Psych test 2 (LEC) Flashcards
Psychophysics
- Sensation is the simulation of sense organs
- Perception is the section
- organization and interpretation of sensory input
Threshold
- Sensory receptors
- Auditory receptors
- Sensory systems
Sensory receptors
(Threshold)
tuned to a particular form of energy
Auditory receptors
(Threshold)
in the ear code for sound pressure changes, not for light
Sensory systems
(Threshold)
require a minimum amount of energy for activation (absolute threshold)
Visual System
Eye detects electromagnetic radiation (light)
vision is functional
(visual system)
- Allows for detection of movement (predator-prey)
- Allows for detection of colour (ripe spoiled)
Light detection is useful bc?
(visual system)
- Light travels rapidly (no delay, unlike hearing)
- Light travels in straight like (no distortion)
- Light interacts with surfaces of objects in the environment (is reflected or absorbed)
Transduction of Light
- Light travels through retina to impinge on photoreceptors at the back of the eye
- Light bleaches a pigment contained in the photoreceptor
Bleaching
(transduction of light)
- leads to a graded receptor potential
- eventually produces and action potential in the ganglion cell
Types of Photoreceptors
(transduction of light)
- Cones: found in centre of retina (fovea), are sensitive to fine detail and colour
- Rods: found in periphery of retina, are sensitive to movement but not fine detail
Perception of Colour
colour is a psychological perception
3 Dimensions of Colour
(perception of colour)
- Blue is the apparent colour of an object (blue)
- Brightness is the intensity of a colour
- Saturation is the purity of a colour
3 Different Types of Cones Found in the Eye
(perception of colour)
Each is sensitive to different wavelengths of light
- S-cones: blue
- M-cones: green
- L-cones: red
Colour Vision Theories
- Young-Helmholtz
- Hearing: Opponent-Process Theory
Young-Helmholtz
(colour vision theories)
- Colour is explained by differential activation of 3 colours elements in the eye
- Could not account for negative colour afterimages
Hearing: Opponent-Process Theory
(colour vision theory)
Colours are derived from the activity of 3 antagonistic systems
- Black-white
- Red-green
- Blue-yellow
Sound
Sound waves are vibrations of molecules travelling through air
- Amplitude - decibles
- Wavelength - frequency (cps or hertz)
- Purity - timbre
External ear
(The Auditory System)
- pinna
- eardrum
Middle ear
(The Auditory System)
- ossicles (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Inner ear
(the auditory system)
cochlea
Basilar membrane
(the auditory system)
hair cells
Taste: the Gustatory System
- Taste buds
- Perception of flavour
Primary taste
(Taste: the Gustatory System)
sweet
sour
bitter
salty
Papillae
(Taste: the Gustatory System)
circumvallate
foliate
fungiform
Smell: Olfactory System
- Smell: chemical substance dissolved in mucus
- Olfactory cilia
- Olfactory nerves
- Olfactory bulb
Skin Sense
Receptors are localized within the skin to detect physical stimuli In the outside world
3 classes of skin receptors
- Touch: physical contact of objects within the skin
- Temperature of objects
- Pain: the destruction of skin tissue
Pain
- Course of information releases to tissue destruction
(Force, heat, chemical) - Pain is adaptive to a degree (motivates behaviours to terminate source of the pain)
Pain is influenced by
(pain)
Cultural beliefs
Emotional status
Exogenous drugs (opiates)
Internal transmitters (endorphins)
Cortex and consciousness
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is activated during conscious control tasks
- Colour naming task was associated with activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Stroop task)
- Transidential meditation is the best form of meditation to strengthen prefrontal cortex
Attention
Consciousness awareness is limited in capacity and er are aware of only a small amount of the stimuli around is at any one time
3 functions of attentional process
(attention)
- Orienting function toward the environment
- Control of the content of consciousness
- Maintaining alertness
Subliminal Perception
Notion that brief exposure to sub-threshold stimuli can influence awareness
Unconscious Cognitive Process
- Information-processing view can be extended to analyses of unconscious process
- Notion is that many brain mechanisms operate in parallel
(Some operate outside of the level of consciousness) - Functional significance of unconscious mechanism
- Are efficient and rapid
- Can operate simultaneously
Neurology of Consciousness
- Consciousness is the distributed through the brain
- Damage to the reticular formation can lead to coma
Hindbrain and Midbrain
(Neurology of Consciousness )
important for arousal and for sleep
Prefrontal Cortex
(Neurology of Consciousness)
key for consciousness control of informatics processing
Function of Sleep
- Memory consolidation
- Energy conservation
- Preservation from predators
- Restoring bodily functions
Sleep Deprivation
(Function of Sleep)
- Can alter immune function and let to early death
- Can also lead to hallucinations and perceptual disorder
REM Sleep
- Presence if rapid eye movements
- Resend if dreaming
- Increased autonomic nervous system activity
- EEG resembles that of awake state (beta wave)
- Motor paralysis (except for diaphragm)
Psychoanalytic View
(Dreaming)
- dreams represent a window into the unconscious
- The latent content (meaning) can be inferred from the manifest content (the actual dream)
Cognitive View
(Dreaming)
dream are constructed from the daily issue of the dreamer
Biological View
(Dreaming)
dreams represent the attempt of the cortex to interpret the random neural firing of the brain during sleep
Evolutionary View
(Dreaming)
on-line threat simulation and behavioural rehearsal system
Lucid Dreaming
- Dream journaling - note dream signs
- Reality testing
(Right brain phenomenon) - Relation techniques
- Pure-sleep suggestions
- Sleep in a different place or position
Altered states of consciousness
Mediation
- Focused breathing
- Psychological responses
- Cognitive responses
- Attentional focus
- Quiet the mind (self-talk)
- Alpha waves (EEG)
Hypnosis
Drug ingestion
Religious experience
Learning
Refers to an enduring change in the way an organism responds based on its experience
Distinct Form
(Learning)
- Drug effects (caffeine-induced jitters are not learning)
- Fatigue or illness
Three Assumptions of Learning Theories
(learning)
- Responses assumptions of learning theories
- Learning Is adaptive
- Our experiments can uncover the laws of learning
- These laws will apply to animals and humans
Classical Conditioning
- Russian psychologist Pavlov noted that reflexive salivation in dogs could be elicited by stimuli associated with feeding
- Reflexive stimulus and response are unconditioned
- Neutral stimulus is referred to as the condition stimulus (CS)
- CS is paired with the UCS over many trials
- Eventually comes to elicit and conditioned response (CR; resembles the UCR)
- Humans have the capacity
Reflex
(classical conditioning)
Response that is reliably elicited by a stimulus
- Food reflects salivation
- Air puff elicits eye blink
Give me an example on how you have been classically conditioned in your life
(Classical Conditioning)
test question
- ANXIETY OVER NEEDLES
- Getting a flu shot (US) hurts and makes a child cry (UR). The child associates the needle (CS) with getting hurt and cries at the sight of the needle (CR)
- GETTING A’S
- A child who gets all A’s on his report card is praised and rewarded by his parents (US), making him feel good(UR). Exams (CS) are associated with pride and confidence (CR) instead of anxiety and fear for him
Acquisition of Classical Conditioning
Repeated pairings of CS and UCS
Extinction of classical Conditioning
refers to the weakening of conditioning evident when the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS
- Spontaneous recovery: refers to the reemergence of a previously extinguished CR
Stimulus Generalization
Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
Stimulus Discrimination
occurs when an organism has learned in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
- Ring the bell, dogs salivate; phone rings, dogs don’t salivate; they discriminate specific noises
Classical Conditioning Issues
Temporal order of presentation of CS and UCS is important
- Best conditioning: CS precedes UCS (forward)
- Worst conditioning: UCS precede CS (backward)
Conditional Taste Aversion
If a flavour is followed by an illness experience, animals will avoid the flavour in the future
- Fod poisoning
Reinforcement
(Positive Renforcement)
environmental stimulus that occurs after the response and increase the likelihood that response will occur in the future
Positive Reinforcement
process where presentation of a stimulus after a response makes the response more likely to occur in the future
Negative Reinforcement
- termination of an aversive event makes a behaviour more likely to occur in the future
- involves a situation in which a response that terminates an aversive stimulus will strengthen that response
(Taking an aspirin pill trove the headache and strengthen behaviour of aspirin taking)
(Avoidance learning: a response prevents a potentially aversive event from occurring)
Punishment
Punishment decreases the likelihood that a response will occur
Presentation of an Aversive Stimulus (Positive)
(Punishment)
- Parents spanks child for taking candy
- Owner swats a dig who chewed her slippers
Removal of a Reward (negative)
(Punishment)
- Teenager who stays out past curfew is not allowed to drive the family car for two weeks
- Husband forgets anniversary sleeps on couch for week
Difficulties in Punishment
- Learner may not understand which operant behaviour is being punished
- Leaner may come to fear the teacher thatcher than learn an association between the action and punishment
- Punishment may not undo existing rewards for a behaviour
- Punitive aggression may lead to future aggression
Scheduled Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcer is obtained for every response
Intermittent Schedules
(Scheduled Reinforcement)
reinforcer is not obtained for every response
Ratio schedules
(Scheduled Reinforcement)
- Fixed ratio: every nth response
- Variable ratio: the average is every nth response
Interval Schedules
(Scheduled Reinforcement)
- Fixed interval: after the elapse of N minutes
- Variable interval: one average after N minutes
Observational Learning
(Scheduled Reinforcement)
- Social learning theory (Bandura)
- Social and cultural aspects to cognitive learning
- Modelling
- Vicarious learning
- Acquisition vs. performance
