Psychology Unit 2: sensation & perception, learning, memory

priming

(often unconscious) activation of certain associations --> predisposes one's perception, memory, or response

Mackay & Cowell study: advertising & attitudes, impact of ads on women

-1/2 participants viewed objectification ad, 1/2 viewed more progressive images --> each group rated diff. aesthetic elements of ads & answered questions about attitudes towards rape & feminism -results: more men accepted rape myths after sexualized images, more women supported feminism after progressive images --> exposure to media can shape attitudes/ideas

examples of anterograde amnesia?

-Clive Wearing: herpes encephalitis --> damaged temporal lobes -H.M.: head injury, epilepsy, 2 medial temporal lobes removed

acquisition

-classical: initial stage, linking NS & US so NS begins to trigger CR -operant: strengthening of a reinforced response

Elizabeth Loftus: misinformation & illusory memory

-controversial research -misinformation effect: memory distortion/contamination -misleading past event info. --> false memory -implications/ex's: false confessions, leading questions (by police, etc.)

the role of cognition: Bandura & observational learning

-diff. than Skinner, who thought internal mind was a "black box" (only external responses matter) -implications: children will imitate actions & words -violent TV & aggression

emotion & motivation

-emotions affect what we see/hear, perceive, etc. -motivation --> causes perceptual bias

What did Susan Clancy find through her alien abduction study?

-false memories may reflect gist of past experience -illusory memory of alien abduction may be an accurate representation of some past experience (ex: sleep paralysis) -people may have details from source monitoring errors (i.e. movie, book, psychotherapy) rather than past experience -implications: false testimonies, complexities of sexual abuse memories

Memory Illusions: Susan Clancy & the "recovered memory" debate

-found that women who recovered memories of sexual abuse were more prone to memory distortion than women who remembered abuse all along and women who didn't suffer abuse -controversial in relation to sexual abuse --> so to study memories that could widely be considered false, Susan Clancy did the alien abduction study

DRM Paradigm

-hear a list of words --> do arithmetic --> recall words *list includes related words but not a key "lure" word that links them all together -schemas & scripts: we organize concepts into groups in our mind -once we activate words in a schema, related concepts come to mind

Pavlov's legacy

-many responses to stimuli can be classically conditioned in organisms -processes like learning can be studied objectively --> important in the development of the field of psychology

operant conditioning

-organisms associate their actions with positive or negative consequences --> learn to repeat acts with rewards and avoid acts with unwanted results

form perception

-organizing sensations into meaningful shapes & patterns -figure & ground, grouping (i.e. proximity, continuity, closure)

St. Jacques & Schacter study: memory reactivation

-participants toured a museum wearing cameras --> saw pictures that matched what they'd seen and pictures that didn't (study 1: diff. scene, study 2: diff. angle) -reactivation match: enhances correct memory AND memory distortion (both are higher); high reliving also enhances both

Susan Clancy: alien abduction study

-participation recruitment; recovered memory group/repressed memory group/control group -DRM paradigm study (word lists, math, recall, recognition) -recovered memory group may rely on general gist/sense of items they studied --> false memories may reflect gist of past experience

Weber's Law

-physical reality does not equal psychological reality -to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum % (not a constant amount)

Lepper & Greene's study

-role of cognition: limits of rewards -studied preschoolers with puzzles and toys -surveillance + expected rewards --> loss of intrinsic motivation -adding reinforcers can decrease intrinsic motivation

How would Elizabeth Loftus explain the Brian Williams controversy?

-shows that memory is malleable (not that he's a liar) -he falsely reported being grounded by rocket fire while on a military helicopter --> he may have told it so many times that it became a false memory

distributed practice

-spacing effect: we retain info. better when we learn it over time (not all at once) -testing effect: enhanced memory after retrieving (not just reading) info.

What were the results of Brenda Milner's research with H.M.?

-used mirror writing task to study memory systems -after multiple repetitions, H.M. could complete the mirror task without remembering he'd ever done it before --> shows there are different systems for implicit & explicit memory

capacity of short-term and working memory

-varies depending on age, focus, etc. -working memory capacity is proportional to intelligence

light energy: wavelength, hue, intensity

-wavelength: varies w/ diff. types of light -hue: dimension of color determined by light wavelength; color we experience -intensity: amt. of energy in wave --> brightness or loudness (determined by amplitude)

building memories

-we automatically process info. about space, time, frequency, & procedural skills (ex: riding a bike) -many tasks that begin as effortful processing become automatic (i.e. reading, driving)

positive reinforcement

ADD a desirable stimulus (presents positive reinforcers to increase behaviors)

positive punishment

ADD an aversive stimulus (ex: yell)

extinction

CR diminishes when US doesn't follow CS (classical) or when a response is no longer reinforced (operant)

higher-order conditioning

CS in one conditioning experiment is paired with a new neutral stimulus --> creates a 2nd (often weaker) CS -ex: tone predicts food, then light predicts tone --> light predicts food

negative punishment

REMOVE a rewarding stimulus (ex: take away phone)

negative reinforcement

REMOVE an aversive stimulus (stops/reduces negative stimuli to increase behaviors) -ex: taking aspirin to remove a headache, hurrying home to escape the cold -NOT punishment

hierarchies

a few broad concepts divided into narrower concepts/facts

context effects

a stimulus can have different effects based on context -ex: word perception, picture interpretation

depth perception

ability to see in 3D (from 2D images) & judge distance

cognitive learning

acquisition of mental information (by observing events/others, or through language)

short-term memory

active memory, holds a few items briefly before info. is stored or forgotten

spontaneous recovery

after a pause, extinguished CR reappears

source amnesia

attributing wrong source to an event we've experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

much of our info processing occurs ______ (not in our conscious mind)

automatically

subliminal

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

parallel processing

brain processes many aspects of a visual scene simultaneously --> integrates them into a perceived image

flashbulb memories

clear memories of emotionally significant moments/events

schema

concepts that help us organize & interpret new info.

association

connecting events that occur in sequence

working memory

conscious, active processing of incoming info. + info. retrieved from long-term memory; focuses our attention

transduction

converting one energy form into another -ex: stimulus energies (sights, sounds, smells) --> become neural impulses our brains can interpret

repression

defense mechanism, banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, & memories

reinforcement schedule

defines how often desired response will be reinforced

binocular cues

depth cues, depend on use of both eyes -ex: retinal disparity = greater disparity b/t 2 images means object is closer

monocular cues

depth cues, work with 1 eye alone -ex: interposition, linear perspective, relative height, relative motion, light & shadow, relative size

intrinsic motivation

desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake -can sometimes be destroyed by excessive rewards

extrinsic motivation

desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation -ex: we get used to a smell in a room quickly -not true for vision b/c eyes are always moving -reduces sensitivity, but allows us to focus on INFORMATIVE changes in environment w/o being distracted by background noise

neutral stimulus (NS)

elicits no response before conditioning

shallow processing

encodes on a basic level, based on structure/appearance/sound of words

deep processing

encodes semantically, based on meaning of words --> best retention

effortful processing

encoding with attention and conscious effort

punishment

event that decreases the behavior it follows (weakens response)

reinforcement

event that strengthens the behavior it follows (strengthens the response)

cognition's influence on operant conditioning

evidence of cognitive processes that influence decision-making

absolute thresholds vary with ___ and ____ factors

external (ex: loudness of a room), internal (ex: home alone... creepy sound?)

basal ganglia

facilitates formation of procedural memories for skills

explicit memory

facts and experiences we can consciously know & "declare"

change blindness

failure to notice large changes to visual scenes -ex: men walk by door while person gives directions -occurs when attention is diverted -most obvious w/ "meaningless objects" -attention = important, but not enough -can be trained to improve awareness

___ schedules usually produce higher response rates, while ____ schedules usually produce more consistent responding

fixed, variable

4 types of schedules

fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval

storage decay

forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time

conditioned reinforcer

gains reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer

perceptual interpretation

generating meaning from sensory experience

retrieval

getting info. out from memory storage

top-down processing

guided by higher-level mental processes (ex: perceptions constructed from experience & expectations)

shaping

guiding behavior towards closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

operant chamber (Skinner box)

has bar/key that animal must manipulate to get food or water; used to study reinforcement

retrieval cues

help us remember details of a memory (ex: smells, tastes, sights)

cerebellum

helps form & store implicit memories created by classical conditioning

recognition

identifying items previously learned (i.e. multiple-choice)

phi phenomenon

illusion of movement created when 2+ lights blink on/off in quick succession --> motion perception

sensory memory

immediate, brief recording of sensory info.

delayed gratification

important for humans to learn (but we're often blinded by immediate results/consequences)

perceptual adaptation

in vision, ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new memories (often after injury)

retrograde amnesia

inability to retrieve info. from one's past (can't remember anything prior to injury)

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading info. into one's memory of an event -happens outside our awareness -can be influenced by imagination

cognition's influence on classical conditioning

increased predictability --> animals can learn to expect an event -associations can influence attitudes

semantic memory

info, factual (i.e. historical facts, dates)

primary reinforcer

innately reinforcing stimulus (ex: satisfying a biological need)

context changes the way we ____ sensory stimuli

interpret

"tip of the tongue" phenomenon

it's better to relax than to keep struggling

visual cliff

lab device to test depth perception in infants & young animals

discrimination

learned ability to distinguish between CS and other stimuli

conditioned response (CR)

learned response to a previously neutral (now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

conditioned = _____, unconditioned = ______

learned, unlearned

observational learning

learning by observing others

relearning

learning more quickly when you learn something a second/later time

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together -can be 2 stimuli that teach us to anticipate events (classical conditioning) or response and consequence as a result of our behavior (operant conditioning)

classical conditioning

learning to expect and prepare for important events like food, pain

memory

learning; persists over time through storage and retrieval of information

mnemonics

memory aids, especially techniques that use imagery & organizational devices

perceptual set

mental tendencies & assumptions --> affect what we perceive -ex: 2-way pictures, hearing, taste -we often experience what we expect

difference threshold

minimum difference b/t 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time = "just noticeable difference"

absolute threshold

minimum stimulation needed to detect a given stimulus 50% of the time

echoic memory

momentary memory of auditory stimuli (without full attention, sounds/words can be recorded for 3-4 seconds)

iconic memory

momentary memory of visual stimuli (picture, lasts a few tenths of a second)

shaping capitalizes on ______ occurring behaviors

naturally

unconditioned stimulus (US)

naturally/automatically triggers a response (UR)

feature detectors

nerve cells, respond to specific features

hippocampus

neural center, processes explicit memories for storage -temporarily stores memory (smell, feel, sound, location) --> then memories migrate elsewhere for storage

children's eyewitness recalls tend to be inaccurate unless questions are as _____ (non-leading) as possible

neutral

retroactive interference

new learning disrupts recall of old info (ex: new song lyrics)

modeling

observing and imitating a specific behavior

latent learning

occurs but isn't apparent until there's an incentive to demonstrate it -ex: rats in a maze (?)

Skinner used an _____ ______ (Skinner box) in his experiments to test the effects of _____ and ______.

operant chamber, reinforcement, shaping

gestalt

organized whole

perception

organizing & interpreting sensory info --> recognize meaningful objects, events

conditioned stimulus (CS)

originally irrelevant, but after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US) can trigger a conditioned response (CR)

color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination affects wavelengths reflected by it

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (consistent size, shape, brightness, color) even as illumination & retinal images change --> allows us to identify quickly

episodic memory

personal, experiential (i.e. what you were doing on a given day)

frequency determines ____, amplitude determines ____

pitch (high/low), loudness

failure of source monitoring can lead to inadvertent _____ and _____ ______

plagiarism, false memories

signal detection theory

predicts how & when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise) -assumes there's no absolute threshold; detection depends partly on experience, expectations, motivation, & alertness

positive transfer

previous learning can facilitate new learning (ex: Latin helps w/ French)

proactive interference

prior learning disrupts recall of new info. (ex: new lock combo)

learning

process of acquiring new & relatively enduring info. or behaviors

encoding

processing info. into the memory system/brain (ex: by extracting meaning)

overjustification effect

promising a reward for an already-interesting action --> makes reward the motivation (rather than intrinsic motivation) -reward should be unexpected, after a job well done

senses

receive sensory stimulation --> transform it into neural impulses --> deliver neural info. to brain

memory can be perception, _____ rather than representation

reconstruction

fixed-interval schedule

reinforces behavior after a fixed time period (ex: checking the daily mail)

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforces behavior after a set # of responses (ex: free drink after purchasing 10)

variable-ratio schedule

reinforces behavior after an unpredictable # of responses (ex: gambling)

variable-interval schedule

reinforces behavior after varying time intervals (ex: checking for new e-mails)

continuous reinforcement

reinforces desired response every time

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforces desired response part of the time -response is acquired slower, but is more resistant to extinction

long-term memory

relatively permanent, limitless store -includes knowledge, skills, experiences

storage

retain (encoded) info. over time

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection

recall

retrieving info. learned earlier (i.e. fill-in-the-blank)

context-dependent memory

returning to context where you experienced something can prime memory retrieval

sensation

sensory receptors & nervous system receive stimulus from environment

bottom-up processing

starts w/ senses, then brain integrates info.

generalization

stimuli similar to CS produce a similar response

reinforcement _____ a response, punishment ______ a response

strengthens, weakens

psychophysics

studies relationships b/t physical characteristics of stimuli (i.e. intensity) & our psychological experience of them

conditioning helps an animal _____ and _____

survive, reproduce -by responding to cues that help it gain food, avoid danger, find a mate, and produce offspring

serial position effect

tendency to best recall last and first items in a list

mood-congruent memory

tendency to recall experiences consistent with our current mood

behaviorism

the view that psychology: 1) should be an objective science (true) 2) should study behavior without reference to mental processes (false)

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental info. (space, time, etc.) and well-learned info. (ex: word meanings)

unconditioned response (UR)

unlearned, natural response (i.e. salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (i.e. food in the mouth)

motion perception

visual system infers motion from changing light pattern on retinal image -usually correct, sometimes not -functions: draws attention, distinguish 3-D shape & foreground/background, recognize action

motivated forgetting

we alter, filter, or lose some info. as we process

chunking

we organize items into familiar, manageable units (often occurs automatically)

shape & size constancies

we perceive form/size of objects as constant despite receiving changing images --> brain constructs perceptions

state-dependent memory

what we learn in one state may be easier to recall when we return to that state

selective attention

when people are focused on a task, they don't recognize other normally obvious details -ex: gorilla video, phenomena linked to car accidents -cognitive capacity & attention load

gestalt psychologists

whole > sum of its parts -figure-ground relationship, similarity, proximity, closure, good continuation