Psych test #2

  1. allows us to receive information from the world around us
    sensation
  2. is the rare condition in which a person experiences more than one sensation from a single stimulus, for example the person who can hear and see a sound
    Synesthesia
  3. The process of converting an outside stimulus into the electrical-chemical signal of the nervous system is called?
    sensory transduction
  4. Outside stimuli (such as the sound
    of your mother’s voice) activate WHAT? which convert the outside stimulus into a message that our nervous system can understand—electrical and chemical signals. They are also specialized forms of neurons and make up part of our somatic nervous system
    sensory receptors
  5. Who were the two pioneers in the study of sensory thresholds?
    Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner
  6. Weber studied the smallest difference
    between two stimuli that a person could detect 50 percent of the time. What is this called?
    just noticeable difference (jnd)
  7. The fact that the jnd is always a constant is known?
    Weber's Law
  8. Fechner investigated the lowest
    level of a stimulus that a person could detect 50 percent of the time. What is this called?
    absolute threshold
  9. What are the two methods our body uses to ignore unchanging information?
    habituation and sensory adaptation
  10. takes place when the lower
    centers of the brain prevent conscious attention to a constant stimulus, such as the humming of a desktop
    computer
    Habituation
  11. occurs in the sensory receptors themselves when the receptors stop responding to a constant stimulus, such as the feeling of your shirt on your skin
    Sensory adaptation
  12. What is activated by photons of light that have specific wavelengths associated
    with them?
    Visual sensory system
  13. What are the three psychological aspects to our experience of light?
    brightness, color and saturation
  14. What is determined by the
    height, or amplitude, of the light wave?
    brightness
  15. also known as hue is determined by the length of the light wave
    color
  16. also known as purity and is determined by the mixture of wavelengths of varying heights and lengths that make up light
    saturation
  17. Light enters your eye through the cornea that protects your eye and helps to focus the light, and then travels through a hole in your iris, called your pupil. The iris is a group of muscles that control the size of the pupil; this is also the structure that gives us eye color. The light then passes through the lens, which focuses the light and allows you to focus on objects that are close or far away. What is this process called?
    visual accommadation
  18. What is located at the back of your eye?
    retina
  19. What two types of sensory receptors does your eye have?
    rods and cones
  20. 70% of your sensory receptors in your eyes are what?
    rods
  21. Give two facts about rods.
    • located in the periphery of the retina
    • extremely sensitive to light but produce images with low acuity, or sharpness
  22. Our eyes’ ability to adapt to a dark room and eventually see objects is mediated
    by the rods in our eyes and is called?
    dark adaptation
  23. Our ability to quickly adapt when we
    enter a bright room that is accomplished by our cones is called?
    light adaptation
  24. The place where the information from the rods and cones leaves the eye because it contains no visual receptors to receive information is called?
    a blind spot
  25. After light is converted to an electrical-chemical signal by the rods and cones, the message passes through the bipolar cells, to the ganglion cells, the axons of which travel out of the eye as what?
    optic nerve
  26. originally proposed by Thomas Young and later modified by Hermann Helmholtz; this theory suggests the three types of cones—red, green, and blue— combine to produce sensation of color much like three spotlights would combine to produce the full spectrum of colors
    trichromatic theory
  27. The trichromatic theory most likely is an accurate description of the cones but cannot
    explain certain visual phenomena such as what?
    afterimage
  28. A different theory of color perception developed to explain phenomena such as the afterimage. The theory states that cones are arranged in pairs with a red-green pair and a blue-yellow pair. If one member of the pair is firing then the other
    member cannot. What is this theory called?
    the opponent-process theory
  29. What is caused by defective cones in the retina?
    color blindness
  30. lack of functioning red cones
    protanopia
  31. deficient green cones result in?
    deuteranopia
  32. Blue- yellow color deficiency is less common and is seen in individuals with nonfunctional blue cones is known as?
    tritanopia
  33. activated by the vibrations of molecules in the air that surrounds us
    auditory system
  34. corresponds to the frequency of the wave
    pitch
  35. determined by the amplitude of the wave
    volume
  36. relates to the purity of the wavelengths
    timbre
  37. waves per second is a measurement known as what?
    hertz
  38. Sound waves enter our auditory system through the what?
    pinna
  39. ear canal is also known as what?
    auditory canal
  40. what are the sensory receptors of the auditory system?
    hair cells
  41. the movement of the hair cells triggers an action potential in axons, which travel to the brain in a bundle called what?
    auditory nerve
  42. states that pitch is determined by the place on the organ of Corti that is stimulated
    place theory
  43. suggests that the speed of vibrations of the basilar membrane determine the pitch heard by the person
    frequency theory
  44. suggests that hair cells take turns firing in a process called volleying
    volleying principle
  45. can be used to restore some hearing for people with nerve hearing impairment
    cochlear implants
  46. the sense of taste that is activated by chemicals that dissolve in the mouth
    gustation
  47. The sensory receptors are receptor cells found within WHAT that are located on the little bumps on the tongue, cheek, and roof of your mouth?
    taste buds
  48. Five basic tastes
    sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami(brothy)
  49. sense of smell
    olfaction
  50. Olfactory receptor cells send their axons directly to the WHAT, located right under the frontal lobes?
    olfactory bulbs
  51. The sense of touch is actually composed of several sensations and is more accurately referred to as?
    somesthetic senses
  52. three somesthetic senses
    skin, kinesthetic, and vestibular
  53. suggests that pain information is regulated by a number of factors in the brain and spinal cord
    gate control theory
  54. information comes from sensory receptors which are located in your skin, joints,
    muscles, and tendons
    proprioceptive receptors
  55. sense of balance is regulated by receptor cells in the otolith organs and the semicircular canals
    vestibular sense
  56. escribes a phenomenon by which
    information from the eyes may conflict with information from the vestibular system, causing dizziness
    sensory conflict theory
  57. the interpretation of sensation and seems to follow some basic principles, although
    individual and cultural differences in perception have been recorded
    perception
  58. when we tend to view objects as the same size, shape, and brightness even if the sensations we are receiving from our sensory systems are not constant in size, shape, or brightness.
    principe of perpetual constancy
  59. psychologists believe that when people are presented with visual information, they interpret the information according to certain expected patterns or rules. The patterns are called what?
    Gestalt principles of perception
  60. What are Gestalt's principles of perception?
    • figure-ground relationships, closure,
    • similarity, continuity, contiguity, proximity, and common region
  61. a perception that does not correspond to reality
    illusion
  62. occurs when a person uses preexisting knowledge to fit individual features into an organized whole
    top down processing
  63. If there is no expectancy to
    help organize information, a person might use WHAT to build a complete perception by
    making sense of the smaller features piece by piece?
    bottom up processing
  64. the process that allows us to adapt to the changing conditions of the environment around us and is defined as any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice
    learning
  65. a Russian physiologist, discovered
    one of the simplest forms of learning called classical conditioning
    Ivan Pavlov
  66. an involuntary response that is not under personal choice or control
    reflex
  67. What does the term learning really mean?
    Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice and is different from maturation, which is genetically controlled.
  68. How was classical conditioning first studied?
    Pavlov accidentally discovered the phenomenon in which one stimulus can, through pairing with another stimulus, come to produce a similar response. He called this "classical conditioning."
  69. occur when an organism becomes nauseated some time after eating a certain food, which then becomes aversive to the organism
    conditioned taste aversions
  70. Some kinds of conditioned responses are more easily learned than others because of?
    biological preparedness
  71. Pavlov believed that the NS became a substitute for the UCS through what?
    association in time
  72. What asserts that the CS has to provide some kind of information or expectancy about the coming of the UCS in order for conditioning to occur
    cognitive perspective
  73. A response followed by a pleasurable consequence will be repeated, but a response followed by an unpleasant consequence will not be repeated. What is this called?
    law of effect
  74. Why did Skinner use the term operant conditioning?
    because voluntary responses are what we use to operate in the world around us.
  75. a response is followed by the presentation of a pleasurable stimulus
    positive reinforcement
  76. a response is followed by the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus
    negative reinforcement
  77. the reinforcement of successive approximations to some final goal, allowing behavior to be molded from simple behavior already present in the organism
    shaping
  78. occurs when each and every correct response is followed by a reinforcer
    continuous reinforcement
  79. only some correct responses are followed by reinforcement, is much more resistant to extinction
    partial reinforcement(effect)
  80. a certain number of responses is required before reinforcement is given
    fixed ratio
  81. a varying number of responses is required to obtain reinforcement
    variable ratio
  82. at least one correct response must be made within a set interval of time to obtain reinforcement
    fixed interval
  83. reinforcement follows the first correct response made after an interval of time that changes for each reinforcement opportunity
    variable interval
  84. any event or stimulus that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again
    punishment
  85. a response is followed by the application or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus, such as a spanking
    punishment by application
  86. a response is followed by the removal of some pleasurable stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy for misbehavior
    punishment by removal
  87. What are some problems with using punishment?
    • can as a model for aggressive behavior
    • normally only has a temporary effect
    • can be made more effective by making it immediate and consistent and by pairing punishment of the undesirable behavior with reinforcement of the desirable one
  88. the reinforcement of successive approximations to some final goal, allowing behavior to be molded from simple behavior already present in the organism
    shaping
  89. states that learning requires cognition, or the influence of an organism's thought processes
    cognitive learning theory
  90. acquired by watching others perform, or model, certain actions
    observational learning
  91. Ex. of observational learning
    Bandura's Bobo doll experiment
  92. What is a real-world example of the use of conditioning?
    Writer Karawynn Long used shaping, reinforcement, and classical conditioning to train her cat to use the toilet in her bathroom instead of a litter box.
  93. naturally occurring stimulus
    unconditioned stimulus
  94. starts out as a neutral stimulus, but when paired with the unconditioned stimulus it ellicts a conditioned response
    conditioned stimulus
  95. tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus(ex:person reacts with anxiety to a dentist drill and reacts with some anxiety when hearing that similar sound)
    stimulus generalization
  96. Occurs when an organism learns to respond to different stimuli in different ways
    ex: although the similar drilling sound causing anxiety as the dentist drill, it will eventually not cause this reaction when it is not associated with the actual pain
    stimulus discrimination
  97. disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus or the removal of the reinforcer
    extinction
  98. reappearance of a learned response after the extinction has occurred
    spontaneous recovery
  99. occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus
    higher order conditioning
  100. classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person
    vicarious conditioning
  101. tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past
    learned helplessness
  102. sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly
    insight
  103. Four elements of observational learning
    attention, memory, imitation, motivation
  104. bends light waves so the image can be focused on the retina
    cornea
  105. its muscles control the size of the pupil
    Iris
  106. iris opening that changes size depending on the amount of light in the nvironment
    pupil
  107. changes shape to bring objects into focus
    lens
  108. contains photoreceptor
    retina
  109. where the optic nerve leaves the eye. There are no photoreceptors here. AKA optic disc
    blind spot
  110. sends visual info to the brain
    optic nerve
  111. What are the Gestalt principles of perception?

    The Gestalt psychologists developed several principles of perception that involve interpreting patterns in visual stimuli. The principles are figure–ground relationships, closure, similarity, continuity, contiguity, and common region.
  112. Which of the following represents the correct path of light through the eye?
    cornea, pupil, lens, vitreous humor, retina
  113. If you wanted to locate a dimly lit star better at night, what should you do?
    Look off to the side, using the rods in the periphery of the retina.
  114. Which theory of color vision best accounts for afterimages?
    opponent process theory
  115. Which of the following properties of sound would be the most similar to the color or hue of light?
    pitch
  116. The eardrum is also called the?
    tympanic membrane
  117. If the bones of the middle ear begin to deteriorate, you will develop __________ hearing impairment
    conduction
  118. The receptors on our taste buds work most like
    receptor sites on neurons
  119. Pain sensations in the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints that are carried on large nerve fibers are called?
    somatic pain
  120. In gate-control theory, substance P does what?
    opens the spinal gates for pain
  121. The tendency to perceive a quarter as being round even when it is viewed at an angle is called?
    shape constancy
  122. A reversible figure, such as the Necker cube, makes use of which principle of perception?
    figure-ground relationship
  123. Ned found a decaying carcass lying on the beach one day. Looking at the size of the body (which had decomposed quite a bit), Ned decided that it was the body of a sea monster, something like the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. If we know that Ned loves to read about weird, mythical animals, we might expect that he has made an error of perception due to?
    perceptual set
  124. The first time Joe had to put together a child’s bicycle, it took a long time. But several bicycles later, he’s a whiz at constructing them. His improved speed and skill can be attributed to?
    top down processing
  125. Ed noticed that whenever he used his electric can opener, his cat would come into the kitchen and act hungry—drooling and mewing pitiably. He reasoned that because he used the can opener to open the cat’s food, the sound of the can opener had become a(n)?
    conditioned stimulus
  126. The prologue is about Angelica’s fear of clowns as a child. The fact that she was not only afraid of the circus clown but also other types of clowns is an example of?
    stimulus generalization
  127. The use of a strong CS to create a second CS is called?
    higher order conditioning
  128. In Watson’s experiment with “Little Albert,” the unconditioned stimulus was?
    loud noise
  129. Often, people with certain types of cancer must take chemotherapy treatments. The drugs used in these treatments are powerful and usually cause strong nausea reactions. If Cindy had scrambled eggs for breakfast and then took a chemotherapy treatment later that same morning, what might we predict based on conditioned taste aversion research?
    Cindy will probably get nauseated the next time she tries to eat scrambled eggs.
  130. Your pet parakeet eats some cooked spaghetti noodles. Later the poor bird gets very ill. What would the research on biological preparedness predict?
    The parakeet will probably not eat linguini noodles because they are long and thin and look similar to spaghetti.
  131. In a popular television series, Desmond lived in a bunker underground on a mysterious island. He had one task: When the alarm sounds, type in a series of numbers on the computer and push enter. Desmond was being reinforced for doing so by avoiding some terrible disaster that would occur if he did not type in the numbers at the right time—every 108 minutes. What kind of schedule of reinforcement was Desmond on?
    fixed interval
  132. Joe was trying to get tickets to a concert and called the ticket outlet only to find that the phone line was busy. He dialed again—busy—and then again and again, sometimes waiting a minute, sometimes a few minutes, not knowing how much time would go by before his call would go through. What schedule of reinforcement is evident here?
    variable interval
  133. Elizabeth’s parents want her to put her clothes in the hamper. At first, they praise her for putting the clothes together in one pile. Then they praise her for getting the clothes on the same side of the room as the hamper. When she gets the clothes on top of the hamper, she gets praise. Finally, her parents praise her when she puts her clothes in the hamper. This is an example of?
    shaping
  134. Ella is teaching her parrot a new word. Every time the parrot says a sound that is close to the new word, she gives it a treat. But the parrot keeps repeating other words it has learned in the past, trying to get a treat that way. The parrot is exhibiting?
    spontaneous recovery
  135. Applied behavior analysis involves?
    the process of shaping and other behavioral techniques.
  136. the mental events that take place while a person is behaving
    cognition
  137. In Tolman’s maze study, the fact that the group of rats receiving reinforcement only after day 10 of the study solved the maze far more quickly than did the rats who had been reinforced from the first day can be interpreted to mean that these particular rats had what?
    they had learned the maze in the first nine days
  138. Seligman found many similarities between his “helpless” dogs and people suffering from what?
    depression
  139. Köhler determined that Sultan’s two-stick solution to the banana problem was an example of insight because it was what?
    sudden and rapid
  140. In Bandura’s study with the Bobo doll, the children in the group that saw the model punished did not imitate the model at first. They would only imitate the model if given a reward for doing so. The fact that these children had obviously learned the behavior without actually performing it is an example of?
    latent learning
  141. Miranda wanted to make a casserole she saw on a TV food show. She bought the ingredients, put them together, baked it, and served it at dinner that night. To her horror, it tasted awful. She realized that she had left out a key ingredient and vowed next time to write everything down as she watched the show. Miranda’s dinner disaster was an example of failing at which of Bandura’s four elements of observational learning?
    memory
Author
Ebkgrimes
ID
104430
Card Set
Psych test #2
Description
psych test 2
Updated