UNIT 4SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONSensation: how we receive information from our environment.

5 Senses: See, hear, touch, taste, & smell.

Perception: what our body does with the information we sense.

SENSATION & PERCEPTION

Absolute threshold: the weakest level you could detect a sound, light, etc. half the time.

Subliminal stimulation: receiving messages below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Sensory adaptation: diminished sensitivity because of constant stimulation.

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONWavelength: the distance from one wave peak to the next. It determines the hue.

Amplitude: height of the wave.

Intensity: brightness

Selective attention: Focusing on one thing allows us to block out other things going on.

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONCornea: where light enters the eye.

Pupil: regulates the amount of light.

Iris: colored ring of muscle, constricts or dilates depending on the amount of light.

Lens: focuses the light rays on the retina.

Acuity: The sharpness of vision.

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONRetina: absorbs light, processes images. Contains rods and cones.

Rods: detects black & white & allows you to see in low light.

Cones: detects color & allows you to see in bright light. Most concentrated at the fovea.

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONOptic nerve: Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. Fovea: Central point in the retina where cones (no rods) cluster. Point where images focus.Blind Spot: Point where the optic nerve leaves the eye because there are no receptor cells located there.

SENSATION & PERCEPTION

Nearsighted: nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects.

Farsighted: distant objects are seen more clearly than nearby objects.

LASIK – laser eye surgery in which a flap is cut into the cornea to access tissue behind it.

PRK – laser to reshape the surface of the cornea.

 SENSATION & PERCEPTIONYoung-Helmholtz Trichromatic theory: retina has 3 types of color receptors for red, blue, and green.

Opponent-Process Theory: opposing retinal processes enable color vision. Red & Green, Yellow & Blue, White & Black.

Afterimages: images continue to briefly appear even after the actual image is removed.

SENSATION & PERCEPTIONAudition: the sense or act of hearing.

Amplitude: The height of the sound wave the determines the loudness. Frequency: the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given amount of time.

Pitch: the highness or lowness of a sound.

Decibels – measuring unit for sound energy.

Auditory Canal

Ear Drum

HammerAnvil

Stirrup Semicircular Canals

Cochlea

Auditory Nerves

(Goes to throat)

THE EAROuter Ear: auditory canal & eardrum

Middle Ear: hammer, anvil, & stirrup.

Inner Ear: cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

HEARING LOSSConduction hearing loss: eardrum is punctured or any of the tiny bones in middle ear lose their ability to vibrate.

Sensorineural hearing loss: damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory neurons.

TOUCH

Made up of four skin senses:•Pressure•Warmth•Cold•PainItching is gentle stimulation of pain receptors.Gate-Control Theory: pain messages can pass through a “gate” in the spinal cord on their way to the brain.

TASTEGustation: the chemical sense of taste with receptor cells in taste buds on the tongue, on the roof of the mouth, in the throat.

Five basic taste sensations are:

SweetSourSaltyBitterUmami (Meaty Taste)

SMELLOlfaction: the chemical sense of smell.

Pheromones – chemicals released by animals that triggers a social response by another animal.

PERCEPTUAL ILLUSIONSVisual Capture – the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

Gestalt – organizing pieces into a meaningful “whole”.

Figure – Object

Ground – Surroundings

GROUPINGProximity – Group nearby figures together.

Similarity – We group together figures that are similar to each other.

Continuity – We see smooth, continuous patterns.

Connectedness – We see objects as a single unit.

Closure – We fill in the gaps to create a complete, whole object.

PERCEPTIONDepth Perception – Seeing two dimensional objects as three dimensional.

Visual Cliff – test of depth perception in babies.

Binocular Cues – depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

MONOCULAR CUESMonocular Cues – depth cues using 1 eye.

Relative Size – The closer of two same size objects looks bigger.

Interposition – one object partially blocks our view of another, we see it as closer.

Relative Clarity – closer objects appear sharper than more distant, hazy objects.

MONOCULAR CUESTexture Gradient – far away objects that appear more densely packed or smooth.

Relative Height – Images higher in the picture seem farther away.

Relative Motion (Motion Parallax) – As we move, objects appear to move.

MONOCULAR CUESLinear Perspective – Parallel lines seem to converge in the distance.

Light and Shadow (Relative Brightness) – Closer of two identical objects reflects more light to your eyes.

SHAPE AND SIZE CONSTANCIESShape Constancy – an object appears to maintain its normal shape regardless of the angle.

Size Constancy – an object appears to stay the same size despite changes in the size of the image.

Size-Distance Relationship – Farther objects seems larger.

LIGHTNESS CONSTANCYBrightness Constancy – an object maintains a particular level of brightness regardless of the amount of light reflected from it.

ESPESP (extrasensory perception): the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input.

Parapsychology: the study of paranormal events that investigates claims of ESP.

ESPA. Telepathy: Communicating with our minds only.

B. Clairvoyance: Ability to see remote events, things that happen at another location. (Psychics, Long Island Medium, etc.)

C. Precognition: Ability to see the outcome of future events.

D. Psychokinesis: Ability to move objects with your mind.

UNIT 5STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESSConsciousness – our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Sigmund Freud – Father of Psychoanalysis. Studied subconscious.

Four types of biological rhythms:•Annual cycles•28 day cycles•24 hour cycles•90 minute cycles

SLEEP AND DREAMSCircadian Rhythm – cycles of change that recur approximately every 24 hours. “Biological Clock”

Alpha waves are brain waves between awake and sleep.

Beta waves are awake brain waves.

Hypnagogic Sleep - This is the very relaxed and drowsy state that you pass through before entering sleep.

SLEEP AND DREAMS – STAGES

Stage 1 Sleep – quick sleep stage with gradual loss of responsiveness to outside, drifting thoughts, and images.

Stage 2 Sleep – Can be awakened without difficulty.

Brain waves are characterized by sleep spindles.

SLEEP AND DREAMS – STAGES

Stage 3 Sleep – Beginning of deep sleep.

“Delta Sleep” begins (Stage 3 & 4)

Stage 4 Sleep – deepest sleep stage.

Bedwetting and sleepwalking occurs in this stage.

After stage 4, you return to stages 3 & 2, before entering stage 5, REM.

SLEEP AND DREAMS – REM STAGE

REM Stage – REM sleep (Stage 5)

REM – Rapid Eye Movement

Brain waves resemble beta waves of being awake.

Dreams and nightmares occur.

Also called “paradoxical sleep”.

SLEEP AND DREAMS – REM STAGEREM Rebound – An increased percentage of time spent in REM sleep when we are deprived of REM sleep during previous nights.

Sleep Debt – the amount of sleep owed to your body for lack of sleep in previous nights.

Sleep Deprivation – not having enough sleep.

SLEEP THEORIESWhy do we sleep?

1. Protection – kept our ancestors from venturing around at night.

2. Recuperate – Repairs and restores brain tissues.

3. Remembering – Builds and restores our memories.

4. Growth – During deep sleep, growth hormones are released.

SLEEP DISORDERSInsomnia: the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep.

Narcolepsy: sudden and uncontrollable lapse into sleep

Sleep apnea: temporary pauses of breathing

Night terrors: characterized by bloodcurdling screams and intense fear

Sleepwalking: usually in stage 4.

DREAMSLucid dreaming: awareness that we are dreaming

Manifest content: the remembered story line of a dream.

Latent content: the underlying meaning of a dream.

Hypnosis: state with deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility.

DRUGSDependence: Compulsive use of a substance (addiction)Tolerance: More substance is required to obtain the original effectWithdrawal: Physical discomfort when the substance is stopped

Psychoactive drugs: chemicals that alter perception, thinking, behavior, and mood.

Stimulant (Uppers): Substance that increases activity in body and nervous system. (Increase energy)

Depressant (Downers): Substance that decreases activity in body and nervous system. (Decrease energy)

DRUGS

Depressants: Alcohol, Barbiturates, Opiates

Stimulants: Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, Crack, Amphetamines, methamphetamine (Speed, Crystal Meth), and ecstasy (MDMA).

Hallucinogens: LSD, Marijuana (THC is active ingredient in marijuana)

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

UNIT 6TESTING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

INTELLIGENCEIntelligence: the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

General Intelligence (g): a general intelligence factor that is in every specific mental ability.

Savant Syndrome: a person with one exceptional ability, but limited mental ability in the others.

THEORIES ON INTELLIGENCE

Spearman – g (general intelligence).

Thurstone – Primary mental abilities (7 factors/clusters).

Gardner – 9 independent intelligences.

Sternberg – 3 areas that predict success.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCEEmotional Intelligence: the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

•Perceive: recognize emotions in faces, music, and stories.

•Understand: to predict them & how they change and blend.

•Manage: to express them in situations.

•Use: to enable them.

INTELLIGENCECreativity: The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Alfred Binet: invented the first intelligence test.

Lewis Terman: adapted Binet’s test for American school children. (Stanford-Binet test)

William Stern: German psychologist who created the IQ.

IQ = Mental age

Chronological agex 100

Mental age: the age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.

INTELLIGENCE

ORIGINS OF INTELLIGENCE TESTINGEugenics: encourage only smart and fit people to reproduce.

Aptitude: the capacity to learn.

Aptitude tests: a test designed to predict a person’s future performance.

Achievement tests: a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

TEST CONSTRUCTIONPsychological tests must meet 3 criteria to be accepted: standardized, reliable, and valid.

Standardization: It defines what the score you get means!

Reliability: the extent to which a test yields consistent results.

Validity: what the test is supposed to measure or predict.

TEST CONSTRUCTION

Normal Curve: a bell shaped curve in which most scores fall near the average and fewer scores are at the extremes.

Mental retardation: low test score and difficulty living independently.

Head Start Program: Government funded preschool program.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCESFlynn Effect: worldwide rise in IQ scores since the 1920s due to better nutrition and increasing years of schooling.

Bias: Differences in performances caused by cultural experiences detected on tests.Stereotype Threat: A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.