Exam 2 (Winter 2014) Flashcards
Continuity and stages
gradual and continuous development? or development that change abruptly in separate stages.
Stability and change
which traits persist? which traits change?
zygote
the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell devision and develops into an embryo
embryo
the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
fetus
the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Infantile amnesia
mis-recall information because events happened before they were able to remember it clearly.
How early in life can people typically recall memories?
3.5 years old
How has memory been studied in infants?
The mobile kicking test thing with the string tied to the baby’s foot
Piaget’s theory
children construct their understanding of the world while interacting with it.
Sensorimotor stage
experiencing the world through senses and actions (touching, looking, hearing, mouthing, and grasping)
Preoperational stage
representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning
Concrete operational stage
thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operation
Formal operational stage
abstract reasoning.
Theory of Mind
people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.
What are the primary characteristics of Autism?
Poor communication among brain regions that normally work together to let take another’s viewpoint. Impaired theory of mind. Difficulty inferring others’ thoughts sand feelings.
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness ti the caregiver and showing distress on separation
stranger anxiety
the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age
imprinting
the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.
secure attachment
baby plays comfortably, when mother leaves- distress, when mother returns- seek contact
contact comfort
the preference of something that’s comfortable
insecure attachment
baby clings to mother, when mother leaves- cry loudly and remain upset regardless of her return.
self-concept
all our thoughts feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Authoritarian parenting
parents impose rules and expect obedience. Kids with less social skills and self-esteem.
Permissive parenting
parents submit to their children’s desires. They make few demands and use little punishment. Kids more aggressive and immature.
Authoritative parenting
parents are both demanding and responsive. They exert control by setting rules and enforcing them, but they also explain the reasons for rules. And, especially with older children, they encourage open discussion when making the rules and allow exceptions.
What is the life-span perspective?
Psychologists began to look at how maturation and experience shape us not only in infancy and childhood, but also in adolescence and beyond.
adolescence
the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
puberty
the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
Identify changes in thinking that occur during the Formal Operational stage.
Think about what is ideally possible and compare that with the imperfect reality of their society, their parents, and even themselves. Debate human nature, good and evil, truth and justice. May seek a deeper conception of God and existence. Can detect inconsistencies and hypocrisy in others’ reasoning.
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 beliefs in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles
identity
our sense of self; according to Erickson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
social identity
the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships
emerging adulthood
for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood.
prosopagnosia
an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain.
sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous systems receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
bottom-up processing
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
top-down processing
information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
transduction
conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret.
psychophysics
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity and our psychological experience of them
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
difference threshold
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.
Weber’s law
the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a given percentage (rather than a given amount)
signal detection theory
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
pupil
adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
iris
a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
parallel processing
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, which stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.
opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. Some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
closure
we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object.
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
binocular cues
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
monocular cues
depth cues, such as interposition, and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging (having constant shapes, sizes, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images and change.
perceptual adaptation
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
middle ear
the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
cochlea
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled, tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fliod trigger nerve impulses
inner ear
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. Can be helped by a cochlear implant.
conduction hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. Can be helped by hearing aids.
cochlear implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
How is loudness measured?
Loudness is measured from the number of activated hair cells.
place theory
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
frequency theory
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulse traveling ip the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.
sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
synaesthesia
the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.
embodied cognition
in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments
gate-control theory
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain
phantom limbs
brain produces false sounds and sights. Produce pain or other perception of amputated/missing arms or legs.
