PS102 Midterm Flashcards
1
Q
What is psychology?
A
The study of mental processes and behaviours.
2
Q
Define mental processes.
A
Activities of our brain when engaged in thinking, observing the environment, and using language.
3
Q
What is behaviour?
A
Observable activities of an organism, often in response to environmental cues.
4
Q
What is culture?
A
A set of shared beliefs and practices that are transmitted across generations.
5
Q
What does ‘the brain’ refer to in psychology?
A
How brain structure and brain activity differ from person to person and situation to situation.
6
Q
How does ‘the person’ influence behaviour?
A
The content of the individual’s mental process forms and influences behaviour.
7
Q
What is the role of ‘the group’ in shaping behaviour?
A
Behaviour is shaped by the social and cultural environments.
8
Q
Define philosophy in the context of psychology.
A
The study of knowledge, reality, and the nature and meaning of life.
9
Q
What is empiricism?
A
The view that all knowledge originates in experience.
10
Q
What is consciousness?
A
Personal awareness of ongoing mental processes, behaviours, and environmental events.
11
Q
What does voluntarism propose?
A
That will is regarded as the ultimate agency in human behaviour.
12
Q
Define structuralism.
A
A philosophical approach that studies the structure of conscious experience.
13
Q
What is introspection?
A
A method of psychological study involving careful evaluation of mental processes.
14
Q
What does functionalism consider?
A
How mental processes function to adapt to changing environments.
15
Q
What is Gestalt psychology?
A
The field arguing that we have inborn tendencies to structure our perceptions into broad perceptual units.
16
Q
Define the unconscious.
A
A hypothesized repository of thoughts, feelings, and sensations outside human awareness.
17
Q
What is psychoanalytic theory?
A
A psychological theory that human mental processes are influenced by the competition between unconscious forces.
18
Q
What does behaviourism argue?
A
That psychology should study only directly observable behaviours.
19
Q
What are stimuli?
A
Elements of the environment that trigger changes in our internal or external states.
20
Q
Define response in psychology.
A
The way we react to stimuli.
21
Q
What is reinforcement?
A
A learning process that increases the likelihood a given response will be repeated.
22
Q
What is punishment?
A
An experience that produces a decrease in a particular behaviour.
23
Q
What is humanistic psychology?
A
A theory that sought to give greater prominence to special and unique features of human functioning.
24
Q
What is client-centred therapy?
A
An approach to therapy based on the notion that the client is an equal and positive gains are made by mirroring clients’ thoughts and feelings.
25
Define cognitive psychology.
The field studying mental processes as forms of information processing.
26
What is information processing?
The means by which information is stored and operates internally.
27
Define cultural psychology.
The study of how cultural practices shape psychological and behavioural tendencies.
28
What is cross-cultural psychology?
The study of what is generally or universally true about human beings regardless of culture.
29
Define neuroscience.
The study of psychological functions by looking at biological foundations.
30
What is behavioural genetics?
A subfield looking at the influence of genes on human behaviour.
31
Define sociobiologists.
Theorists who believe humans have a genetically innate concept of how social behaviour should be organized.
32
What is evolutionary psychology?
A field believing that the body and brain are products of evolution.
33
What does cultural universality refer to?
Behaviours and practices that occur across all cultures.
34
What is academic psychology?
A branch focusing on research and instruction in various areas of psychology.
35
Define applied psychology.
The branch applying psychological principles to practical problems.
36
What is clinical/counselling psychology?
The study of abnormal psychological behaviour and interventions designed to change that behaviour.
37
What is psychotherapy?
Helping people modify thoughts, feelings, and behaviours causing them distress.
38
List the three branches of psychology.
* Academic psychology
* Applied psychology
* Clinical/counselling psychology
39
What are psychology's shared values?
* Theory driven
* Empirical
* Multilevel
* Contextual
40
Define collectivist culture.
A culture whose members focus more on the needs of the group.
41
What is individualistic culture?
A culture that places the wants of the person over the needs of the group.
42
Define cognitive neuroscience.
The study of mental processes and how they relate to biological functions of the brain.
43
What is social neuroscience?
The study of social functioning and how it is tied to brain activity.
44
What is positive psychotherapy?
Focuses on increasing positive emotions and sense of engagement.
45
What are the two main beliefs of sciences?
* Universe operates according to natural laws
* Such laws are discoverable and testable
46
Define deductive reasoning.
Reasoning proceeding from broad basic principles applied to specific situations.
47
What are biases?
Distorted beliefs based on a person’s subjective sense of reality.
48
Define inductive reasoning.
Reasoning process proceeding from small specific situations to more general truths.
49
What does empirical mean?
Able to be tested in objective ways.
50
What are theories?
Ideas about laws that govern phenomena.
51
Define hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
Process where scientists begin with an educated guess and design observations to support or invalidate it.
52
What is a hypothesis?
A general statement about the way variables relate that is objectively falsifiable.
53
What is pseudopsychology/pop psychology?
Not based on the scientific method, yet takes on the appearance of science.
54
Define variable in an experiment.
Condition, event, or situation that is studied.
55
What is an independent variable?
Condition thought to be a factor in changing another condition.
56
Define dependent variable.
Condition expected to change as a result of variations in the independent variable.
57
What does it mean to operationalize a variable?
To develop a working definition of a variable for testing.
58
What is a sample in research?
The group of people studied in an experiment.
59
What is random selection?
Identifying a sample so that everyone has an equal chance of being involved.
60
Define descriptive research methods.
Studies demonstrating a relationship between variables without specifying a causal relationship.
61
What is a case study?
Study focusing on a single person.
62
What is researcher bias?
Occurs when researchers see only what they expect to see.
63
What is naturalistic observation?
Study where researchers directly observe people behaving as they normally do.
64
What is the Hawthorne effect?
When people change behaviour simply because they are being observed.
65
Define survey in research.
Study where researchers give participants a questionnaire or interview them.
66
What is an experiment?
Controlled observation where researchers manipulate the independent variable.
67
What is an experimental group?
Group exposed to the independent variable.
68
What is a control group?
Group that has not been exposed to the independent variable.
69
What does random assignment mean?
Assigning individuals to groups using a random process.
70
Define double-blind procedure.
Study in which neither participant nor researcher knows the treatment received.
71
What is correlation?
Predictable relationship between two or more variables.
72
Define correlation coefficient.
Statistic expressing the strength and nature of a relationship between two variables.
73
What is a positive correlation?
Relationship where scores on two variables increase together.
74
What is a negative correlation?
Relationship where scores on one variable increase as scores on another decrease.
75
Define perfect correlation.
One in which two variables are exactly related.
76
What is the mean?
Arithmetic average of a set of scores.
77
Define standard deviation.
Statistical index of how much scores vary within a group.
78
What does statistically significant mean?
Results likely to be genuine and non-random.
79
What are t-tests used for?
To compare means and analyze variance for two groups.
80
What is effect size?
Describes the strength of the relationship between two variables.
81
Define replication in research.
Repeated testing of a hypothesis to ensure results are not due to chance.
82
What is a research ethics board (REB)?
Group that evaluates research to protect participants' rights.
83
What does informed consent involve?
Giving participants information about the study to make an informed decision.
84
What is debriefing?
Supplying full information to participants at the end of a study.
85
What is developmental psychology?
The study of changes in behaviour and mental processes over time.
86
Define cross-sectional design.
Research approach that compares groups of different-aged people.
87
What is longitudinal design?
Research approach that follows the same people over time.
88
What is cohort-sequential design?
Blended research design looking at different age groups over time.
89
Define maturation.
The unfolding of development in a particular sequence.
90
What does epigenetic refer to?
Changes in gene expression independent of the DNA sequence.
91
What is a stage in development?
A distinct developmental phase with qualitatively different behaviours.
92
What are critical periods?
Points in development when an organism is sensitive to environmental input.
93
Define prenatal period.
The period of development from conception to birth.
94
What are genes?
Basic building blocks of biological inheritance.
95
Define deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Molecules in which genetic information is enclosed.
96
What are chromosomes?
Strands of DNA; humans have 46 chromosomes.
97
Define genotype.
A person’s genetic inheritance.
98
What is phenotype?
The observable manifestation of genetic inheritance.
99
Define allele.
Variation of a gene.
100
What does homozygous mean?
Having both parents contribute the same genetic material.
101
What does heterozygous mean?
Having parents contribute two different alleles.
102
Define dominant trait.
A trait expressed in a phenotype regardless of genotype.
103
What is a recessive trait?
A trait only expressed if homozygous.
104
What is codominance?
When both traits are expressed in a heterozygous combination.
105
Define discrete trait.
A trait resulting from a single gene pairing.
106
What is a polygenic trait?
A trait resulting from multiple genes.
107
What is a zygote?
A single cell resulting from fertilization.
108
Define placenta.
A nutrient-rich structure feeding the developing fetus.
109
What is a miscarriage?
Discharge of the fetus before it can function on its own.
110
What are teratogens?
Environmental agents causing damage during gestation.
111
What is the proximodistal pattern?
Growth and development proceed from the centre to extremities.
112
Define cephalocaudal pattern.
Growth and development proceed from top to bottom.
113
What are synapses?
Transmission points between neurons.
114
What is synaptic pruning?
Developmental reduction of neuronal connections.
115
Define myelination.
Development of fatty deposits on neurons for efficient impulse transmission.
116
What are reflexes?
Programmed physical reactions to cues that do not require conscious thought.
117
What is rooting in infants?
Touching the corner of an infant's cheek causes them to turn and suck.
118
Define grasping reflex.
Pressing a finger against an infant's palm causes them to grip.
119
What is the Moro reflex?
Startling an infant causes them to fling arms outward and inward.
120
What is the Babinski reflex?
Stroking the sole of an infant's foot causes toes to spread apart.
121
Define motor skills.
The ability to control bodily movements.
122
What is cognitive development?
Changes in thinking over time.
123
List the four stages of cognitive development according to Piaget.
* Sensorimotor
* Preoperational
* Concrete operational
* Formal operational
124
What occurs in the sensorimotor stage?
Infants use senses and motor skills, developing object permanence.
125
What characterizes the preoperational stage?
Ability to hold representations but inability to consider others' viewpoints.
126
Define concrete operational stage.
Children can think logically about concrete objects and understand conservation.
127
What occurs in the formal operational stage?
Adolescents can think abstractly and hypothetically.
128
What is a scheme according to Piaget?
Mental structures for understanding the world.
129
Define assimilation.
Inclusion of new information into pre-existing schemes.
130
What is accommodation?
Alteration of pre-existing frameworks to take in new information.
131
What is equilibrium in cognitive development?
Balance in a mental framework.
132
Define object permanence.
Realization that objects continue to exist outside of immediate sensory awareness.
133
What are representations in cognitive development?
Ability to understand symbols and think about objects as mental entities.
134
What is egocentrism?
Children's inability to take another person's perspective.
135
Define conservation.
Understanding that certain properties remain the same despite changes in appearance.
136
What are operations in Piaget's theory?
Ability to hold and mentally manipulate an idea.
137
What is information-processing theory?
Focuses on how children learn, remember, organize, and use information.
138
What is violation-of-expectation?
Experimental approach capitalizing on infants' reactions to unexpected events.
139
Define habituation.
Process of paying less attention to a stimulus after repeated exposure.
140
What is theory of mind?
Awareness of one's own and others' mental states.
141
Define scaffolding in development.
Adjustments made by adults to support children's learning.
142
What is processing theory?
A developmental theory focusing on how children learn, remember, organize, and use information from their environment.
143
What is the violation-of-expectation approach?
An experimental approach capitalizing on infants’ and toddlers’ heightened reactions to an unexpected event.
144
Define habituation.
The process of habituating, in which individuals pay less attention to a stimulus after it is presented to them over and over again.
145
What is theory of mind?
An awareness of one’s own mental states and the mental states of others.
146
What is scaffolding in developmental psychology?
Developmental adjustments that adults make to give children the help that they need, but not so much that they fail to move forward.
147
Define zone of proximal development.
The gap between what a child could accomplish alone and what the child can accomplish with help from others.
148
What is temperament?
A biologically-based tendency to respond to certain situations in similar ways throughout a person’s lifetime.
149
List the four kinds of temperament identified by Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas.
* Easy
* Difficult
* Slow to warm up
* Unique
150
What are the two key aspects of temperament found by Jerome Kagan?
* Temperament is inborn
* Temperament is stable across situations and time
151
Define attachment.
A significant emotional connection to another person, such as a baby to a primary caregiver.
152
What are the eight strange situations in Mary Ainsworth's experiment?
* Experimenter introduces parent and infant to playroom and leaves
* Parent sits while baby plays
* Stranger enters, sits, talks to parent
* Parent leaves
* Parent returns and greets baby, stranger leaves
* Parent leaves
* Stranger enters and offers comfort
* Parent returns, comforts, engages baby with toys
153
What characterizes secure attachment?
Infant explores when caregiver is present, is upset when they leave, and seeks comfort upon their return.
154
What percentage of infants fall into the secure attachment category?
60%
155
Define anxious/avoidant attachment.
The infant is unresponsive with the mother and indifferent when she leaves and returns.
156
What percentage of infants exhibit anxious/avoidant attachment?
15%
157
What is anxious/ambivalent/resistant attachment?
The infant reacts strongly when the mother leaves the room and shows mixed emotions upon her return.
158
What percentage of infants display disorganized/disoriented attachment?
15%
159
What is the internal working model?
Formed from early attachment experiences, it helps create a model of the world, themselves, and others.
160
What is the Q-sort approach?
Observers of parent–child interactions place descriptions of various attachment behaviours into nine piles for a fluid estimate of attachment patterns.
161
Define operationalizing in research.
Defining in a measurable way.
162
What are individualistic cultures?
Cultures where people are expected to be self-reliant and self-achieving.
163
What are collectivist cultures?
Cultures that expect people to focus primarily on the needs of the group.
164
What characterizes authoritative parenting?
Sensitive to child's needs, nurturing, and encourages autonomy, creating high self-esteem, cooperativeness, and self-control.
165
Define authoritarian parenting.
Cold, rejecting, makes coercive demands, and critical of the child, leading to low self-esteem, anxiety, and aggressiveness.
166
What is permissive parenting?
Accepting but overindulgent and inattentive, causing impulsiveness, disobedience, and low initiative.
167
Describe uninvolved parenting.
Emotionally detached and depressed, with little time/energy for child-rearing, causing anxiety and poor communication skills.
168
What is reciprocal socialization?
The transactional relationship between parent and child.
169
Define puberty.
Development of full sexual maturity during adolescence.
170
What are primary sex characteristics?
Changes in body structure related to the reproductive system during puberty.
171
What are secondary sex characteristics?
Changes during puberty that differ according to gender but aren’t directly related to sex.
172
What is the personal fable in adolescence?
The belief that adolescents are unique and invincible.
173
Define adolescent egocentrism.
The mistaken belief that everyone is focusing largely on them and their behavior.
174
What is the imaginary audience phenomenon?
Adolescents feel that everyone is scrutinizing them, leading to strong feelings of inhibition and self-consciousness.
175
What is Kohlberg's preconventional stage of moral development?
Morality centers on what you can get away with.
176
What characterizes Kohlberg's conventional stage?
Morality centers on avoiding others' disapproval and obeying society's rules.
177
What is the postconventional stage of moral development according to Kohlberg?
Morality is determined by abstract ethical principles.
178
What is Erikson’s first stage of psychosocial development?
Trust versus mistrust (birth–age 1).
179
What occurs in Erikson’s second stage, autonomy versus shame and doubt?
Children exercise their new motor and mental skills; encouraging caregivers promote autonomy.
180
What is the focus of Erikson’s third stage, initiative versus guilt?
Children enjoy initiating activities; supportive caregivers promote feelings of power and self-confidence.
181
What happens in Erikson’s fourth stage, industry versus inferiority?
Children learn productive skills and develop the capacity to work with others; failure leads to feelings of inferiority.
182
What is Erikson’s fifth stage, identity versus role confusion?
Adolescents seek to develop a satisfying identity and a sense of their role in society.
183
What is the focus of Erikson’s sixth stage, intimacy versus isolation?
Young adults work to establish intimate relationships; failure leads to isolation.
184
Define Erikson’s seventh stage, generativity versus self-absorption.
Middle-aged adults seek ways to influence the welfare of the next generation; failure leads to self-absorption.
185
What characterizes Erikson’s eighth stage, integrity versus despair?
Older people reflect on their lives; lack of accomplishment leads to fear of death.
186
What is menopause?
A series of changes in hormonal function during women’s 50s, ending the menstrual cycle and reproductive capabilities.
187
Define dementia.
Severe memory problems combined with losses in at least one other cognitive function.
188
What is the cellular clock theory?
The theory suggesting that we age because our cells have built-in limits on their ability to reproduce.
189
What does the wear-and-tear theory propose?
We age because the use of our body wears it out.
190
What is the free-radical theory of aging?
Aging occurs due to the prevalence of negatively-charged oxygen molecules destabilizing cellular structures.
191
What is young adulthood characterized by according to Erikson?
Conflict between intimacy and isolation.
192
Define middle adulthood according to Erikson.
Conflict between generativity and stagnation.
193
What conflict characterizes old age in Erikson's theory?
Integrity versus despair.
194
What does early adulthood bring according to Daniel Levinson?
High energy, abundance, contradiction, and stress.
195
What is the early adult transition?
A period of extreme stress bridging adolescence and early adulthood.
196
Define middle adulthood.
Biological functioning is still sufficient for a satisfying life, but stress and tension are experienced.
197
What occurs during the middle life transition?
Bridges early and middle adulthood, involving extreme stress but greater self-acceptance.
198
What is chronological age?
The number of years a person has lived since birth.
199
Define functional age.
Reflects an individual's capacity to adapt behavior to changing environments.
200
What is sensation?
The act of using our sensory systems to detect environmental stimuli.
201
Define perception.
The conscious recognition and identification of a sensory stimulus.
202
What does olfactory refer to?
Smell, odorants/airborne chemicals.
203
What is somatosensory?
Touch, heat, pain; pressure or damage to the skin.
204
Define gustatory.
Taste, chemicals typically in food.
205
What does auditory refer to?
Hearing, sound waves.
206
What is visual?
Sight, light/photons.
207
What are sensory receptor cells?
Specialized cells that convert a specific form of environmental stimuli into neural impulses.
208
Define sensory transduction.
The process of converting a specific form of environmental stimuli into neural impulses.
209
What is a threshold in sensory processing?
The point at which the magnitude or intensity of a stimulus initiates a neural impulse.
210
What is absolute threshold?
The minimal stimulus necessary for detection by an individual 50 percent of the time.
211
Define difference threshold/just noticeable difference.
The minimal difference between two stimuli necessary for detection of a difference.
212
What is signal detection theory?
The theory that response to a signal depends on an individual’s ability to differentiate between the signal and noise, and their response criteria.
213
Define sensory adaptation.
The process whereby repeated stimulation of a sensory cell leads to a reduced response.
214
What is olfactory adaptation?
When a change in sensitivity to a particular odor reaches a point where it cannot be distinguished after prolonged exposure.
215
What is bottom-up processing?
Perception that proceeds by transducing environmental stimuli into neural impulses moving into more complex brain regions.
216
Define top-down processing.
Perception processes led by cognitive processes, such as memory or expectations.
217
What is a perceptual set?
Readiness to interpret a certain stimulus in a certain way.
218
What are odorants?
Airborne chemicals detected as odors.
219
Define olfactory receptor neurons.
Sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals from odorants into neural impulses.
220
What are papillae?
Bumps on the tongue that contain clumps of taste buds.
221
What are taste buds?
Clusters of sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals from food into neural impulses.
222
What is the olfactory bulb?
The first region where olfactory information reaches the brain.
223
Define ageusia.
Inability to taste.
224
What is hyposmia?
Reduced ability to detect odors.
225
Define anosmia.
Inability to detect odors.
226
What is reflex epilepsy?
Experiencing a seizure only after exposure to a specific odor.
227
What are auras?
Hallucinations involving the sensory systems before or during migraine headaches or epileptic seizures.
228
What are free nerve endings?
Located near the surface of the skin, they detect touch, pressure, pain, and temperature.
229
What are Meissner’s corpuscles?
Transduce information about sensitive touch, found in hairless regions of the body.
230
Define Merkel’s discs.
Transduce information about light to moderate pressure on the skin.
231
What are Ruffini’s end-organs?
Located deep in the skin, they register heavy pressure and movement of the joints.
232
What are Pacinian corpuscles?
Buried deep in the skin, they respond to vibrations and heavy pressure.
233
What does contralaterally mean in sensory processing?
The brain processes tactile information on the opposite side from where the touch occurred.
234
What is the fast pathway in pain processing?
Uses myelinated axons to carry signals faster than unmyelinated axons about sharp, localized pain.
235
Define gate control theory of pain.
Theory suggesting certain patterns of neural activity can close a 'gate' to prevent pain information from reaching perception.
236
What are endorphins/enkephalins?
Chemicals in the nervous system that reduce pain.
237
What are endogenous opiates?
Naturally present opiates in the nervous system released after intense physical exercise, stress, and sexual experiences.
238
Define familial dysautonomia.
Associated with an inability to detect pain or temperature, and inability to produce tears.
239
What are neuropathies?
Nerve dysfunctions that block pain sensations from extremities.
240
What are sound waves?
Vibrations of the air in the frequency of hearing.
241
What are the two major qualities that produce our perceptions of different sounds?
* Frequency
* Amplitude
242
Define frequency in sound.
The number of cycles the wave completes in a certain amount of time, measured in Hertz.
243
What is amplitude in sound?
The strength of a given cycle, responsible for loudness.
244
What is the tympanic membrane?
The eardrum that sound waves enter and deflect.
245
What are the ossicles?
Tiny bones in the ear called the malleus, incus, and stapes.
246
What is the oval window?
A membrane separating the ossicles and the inner ear.
247
What is the cochlea?
A fluid-filled structure in the inner ear containing hair cells.
248
Define the basilar membrane.
Structure in the cochlea where the hair cells are located.
249
What are hair cells?
Sensory receptors that convert sound waves into neural impulses.
250
What is a tonotopic map?
Representation in the auditory cortex of different sound frequencies.
251
What are auditory association areas?
Involved in higher order mental processes, linking sounds with language comprehension.
252
Define frequency theory.
Different sound frequencies are converted into different rates of action potentials in auditory nerves.
253
What is place theory?
Differences in sound frequency activate different regions on the basilar membrane.
254
What is absolute pitch?
The ability to recognize or produce any note on a musical scale.
255
What is the cocktail party effect?
The ability to attend to relevant sounds in a noisy environment.
256
What does general loudness indicate?
Loud sounds are usually closer than quiet sounds.
257
How does timing help with sound localization?
Sound waves reach the ear closer to the source first, creating a phase difference.
258
What is conduction deafness?
An occlusion or break in the processes by which sound is transmitted through the inner ear.
259
What is nerve deafness?
Results from damage or malformations of the auditory nerve in the brain.
260
What is deafness?
Loss or lack of hearing.
261
What is the retina?
A specialized sheet of nerve cells in the back of the eye containing sensory receptors for vision.
262
Define transduction in vision.
Converting stimulus energy into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain.
263
What are photoreceptors?
Sensory receptor cells for vision, located in the retina.
264
What are rods?
Photoreceptors most responsive to levels of light and dark.
265
What are cones?
Photoreceptors responsive to colors.
266
What is the optic nerve?
The bundle of axons of ganglion cells carrying visual information from the eye.
267
Define retina.
A specialized sheet of nerve cells in the back of the eye containing the sensory receptors for vision.
268
What is transduction in the context of vision?
A process that involves converting stimulus energy into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain.
269
What are photoreceptors?
The sensory receptor cells for vision, located in the retina.
270
What are cones?
Photoreceptors responsive to colours.
271
What is the optic nerve?
The bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries visual information from the eye to the brain.
272
What is the blind spot or optic disc?
The location where the optic nerve leaves the retina, completely lacking in rods and cones.
273
Define fovea.
Centre of the retina, containing only cones, where vision is most clear.
274
What is hue?
The experience of colour based on the wavelength of light that the visual stimulus emits or reflects.
275
What is saturation in terms of colour?
The purity of a colour; how bright or vivid the colour appears.
276
Define brightness.
How much light emanates or is reflected from the visual stimulus (light intensity).
277
What is the Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory?
The theory that there are three different receptors for colour, each type responding to a different range of wavelengths of light.
278
What does the opponent process theory suggest?
Colour pairs work to inhibit one another in the perception of colour.
279
True or False: Colour blindness is typically inherited.
True
280
What is monochromatic vision?
Seeing only black, white, and grey; cannot see colour.
281
What is visual agnosia?
Inability to recognize objects visually due to damage to parts of the temporal cortex.
282
Define prosopagnosia.
A specific kind of visual agnosia where individuals cannot recognize faces.
283
What is hemi-neglect?
Damage to the where pathways causing individuals to completely ignore one side of their visual field.
284
What is figure-ground perception?
Identifying whether something in the visual field is the main object (figure) or background.
285
What does proximity refer to in visual perception?
Visual stimuli near one another tend to be grouped together.
286
Define continuity in visual perception.
Stimuli falling along the same plane tend to be grouped together.
287
What is closure in terms of perception?
The tendency to fill in small gaps in objects so that they are perceived as whole objects.
288
What does similarity mean in visual perception?
Stimuli resembling one another tend to be grouped together.
289
What are binocular cues?
Visual cues that require both eyes.
290
What are monocular cues?
Visual clues about depth and distance that can be perceived using information from only one eye.
291
What is interposition?
When one object blocks part of another from our view, we see the blocked object as farther away.
292
What does relative height refer to in visual perception?
We see objects that are higher in our visual plane as farther away than those that are lower.
293
Define texture gradient.
We see more details of textured surfaces when the object is closer to us.
294
What is linear perspective?
Parallel lines seem to get closer together as they recede, creating the illusion of depth or distance.
295
What does light and shadow indicate in visual perception?
Bright objects are perceived as closer, while dark or shaded objects appear farther away.
296
What is clarity or aerial perspective?
Closer objects are seen with more clarity than objects that are farther away.
297
What is familiar size in visual perception?
Assuming that objects we have learned the sizes of remain the same size.
298
What does relative size indicate?
When two objects are known to be about the same size, the smaller one is perceived as farther away.
299
What is motion parallax?
Relative movement of objects that are stationary against their background gives us an idea about their relative distance.
300
Define retinal disparity.
The slight difference in images processed by the retinas of each eye.
301
What is convergence?
Inward movement of the eyes to view objects close to oneself.
302
What are perceptual constancies?
The tendency to view objects as unchanging despite shifts in environmental stimuli.
303
What is strabismus?
Misalignment of eyes, can result in visual loss.
304
What is amblyopia?
Partial or complete loss of vision due to abnormal development of the brain’s visual cortex in infancy.
305
What is the kinesthetic sense?
Receptors in cell muscles respond to changes in movement, telling us whether we are still or moving.
306
What is the vestibular sense?
Detection of movement of fluid in inner ears, providing information about body position.
307
Define memory.
The faculty for recalling past events and past learning.
308
What is encoding in memory?
Involves the recording of information in our brain.
309
Define storage in memory.
Involves retention of information for later use.
310
What is retrieval in the context of memory?
Involves recovery of information when needed later.
311
What is the information-processing model?
A view of memory suggesting that information moves among three memory stores during encoding, storage, and retrieval.
312
Define sensory memory.
Holds the image of something we see for a brief second, allowing us to decide whether to pay further attention.
313
What is iconic memory?
Visual sensory memory, a small copy of the visual event we have just encountered.
314
What is echoic memory?
An auditory system that holds information for a short time.
315
Define short term memory.
Holds 5-9 elements of information for a brief period.
316
What is working memory?
Composed of processes responsible for processing different kinds of information an individual is consciously working on.
317
What is the central executive in memory?
Supervisory system that monitors and coordinates the entire working memory system.
318
What is the phonological loop?
Processes spoken and written information.
319
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
Keeps track of images and spatial locations needed for navigation.
320
Define episodic buffer.
Links together information from different parts of working memory and creates links to time and order.
321
What is long term memory?
A system that can retain an unlimited number of pieces of information for an indefinite period.
322
What is the parallel distributed-processing (PDP) model?
Theory suggesting that information is represented in the brain as a pattern of activation across neural networks.
323
Define automatic processing.
Encoding of information with little conscious awareness or effort.
324
What is effortful processing?
Encoding of information through careful attention and conscious effort.
325
What is rehearsal in memory?
Conscious repetition of information to ensure it is encoded.
326
What is the spaced practice effect?
Facilitated encoding of material through rehearsal spread out over time.
327
What is phonological code?
Repeating the sounds of the numbers again and again.
328
What is visual code?
Holding an image of how the digits would look if written down.
329
What are eidetic memories?
Detailed and near-permanent memories of an emotionally significant event.
330
What is a semantic code?
Cognitive representation of information based on its meaning.
331
What are mnemonic devices?
Techniques used to enhance the meaningfulness of information.
332
Define schemas.
Knowledge bases developed based on prior exposure to similar experiences.
333
What is memory span?
Maximum number of items that can be recalled in the correct order.
334
What is chunking?
Grouping bits of information together to enhance recall.
335
What is explicit memory?
Memory that a person can consciously bring to mind.
336
Define semantic memory.
A person’s memory of general knowledge of the world.
337
What is episodic memory?
A person’s memory of personal events or episodes from life.
338
What is implicit memory?
Memory that a person is not consciously aware of.
339
What does the Levels of Processing model suggest?
We process information to shallow or deeper depths rather than passing it through distinct types of memory.
340
What is the primacy effect?
Better recall of the first items in a list than those in the middle or end.
341
What is the recency effect?
Better recall of items at the end of a list due to them being still in working memory.
342
What are retrieval failures?
Encoding errors or storage loss that hinder memory recall.
343
What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?
Feeling that the memory we need is close but not accessible.
344
What are retrieval cues?
Words, sights, or stimuli that remind us of information needed to retrieve from memory.
345
What is priming in memory retrieval?
Activation of one piece of information leading to the retrieval of a specific memory.
346
What are recognition tasks?
Memory tasks where people identify whether they have seen a particular item before.
347
What are recall tasks?
Memory tasks where people produce information with few or no retrieval cues.
348
What is context in memory?
The original location where you first learned a concept, rich with retrieval cues.
349
What is the encoding specificity principle?
Memory retrieval is more efficient when information available at retrieval is similar to that available at encoding.
350
What is state-dependent memory?
Memory retrieval facilitated by being in the same state of mind during encoding.
351
What is the modulation hypothesis?
Long-lasting emotional effects on memory due to activation of the amygdala.
352
Define flashbulb memories.
Detailed and near-permanent memories of emotionally significant events.
353
What is forgetting?
The inability to recall information that was previously encoded into memory.
354
What is the forgetting curve?
Pattern of rapid memory loss followed by stable retention of remaining information.
355
What is decay theory?
Theory suggesting that memories fade over time due to neglect.
356
What is interference theory?
Theory that forgetting is influenced by what happens before or after taking in information.
357
What is proactive interference?
Competing information learned before the forgotten material hinders recall.
358
What is retroactive interference?
Learning of new information that disrupts access to previously recalled information.
359
What is repression?
Unconsciously preventing traumatic events from entering awareness.
360
What are source misattributions?
Remembering information without recalling the source, which can lead to false memories.
361
What is the effect of exposure to misinformation?
Inaccurate information can distort recall or lead to the creation of new memories.
362
What is the impact of imagination on memory?
Imagination can lead to recalling events that never took place.
363
What is the prefrontal cortex?
Brain structure implicated in working memory.
364
What is memory consolidation?
The process by which memories stabilize in the brain.
365
What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?
A phenomenon where repeated stimulation increases the likelihood of strong responses from certain nerve cells.
366
What is infantile amnesia?
Inability to remember events from early years of life.
367
What is prospective memory?
Ability to remember to perform actions in the future.
368
What is retrospective memory?
Ability to remember content from the past.
369
What are organic memory disorders?
Memory impairments with identifiable physical causes.
370
What are amnestic disorders?
Organic disorders where memory loss is the primary symptom.
371
What is retrograde amnesia?
Inability to remember things that occurred before an event.
372
What is anterograde amnesia?
Ongoing inability to form new memories after an amnesia-inducing event.
373
What are dissociative disorders?
Disruptions in memory without a clear physical cause.
374
What is dementia?
Severe memory problems combined with losses in other cognitive functions.
375
What is Alzheimer's disease?
The most common form of dementia, beginning with mild memory problems and progressing to severe cognitive decline.
376
What are neurofibrillary tangles?
Twisted protein fibers found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.
377
What are senile plaques?
Deposits of beta-amyloid protein that form in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.
