SAFMEDS Flashcards
A procedure by which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after it is paired with a stimulus that automatically elicits that response.
Classic Conditioning
The process of teaching a new behavior by reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response.
Shaping
The process by which our behaviors transfer to new situations or stimuli that we did not directly learn about.
Generalisation
Specialized cells in the nervous system that support the integrity of neurons.
Glia
A factor that varies systematically between experimental conditions, but is not the variable of interest.
Confound
An experimental design where each participant only takes part in a single experimental condition.
Between-Subjects Design
Chemicals secreted by neurons allowing information to be transmitted between cells.
Neurotransmitter
Brain structures located in the lower side portion of the cortex that are important in audtion (hearing) and language.
Temporal Lobes
An extension of the spinal cord, essential to life, controlling vital physiological functions such as heartbeat, circulation, and respiration.
Medulla
A branch of the autonomic nervous system, typically activated in response to threats to the organisms, which readies the body for ‘fight-or-flight’ reactions.
Sympathetic Nervous System
The ability to remember facts and experiences for longer than a minute.
Long-Term Memory
A technique for studying electrical activity occurring in the brain that involves placing electrodes on the scalp.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A set of principles that describe how sensory inputs are organized into meaningful patterns.
Gestalt Laws
Visual features of the environment that are used to make inferences about depth.
Monocular Cues
The organization of changing sensory inputs into percepts that are relatively stable in size, shape, and color.
Perceptual Constancy
The conscious “work-space” used for processing, retrieving, and manipulating infromation.
Working Memory
Better memory for information that is presented at the beginning and end of a sequence.
Serial-Positon Effects
A network of brain structures that is active when we are engaged in our own thoughts and reflections.
Default Mode Network
The tendency to seek out information that confirms one’s preconceptions.
Confirmation Bias
Those mental processes we engage when deciding how to act in a complex or novel situation where there might be significant immediate rewards or punishments.
Hot Cognitive Control