
time of sexual maturation, becoming able to reproduce
increased sex hormones so increased primary and secondary sex characteristics, changes in mood behavior
height change, romantic interest
puberty timing
sequence is predictable but time of onset varies by person
What stage of development are adolescents in?
formal operational
Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Thinking
preconventional morality, conventional morality, postconventional morality
preconventional morality
before age 9
self-interest, obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
conventional morality
early adolescence
uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order
postconventional morality
adolescence and beyond
actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles
runaway trolley dilemma
throwing switch to save five by killing one or pushing one to save five
stronger emotional response to physically pushing man, greater vmPFC activation
moral intuition
Jonathan Haidt, moral decisions often driven by quick, gut-feeling decisions
emotions like disgust or elevated feelings (donating to charity)
Erikson’s model of social development
lifelong psychosocial development
adolescents struggle to form an identity/sense of self
try out different selves with others
also develop capacity for intimacy
adolescent psychosocial development
identity vs. role confusion
teenagers refine their sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are
peer relationships take center stage but parents still primary influence
emerging adulthood
delay of full adult independence beyond traditional adolescence from about ages 18-25
more prevalent in Wester cultures
years of education, later marriage
when do adults peak physically
mid 20s
muscular strength, cardiac output, reaction time, sensory sensitivity
natural ability/peak
middle adulthood physical changes
40-60, lifestyle and biological decline
gradual decline in sexual activity (usually)
women enter menopause around 50
Why do we die?
environment- accumulation of stress, damage, and disease wears us down until one kills us
genes - some people have genes protecting against some kinds of damage
shortening telomeres, poor healing
death deferral
less people die on/around holidays, difference made up for afterwards
physical changes with age
declining visual acuity, hearing (higher pitches), reaction time, motor abilities, neural processing speed (esp. novel tasks)
exercise and dementia
improves muscle/bone strength, stimulates neurogenesis in hippocampus, improves memory and cognition, reduces dementia risk
changes in brain with age
regions related to memory shrink, harder to form new memories
frontal lobes atrophy: decreased inhibition and self-control
myelin-enhanced neural processing speed declines (peaks in teens)
alzheimer’s, dementia
not a normal part of aging
decreased ability to recall recent events, names of familiar objects/people
emotional unpredictability
confusion, disorientation
physiological changes in Alzheimer’s
loss of brain cells and neural network connections
deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine (memory nt)
misfolded proteins aggregate, kill cells
dramatic loss of tissue
crystallized intelligence
ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience
related to long-term memory access and use
fluid intelligence
ability to reason and solve novel problems
memory changes with age
rote memorization ability declines more than learning meaningful info
prospective memory (remembering to do) declines
ability to learn skills slower to decline than to learn info
cross-sectional studies
compare people at different ages all at one time
longitudinal studies
compare attributes of the same people as they age over time
midlife crisis
re-evaluation of one’s life plan and success, does not have a specific age
25% of adults, trigger often is a challenge like illness, divorce, job loss, parenting
may be related to “social clock” of achievement expectation
golden years “silver lining”
senior attend less to negative info, more to positive info
accumulate longer-lasting mild + memories, lose - memories
coping with death
no standard pattern/length of the grieving process
grief is more intense if death is sudden/too early
support groups, facing reality of death, affirming value of life all help
modeling behavior
especially likely to learn from people who are likable and/or similar to us
behavioral inhibitions lowered
vicarious learning
our behaviors or modified by observing other’s actions and the consequences/rewards that follow
mirror neuron hypothesis
theory that there are neurons that fire when observing another’s actions/emotions
imitation
animals/humans likely to imitate behaviors and emotions of others
tool use in monkeys
may explain empathy
implications of observational learning
prosocial vs. antisocial effects imitated
conditioned taste aversion
we easily learn to avoid foods that have made us sick
easy to acquire, difficult to extinguish
measuring memory
three behaviors
recall, recognition, relearning
information-processing model
encoding: processing info into memory system
storage: retention of encoded info over time
retrieval: process of getting memory out of storage
atkinson-shiffrin model
sensory memory separate from short term and long term
sensory memory
immediate and brief recording of sensory info before its processed into short or long term memory
auditory = echoic
visual = iconic
sensory storage
allows us to deal with nearly unlimited sensory info at all times
acts as buffer, stored long enough for us to pay attention to it, rarely conscious of it
unlimited capacity, short duration, attention determines what enters ST memory
whole report
sperling task, tests iconic memory
name as many items as possible after 50 ms
most report 4-5, items fading as trying to say them
partial report
sperling task, name only items from a cued row, people see more
duration and capacity of sensory storage
duration is limiting factor, only about one second
capacity could be unlimited
auditory rehearsal
repeatedly saying something to keep it in working memory
phonological loop
limited resource
short term memory
extremely short lived without working memory
low capacity, only about 18 seconds
working memory
active stage brain working with information
correlated with intelligence
7 +/- 2 rule for # of info pieces
serial position effect
information at beginning and end of lists is easiest to remember
info in middle is usually forgotten
primacy effect
remember early info
serial position effect
recency effect
remember recently learned info
serial position effect
effortful processing strategies
lead to better encoding
ways to encode info into memory to keep it from decaying and make it easier to retrieve
grouping, mnemonics, rehearsal, deep processing
chunking
organizing data into manageable units, splitting it up
works better if you can assemble into meaningful groups
mnemonics
memory aids, techniques that use vivid imagery and organization
hierarchy
a branching/nested set of categories and subcategories
spacing effect
increasing cues can aid memory retrieval
distributed learning better than mass learning
deep processing
more likely to retain info if we deeply process the meaning/semantics of words
shallow processing
memorizing sound or appearance of words, not easy to retain
self-reference effect
relating material to ourselves, aids encoding and retention
divisions of long-term memory
explicit: semantic and episodic
implicit: procedural and perceptual
explicit memories
AKA declarative, can be declared/described
consciously seek to store and retrieve
semantic and episodic
semantic memories
part of explicit memory
conceptual knowledge or facts
persists longer than episodic
can be enhanced when associated with episodic, personal semantic memory
episodic memories
part of explicit memory
stores and connects specific times, places, and events in an individual’s life
allows us to relive experiences through conscious experience of recollection
can be lost, leading to only semantic memory
implicit memory
learning without necessarily being aware that we are doing so
mental functions that can be performed automatically in the background
procedural and perceptual
buy product but don’t remember commercial
cerebellum and basal ganglia
procedural memory
allows us to remember and use skills to perform tasks
part of implicit memory
don’t remember learning the skills
unable to explain how task should be performed
perceptual memory
part of implicit memory
difficult to describe but recalled effortlessly
learning to recognize a particular stimulus, such as appearance, voice, scent
broken line drawings
shown sets of lines until subject recognizes drawing
tested 1 hour later for retention, subjects recognize object faster if perceptual learning occurred
HM better after 1 hour
retested 4 months later
HM still better than original test
metamemory
our awareness of our memory system and what we have stored there
feeling of knowing and tip of tongue phenomenon
feeling of knowing
a sense that we know something but can’t recall it, usually accurate
persists in amnesia
tip of the tongue phenomenon
the temporary inaccessibility of a word in long term memory
occurs in many languages
more common in older adults, sound based codes play a role in retrieving word
HM
can learn procedural and perceptual memories
no new explicit memories even though he had some from before
retrograde amnesia
inability to retrieve info from the past, often temporary
anterograde amnesia
inability to form new memories, specifically long-term explicit memories
can still form implicit memories
memory consolidation
encoding and storage of explicit memories, performed in hippocampus
not permanently held there
implicit memory processing
cerebellum and basal ganglia form and store conditioned responses, procedural and motors skills (implicit memory)
damaged amygdala
allows for functioning explicit memory, but emotional component of the memory is lost
flashbulb memories
emotion-charged memories are captured with great detail, emotion affects storage and retrieval
priming
unconsciously triggers thread of associations that bring us to a concept
subliminal and supraliminal
unconscious memories can influence how we interpret things
kids who see santa are more generous
forgetting
can happen at any stage: encoding, storage, or retrieval
storage decay
material encoded into LTM will decay if the memory is never used, recalled, and re-stored
memories can decay quickly but what doesn’t decay stays for a long time
encoding failure
we selectively attend to a few things in the environment
without rehearsal things are not encoded
retrieval failure
sometimes just below the surface, e.g. tip of the tongue phenomenon
better retrieval by encoding memories with more associations, linking
context-dependent memory
memory is a web of associations
we retrieve a memory more easily when in the same context as when we formed the memory
more familiar cues = more likely to retrieve
we associate cues with a target at encoding
state-dependent learning
information learned in one state is best recalled in that same state physical state (intoxication), emotional state, mood
proactive interference
old stimuli/learning interferes with storage and retrieval of newly formed memories
retroactive interference
new stimuli/learning interferes with storage and retrieval of previously formed memories
positive transfer
old info makes it easier to learn new info
opposite of interference
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading info into one’s memory of an event
memory is often susceptible to suggestibility, officers “leak” info, we recall things that didn’t happen
confidence is not a good metric of accuracy
implanted memories
those implanted by suggestion and imagination
can be caused just by picturing an event
tend to add more imagined details once we have an inaccurate memory
source amnesia
forgetting where the story came from and attributing the source to your own experience
can help explain deja vu
