PSY 108 Midterm 1 Flashcards
zeitgeist
ideas prevalent in a period & place
mental set
perspectives and/or assumptions that define how people view a problem
Bruner Potter paradigm
once you get a mental set, it will impact how you view things and prevent you from seeing the true image
insight problems
problems that require overcoming some sort of mental set in order to solve
structuralism
the mind and its perceptions can be understood by analyzing those perceptions and their constituent components (parts of the brain)
structuralism method
introspection - looking within
proponent of structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Problems of structuralism
Introspection - different people get different results, introspection can be wrong
reducing mind to structure can overlook dynamic processes
functionalism
the mind is best understood by examining the processes of mind rather than its contents
functional value of psychological processes
functionalism method
introspection, observations, experiment
Proponent of functionalism
William James - coined the term “stream of consciousness”
problem with functionalism
heavy reliance on introspection
Behaviorism
learning - behavior is learned
connectionistic
learning happens when 2 events occur at the same time
reductionistic
complex behavior can be explained by understanding the associations on which it is based
environmental
all aspects of behavior are learned
Ebbinghaus
proponent of behaviorism
findings:
- serial position curve: tendency to remember first and last items of a sequence best
- over-learning results in slower forgetting
problems with pavlovian and operant conditioning
not all associations are equally learnable
rats learn associations with light/noise & shock and taste & stomach ache
language cannot be learned with just stimulus-response associations
channel capacity
upper limit for memory (7 +/- 2 items)
chunking
group input events and apply a new name; remember the name rather than the input
top down processes
how understanding influences what we perceive
bottom up processes
how perception influences what we understand
controlled lab experiments
pros: enables isolation of causal factors
cons: little external validity
Psychobiological research
pros: “hard” evidence of cognitive functions relating to brain activity
cons: expensive, risk of making inferences about normal functions based on abnormal brain functioning
self reports
pros: participants POV
cons: inability to report on processes occurring outside conscious awareness, data gathering may influence cognitive processes being reported
case studies
pros: detailed info about an individual
cons: small sample
naturalistic observation
pros: high ecological validity
cons: lack experimental control
computer simulations & AI
pros: clear testing of theories and predictions
cons: brains do not operate the same way as computers
Gestalt Psychology
developed theories of perception based on the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts
- things groups together are seen as associated with each other (proximity, similarity, symmetry)
- figure-ground segregation: edges are assigned to regions for purpose of shape discrimination
word superiority effect
individuals identify letters better if they are in the context of a word rather than arbitrary letters
change blindness
failure to detect a change in an object or scene
in-attentional blindness
failure to notice when unexpected object suddenly appears
monocular depth cues
provide depth cues even with one eye closed
linear perspective
parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance
aerial perspective
distant objects seem more hazy
texture gradient
distant objects appear smaller
interposition
overlapped objects appears further away
shadows & shading
with known light source, shading and shadows inform which object is closer (to light source)
familiar size
if we know how large an object is, we can infer it is farther away if it is smaller than usual
motion parallax
closer target appears to move more quickly and in reverse direction to the observers movement
Ames room
see someone as smaller standing on opposite side of the room
Mueller-Lyer illusion
lines of same shape look different if their arrows are pointed inward vs outward
color constancy
assume object remains constant in different lights and compensate for a shadow when in reality the shades are the same
shape constancy
regardless of change to objects orientation, the shape of the object perceived is the same
Dichotic listening paradigm (missed vs maintained)
one message presented in one ear, different message presented in other ear. goal is to focus on information coming in from just one ear
missed:
- same message but presented at different times
- changed language
maintained:
- physical characteristics (tone change)
Broadbent’s Filter theory
early selective filter allows people to attend to one channel based on physical characteristics
problem with broadbent’s filter theory
cocktail party phenomenon -> people notice their name in unattended channel
Treisman’s filter amplitude theory
filter turns down the “volume” in unattended channel
Deutsch & Deutsch Late selection theory
all incoming stimuli are processed but quickly forgotten in unattended channel
perceptual load theory
everyone has limited attentional capacity
non-consciousness
information that is below the surface of awareness
- mind wandering while reading book
experiential conscious
on-going experience
- what one is mind wandering about (topic)
meta-consciousness
explicit awareness of contents we experience
- recognition that one has been mind wandering
subliminal perception
the effects of stimuli that are presented below the threshold of awareness
unconscious priming
presenting two related words will result in faster recognition of the second word
experiential consciousness
the current contents of experience: can we control the contents of consciousness
white bear effect
