Psych + Soc Flashcards
What is Weber’s Law?
It describes the linear relationship b/w stimulus intensity and noticing the difference b/w it
JND: smallest difference b/w intensity that can be detected 50% of the time
Absolute Threshold: minimum intensity of stimulus to detect it 50% of the time
What is associated with the vestibular system?
Balance and spatial orientation, operates in the inner ear
What is signal detection theory?
How we make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, discerning important stimuli vs. noise
Also includes consideration of individual’s psychological state
Bottom-up vs. top-down processing?
Bottom-up: stimulus/sensory info influences perception
Top-down: background knowledge/context influences perception
What are the Gestalt principles?
Similarity: similar items (by characteristics) are grouped together
Proximity: close together items are grouped together
Continuity:
Closure: gaps between lines are closed, object is seen as a whole
What is the structure of the eye?
Conjunctiva: outmermost layer that light hits first
Cornea: transparent sheet of tissue
Pupil: mini-hole
Lens: bends light onto the retina
Vitreous: jelly substance that maintains pressure
Retina: photoreceptors (made up of fovea/cones and macula)
Sclera: white of the eye, muscle attachment
Choroid: blood vessels
Optic disc: blind spot
What is the mechanism of vision?
Light enters the eye through the pupil then is bent onto the retina by the lens, photoreceptor cells in the retina sends a neural impulse to the brain
What are the photoreceptor cells? Fields of vision?
Rods: responsible for low-light vision
Cones: responsible for color vision (trichromatic theory)
Central field: high in cones so high color and detail acuity
Peripheral field: high in rods so low light and motion detection
What side is vision processed in the brain from the eye?
Left visual field corresponds to right side of the brain and vice versa
What is parallel processing?
Refers to the simultaneous processing of color and motion so we see it all at once
What is the mechanism of sound?
1) sound hits the pinna (outer ear) and enters the auditory canal
2) then hits the tympanic membrane (eardrum) which vibrates the malleus, incus, and stapes
3) which then interacts with fluid and cochlea that propagates signal to brain
What is deafness characterized by?
A problem in the conduction of sound waves to the cochlea then brain
Solved by a cochlear implant that has a microphone and a transmitter to a receiver that stimulates the cochlea
What are the types of somatosensation? And receptors?
Temperature (thermoception), thermoreceptor (hot, cold)
Pressure (mechanoception), mechanoreceptor (sound waves, touch)
Pain (noiception)
Position (proprioception)/balance
Photoreceptor and chemoreceptor
How are smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory) signals sent to the brain?
The nose contains bundles of nerves that a molecule binds to a specific receptor on that sends a signal
The tongue contains bundles of specific receptors that when bound sends a signal
What are the sleep stages? How long? What are they controlled by? Measurable?
N1 –> N2 –> N3 –> N2 –> REM (dreaming)
In 90 minute cycles
N2 sleep spindles
Controlled by circadian rhythms associated with melatonin (pineal gland)
Sleep debt can be paid back
Measures include cortisol, melatonin, and core body temp
What are some examples of depressants? Opiates? Stimulants? Hallucinogens? How does the brain function with continued use?
Depressants: suppress neural activity (GABA is inhibitory)
- alcohol
- barbituates (lower anxiety and make you sleepy)
- benzos (lower anxiety and make you sleepy)
Opiates: act on endorphin receptors to simulate euphoria
- heroine
- morphine
Stimulants: intensify neural activity (Glutamate is excitatory)
- caffeine
- nicotine
- cocaine
- amphetamines
Hallucinogens
- ecstacy
- LSD
- weed
Brain starts to anticipate drug use and compensates to try to maintain homeostasis
What are the routes of drug use?
Oral -- Slower Inhalation -- Faster IV -- FAST (more addictive) IM Transdermal -- SLOW
What is the reward pathway in the brain?
VTA in the midbrain (dopamineee)
With the amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens
Tolerance vs. withdrawal? Dependence?
Tolerance: continued use leads to getting used to it so need more to achieve same effect
Withdrawal: a period of not having drug leads to experience opposite/negative symptoms
Combine those with neurochemical changes = dependence
What are the treatment methods for substance abuse?
CBT: focuses on recognizing a problem then developing more positive behaviors and coping strategies
Motivational interviewing: trying to create intrinsic motivation change
Group meetings: AA, NA
What makes it harder to multi-task?
Similar tasks, complex tasks,
What is sensory memory?
Iconic (visual) or echoic (auditory) that only lasts seconds
What is working memory? How many things can be stored?
Visuospatial sketchpad (reading a map), phonological loop (reading/listening), episodic buffer (timeline), and central executive (attention, task switching)
7 +/- 2 pieces of information
Subject to serial position effects (primacy and recency)
What is long-term memory?
Explicit (declarative): facts/events (episodic) or semantic (language)
Implicit (non-declarative): procedural memory (negative priming is associated)
Unlimited storage