Test 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Physiology
A
-How is the physical world sensed and mentally represented (When things come in at sensory, and how does brain understand it?)
- Physiology provided the link between mental philosophy and science of psychology
- Intense study of human sensory systems and nervous system
- In other words, how does information get in, and once in, how does the brain interpret/understand it
- Provided origins of experimental psychology
- Connections to other areas of psychology (e.g., clinical, counseling, rehabilitation, neuropsychology)
2
Q
Bell-Magendie Law
A
-Charles Bell and Francois Magendie
- Demonstrated that sensory nerves enter the dorsal roots of the spinal cord and motor nerves emerge from ventral roots
- Important Idea: these guys first to note that sense nerves input one way and motor nerves output another way
- 2-system scenario
- Spinal cord like elevator
-Separated nerve physiology into sensory and motor functions
- Importance:
- Specific mental functions are mediated by different anatomical structures
- Sensory nerves carry impulses from sense receptors to the brain
- Motor nerves carry impulses from the brain to muscles and glands
- Suggested separate sensory and motor regions in the brain
3
Q
Johannes Muller
A
- Concept of Adequate Stimulation
- Each nerve responds in its own way regardless of the stimulation which activated it
- Each sensory system is maximally sensitive to a specific type of stimulation, but may be stimulated by other forms of energy
- The eye can be stimulated by external optical stimuli as well as by internal stimuli (e.g., organic malfunction, lingering, mental images) (ex: ears designed to pick up sound waves, but people have tinnitus – professor has constant ringing in her ear that isn’t coming from outside, but from internal stimuli)
- These nerves designed to pick up particular stimuli (ex: occipital nerves pick up light waves)
- Importance
- Central nervous system, not the physical stimulus, determines our sensations
- ”Our knowledge of the outside world is limited to the types of sense receptors we possess”
4
Q
Hermann Von Helmholtz
A
- Rate of nerve condition
- Attempted to measure this despite Muller’s claim that it was instantaneous
- Found considerable variations in speed both across subjects and within subjects
- His measurements were also determined later to be a bit slow, but it contribution to science is significant
- Theory of Perception (in general)
- Experience converts a sensation into a perception
- Ex: Individuals blind from birth need to learn to perceive
- Perception: sensation that has meaning attached to it
-Applied this to visual and auditory experiences
5
Q
Young-Helmholtz Theory of Color
A
- Aka: trichromatic theory
- Advancement of Thomas Young’s earlier theory
- Three types of color receptors (cones) on the retina
- Correspond to the primary colors
- Blue: short wavelength/S-cones
- Green: medium wavelengths/M-cones
- Red: long wavelengths/L-cones
- The firing of these receptors in various combinations resulted in subjective color experiences corresponding to various wavelengths of light
- Wavelengths are absorbed by opsins (light sensitive chemicals) most sensitive to them. Absorbed wavelengths equal the color we see.
6
Q
Helmholtz and Auditory Perception
A
- Resonance (vibration) Place Theory of Auditory Perception
- Pitch is determined by vibrations in specific parts on the basilar membrane of the cochlea
- Parts of the cochlea are activated by different frequencies
- Cochlea compared to harp in book
7
Q
Ewald Hering
A
- Suggested that receptors in the eye provide information regarding depth
- Space perception was an innate characteristic of the eye (still debated today)
- Critic of the Trichromatic Theory
- There are some color combinations we can’t see
- We can see greenish-blue, but not the reddish-green or yellow-ish blue
Ewald Hering: Opponent-Process Theory of Color Vision
- If you see one color on onepoint of the retina, you can’t see the other at the same time
- Either/or; ex: can’t be hungry and full at same time
- Cone photoreceptors are linked together to form three opposing color pairs
- Red and green
- Blue and yellow
- Black and white
- One color being stimulated, other half of the pair won’t be seen
8
Q
Christine Ladd-Franklin
A
- Evolutionary theory of vision
- Some species do not have color vision
-Motion detection most primitive form of vision
- Order of evolution of color vision
- Achromatic vision
- Rods represent earliest stage of vision development
- Blue-yellow sensitivity
- Cones develop for blue and yellow
- Red-green sensitivity (first to go/last to develop)
- Cones develop for red and green
- Achromatic vision
- Studied individuals who could see yellow and blue, but not red and green
- Law of Progressions and Pathologies: The last system to evolve is the first to show effects of degeneration
9
Q
Phrenology
A
Interpretation:
- Magnitude of one’s faculties (in the mind) could be determined by examining the bumps and depressions on one’s skull
- Bumps are skills you do not possess
Influence in Education:
- Educational experience could strengthen certain faculties (formal discipline)
- While not related to phrenology, this concept is important today
Developed by Franz Gall
- Most known for phrenology
- Other contributions to psychology include:
- Relationship between cortical development and mental functioning
- Distinguished between gray matter and white matter
-Popularized by Johann Spurzheim
10
Q
Fall of Phrenology
A
- Pierre Flourens
- Used ablation methods
- Investigated localization of brain functions
- Findings contradicted phrenology
- Went into the brain itself
- Observed that in some cases the function that was lost to an ablation was later regained
- Connection to rehabilitation
11
Q
Carl Wernicke and Paul Broca
A
- Wernicke:
- Language comprehension
- Speech comprehension
- Receptive language
- Phineas Gage case study: changes in personality
- Input
- Broca:
- Language production
- Speed articulation
- Expressive language
- Someone who has damage to these areas will develop aphasia
- Output
-*Both connected with arcuate fasciculus
12
Q
Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig
A
-Electrophysiology: electrical stimulation of neurons
- Discovered:
- Brain is sensitive to electrical stimulation
- Brain is organized in a contralateral fashion (found out brain works contralaterally
13
Q
Gustav Fechner and Ernst Weber
A
- Two-Point Threshold (Tactile Sense)
- Smallest distance between two points of stimulation that would be reported as two points (ex: put two pins close together → probably see it as one pin. Question is : How far do they have to be for you to see that it’s two pins?
- Differs across the body because of different density of nerves
- Just Noticeable Difference (All Senses)
- The sensation that results if a change in stimulus intensity exceeds the difference threshold
- Absolute threshold: the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected
- Difference threshold: the amount that stimulation needs to change before a difference in that stimulation can be detected
- Weber’s Law
- JND corresponds to a constant proportion of a standard stimulus
- Easier to detect a change in a low stimulus vs. a loud stimulus (ex: can tell volume difference between 1 and 5, but maybe not between 10 and 15
- Describes the systematic relationship between physical stimulation and a psychological experience
- JND corresponds to a constant proportion of a standard stimulus
-Example using your car stereo
14
Q
Wilhelm Wundt
A
- Published Principles of Physiological Psychology in 1874
- Goal is to establish psychology as a science
- Founded first lab in 1879
- Focus on the study of psychology
- Often identified as “the world’s first true psychologist” and the “founder of psychology”
- Wundt’s goal: Psychology’s goal was to understand both simple (basic processes of the mind) and complex (higher mental processes) conscious phenomena
15
Q
The Study of Mental Processes
A
- Wundt
- Need to use naturalistic observation
- All science is based on experience, but psychology is different from other sciences
- Textbook breakdown:
- Immediate Experiences
- Experiencing data directly without a mediating device (no device)
- Psychology → events in human consciousness as they occur- Mediate Experiences
- Experience of the data is “mediated” by recording devices and thusly not experienced directly (device used; ex: telescope)
- Physics and other sciences
- Mediate Experiences
16
Q
Experimental Introspection
A
-Wundt
- Use introspection to extract the immediate experiences
- Introspection for Wundt is not reflection as other philosophers describe
- It is a rigidly controlled experimental procedure
- Subjects are trained to report observations of mental events presently in consciousness rather than report a memory or interpretation (present people with stimulus and their response was recorded, typically simple like “yes/no”)
- Used a laboratory instruments to present stimuli
- Used to study immediate experience but not the higher mental processes (no introspection or looking into it; just look at immediate response)
- Using it as a data collection tool; not just sitting back and using introspection
17
Q
Elements of Thought/Consciousness - Sensation and Feeling vs. Tridimensional Theory of Feeling
A
-Wundt
Sensation and Feeling:
- Sensation: stimulation of a sense apparatus
- Modality (e.g., visual, auditory)
- Intensity (e.g., loud, bright)
- Feeling: emotion accompanying a sensation
Tridimensional Theory of Feeling:
- Feelings are combinations of three attributes
1. Pleasantness-unpleasantness
2. Excitement-calm
3. Strain-relaxation
18
Q
Higher Level Processes
A
-Wundt
- Perception:
- combination of sensation and feelings
- includes the stimulation present, the physical makeup of the person (how well our sensory perception works), and the person’s past experiences
- compromise the person’s perceptual field
- passive and automatic
- Apperception:
- active and voluntary
- focusing attention on the perception
- what is attended to is what is perceived
- ties in attention; what we choose to attend to
- Creative Synthesis:
- can shift attention to arrange and rearrange elements of thought (flexibility of thought)
- arrangements not experienced before can be produced
- Mental Chronometry (reaction time/processing speed)
- abandoned measuring it because of too much variability (e.g., across sensory modalities, across people)
19
Q
Current Use of the Term “Apperception”
A
- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
- Children’s Apperception Test (CAT)
- Senior Apperception Test (SAT)
- *Think of pretty lady with creepy lady behind her – all see the same thing, but have different story to tell; different perceptions
20
Q
Psychological vs. Physical Causation
A
-Physical events can be predicted on the basis of antecedent conditions
- Psychological events cannot be predicted on the basis of antecedent conditions
- Creative synthesis get in the way as do…
21
Q
Principle of Heterogeneity of Ends
A
- Goal directed activity often causes experiences that modify the original motivational pattern
- Other events can interfere with original motivation toward a goal (too many factors; hard to predict because other factors get in the way
- Example: Donna enrolls in law school with the intent of helping people. Donna finds law school very competitive, an atmosphere in which she excels. Upon graduating, Donna’s avidly practices law in order to expand her practice and outshine her colleagues.
22
Q
Principle of Contrasts
A
- Experiences of one type intensify opposite types of experiences
- Example: The mental experience of the sweet taste of candy is intensified after consuming something sour such as lemonade
23
Q
Principles Toward the Development of Opposites
A
- Prolonged exposure to one experience creates a desire for the opposite type of experience
- Example: After a weekend of attending one party after another, Janet spends a few days alone in her apartment
24
Q
Volkerpsychologie
A
- ”Folk” or “cultural” psychology
- Emphasis on language
- Verbal communication
- Begins with a general impression (unified idea)
- Speaker apperceives the impression and chooses words and sentences to express the idea (can’t say word-for-word but remember meaning)
- Listener must apperceive the speakers impression by listening to the words and sentences
- Important conclusion:
- Actual words are forgotten
- Speakers meaning is what’s remembered
- Factors into his additional interest in social interactions
25
Q
Important Researchers in Learning and Memory
A
- Hermann Ebbinghaus
- G. E. Muller
26
Q
Ebbinghaus
A
- First to study these as they occur through self-experimentation (he tested himself)
- Demonstrated that these could be studied experimentally
- Method:
- Developed nonsense syllables to use as stimuli
- Free from prior learning
- Subject learns (memorizes) the series of nonsense syllables by looking at them sequentially until mastery (used nonsense syllables, so prior learning wasn’t an issue)
- After various time intervals, subjects relearned the same list
- Measured savings:
- Difference in number of exposures to relearn the list in comparison to initial learning trials
- Plotting savings over time = retention curve (aka forgetting curve)
- Developed nonsense syllables to use as stimuli
-*Memory and learning go hand-in-hand
27
Q
Many Roles of Working Memory
A
- Holding an idea in mind while developing, elaborating, clarifying, or using it (ex: writing an elaborate paper)
- Recalling from long-term memory while holding some information in short-term memory
- Holding together in memory the components of a task while completing that task
- Keeping together a series of new pieces of information so that they remain meaningful
- Holding a long-term plan while thinking about a short-range need
- Ebbinghaus
- *”Working memory” preferred term over “short term memory”
28
Q
Ebbinghaus: Important Conclusions
A
- More rapid forgetting during the first hours following learning; slower thereafter
- Overlearning (continuing to study past mastery) decreased the rate of forgetting (repetition helps strengthen memory)
- Distributed practice was more effective than massed practice
- In other words, cramming for an exam doesn’t work
- ”Too much, too fast – it won’t last” (Richards, 2003)
29
Q
Life Without Working Memory
A
- Anterograde Amnesia - can’t learn anything new; working memory is not working (worst type of amnesia)
- Retrograde Amnesia - can’t remember past
- The case of Clive Wearing
30
Q
Muller: Important Findings
A
- Subjects spontaneously organize materials to be remembered into meaningful patterns
- Chunking as a memory strategy
- First to document retroactive inhibition (or retroactive interference):
- Current terms:
- Retroactive interference
- New learning interferes with recall of older learning
- Newly learned information interferes with the recall of previously learned information
- Ex: took 3 years of Spanish, and now want to learn French. And you now have trouble remembering Spanish
- Proactive Interference:
- Old learning interferes with recall of new learning
- Past memories inhibit the ability to retain new memories
- Ex: have difficulty recalling French because keep thinking about Spanish
- Retroactive interference
31
Q
Ebbinghaus and Muller: Current Application
A
-Both Ebbinghaus and Muller’s findings have proven valid over the years and are still cited today
- Example concepts:
- Sense memory
- Working memory
- Long-term memory
- Consolidation and Long-term potentiation
- Consolidation: process by which memories are moved from working to long-term storage
- Long-term potentiation: neuronal act of consolidating involving repeated firing of the neurons
- ”Neurons that fire together, survive together, and wire together” (Siegel, 2000)- Forgetting
- Memory/storage decay
- Retrieval failure (ex: tip-of-the-tongue phenomena)
- Interference
- Forgetting
32
Q
Memory Strategies
A
- Repetition/Rehearsal (Ebbinghaus)
- Organize material into meaningful chunks (Muller)
- Make the material meaningful (Muller)
- Use visual images
- Use mnemonic devices (ex: ROYGBIV)
- Use context cues and emotion
- Humor facilitates learning
