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.
Sensory Processing
What is the Subliminal Threshold?
The level at which the participant is not aware of the stimulus being presented
Sensory Processing
What is Difference Threshold?
The Difference Threshold is the minimum difference between two
stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
Sensory Processing
What is Weber’s Law?
Ernest Weber noted that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum
percentage (rather than a constant amount), to be perceived as different.
Weber fraction: k = I/I.
Sensory Processing
What is Sensory Adaptation?
The diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus
Getting used to an odorous smell
Sensory Processing (Eyes)
How does information travel through the eye?
Light enters the CORNEA, passes through the PUPIL (surrounded by the IRIS), travels into the LENS behind the pupil, and creates an image in the RETINA which contains PHOTORECEPTORS.
After traveling through the retina, information travels through the BIPOLAR CELLS, GANGLION CELLS, AXONS (which make up the optic nerve), and, finally, to the BRAIN
Sensory Processing
What is Habituation?
results from reduced (mental) attention to constant stimuli.
Not feeling your butt after sitting for extended periods of time
Sensory Processing (Eye)
What is a Blind Spot?
Point where the optic nerve leaves the eye because
there are no receptor cells located there
Sensory Processing (Eye)
What is Fovea?
The fovea is responsible for sharp central vision, which is necessary in humans for reading, watching television or movies, driving, and any activity where visual detail is of primary importance.
Cones cluster in and around the fovea, the
retina’s area of central focus.
Sensory Processing (Eye)
What does constant eye quivering enable us to do?
- Focus the light on our retina.
- Adjust the size of the pupil
- Minimize sensory adaptation.
Sensory Processing (Eye)
What are the functions of rods?
- retinal receptors that
detect black, white, and
gray (Rhodopsin) - Dim Light
- None in Fovea
- Low Acuity
Sensory Processing (Eye)
What are the functions of cones?
- retinal receptors that detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
- Bright Light
- Dense in Fovea
- High Acuity
Sensory Processing (Audio)
What are audiotory sensory receptors?
hair cells on the basilar
membrane inside the cochlea of the inner
ear
Sensory processing (Audio)
Intensity (Decibels)?
Loudness
Sensory Processing (Audio)
Vibration Rate (Hertz)?
Pitch
Sensory Proocessing (Audio)
Complexity of Sound Waves?
Timbre
Sensory Processing (Audio)
How does sound pass through the ear?
Sound enters the OUTER EAR, is amplified, and then chutes sounds into the canal. Sound enters the middle ear, the EARDRUM vibrates the HAMMER and ANVIL, and sends the sound through the STIRRUP and OVAL OPENING into the inner ear (COCHLEA). The tiny hairs in the cochlea are activated, and the brain interprets the signal.
Personality
What is the NEO-PI?
**This is the most widely used of the “objective” type of personality
assessment instruments. **It was created and developed through the method of “factor analysis.” With repeated use with various populations and analysis of results there have been gradual refinements to maximize reliability and validity of the measurements.
Personality (CANOE)
What traits fall under CONCIENTIOUSNESS?
- Competence – capable, sensible, prudent, effective
- Order – neat, tidy, well-organized
- Dutifulness – governed by conscience, stick to ethical,
moral principles - Achievement striving – work hard to achieve goals
- Self-discipline - persistent, keep working until finished
- Deliberation – thinking carefully before acting, planful
Personality (CANOE)
What traits fall under AGREEABLENESS?
- Trust – tend to trust others
- Straightforwardness – frank, sincere, genuine
- Altruism – active concern for & willingness to
help others - Compliance – tend to avoid conflict, defer to others,
forgive & forget, … - Modesty – humble, not arrogant
- Tender-mindedness – sympathy & concern for others,
social beliefs NOT based on cold logic
Personality (CANOE)
What traits fall under NEUROTICISM?
- Anxiety – tend to feel anxious, fearful, worry, tense,…
- Anger / Hostility – often feel anger, maybe expressed
- Depression – feelings of guilt, sadness, loneliness, …
- Self-consciousness – shame and embarrassment
- fear ridicule
- Impulsiveness – inability to control cravings,
urges - Vulnerability – feel unable to cope with stress and
pressure
Personality (CANOE)
What traits fall under OPENNESS?
- Fantasy – vivid imagination & active fantasy life
- Aesthetics – appreciation for beauty in art, music, poetry…
- Feelings – strong receptivity to inner emotions (both + and -)
- Actions – try new & different activities, places, foods, …
- Ideas – intellectual curiosity, curious, explore new ideas, …
- Values – readiness to reexamine social, political, religious
values
Personality (OCEAN)
What traits fall under EXTROVERSION?
- Warmth – affectionate, friendly, not reserved
- Gregariousness – enjoy company of many others
- Assertiveness – dominant, socially forceful
- Activity – rapid, vigorous movement, fast-paced
- Excitement-seeking – crave excitement & stimulation
- Positive emotions – often feel joy, love, happiness, etc.
Personality
What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?
The most widely researched and clinically
used of all personality tests. It was originally
developed to identify emotional disorders.
(“pathological traits”?)
The MMPI was developed by empirically testing a
pool of items and then selecting those that
discriminated between diagnostic groups. (e.g.,
people with schizophrenia, or anxiety disorders, or
depression, etc.)
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What did Albert Bandura believe?
Personality as the result of an
interaction between a person and
their social context.
”Social Learning” Theory:
- learned behaviors by
“observational learning”
Bobo Doll Experiment
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What does the Social-Cognitive Theory suggest?
Beliefs are important components of personality
Personality (Soc-Cog)
Define “Self-Efficacy”?
the (learned) belief in
one’s capability for
success
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What did Julian Rotter believe? What is “Locus of Control”?
Social-cognitive psychologists emphasize our sense of
personal control, whether we control the environment or
the environment controls us.
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What is External Locus of Control?
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What is Internal Locus of Control?
The perception that we can control our own fate.
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What did Martin Seligman study?
“Positive Psychology” and Humanistic Psychology
Positive psychology, such as humanistic psychology,
attempts to foster human fulfillment. Positive
psychology, in addition, seeks positive subjective
well-being, positive character, and positive social
groups.
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What is Seligman’s “Learned Helplessness”?
When unable to avoid repeated adverse events an
animal or human learns helplessness.
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What are Seligman’s “Attribution Styles”?
- External vs. Internal
- Untable vs. Stable
- Specific vs. Global
Personality (Soc-Cog)
What is Seligman’s concept of Optimism vs Pessimism?
An optimistic or pessimistic attributional style is your
way of explaining positive or negative events.
Classic Conditioning
Conditioning Process
CS (Bell) -> US (Puff) -> Eyeblink (UR / CR)
Classic Conditioning
What is acquisition?
Pairing of CS and US into UR
Classic Conditioning
What is extinction?
Repetition of CS alone results in loss of CR
Classic Conditioning
What is spontaneous recovery?
Of CR after rest period
Classic Conditioning
What is generalization?
CR to stimuli similar to CS, e.g., higer pitched bell
Classic Conditioning
What is discrimination?
Weaker CR to stimuli too different from CS
Classic Conditioning
Little Albert conditioning components
CS: White Rat
US: Loud Gong
UR: Flinch, Fear, Cry, etc
CR: Similar to UR
Generalization: Fear of other white, fluffy objects
