Final Exam Flashcards
7 Perspectives
Neuroscience
How the nervous system enables emotions, memories, sensory experiences, and behaviors
Focuses on the brain and nervous system
Definition
Neuron
The basic function unit of the nervous system
7 Perspectives
Evolutionary
How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
evolution by natural selection of successful ancestors’ geneology
7 Perspectives
Behavior Genetics
How much our genes and our environment influence our behaviors
contributions of genes vs environment to psychological phenomena
7 Perspectives
Psychodynamic
How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
importance of unconscious mental processes
7 Perspectives
Behavioral
How we learn (acquire) observable behaviors
focus on learned, observable behavior
7 Perspectives
Cognitive
How our minds encode, process, store, and retrieve information
Information processing of the conscious mind
7 Perspectives
Social-Cultural
How behavior and thinking vary across social situations and cultures
focus on social & cultural influences
Level of Analysis
Biological
Physical factors inside the person
Level of Analysis
Psychological
The mind of the person
Level of Analysis
Socio-Cultural
Person responding to others
Level of Analysis
Biological Influences
- genetic predispositions
- genetic mutations
- natural selection of adaptive physiology and behaviors
- genes responding to the environment
Level of Analysis
Socio-Cultural Influences
- presence of others
- cultural, societal, and family expectations
- peer and other group influences
- compelling models (such as the media)
Level of Analysis
Psychological Influences
- learned fears and other learned expectations
- emotional responses
- cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations
Research Methods
What is a Correlation?
Positive & negative correlations among variables,
for example, age and personal characteristics
(physical or psychological)
Research Methods
What does “r” mean?
a value from 0 to 1 indicating the strength of a correlation
Research Methods
What is a positive/direct correlation?
Age and Height
r = +.90
Research Methods
What is a negative/inverse correlation?
Age and Sleep
r = -.70
Research Methods
What is a correlation study?
Determination whether there is a “correlation”
(either + or -) between the two variables.
Research Methods
Correlation vs Causation
Correlation between two factors does not automatically conclude causation. There may be a reason one variable is positively or negativey affecting another, but that doesn’t mean one caused the other.
A proper experiment needs to be run to determine true causation and, in come cases, may be time consuming, expensive, and unethical.
Research Methods
What would an experiment look like?
“Manipulate” an IV (“independent variable”), measure corresponding changes in the DV (“dependent variable”, while holding constant (“controlling”) other factors (mother’s handling, etc.).
Perception
What are the learned factors that influence depth?
Apparent Size vs Actual Size
Linear Perspective
Ariel Perspective
Interposition
Convergence of Eyes
Accomodation of Lens
Retinal Disperity (Stereopsis)
*Distant objects obstructed by ones closer
Perception
What are perceptual constancies?
Size, Shape, Color, and Brightness
Perception (Clarified)
Convergence of Eyes
Binocular Cue
Both eyes turn inward toward near objects
Muscle tension changes as you get cross-eyed
Perception Clarified
Accommodation of the Lens
Lens change shape to focus on different distances
Perception Clarified
Retinal Disperity
“Stereopsis”
The left and right fields of vision provide slightly different visual images when focusing on a single object
Perception
What are the innate aspects of perception?
- Gestalt psychology
- Gibson’s “visual cliff”
- Fantz studies of infants
Perception (Gestalt)
What is the Figure / Ground Principle?
The figure-ground principle states that people instinctively perceive objects as either being in the foreground or the background. They either stand out prominently in the front (the figure) or recede into the back (the ground).
Face / Vase optical illusion
Perception (Gestalt)
What are Gestalt’s Laws of Grouping?
- Proximity
- Similarity
- Closure
- Continuity
- Connectedness
Perception (Gestalt)
Define proximity?
Describes how the human eye perceives elements that are close together as more related than elements that are further apart
Ex: thephotographisunderapot
the photograph is under a pot
Perception (Gestalt)
Define similarity?
When things appear to be similar to each other, we group them together
Ex: In a color blindness test, we group the colored dots distinct from the background that make a letter to test color perception
Perception (Gestalt)
Define closure?
People will fill in blanks to perceive a complete object whenever an external stimulus partially matches that object
Ex: Drawn triangle with unclosed tips is perceived as closed
Perception (Gestalt)
Define continuity?
We are more likely to see continuous and smooth flowing lines rather than broken or jagged ones
Ex: Connect the dots puzzle, even before completed, appears to make an image
Perception (Gestalt)
Define connectedness?
Elements that are connected to each other by color, lines, frames, or other means are perceived as more related and grouped than elements with no connection
Ex: Pairs of dots connected by a line version dots with no connections
Perception (Gibson)
What is Gibson’s Visual Cliff?
A visual cliff involves an apparent, but not actual, drop from one surface to another. It was originally created to test babies’ depth perception, and is formed by by connecting a transparent glass surface to an opaque patterned surface.
Baby unexposed to the visual cliff didnt fall cause of innate perception
Perception (Fantz)
Define innate perception of facial design?
Fantz found that babies preferred to look at a human face (something that they see everywhere all the time) for a longer period of time than any other pattern
They liked to look at more complex stimuli than simple ones
Sensory Processing
What is Top-Down Processing?
Top-down processing is guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions, drawing
on our experience and expectations
Sensory Processing
What is Bottom-Up Processing?
Analysis of a stimulus that begins with the sense
receptors and works up to the level of the brain and
mind is referred to as bottom-up processing
Sensory Processing
What is the sensory process chain of events?
Stimuli -> Sensory Receptors -> Nerve Pathways -> Brain
The arrows represent transduction
Sensory Processing
What is the Absolute Threshold?
Our awareness of faint stimuli illustrate our Absolute
Threshold – the minimum stimulation needed to detect a
particular stimulus 50% of the time.
