Exam 3 Flashcards
consciousness
our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
change blindness
failure to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.
dual processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
inattentional blindness
failure to notice/encode features when our attention is elsewhere
selective attention
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimuli
blindsight
the ability of people who are cortically blind to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see due to lesions in the primary visual cortex
sleep
a complex reversible neurobiological state characterized by closed eyes, behavioral quiescence, and perceptual disengagement from one’s surroundings
circadian rhythm
The natural cycle of physical, mental, and behavior changes that the body goes through in a 24-hour cycle.
electroencephalogram EGG
a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp
sleep stages
Stage one, stage two, stage three, stage two, stage one REM.
beta waves
waking waves. these are tight lines
alpha waves
waking waves, but your brain is relaxed and typically preparing for sleep. these waves are spread apart but still tight
NREM 1 initial sleep stage
the brain waves look like beta but less tight. less brain activity. you can see random images as well.
NREM 2 stage 2
the waves start to go up, down, but are still a little tight and starting to go further apart. your body is in a deep state of relaxation.
NREM 3 stage 3
“slow waves” these waves are very far apart and very up and down. this stage is for memory consolidation. It’s hard to wake up.
REM emergent stage 1
these waves closely resemble alpha waking waves. this is the most important part of sleep. without it, people can’t seem to function well. we seem to have dreams during REM.
REM rebound
REM sleep is so important that if missed your brain will keep you in REM sleep longer the next time you sleep.
dreams
a state of consciousness characterized by sensory, cognitive and emotional occurrences during sleep
activation synthesis theory
when humans dream, the mind is trying to comprehend the brain activity that is taking place in the brain stem
information processing theory
sleep allows us to consolidate and process all of the information and memories that we have collected during the previous day
developmental psychology
a field of study that focuses on people’s change and growth across their lifespan
nature vs nurture
genes vs how one was raised
genes
The basic unit of heredity passed from parent to child
continuity vs stages
if someone’s personal evolutions happen in stages like pokémon or slowly evolve overtime
stability vs change
has someone been one kind of person their whole lives or has change happened?
prenatal development
the kind of development that happens in the womb
zygote
right after egg, for 2 weeks
embryonic
right after zygote
fetal
right after the embryo until birth
chromosome
DNA that is found in the nucleus of each cell.
Down Syndrome
extra chromosome
huntington’s disease
you don’t developed till you are older, but it’s genetic so you’ll def get it if your family has a history
pruning
the process in which the brain removes neurons and synapses that it does not need. This usually takes place when a person is 2–10 years old. disconnecting muscle responses and such
myelination
process of creating the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of the nerves, forming an electrically insulating layer
teratogens
a substance that interferes with normal fetal development and causes congenital disabilities.
fetal alchohol syndrome
the wide range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive impairments that occur due to alcohol exposure before birth
motor development
developing motor control through synapse pruning
sensory development
enhances the use of your child’s senses by incorporating different colours, textures, noises and more into their early education
social development
development of relationships with others, their understanding of the meaning of their relationships with others, and their understanding of others’ behaviors, attitudes, and intentions.
acuity
sharpness of the mind. Things considered in determining a person’s mental acuity are memory, focus, concentration, and understanding.
preferential looking
to look at something for longer, typically of a baby to faces
Habituation
to get used to
Dishabituation
to become unused to
Cognition
how children think, explore and figure things out
Jean Piaget
children take an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments
sensorimotor
first stage of development. Children learn how to perceive the world around them through the senses and such.
schemas
infants way of explaining the world—trying to make sense of things
object permanence
Being able to distinguish that an object still exists, even if you cannot see it
Preoperational
This is the second stage in development. Children in the states, do not understand conservation or theory of mind, but they have egocentrism and mind blindness.
Concrete operational
this stage lasts from ages 8 to 12 and is characterized by understanding conservation.
conservation
Understanding that the mass of something doesn’t change, even if the size of the container does
Theory of mind
Understanding that other people have different thoughts, emotions, and feelings
Egocentrism
The inability differentiate between the self and the other
Autism
a developmental disorder that affects information processing. People with autism have difficulties with social and communication skills. They have restricted interests and engage in repetitive behaviors.
mind blindness
inability to guess what someone else may be thinking
Formal operational
12 years of age and up. Abstract thought forms and so does theory of mind
Sensation
the process of the sensory organs transforming physical energy into neurological impulses the brain interprets as the five senses of vision, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
stimulus
Something that triggers your sensory receptors
Transduction
In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
Receptors
the things that collect sensory input
perception
The way the mind organizes information that has been sensed
absolute threshold
Threshold in which a stimulus can half the time be brought into awareness, and half of the time not be
Subliminal persuasion
using weak stimulus that the brain doesn’t bring into awareness to influence somebody.
Sensory adaption
to get used to a stimulus and your brain stops bringing it to your awareness
Wavelength
Wavelength of light determines color and shade
intensity
Intensity of color is determined by up-and-down length of light waves
optics of the eye
Crystalline lens, cornea, pupil, retina
Retina
the part of the eye that senses the information going in
fovea
a small depression within the neurosensory retina where visual acuity is the highest
optic nerve
The nerves that sends visual information to the back of the brain through the thalamus
Blindspot
where the pupil is, you cannot see, because there is a hole in vision where the optic nerve goes into the head. the nose too
rods
these detect dim light very well and are more abundant
Cones
these detect colors and fine visual information very well. They are less abundant.
Primary visual cortex
The primary visual cortex is in the occipital lobe
Feature detectors
any of various hypothetical or actual mechanisms within the human information-processing system that respond selectively to specific distinguishing features
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field by separating an object (figure) from its surroundings (ground).
gestalt grouping rules
grouping things together based on how your mind organizes it, created by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohle
proximity
grouping things based on closeness
continuity
grouping things based on continuing lines
closure
grouping things based on closure
color consistency
our ability to perceive colors as relatively constant over varying illuminations
voodoo death
so stressed about dying, that when you reach stress exhaustion you ACTUALLY DIE
health psychology
Health psychology examines how biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness
psychoneuroimmunolgy
the study of the connection between psych, neuro, and immune system functions
stressor
something that has potential to cause stress
stress reaction
how you react to a stressor
catastrophe
a stressor categorized as natural disaster/life threatening situation
significant life changes
The type of stressor categorized by death of loved one, getting married/divorced, moving, graduating
daily hassles and social stress
a type of stressor caused by less permanent, daily tasks such as social interactions
Water Cannon
Walter Cannon and Philip Bard. Cannon-Bard theory states that we feel emotions and experience physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling, and muscle tension simultaneously.
flight or response
coined by walter cannon to describe key behaviors that occur in context to perceived threat
cortisol
stress hormone
acute stress
Acute stress is the overreaction to a minor stressor experienced on a daily basis.
chronic stress
Many people, over the course of their lives, have experienced acute stress, a dramatic physiological and psychological reaction to a specific event. Chronic stress, however, is a consistent sense of feeling pressured and overwhelmed over a long period of time.
Hans Selye
creator of general adaption syndrome (GAS)
General adaption syndrome (GAS)
describes the physiologic changes your body goes through as it responds to stress. These changes occur in stages: An alarm reaction (also called fight-or-flight) A resistance phase (in which your body recovers) A period of exhaustion (if your body fails to recover before being burnt out).
coronary heart disease
the most common heart condition caused by over stressing
Type A personality
someone who can’t chill out, needs to be doing something as soon as possible, worried about everything
Type B personality
this person can chill tf out and doesn’t stress excessively like type A persons do
hostility
mistrust, cynicism, and negative beliefs and attributions concerning others
cope
the way in which one deals with stressor
tend and befriend
usually women do this. you go to others for comfort
problem focused coping
you turn to the center of the problem to fix it so the stress goes away
repressive coping
if you don’t think about it, it’s not there!
emotion focused coping
if you are unable to fix a problem, most people turn toward emotion focused coping. you turn to making yourself feel better despite the ongoing stressor
perceived control
feeing like you are in control can make it way less stressful
aerobic exercise
this can do so much to counter stress and depression
relaxation
this is a great counter for stress, but not as powerful as aerobic exercise
meditation
this is a very powerful way to cope with stress. meditating clears mind. it retrains focus and reflection
