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• Sensation

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the process of detecting physical energies with sensory organs

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• Perception

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mental process of organizing sensations into meaningful patterns

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• Perceptual features

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lines and shapes that stand out to you

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• Feature Detectors

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tuned to specific stimuli

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• Sensory analysis

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separation of sensory information into meaningful patterns

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• Sensory Coding

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converting important features of the world into neural messages understood by the brain

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• Hue

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color (blue, red, yellow)

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• Saturation

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how pure is the color

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• Brightness

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Amplitude of waves (taller the brighter)

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• Cornea

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bends light inward - front of the eye

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• Lens

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structure in the eye that focuses light rays (smaller adjustments of focusing in the middle of the eye)

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• Photoreceptors

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light-sensitive cells in the eye (rods and cones)

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• Retina

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light sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eye

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• Trichromatic

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Color vision theory that states we have three cone types: red, green, blue (Other colors produced by a combination of these) (Black and white produced by rods)

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• Opponent-process

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Color vision theory based on three opponent "systems": (Red/green; Blue/yellow; black/white) (Exciting one color in a pair (red) blocks the excitation in the other member of the pair (green)

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• Afterimages

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Visual sensation that remains after stimulus is removed

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• Color Blindness

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Inability to perceive colors

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• Sense of smell

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responds to airborne molecules

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• Dysomia

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Defective sense of smell "smell blindness" for specific odors Suggests certain receptors detect specific odors

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• Lock and Key Theory

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We can detect over 10,000 different odors o Odors are related to the shape of chemical molecules o Different shape molecules "fit" into pockets on receptors o Molecules trigger combinations of odor receptors Approx 1,000 Receptors

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• Sensory adaptation

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sesory receptors respond best to change o Adaptation occurs when sensory receptors respond less to unchanging stimuli

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• Selective Attention

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Voluntarily focusing on a specific sensory input o Ability to "tune in" to some messages and "tune out" others Cocktail Party Effect

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• Sensory Gating

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Facilitating or blocking sensory messages in the spinal cord

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Gate Control Theory

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Pain messages from different nerve fibers pass through the same "neural" gate in the spinal cord If gate is closed by one pain message, other messages may not be able to pass through

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• Inattentional Blindness

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"Blindness" caused by not attending to a stimulus o Occurs when attention narrowly focused

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• Gestalt organizing Principles of figure-ground

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o Perception involves grouping sensations into an object or figure

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o Figure-Ground Organization

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Inborn part of a stimulus stands out as an object (figure) against a less prominent background (ground) Only one figure can be seen

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• Reversible figures

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figure and ground that can be switched (vase and face)

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• Nearness

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Stimuli that are near each other tend to be grouped together

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• Similarity

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Stimuli that are similar in size, shape, color, or form tend to be grouped together

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• Continuation

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Perceptions tend toward simplicity and continuity

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• Closure

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Tendency to complete a figure so that it has a consistent overall form

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• Depth perception

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Ability to see three-dimensional space and to accurately judge distances

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• Visual Cliff Studies

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o Suggests depth perception is partly innate; party learned o Glass table with a "shallow" and "deep side o Infants will refuse to crawl over deep side o Lack of coordination may explain later "crash landings"

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• Eyewitness testimony is often wrong, but accepted as infallible

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• Inaccurate because wording of questions, postevent information, attitudes and expectations, alcohol intoxication, cross-racial perceptions, weapon focus, accuracy-confidence, exposure time, unconscious transference, color perception, stress

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• How to become a better eyewitness to life

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o Remember that perceptions are constructions of reality o Break perceptual habits and interrupt habituation o Seek out-of-the-ordinary experiences o Beware of perceptual sets

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• What physiologically controls sleep

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a sleep hormone collects in brain and spinal cord (melatone??) o Sleep and wakefulness depends on balance between brain chemicals and circuits

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• Stage 1

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Small, irregular waves produced in light sleep o People may or may not say they were asleep o Hypnic jerk o Reflex muscle twitch throughout body that may occur in stage 1

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• Stage 2

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Deeper sleep o Body temperature drops o Sleep spindles appear Mark boundary of "true" sleep

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• Stage 3

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Deeper sleep o Delta waves appear; very large and slow

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• Stage 4

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Deepest level of normal sleep o Almost purely delta waves

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Non-REM sleep

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Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4

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o Rapid eye movement (REM)

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EEG patterns resemble those waking Associated with dreaming Body is very still during REM sleep

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• REM sleep and dreaming

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o REM behavioral disorder: acting out in dream Lack of muscle paralysis

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o Hypnopompic hallucinations

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Rem-induced sleep paralysis felt upon waking • Interpreted as sexual abuse or alien abduction

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• Psychodynamic theory (sigmund freud)

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- Emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces - Wish fulfillment • Dreams are expressions of unconscious desires • Much evidence to refute this - Dream symbols • Images that have a deeper symbolic meaning • Manifest content vs. Latent content

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• Activation-synthesis hypothesis (hobson & mccarley)

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- During REM, random brain centers are activated - Messages are blocked from reaching body, but no movement occurs - Brain synthesizes dream to make sense of signals - Proposes that dreams are meaningless

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• Neurocognitive dream theory (domhoff)

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- Dreams reflect ordinary waking thoughts, emotions, and concerns - Dreams are conscious expression of sorting and storing daily experiences

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• Psychoactive drug

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o Substance capable of altering attention, judgment, memory, time sense, self-control, emotion, or perception o Works by altering brain chemistry and activity Mimics or blocks neurotransmitters Stimulates brain's reward circuitry

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• Physical dependence

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o Compulsive use of a drug to maintain bodily comfort

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o Drug tolerance

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Reduction in body's response to a drug with increasing use

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o Withdrawal symptoms

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Physical illness following withdrawal of the drug

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• Psychological dependence

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o Compulsive use of a drug to maintain psychological comfort or well-being

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o Drug cravings

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o Can be as powerful as physiological addiction

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• History of Classical Conditioning

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Ivan pavlov: o Russian physiologist who initially was studying digestion o Used dogs to study salivation o Saw dogs salivate before food placed in their mouth o Saw dogs salivate when he entered room

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• Examples of how classical conditioning takes place

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Pavlov's experiment

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o Neutral stimulus

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Stimulus that does not evoke a response

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Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

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A stimulus innately capable of eliciting a response

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o Conditioned stimulus (CS)

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Stimulus that evokes a response because it has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus

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o Reflex

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Automatic, nonlearned innate response to a stimulus e.G., An eyeblink

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o Unconditioned response (UCR)

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An innate reflex response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

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o Conditioned response (CR)

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A learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

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• Extinction

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Weakening of a conditioned response through removal of reinforcement o May take several extinction sessions to reverse conditioning

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• Spontaneous Recovery

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Reappearance of a learned response following apparent extinction

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• Stimulus Generalization

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A tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a conditioned stimulus

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• Stimulus Discrimination

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The learned ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

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Operant Conditioning

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• Learning based on the consequences of responding

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• Law of effect (thorndike)

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o The probability of a response is altered by the effect it has Responses that lead to desired effects are repeated Those that lead to undesired effects are not

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• Partial reinforcement

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Situation or pattern where reinforcers do not follow every response; only a portion are reinforced

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o Partial reinforcement effect

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Responses acquired by partial reinforcement are very resistant to extinction o May follow a schedule of reinforcement: Plans for determining which responses will be reinforced

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• Schedules of Partial Reinforcement

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o Fixed ratio schedule (FR) o Variable ratio schedule (vr) o Fixed interval schedule (FI) o Variable interval schedule (VI)

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o Fixed ratio schedule (FR)

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A set number of correct responses must be made to obtain a reinforcer • Produce high response rates

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o Variable ratio schedule (vr)

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A varied (average) number of correct responses must be made to get a reinforcer • Produce high response rates • Produces greater resistance to extinction than fixed ratio schedule

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o Fixed interval schedule (FI)

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The first correct response made after a certain amount of time has elapsed is reinforced • Produces moderate response rates

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o Variable interval schedule (VI)

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Reinforcement is given for the first correct response made after a varied (average) amount of time • Slow, steady response rates • Extremely resistant to extinction

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Observational Learning

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Occurs two ways: o By watching and imitating actions of another person o By noting consequences of a person's actions

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Factors that determine whether observational learning occurs

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Occurs before direct practice is allowed

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Bo-bo doll experiment

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An adult hit the doll with a hammer, sat on it, punched it, and kick it 3 groups: Children watched adults preform behaviors Children watched a movie of an adult perform behaviors Children watched a cartoon version of an adult perform behaviors Then, Children were put into room and frustrated Children's behaviors toward bo-bo doll imitated adults' ***Parent's behaviors > Parent's words because children will do as you do, not do as you say.***

General Psychology Chapters 4-6 – Flashcards

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