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bkx PSY101 T2, KT
PSY-101 Test #2 Key Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| Perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
| Bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information |
| Top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations |
| Psychophysics | the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them |
| Absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time |
| Signal detection theory | a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise |
| Subliminal | below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
| Priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response |
| Difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time; we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference |
| Weber’s law | the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) |
| Sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation |
| Transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another; in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses the brain can interpret |
| Wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next; electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radiotransmission |
| Intensity | the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude |
| Pupil | the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |
| Iris | a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening |
| Lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |
| Retina | the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information |
| Accommodation | the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina |
| Rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond |
| Cones | retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; the cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
| Optic nerve | the nerve that carries neural impulses form the eye to the brain |
| Blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| Fovea | the central focus point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster |
| Feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement |
| Parallel processing | the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision; contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving |
| Young-Helmholtz theory | the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors – one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue – which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color |
| Opponent-process theory | the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; for example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, while others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green |
| Gestalt | an organized whole; gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes |
| Figure-ground | the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground) |
| Grouping | the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups |
| Depth perception | the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance |
| Visual cliff | a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals |
| Binocular cues | depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes |
| Retinal disparity | a binocular cue for perceiving depth |
| Monocular cues | depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone |
| Phi phenomenon | an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession |
| Perceptual constancy | perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images |
| Color constancy | perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object |
| Perceptual adaptation | in vision ,the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field |
| Perceptual set | a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another |
| Learning | a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience |
| Associative learning | learning that certain events occur together; the events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning) |
| Classical conditioning | a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events |
| Behaviorism | the view that psychology should be an object science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes |
| Unconditioned response (UR) | in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is in the mouth |
| Unconditioned stimulus (US) | in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus |
| Conditioned response (CR) | in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus |
| Conditioned stimulus (CS) | in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a condition response |
| Acquisition | in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response |
| Higher-order conditioning | a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus |
| Extinction | the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced |
| Spontaneous recovery | the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response |
| Generalization | the tendency, once a response has been conditioned for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses |
| Discrimination | in classical conditioning the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal and unconditioned stimulus |
| Respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus |
| Operant conditioning | a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher |
| Operant behavior | behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences |
| Law of effect | Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely |
| Operant chamber | in operant conditioning research, a chamber (aka Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar-pressing or key-pecking |
| Shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior |
| Reinforcer | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows |
| Positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting a positive stimuli, such as food; appositive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthen the response |
| Negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock; a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response |
| Primary reinforcer | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need |
| Conditioned reinforcer | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer |
| Continuous reinforcement | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs |
| Partial (intermittent) reinforcement | reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction that does continuous reinforcement |
| Fixed-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses |
| Variable-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses |
| Fixed-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time as elapsed |
| Variable-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals |
| Punishment | an event that decreases the behavior that it follows |
| Cognitive map | a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment; for example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it |
| Latent learning | learning that occurs buts is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it |
| Intrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake |
| Extrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment |
| Observational learning | learning by observing others |
| Modeling | the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior |
| Mirror neurons | frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so; the brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy |
| Prosocial behavior | positive, constructive, helpful behavior; the opposite of antisocial behavior |
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