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Psychology Test #2
Question | Answer |
---|---|
sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as consequence of constant stimulation |
Weber’s Law | Two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as different |
Subliminal Threshold | stimuli below one’s absolute threshold |
Absolute Threshold | minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time, can be influenced by: Vary with experiences Vary with expectations Vary across individuals |
Sensation | detect physical energy from environment and convert to neural signals |
Perception | when we select, organize, and interpret our sensations |
Bottom-up processing | Begins with sense receptors and works up to brain |
Top-down processing | Information processing guided by experience and expectations |
transduction | transformation of stimulus energy (sights, sounds, smells) into neural impulses |
Physical characteristics of light | wavelength(hue,color) intensity (brightness) |
wavelength (hue, color) | distance from one peak to the next, determines the hue •Short wavelength- high frequency •Long wavelength- low frequency |
Intensity (brightness) | energy in a wave determined by amplitude (height) •Great amplitude- bright colors, loud sounds •Small amplitude- dull colors, soft sounds |
Cornea | transparent tissue where light enters |
Cones | 6 million located in the center of eye low sensitivity in dim light color sensitive detail sensitive |
Rods | 120 million located in periphery high sensitivity in dim light not color sensitive not detail sensitive |
Iris | muscle that expands and contracts to change size of pupil |
Lens | focuses light rays on retina |
Retina | contains sensory receptors, inner surface of eye, contains rods, cones and bipolar, ganglion cells |
Fovea | central point on retina, cones cluster around central point on retina |
Accommodation | lens changes shape to focus objects on retina |
Optic Nerve | carries neural impulses from eye to brain, connect to thalamus and then connects to visual cortex, nerve cells in visual cortex respond to specific features (edges, angles, and movement) |
Blind Spot | point where optic nerve leaves eye (no receptor cells) |
Bipolar & Ganglion Cells | bipolar cells that messages from eye to brain |
Parallel processing | simultaneously processing several aspects of stimulus |
Trichromatic theory | young and von Helmholtz suggested that the eye must contain 3 receptors sensitive to red, blue and green |
Color blindness | blind to green or red |
Opponent- process theory | red vs. green, yellow vs. blue, and black vs. white |
Stimulus input | sound waves are compressing and expanding air molecules |
Frequency (pitch) | determined by wavelength of sound |
Intensity (loudness) | determined by amplitude |
habituation | decrease in response with repeated stimulation, infant novelty preferences can be discovered by assessing infants habituation |
competent newborn | born with reflexes that aid in survival: -rooting reflex helps them locate food -sight range is 8-12 inches away -cries signaling parents to provide nourishment |
infancy | newborn to toddler |
childhood | toddler to teen |
maturation _______ while experience ___________. | sets basic course of development; adjusts it |
Motor development | sitting (6 mos.) to crawling (8-9 mos.) to walking (12 mos.) to walking independently (15 mos.) |
earliest age of conscious memory | 3 and a half years |
sense of self and increased long term memory | 5 years |
schema's | concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information |
cognition | all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication; development shaped by errors Their own thinking What others are thinking What others are thinking about them How ideals can be reached |
assimilation | incorporating new experiences into our current schema |
accommodation | adjusting a schema and modifying it |
Stages of cognitive development | sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational |
sensorimotor stage | birth to 1- take in world by looking, touching, mouthing, hearing, and grasping; understand basic laws of physics |
preoperational | 2 to 6- too young to perform mental operations; egocentric; cannot perceive things form another's point of view; begins forming theory of mind; ability to understand another's mental state |
concrete operational | 6 to 12- kids grasp conservation problems |
formal operational | 12 and up- reasoning, ability expands, able to think form concrete to abstract thought |
object prominence | object still exists when it is out of sight; sensorimotor stage |
stranger anxiety | fear of strangers that develops at around 8 months |
separation anxiety | peaks at 13 months regardless of kids at home or sent to day care |
attachment | emotional connection to others |
3 attachment styles | -secure -anxious, ambivalent -avoidant |
origins of attachment | body contact and familiarity |
insecure attachment | great anxiety when caregiver is removed |
deprivation of attachment | withdrawn, frightened, unable to develop speech |
prolonged deprivation | kids at risk for physical, psychological, and social problems, including alterations in serotonin levels |
child rearing practices | authoritarian, permissive, authoritative |
authoritarian | Impose rules and expect obedience |
permissive | Submit to child’s demand |
authoritative | Demanding but responsive |
authoritative parenting can be due to______ | Child’s traits, Harmonious marriage, and Parenting style |
adolescence | Transition from childhood to adulthood, typically begins at puberty |
Physical development | Puberty occurs earlier in females (11yrs.) than males (13yrs.) |
Primary sexual characteristics | reproductive organs and external genitalia |
Secondary sexual characteristics | the non-reproductive traits, breast and hips in girls, facial hair and deepening of voice in boys |
Brain development | Until puberty, neurons increase connections. At adolescence, selective pruning of neurons begins. Frontal cortex development lags behind limbic system. Hormonal surges and limbic system may explain teen impulsiveness. |
Developing reasoning power | adolescents in formal operational judge good from evil, truth and justice |
Developing morality | 3 levels of moral development by posing moral dilemmas to children and adolescents; As thinking matures, behavior becomes less selfish and empathizes with others and gratification is delayed |
levels of moral development | 1.Pre-conventional morality- avoid punishment or gain reward 2.Conventional morality- rules upheld for their own sake 3.Post-conventional morality- agreed-upon rights or basic ethical principles |
big questions in adulthood | Who am I, how do I fit in? Where am I going in life? Who do I want to be with or date? Will I settle down? Am I satisfied or not? |
Psychosocial stages of development | Birth 1.Trust vs. mistrust 2.Autonomy vs. shame and doubt 3.Initiative vs. guilt 4.Industry vs. inferiority 5.Identity vs. role confusion 6.Intimacy vs. isolation 7.Generativity vs. stagnation 8.Integrity vs. despair Death |
Parenting and peer influence | although teens become independent, parents can shape religiosity, college and career choices |
Emerging adulthood | spans 18-25 may live with parents and attend college or work, emerging adults marry in mid-20s Age of identity exploration Age of instability Age of self-focus Age of feeling in-between Age of possibilities |
Middle adulthood | Peak physical performance occurs around 20; Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory keenness, and cardiac output decline; Around 50, women go through menopause |
Old age | 70 and up, hearing, smell, reaction time, stamina, and strength diminish; After 80, neural processes slow; Motor abilities decline causing accidents; Recalling names becomes difficult; Recognition does not decline; Recalling information will decline |
Fluid intelligence | ability to reason speedily declines with age |
Crystallized intelligence | accumulated knowledge and skills does not decline |
Classical conditioning | learning to associate stimuli with a consequence |
Associative learning | learning to associate 2 stimuli or learning to associate a response with a consequence |
Unconditioned stimulus (US) | something naturally and automatically triggering an unlearned response |
Unconditioned response (UR) | event occurring naturally in response to some stimulus |
Neutral stimulus | something that does not trigger and response |
Conditional stimulus (CS) | something that triggers a learned response |
Conditional response (CR) | event that occurs in response to some conditional stimulus |
Spontaneous recovery | after rest period, extinguished CR spontaneously recovers |
Generalization | tendency to respond to stimuli similar to CS |
Discrimination | learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli |
Acquisition | initial learning stage when neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are associated 1. Neutral stimulus needs to come before unconditioned stimulus 2. Time between 2 stimuli should be about ½ second |
Operant conditioning | association between behaviors and resulting events |
Operant behavior | behavior operating on environment, producing rewards or punishments |
respondent behavior | automatic response to stimulus |
Law of effect | rewarded behavior is likely to occur again |