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Psychology Flashcards for Exam 2
psychology flaschards for exam 2 at UI.
106
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
03/11/2011

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Term
Sensation
Definition
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Term
Perception
Definition
The proccess of irganizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Term
Bottom-up processing
Definition
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Term
Top-down processing
Definition
information processing guided by high-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Term
Psychophysics
Definition
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Term
Absolute threshold
Definition
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimiulus 50% of the time.
Term
Signal detection theory
Definition
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.
Term
sensory adaptation
Definition
Our diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus.
Term
Sensory adaptation
Definition
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Term
Transduction
Definition
conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
Term
Wavelength
Definition
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wave lengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Term
Hue
Definition
the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
Term
intensity
Definition
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which ew perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.
Term
Accomodation
Definition
the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Term
Rods
Definition
Detect black,white and gray; necessary for [eripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
Term
Cones
Definition
concentrated near the center of thee retina and that function in daylight or in well lit conditions. the cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Term
Blind spot
Definition
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there.
Term
Fovea
Definition
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
Term
Feature Detectors
Definition
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific fetures of the stimulus, such as shapes, angle, or movement.
Term
Parallel Processing
Definition
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 processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Term
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) Theory
Definition
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 combinations, can produce the perception of any color.
Term
Opponent-Process Theory
Definition
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; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
Term
Gestalt
Definition
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Term
Figure-ground
Definition
the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from the surroundings.
Term
Grouping
Definition
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Term
Depth perception
Definition
the ability to see objects in three dimension although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
Term
visual cliff
Definition
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
Term
Binocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Term
Retinal disparity
Definition
A binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity between the two images, the closer the objects.
Term
Monocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Term
Phi phenomenon
Definition
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick successsion.
Term
Perceptual constancy
Definition
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.
Term
Color constancy
Definition
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.
Term
Perceptual adaptation
Definition
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
Term
Perceptual set
Definition
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
Term
Human factors psychology
Definition
a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.
Term
cognitie neuroscience
Definition
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition.
Term
dual processing
Definition
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
Term
Selective attention
Definition
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Term
Inattentional blindness
Definition
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
Term
Change blindness
Definition
failing to notice changes in the environment.
Term
Alpha Waves
Definition
the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.
Term
hallucinations
Definition
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absences of an external visual stimulus.
Term
Delta waves
Definition
the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.
Term
Narcolepsy
Definition
a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly in REM sleep, often and inopportune times.
Term
night terrors
Definition
A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrfied; unlike nightmares, night terrors occuring during stage 4 sleep, within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.
Term
Manifest content
Definition
according to freud, the remembered story line of a dream.
Term
latent content
Definition
according to freud, the underlying meaning of a dream.
Term
REM Rebound
Definition
the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.
Term
hypnosis
Definition
A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
Term
posthypnotic suggestion
Definition
a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.
Term
Dissociation
Definition
a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
Term
encoding
Definition
the processing of information into the memory system- for example, by extracting meaning.
Term
storage
Definition
the retention of encoded information over time.
Term
retrieval
Definition
the process of getting information out of memory storage.
Term
sensory memory
Definition
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Term
short-term memory
Definition
activated memory that holds a few item briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing before the information is stored or forgotten.
Term
long-term memory
Definition
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Term
working memory
Definition
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
Term
automatic processing
Definition
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
Term
effortful processing
Definition
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
Term
rehearsal
Definition
the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
Term
spacing effect
Definition
the tendency for distrubuted study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Term
serial position effect
Definition
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
Term
visual encoding
Definition
the encoding of picture images
Term
acoustic encoding
Definition
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
Term
semantic encoding
Definition
the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
Term
imagery
Definition
mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.
Term
mnemonics
Definition
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Term
chunking
Definition
organizing items into familiar, managable units; often occurs automatically.
Term
iconic memory
Definition
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
Term
echoic memory
Definition
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
Term
recall
Definition
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill0in-the-blank test.
Term
relearning
Definition
a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.
Term
recognition
Definition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test.
Term
priming
Definition
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
Term
mood-congruent memory
Definition
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
Term
proactive interference
Definition
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
Term
retroactive interference
Definition
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
Term
repression
Definition
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Term
misinformation effect
Definition
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.
Term
source amnesia
Definition
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, hear about, read about, or imagined. Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
Term
language
Definition
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.
Term
morpheme
Definition
in a language, the smallest init that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)
Term
grammar
Definition
in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.
Term
semantics
Definition
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning.
Term
syntax
Definition
the rules for combinig words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.
Term
babbling stage
Definition
beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.
Term
one-word stage
Definition
the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.
Term
two-word stage
Definition
beginning at about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements.
Term
telegraphic speech
Definition
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram- "go car"- using mostly nouns and verbs.
Term
aphasia
Definition
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to broca's area or to wernicke's area.
Term
broca's area
Definition
controls language expression- an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Term
wernicke's area
Definition
controls language reception- a brain area involed in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
Term
linguistic determinism
Definition
Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.
Term
proximal
Definition
input t o sense organs
Term
Distal
Definition
how objects actually are
Term
dorsal stream
Definition
rod-lik (not color sensitive)
Term
ventral stream
Definition
cone-like (high acuity; color)
Term
William James
Definition
Two aspects
1. monitoring ourselves and our external environment so that we can be aware of certain things.
2. Controlling ourselves (starting and stopping based on our plans and goals).
Term
Primacy effect
Definition
remembering the beginning of a list
Term
recency effect
Definition
remembering the end of a list
Term
decay
Definition
memory fades over time
Term
REtrograde amensia
Definition
lack of memory for events that occurred just before a brain trauma.
Term
anterograde amnesia
Definition
lack of memory for events that occur just after a brain trauma.
Term
Theory of multiple intelligences
Definition
we hace not one intelligence, but many distanct intelligences or skills that are alued by one's culture.
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