GRE Psychology CH 4-8 Flashcards
Activation-synthesis hypothesis
a theory of dreaming that proposes that neural stimulation from the pons activates mechanisms that normally interpret visual output
Blindsight
a condition in which people who are blind have some spared visual capacities in the absence of any visual awareness
Circadian rhythms
the regulation of biological cycles into regular patterns
Consciousness
the subjective experience of the world and of mental activity
Dreams
the product of an altered state of consciousness in which images and fantasies are confused with reality
Hypnosis
a social interaction during which a person, responding to suggestions, experiences changes in memory, perception, and/or voluntary action
Insomnia
a disorder characterized by an inability to sleep
Interpreter
a left hemisphere process that attempts to make sense of events
Latent content
what a dream symbolizes, or the material that is disguised in a dream to protect the dreamer
Manifest content
the plot of a dream; the way a dream is remembered
Meditation
a mental procedure that focuses attention on an external object or on a sense of awareness
Microsleeps
brief, unintended sleep episodes, ranging from a few seconds to a minute, caused by chronic sleep deprivation
Narcolepsy
a sleep disorder in which people fall asleep during normal waking hours
REM sleep
the stage of sleep marked by rapid eye movements, dreamings, and paralysis of motor systems
Sleep apnea
a disorder in which a person stops breathing while sleep
Split brain
a condition in which the corpus callosum is surgically cut and the two hemispheres of the brain do not receive information directly from each other
Subliminal perception
information processed without conscious awareness
Additive color mixing
a way to produce a given spectral pattern in which different wavelengths of lights are mixed; percept determined by interaction of wavelengths with receptors in the eye; a psychological process
Audition
the sense of sound perception
Binocular depth cues
cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes
Binocular disparity (retinal disparity)
a cue of depth perception that is caused by the distance between a person’s eyes, which provides each eye with a slightly different image
Bottom-up processing
a hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which data are relayed from one processing level o the next, always moving to a higher level of processing
Cones
retinal cells that respond to higher levels of illumination and result in color perception
Cornea
the clear outer covering of the eye
Eardrum (tympanic membrane)
a thin membrane, which sound waves vibrate, that marks the beginning of the middle ear
Fovea
the center of the retina, where cones re densely packed
Gustation
the sense of taste
Haptic sense
the sense of touch
Iris
the colored muscular circle on the surface of the eyes; changes shape to let in more/less light
Kinesthetic sense
perception of our limbs in space
Lateral inhibition
a visual process in which adjacent photoreceptors tend to inhibit one another
Monocular depth cues
cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone
Olfaction
the sense of smell, which occurs when receptors in the nose respond to chemicals
Ofactory bulb
the brain center for smell, located below the frontal lobes
Olfactory epithelium
the thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that is embedded with smell receptors
Perception
the processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals; it results in an internal representation of the stimulus
Perceptual constancy
people correctly perceive objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception
Pupil
the small opening in the eye; it lets in light waves
Receptive field
the region of visual space to which neurons in the primary visual cortex are sensitive
Retina
the thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball; contains the photoreceptors that transduces light into neural signals
Rods
retinal cells that respond to low levels of illumination and result in black-and-white perception
Sensation
the sense organs’ responses to external stimuli and the transmission of these responses to the brain
Sensory adaptation
a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation
Signal detection theory (SDT)
a theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a faint stimulus requires a judgment_it is not an all-or-none process
Sound wave
the pattern of the changes in air pressure through time that results in the percept of a sound
Subtractive color mixing
a way to produce a given spectral pattern in which the mixture occurs within the stimulus itself, a physical and not psychological process
Taste buds
sensory receptors that transduce taste information
Top-down processing
a hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which info at higher levels of processing can also influence lower, “earlier” levels in the processing hierarchy
Transduction
a process by which sensory receptors produce neural impulses when they receive physical or chemical stimulation
Vestibular sense
perception of balance
Acquisition
the gradual formation of an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli
Behavior modification
the use of operant-conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable ones
Classical conditioning (Pavlovian)
a type of learned response that occurs when a neutral object comes to elicit a reflexive response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response
Cognitive map
a visual/spatial mental representation of an environment
Conditioned response (CR)
a response that has been learned
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place
Continuous reinforcement
a type of learning in which the desired behavior is reinforced each time it occurs
Extinction
a process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the unconditioned stimulus
Fixed schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is consistently provided upon each occurrence
Habituation
a decrease in behavioral response following repeated exposure to nonthreatening stimuli
Interval schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is available after a specific unit of time
Latent learning
learning that takes place in the absence of reinforcement
Law of effect
Thorndike’s general theory of learning: Any behavior that leads to a “satisfying state of affairs” will more likely occur again, and any behavior that leads to an “annoying state of affairs” will less likely occur
Learning
an enduring change in behavior, resulting from experience
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
the strengthening of a synaptic connection o that postsynaptic neurons are more easily activated
Meme
a unit of knowledge transferred within a culture
Mirror neurons
neurons that are activated during observation of others performing an action
Modeling
the imitation of behavior through observational learning
Negative punishment
punishment that occurs with the removal of a stimulus and thus decreases the probability of a behavior’s recurring
Negative reinforcement
the increase in the probability of a behavior’s being repeated through the removal of a stimulus
Observational learning
learning that occurs when behaviors are acquired or modified following exposure to others performing the behavior
Operant / instrumental conditioning
a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future
Partial reinforcement
a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently
Partial-reinforcement extinction effect
the greater persistence of behavior under partial reinforcement than under continuous reinforcement
Phobia
an acquired fear that is out of proportion to the real threat of an object or of a situation
Positive punishment
punishment that occurs with the administration of a stimulus and thus decreases the probability of a behavior’s recurring
Positive reinforcement
the increase in the probability of a behavior’s being repeated following the administration of a stimulus
Ratio schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs
Reinforcer
a stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated
Rescorla-Wagner model
a cognitive model of classical conditioning; it states that the strength of the CS-US association is determined by the extent to which the unconditioned stimulus is unexpected
Sensitization
an increase in behavioral response following exposure to a threatening stimulus
Shaping
a process of operant conditioning; it involves reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior
Spontaneous recovery
a process in which a previously extinguished response reemerges following presentation of the conditioned stimulus
Stimulus discrimination
a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus
Stimulus generalization
occurs when stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response
Unconditioned response (UR)
a response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
a stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without any prior learning
Variable schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is applied at different rates or at different times
Vicarious learning
learning that occurs when people learn the consequences of an action by observing others being rewarded or punished for performing the action
Absentmindedness
the inattentive or shallow encoding of events
Amnesia
deficits in long-term memory that result from disease, brain injury, or psychological trauma
Anterograde amnesia
an inability to form new memories
Blocking
the temporary ability to remember something that is known
Change blindness
the common failure to notice large changes in environments
Chunking
organizing information into meaningful units to make it easier to remember
Confabulation
the false recollection of episodic memory
Consolidation
a hypothetical process involving the transfer of contents from immediate memory into long-term memory
Cryptomnesia
a type of misattribution that occurs when a person thinks he or she has come up with a new idea, yet has only retrieved a stored idea and failed to attribute the idea to its proper source
Declarative memory
the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory; knowledge that can be declared
Encoding
the processing of information so that it can be stored
Encoding specificity principle
any stimulus that is encoded along with an experience can later trigger memory for the experience
Episodic memory
memory for one’s personal past experiences
Explicit memory
the processes involved when people remember specific information
Flashbulb memories
vivid memories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a surprising, consequential, and emotionally arousing event
Forgetting
the inability to retrieve memory from long-term storage
Implicit memory
the system underlying unconscious memories
Long-term memory (LTM)
the relatively permanent storage of information
Memory
the nervous system’s capability to acquire and retain usable skills and knowledge
Memory bias
the changing of memories over time in ways consistent with prior beliefs
Mnemonics
strategies for improving memory
Modal memory model
the three-stage memory system that involves sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
Parallel processing
by, processing information at the same time, we can focus on targets and cues
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
a mental disorder that involves frequent nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks related to an earlier trauma
Proactive interference
when prior information inhibits the ability to remember new information
Procedural memory
a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits
Prospective memory
remembering to do something at some time in the future
Reconsolidation
neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for later retrieval
Retrieval
the act of recalling or remembering stored information to use it
Retrieval cue
anything that helps a person (or another animal) recall information from memory
Retroactive interference
when new information inhibits the ability to remember old information
Retrograde amnesia
the condition in which people lose past memories, such as memories for events, facts, people, or even personal information
Schema
a hypothetical cognitive structure that helps us perceive, organize, process, and use information
Semantic memory
memory for knowledge about this world
Sensory memory
memory for sensory information that is stored briefly lose to its original sensory form
Serial position effect
the ability to recall items from a list depends on order of presentation, with items presented early or late in the list remembered better than those in the middle
Short-term memory (STM)
a limited-capacity memory system that holds information in awareness for a brief period
Source amnesia
a type of amnesia that occurs when a person shows memory for an event but cannot remember where he or she encountered the information
Source misattribution
memory distortion that occurs when people misremember the time, place, person, or circumstances involved with a memory
