Set 6 - Psych-Socio Quizlet Export Flashcards
Divided Attention
Splits perceptual resources between multiple stimuli or behaviors.
Bottom-Up Processing
Processing that involves the construction of perceptions from individual pieces of information provided by sensory processing.
Top-Down Processing
Processing that brings the influence of prior knowledge into play to make perception more efficient.
Gestalt Principles
Principles that describe the top-down processing that organizes sensory information into distinct forms (nearness, similarity, common region, closure, continuity, figure & ground).
Visual Processing
The interpretation of otherwise raw sensory data to produce visual perception.
Parallel Processing
The use of multiple pathways to convey information about the same stimulus.
Feature Detection
A process by which specialized nerve cells in the brain respond to specific features of a visual stimulus, such as lines, edges, angle, or movement.
Circadian Rhythm
Regulates the body’s functions on a predictable schedule.
Sleep Stage #1
Light sleep, includes alpha waves.
Sleep Stage #2
Associated with bursts of brain wave activity that indicate a full transition into sleep.
Sleep Stage #3
Delta waves are first seen, reflecting the transition into deep sleep.
Sleep Stage #4
Deepest sleep, almost entirely delta waves.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
Characteristic eye movements, period of high brain activity that occurs during Stage 1 sleep. Dreaming occurs.
Non-REM (NREM) Sleep
The largest proportion of sleep, brain activity is much lower.
Sleep Disorders
Some aspect of sleep is abnormal, leading to negative health consequences.
Hypnosis
A state of relaxation, focused attention, and increased willingness to relinquish control over one’s own actions.
Meditation
An intentional, self-produced state of consciousness induced by relaxing and systematically shifting attention away from day-to-day concerns.
Conciousness Altering Drugs
Drugs that affect nervous system function and psychological characteristics, such as perception, attention, and emotion.
Stimulants
Drugs that raise the level of activity in the CNS. Increase the amount of monoamine neurotransmitters.
Depressants
Drugs that cause a decrease of activity in the CNS.
Hallucinogens
Drugs that alter sensory and perceptual experience.
Reward Pathway
A particular pathway within the limbic system that is associated with both feelings of reward in day-to-day life and the feelings of pleasure that lead to cravings and addiction.
Encoding
Where memory is transformed into the type of representation that is used by that particular form of memory storage.
Sensory Memory
Temporary storage for incoming sensory stimuli.
Working Memory
A system for temporarily storing and managing the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension.
Long-Term Memory
Information held here is maintained outside of conscious awareness and can be called back into working memory when needed.
Neural Plasticity
The ability of the brain’s networks of neurons and their synapses to change.
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A persistent increase in synaptic strength following high-frequency stimulation of a chemical synapse.
Retrieval
Information stored in long-term memory can return to working memory through this process.
Semantic Networks
Organize information in networks of meaningfully related memories.
Spreading Activation
One item triggers an activation of related memories.
Recall
The retrieval of a memory “from scratch” (fill in the blank questions).
Recognition
The correct identification of information that is presented (multiple-choice test).
Retrieval Cues
Environmental stimuli or pieces of information that are associated in some way with the memory being sought.
Decay
The fading of a memory.
Primacy Effect
Recall is strongest for items at the beginning of a list.
Recency Effect
Recall is strongest for items at the end of a list.
Interference
Similar information prevents the retrieval of a memory.
Retroactive Interference
Newly learned material prevents successful retrieval of older memories.
Proactive Interference
Previously held knowledge prevents successful retrieval of more newly learned information.
Memory Construction
Memories are updated with new information and experiences.
Source Monitoring
Occurs when a person attributes a memory to a particular source, correctly or not.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Associated with aging, has a characteristic pattern of neurodegeneration.
Korsakoff’s Syndrome
Neurodegeneration caused by a nutritional deficiency (typically vitamin B1), often due to severe alcoholism.
Parkinson’s Disease
A neurodegenerative disease in which associated brain damage is restricted to a specific area (substantia nigra in the midbrain), leading to the impairment of motor abilities.
