Midterm #1 Flashcards
Synesthesia
one sense involuntarily triggers another sense (numbers associated with colours)
Signal Detection Theory
to respond to a stimuli it needs to be determined if the sensory activation is real or fake
Responses To Signal Detection Theory
Hit, Miss, Correct Rejection, False Alarm
Channel Capacity
the brain can only hold in so much information
Stimulus
something that triggers a physical/behavior change
Signal
info/object that evokes a response
Response
behavior from the result of a stimulus
Dependent Variable
changes from the independent variable
Independent Variable
manipulated variable
Process Model (information processing theory)
the specific mental process that takes place during a task
Accuracy
how correct a response is
Reaction Time
the time between the stimulus and the response
Lexical Design Task
timed task where people decide if letter strings are English or not
sequential processing
mental tasks are done in an order (remembering someone’s name)
parallel processing
multiple mental processes at the same time (driving)
priming
exposure to one thing can alter behaviour about it (kid sees candy on a red bench… next time it sees a red bench they might think of candy)
conceptually driven processing (top-down)
mental processes are guided by our knowledge
data-driven processing (bottom-up)
stimuli pieced together from what is perceived in the environment
replication
testing a result to produce similar results
3 steps to memory
sensory memory (acquisition), short-term memory (storage), long-term memory (retrieval)
sensory memory
input in raw sensory form (raindrops on the skin)
short term memory (STM)
holds info that’s in use and transfers it
long term memory (LTM)
all remembered information
cognition
mental processes involved in remembering, thinking and understanding
memory
mental processes for acquiring, storing and retrieving information
word frequency effect
words that are shown more often are processed quicker
empiricism
Aristotle; behaviour influenced by the environment
introspection (structuralism)
Wundt; studying one’s own mental processes
structuralism
Titchener; studies the structure of the conscious mind
functionalism
James; studies the function of consciousness
verbal learning
Chomsky; studies verbal stimuli and responses
ecological validity
generalizability of real-world situations
reductionism
breaking down complex concepts into their components
implicit memory
unintentionally remembered information
explicit memory
long term memory (recollection)
encoding
acquisition; the first step in memory
capgras syndrome
the delusion that family/friends are replaced by an identical imposter
episodic memory
recollection of personal experiences
semantic memory
long-term memory about facts of the world
dissociation
the pattern of abilities reveals that one mental process is damaged while the other is intact (K.C)
double dissociation
two patients showing opposing disruptions
simple dissociation
process A is damaged while process B has a reciprocal pattern (prosopagnosia)
association
connection of two processes
neurons
basic unit in the brain that receives sensory information from the environment
3 types of neurons
motor, sensory, interneurons
sensory neurons
receives info from the environment and sends signals to the brain from the spinal cord
motor neurons
carry the signal from the brain to the muscles to produce movement
interneurons
connects neurons
axon
sends signals away from the nucleus
dendrites
receives signals from other neurons
nodes of ranvier
fast electrical impulses along the axon
terminal buttons
sends signals to other neurons
neurogenesis
creation of new neurons
myelin sheath
fatty coating on the axon that speeds up communication
white matter
myelinated
gray matter
unmyelinated
neurotransmitters
chemicals released in the synapse that exhibit/inhibit a neuron
4 types of neurotransmitters
acetylcholine, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA
acetylcholine
muscle contraction, cognitive processes and attention
norepinephrine
fight or flight, mood and stress
glutamate
strengthens neural connections
GABA
weakens neural connections
consolidation
a permanent establishment of memories
long term potential (LTP)
temporary strengthening of neural connections before consolidation
action potential
change in electrical charge when a neuron fires
all or none principle
the stimulus either passes the threshold and the entire process goes through or it doesn’t and nothing happens
hemisphere specialization (lateralization)
each hemisphere of the brain has specific functions (left = speech, right = spatial awareness)
contralateral
the opposite side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body
connectionism
knowledge is represented through simple interconnected units
sensation
awareness of sensory information
perception
interpreting that sensation
psychophysics
how perceptual differs from physical
sensory threshold
minimal energy needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
supraliminal
detected more than half the time
subliminal
detected less than half the time
just noticeable difference (JND)
how much do two stimuli differ to be noticed
3 Calculations for JND
webers fraction law, fechners law, stevens power law
webers fraction law
uses weight to determine a difference
symbolic distance effect
response time depends on how symbolically different they are (have to think about it more)
semantic congruity effect
response time is faster when the stimuli match our common knowledge
saccades
eye movement; moving from one fixation point to another (can’t take in information)
fixations
focusing on one point (taking in information)
change blindness
miss the change because it happened during a saccade
iconic memory
short term sensory memory; see the image 250-500ms after it disappears
dynamic icons
icon images that move
template theory
pattern stored in the memory to compare incoming stimuli
feature theory
visual elements that appear in combination with other elements
feature detection
identifying objects by their distinct features
pandemonium
the parallel processing to identify a stimulus (feature detection, parallel processing and problem solving)
beta movement
illusion of motion; images moving so fast it creates one motion
phi phenomenon
the illusion that something is moving when it’s not
