U2 (AP) Barron's book Flashcards
1
Q
absolute threshold
A
the minimum stimulus energy needed to pick up a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
2
Q
psychophysics
A
the study of the physical characteristics of a stimuli and our psychological experiences of them.
3
Q
placebo effect
+positive/negative?
A
when you believe that a stimuli/ substance is going to change your health or behavior and it actually changes them, even though the substance/ stimuli didn’t physically have an effect on you. It is mostly positive.
4
Q
A
5
Q
just- noticeable difference
+ more intense the stimuli is….
A
smallest amount of change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus. (more intense it is, more change it will need to realize the change)
6
Q
weber’s law
+ example with hearing
A
to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage. this constant varies by senses.
ex: hearing: c = 5.
(100 dB - 104 dB = same
100dB - 105 dB = different)
7
Q
signal detection theory
A
theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background simulation (noise). assumes there is no single absolute threshold + that detection depends on a person’s experiences, expectations, motivation and alertness (these are named response criteria).
false positive + false negative.
8
Q
response criteria
A
in signal detection theory, the factors that influence a person’s detection of stimuli. (motivation, distraction, experience and expectations)
9
Q
false positive
A
in signal detection theory, when we think we perceive a stimulus that is not there. (ex: a surgeon thinking that a patient has a tumor when they do not.)
10
Q
false negative
A
in signal detection theory, when we don’t detect a stimulus
(ex: a surgeon not detecting an existing tumor.)
11
Q
subliminal
A
stimuli below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
(no evidence that complex “subliminal” messages influence our behavior)
12
Q
top-down processing
advantages?
example?
A
when we use our background knowledge to perceive and interpret stimuli.
- takes faster to do but is less accurate.
ex: filling in the gaps of
“H_ve a Gre_t D_y”
13
Q
schemata/ schema
ex: are cats good pets?
how is this related?
A
mental representation of how we expect the world to be.
( are cats good pets?
yes = come from a culture where cats are valued).
14
Q
perceptual set
A
predisposition to perceive a stimulus a certain way.
ex: seeing images in clouds
15
Q
bottom up processing
advantages?
example?
A
perception that begins with the sensory information from the physical characteristics of a stimulus. (lines, curves, color)
- takes longer to do but is more accurate
- ex: stubbing your toe (sensory info travels to the brain that sends pain signals)
16
Q
figure-ground relationship
+ example?
A
organization of the visual field into objects: one becomes figure (stands out) and one becomes ground (background). depending on the perception the figure and ground objects can change.
ex: face/vase picture
17
Q
gestalt psychology
A
we normally perceive images as meaningful groups and not individual pieces. “organized whole”
18
Q
proximity
A
gestalt principle: objects that are closer together will more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group.
19
Q
similarity
A
objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group.
20
Q
continuity
A
objects that are arranged in a continuous line or curve are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group.
21
Q
closure
A
objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group even if the image needs gaps to be filled in.
- uses top-down processing.
22
Q
perceptual constancy
A
maintaining a constant perception even though there are changes in environment and physical factors (light, distance, angle)
23
Q
size constancy:
A
we know that familiar items maintain a constant size even if they look smaller from far away.
24
Q
shape constancy
A
we know that familiar items maintain a constant shape even though they look like a different shape from different angles.
25
brightness constancy
we know that familiar items maintain a constant color even though brightness can change (at night)
26
stroboscopic effect
when a series of images are presented at a certain speed appear to be moving.
27
phi phenomenon
+example
when a series of lights turning on and off give the impression of one continuous moving light ex: (school digital boards outside)
28
autokinetic effect
if a spot of light is presented onto the same spot of a wall in an otherwise dark room, it will appear to be moving.
29
grouping
the perceptual tendency to group certain stimuli together as coherent meaningful groups.
(gestalt)
30
visual cliff
a lab equipment which is usually a glass table. It gives off the appearance that a cliff is present when it is not. used for infant depth perception experiments.
31
depth perception
+infants?
perceiving vision as 3D even though the images that strike the retina are 2D, allow us to judge distance.
infants old enough to crawl have depth perception (around 3 months old- crawling time)
32
monocular depth cues
depth cue available to either eye alone.
examples: interposition, linear perspective, texture gradient, relative size
33
binocular depth cues
depth cues requiring the use of both eyes.
ex: retinal disparity
34
convergence
based on how much the eye muscles move inward/outward, our brain perceives distance.
inward: closer, outward: farther away
35
monocular depth cues explain the following:
linear perspective
relative size
texture gradient
interposition
linear perspective: two lines that are closer to us have greater distance between them, farther away points look closer together.
relative size: objects that appear larger are closer to us, smaller = farther away
texture gradient: objects with finer detail are closer to us, less detail = farther away from us
interposition: objects that block the view of others are closer
( a car in front of a house)
36
retinal disparity
from the images perceived by each eye, the brain computes the distance. the greater disparity (difference) between each image, the closer the object is.
37
culture on perception
cultures influence perception.
ex: someone from a culture that do not use monocular depth cues might not perceive depth in an image using these cues.
38
ESP: extrasensory perception
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input, for example telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.
39
prototype
+example?
the most typical or "ideal" representation/example of a concept
ex: a depressed adolescent in an older person's mind could be a prototype if they believe that teens are depressed.
40
problem-solving
techniques we use in our lives to solve problems or issues.
"how are solutions reached?"
algorithm, heuristics, etc.
41
algorithm
a planned, long step that guarantees the correct solution. It might be impractical sometimes.
42
heuristic
a shortcut or "role of thumb" solution. much faster than an algorithm but often has error due to overgeneralization or overconfidence.
43
availability heuristic
mnemonic: available....... in mind?
judging situations based on examples from similar experiences. can cause overgeneralization because of the variability in one's experiences.
"available experiences in mind"
44
representativeness heuristic
judging a situation based on how similar the aspects of the situation are to the prototype a person has on their mind.
45
overconfidence
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs
46
belief bias
+example with John?
when we make illogical, not matching conclusions because of our beliefs.
ex: all people who volunteer are good. John is bad. John volunteers. John is still bad.
47
belief perseverance
the tendency to hold on our beliefs even though there is strong contradictory evidence.
48
gambler's fallacy
+example?
when we believe that a situation is more/less likely to happen because of how often it has occurred recently.
example: a gambler thinks they will win the game because they have been playing it for 2 hours. "It has to happen now if it hasn't happened in the past!"
49
sunk-cost fallacy
thinking you have to continue to invest energy and time on a solution/ thing even though it is not working for you or the problem you are solving.
ex: a lab technician spent so much time on a research that she does not want to give up even though the research has failed and showed that it is incompetent.
50
mental set (rigidity)
tendency to fall into established , rigid thought patterns: can inhibit us from seeing a new solution "thinking out of the box"
51
functional fixedness
+example?
hint: functional- fixing on a function?
the inability to see new uses for certain things to solve a problem.
ex: not seeing that you can use a car jack to get your car out of the mud because you think you can only use the jack to replace tires.
52
confirmation bias
+example?
when you cherry-pick evidence to prove your point while ignoring the contradicting evidence.
example: a professor who believes cramming causes failure in tests only uses the scores of his students who crammed and failed the exams to prove his point, and ignores the students that did cram and still passed the exams.
53
framing
when you present your questions in such a way that changes the attitudes of the participants.
ex: 51% of students passed an exam. Professor says "more than half of you passed this exam!"= students feel confident and motivated.
But if the same prof says "almost half of you failed the exam"= students will feel nervous and stressed.
54
creativity
ability to produce original and valuable ideas.
55
convergent thinking
"con"
+example?
thinking towards one solution for a problem
ex: math problem
56
divergent thinking
"di"
+example?
thinking towards multiple solutions for a problem
ex: adding your own colors to a paint by numbers picture.
57
three box/ multistore memory model
proposed by whom?
what is the process?
Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin. Process: sensory memory (iconic+echoic): stored very shortly (1-3 sec) --> short term/working memory stored shortly (10-15 sec or a few minutes) --> long term memory (stored relatively permanently, information retrieved by working memory)
58
sensory memory
+visual/auditory info?
+what experiment is associated with this?
holds incoming sensory information.
iconic: visual info (less than 1 sec)
echoic: auditory info (less than 3 sec)
Sperling proved the existence of this memory by doing an experiment where participants had to memorize a row from a grid of nine letters based on high medium or low tones. The participants remembered any row but could not recall the entire grid.
59
selective attention
+example
+what is similar to this?
we encode the things we attend to or are important to us.
ex: in a crowded party you only remember the things your friend told you and not what others said, because that's what you attended to.
+ also similar is the cocktail party effect
60
inattentional blindness
not noticing a stimulus in our visual field because we were not paying attention to it.
61
change blindness
failing to notice a change in our visual field because our brain is focused on/selectively attending to something else.
62
working memory
+which memories does it use?
the memory we use to think, express ideas, solve problems, etc.
uses background knowledge from long-term memory and incoming information to short-term memory/working memory.
63
working memory model
+ explain all components.
proposes that working memory consists of three main components: central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, auditory loop.
central executive manages the working memory, monitors incoming information and determines which systems to involve in the working memory process.
visuospatial sketchpad deals with visual information and visual imagination. (knowing the physical location of something, visualizing it)
auditory/phonological loop deals with words/numbers.
(repeating something in your head)
64
maintenance rehearsal
repeating something in your head
ex: confirmation code
65
elaborative rehearsal
+a type of what processing?
encoding the meaning of concepts, terms, events, etc.
type of effortful processing.
66
long term memory
+ which part of the brain is responsible for encoding info to long-term memory?
encoding information relatively permanent.
ALSO: hippocampus encodes short term information into long-term information.
67
episodic memory
+example
memories of certain events.
"episodic"
ex: when you last went to the hospital
68
semantic memory
+example
memories of general knowledge
ex: what is the freezing temp of water?
69
procedural memory
memories of skills and how you demonstrate them.
ex: a ballerina performing certain ballet movements
70
explicit memories
effortfully processed memories we can consciously declare.
ex: when you study about the working memory model and retrieve it during a psych test
71
implicit memories
memories we cannot consciously declare.
ex: riding a bike
72
prospective memory
memories of things you plan to do in the future.
ex: thinking about taking out the trash in the evening when you're at work
73
shallow processing
when you don't encode a piece of information deep enough for example through maintenance rehearsal.
ex: structural and phonemic
(likely to forget)
74
deep processing
encoding info with meaning and reasoning
- semantic processing
(likely to store in long-term memory)
75
long-term potentiation
when neurons fire together repeatedly, the connection between them strengthens as there are more receptors and neurotransmitters between them.
76
primacy effect
we are more likely to remember items at the beginning of a list.
77
recency effect
we are more likely to remember items at the end of a list.
78
serial position effect/curve
hint: which german psychologist is associated with this?
Ebbinghaus established through an experiment that through the primacy and recency effects, we are more likely to remember items at the beginning or/and end of a list. Items in the middle are most likely forgotten.
79
method of loci
an example of mnemonics where you associate information you want to remember with familiar places.
80
spacing effect
spreading out learning/study sessions makes you retain more of the information studied to long-term memory than cramming the night before(massed practice)
81
chunking
grouping information together into meaningful groups to remember them.
82
anterograde amnesia
not being able to form new memories
+could result from damage to hippocampus
83
retrograde amnesia
not being able to retrieve/remember old memories
84
retrieval
+two types with examples
+ what are some stimuli that help with retrieval?
remembering information from long-term memory.
recognition: when you match a current event/fact with the one already in memory.
ex: MCQs
recall: when you retrieve a memory with an external cue
ex: FRQs
retrieval cues are stimuli that help with retrieval.
85
tip-of-the tongue phenomenon
when you can't remember a piece of info so you retrieve relative info until you finally remember it.
ex: remembering someone's name after you recall their traits and appearance.
86
semantic network theory
+could explain which phenomenon?
states that our brain might form new memories by connecting their meaning and context with meanings already in memory.
could explain the tip of the tongue phenomenon.
87
context dependent memory
being able to recall context surrounding a certain event
also called flashbulb memories
ex: 9/11
88
mood-congruent memory
states that we are more likely to remember information when we are in the same mood as when
we encoded that information to our long term memory.
ex: when you are happy you are more likely to recall information that you encoded when you were happy.
89
state dependent memory
states that you are more likely to remember information if you are in the same state of consciousness as you were when you encoded that information.
ex: when you are drowsy
90
constructed memory
/reconstructed memory
might include false details about certain memories or entirely false memories.
91
misinformation effect
when questions are asked to sb and they include false/fake information.
This is done to mislead that person and make the construct an entirely fake or false memory.
92
relearning effect
when you forget information bc of decay (not using that info) but when you relearn it it takes you shorter time to learn it again as opposed to when you first learned it.
93
retroactive interference
when learning new information interferes with the recall of old, already encoded information.
ex: studying for a psych class at 3pm and a sociology class at 6pm and not being able to retrieve info about psych when you take the psych test the next day.
94
proactive interference
when old, already encoded information interferes with the recall of new information.
ex: when a researcher presents a list of items and you remember it. then they present the items in a new order and that original order you encoded interferes with you recalling this new order.
95
Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve
By Hermann Ebbinghaus. Demonstrates how quickly a piece of information can be forgotten overtime.
rapid decay the first few days/weeks/etc, than slows down and eventually the info is maintained as time goes by.
96
standardized (test)
the test items have been tested on a standardization sample (people similar to the test-takers) and achievement norms have been established.
97
reliability
measures how consistent the results of a measurement/test are. If they are closer together it is reliable.
98
split-half reliability
+correlation coefficient?
randomly dividing a test into 2 and making an individual take the two parts separately, then comparing the results together. The closer the correlation coefficient to +1, the greater the spilt-half reliability of a test.
99
test-retest reliability
refers to the correlation between the results of a person's test with the same person's results from the subsequent administration of the test.
100
validity
+example?
how accurate the results of a test are.
ex: if a career quiz says that you are suitable for healthcare but you are not interested, the test might not be valid.
101
predictive validity
measure of future performance
ex: does the person have the qualities which would make them a good chef?
102
construct validity
most meaningful kind of validity. if an independent valid measure exists the results of this measure could be correlated with the results of any new measure. The greater the correlation the greater the construct validity.
103
aptitude tests
+example?
measures a person's potential and abilities.
ex: IQ tests.
104
achievement test
+example?
measures a person's knowledge/experiences.
ex: school tests
105
fluid intelligence
+example?
our ability to solve abstract problems and learn new skills and information.
+ ex: ability to learn a new language
106
crystallized intelligence
using knowledge accumulated overtime.
ex: vocabulary tests.
107
fluid vs crystallized intelligence compared with age
younger people might have a greater fluid intelligence while older people might have greater crystallized intelligence as fluid int. decreases as you get older but crystallized int. holds steady or might even increase.
108
Spearman's theory of intelligence
He asserted that intelligence can be measured by a single general ability(g).
109
Gardner's theory of intelligence
there are multiple types of intelligence:
bodily-kinesthetic(athletics),
musical, intrapersonal (understanding oneself), interpersonal (understanding others), linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, naturalistic (recognizing and organizing things found in nature)
110
Sternberg's theory of intelligence
three types of intelligence:
(triarchic theory)
1.componental/analytical (ability to compare/contrast, analyze, explain)
2. experiential/creative intelligence
(ability to synthesize from knowledge and other information and create a new meaning)
3. practical intelligence
"street-smart"
111
mental age
idea that presupposes that intelligence increases as one gets older
112
stanford-binet IQ test
Created by Lewis Terman using the measures from Alfred Binet's standardized intelligence test, this test measures the IQ of a person by dividing the person's mental age by their chronological age and multiplying by 100.
limitations:
- all adults have an arbitrary age of 20
113
Wechsler intelligence tests
also measures intelligence but different from the stanford-binet tests, wechsler tests have subscales which can demonstrate weaknesses/learning disabilities in certain areas.
114
heritability
a measure of how much a trait's variation is explained by genetic factors.
can go from 0 to 1 with 0 meaning all variation results from environmental factors and 1 meaning all variation results from genetic factors.
115
Flynn effect
+ which factors can explain this?
the phenomenon that performance on intelligence tests have been increasing steadily throughout the century.
(past to present)
- since genetic factors have remained steady, this can be explained by the improvement in environment (better nutrition, easier access to healthcare & education, modern technology, etc.)
116
