Psych Ch 6-11
In terms of perception, a band's lead singer would be considered ______, and the other musicians would be considered ______.
Figure, Ground
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
In what ways might relaxation and meditation influence stress and health?
Relaxation and mindfulness meditation have been shown to reduce stress by relaxing muscles, lowering blood pressure, improving immune functioning, and lessening anxiety and depression. Massage therapy also relaxes muscles and reduces depression.
Fovea
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster
conduction hearing loss
less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of
loudness
The longer the sound waves are, the __________ their frequency is and the __________ their pitch.
lower, lower
Stress can suppress the immune system by prompting a decrease in the release of _______ , the immune cells that ordinarily attack bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and other foreign substances.
lymphocytes
Two examples of _______ depth cues are interposition and linear perspective.
monocular
One of the most consistent findings of psychological research is that happy people are also a. more likely to help others. b. more likely to express anger. c. generally luckier than others. d. concentrated in the wealthier nations.
more likely to help others.
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
Seligman's research showed that a dog will respond with learned helplessness if it has received repeated shocks and has had a. the opportunity to escape. b. no control over the shocks. c. pain or discomfort. d. no food or water prior to the shocks.
no control over the shocks
adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience
The brain's ability to process many aspects of an object or a problem simultaneously is called _______.
parallel processing
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood
color constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
Some nocturnal animals, such as toads, mice, rats, and bats, have impressive night vision thanks to having many more ______________ (rods/cones) than ______________ (rods/cones) in their retinas. These creatures probably have very poor ______________ (color/black-and-white) vision.
rods, cones, color
subjective well-being
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
A food's aroma can greatly enhance its taste. This is an example of a. sensory adaptation b. chemical sensation c. kinesthesia d. sensory interaction
sensory interaction
The gate-control theory of pain proposes that a. pain can often be controlled and managed effectively through the use of relaxation techniques. b. small spinal cord nerve fibers conduct most pain signals, but large-fiber activity can close access to those pain signals. c. special pain receptors send signals directly to the brain. d. pain is a property of the senses, not of the brain.
small spinal cord nerve fibers conduct most pain signals, but large-fiber activity can close access to those pain signals.
People who have close relationships are less likely to die prematurely than those who do not, supporting the idea that a. social support has a beneficial effect on health. b. Type A behavior is responsible for many premature deaths. c. social ties can be a source of stress. d. gender influences longevity.
social support has a beneficial effect on health.
Research has shown that people are at increased risk for cancer a year or so after experiencing depression, helplessness, or bereavement. In describing this link, researchers are quick to point out that a. anger is the negative emotion most closely linked to cancer. b. accumulated stress causes cancer. c. feeling optimistic about chances of survival ensures that a cancer patient will get well. d. stress does not create cancer cells, but it weakens the body's natural defenses against them.
stress does not create cancer cells, but it weakens the body's natural defenses against them.
aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety
The stress response system: When alerted to a negative, uncontrollable event, our ________ nervous system arouses us. Heart rate and respiration _________ (increase/decrease). Blood is diverted from digestion to the skeletal _________. The body releases sugar and fat. All this prepares the body for the ___________ response.
sympathetic, increase, muscles, fight-or-flight
When faced with stress, women are more likely than men to experience the ___________ response.
tend and befriend
perceptual adaptation
the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
self-control
the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards
depth perception
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
accommodation
the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
Perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
parallel processing
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.
positive psychology
the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive
vestibular sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance
audition
the sense or act of hearing
Psychoneuroimmunology
the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
kinesthesia
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
opponent-process theory
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
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
gate-control theory
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
The visual cliff experiments suggest that
crawling human infants and very young animals perceive depth
What is the feel-good, do-good phenomenon, and what is the focus of positive psychology research?
A good mood brightens people's perceptions of the world. Subjective well-being is your perception of being happy or satisfied with life. Happy people tend to be healthy, energized, and satisfied with life. They also are more willing to help others (the feel-good, do-good phenomenon). Positive psychologists use scientific methods to study human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive. The three pillars of positive psychology are positive well-being; positive character; and positive groups, communities, and cultures.
How does a perceived lack of control affect health?
A perceived lack of control provokes an outpouring of hormones that put people's health at risk. Being unable to avoid repeated aversive events can lead to learned helplessness. People who perceive an internal locus of control achieve more, enjoy better health, and are happier than those who perceive an external locus of control.
Using sound as your example, explain how these concepts differ: absolute threshold, subliminal stimulation, and difference threshold.
Absolute Threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (such as the sound of an approaching bike on the sidewalk behind us) 50 percent of the time. Subliminal stimulation happens when, without our awareness, our sensory system processes a stimulus (when it is below our absolute threshold). A difference threshold is the minimum difference needed to distinguish between two stimuli (such as the sound of a bike versus a runner coming up behind you).
How do we perceive color in the world around us?
According to the Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory, the retina contains three types of color receptors. Contemporary research has found three types of cones, each most sensitive to the wavelengths of one of the three primary colors of light (red, green, or blue). Hering's opponent-process theory proposed three additional color processes (red-versus-green, blue-versus-yellow, black- versus-white). Research has confirmed that, en route to the brain, neurons in the retina and the thalamus code the color-related information from the cones into pairs of opponent colors. These two theories, and the research supporting them, show that color processing occurs in two stages.
How effective is aerobic exercise as a way to manage stress and improve well-being?
Aerobic exercise is sustained, oxygen-consuming activity that increases heart and lung fitness. It increases arousal, leads to muscle relaxation and sounder sleep, triggers the production of neurotransmitters, and enhances self-image. It can relieve depression and, in later life, is associated with better cognitive functioning and longer life.
Which of the following factors do NOT predict self-reported happiness? Which factors are better predictors? a. Age b. Personality traits c. Close relationships d. Gender e. Sleep and exercise f. Active religious faith
Age and gender (a. and d.) do NOT effectively predict happiness levels. Better predictors are personality traits, close relationships, sleep and exercise, and religious faith (b., c., e., and f.).
How does stress make us more vulnerable to disease?
As we know from psychoneuroimmunology studies, stress diverts energy from the immune system, inhibiting the activities of its B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, and NK cells. Stress does not cause diseases such as AIDS and cancer, but by altering our immune functioning it may make us more vulnerable to them and influence their progression.
problem-focused coping
Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.
Subliminal stimuli are
Below are absolute threshold for conscious awareness
The amplitude of a light wave determines our perception of
Brightness
binocular cues
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes
How do strategies for handling anger compare in their effectiveness?
Chronic hostility is one of the negative emotions linked to heart disease. Emotional catharsis may be temporarily calming, but in the long run it does not reduce anger. Expressing anger can make us angrier. Experts suggest reducing the level of physiological arousal of anger by waiting, finding a healthy distraction or support, and trying to move away from the situation mentally. Controlled assertions of feelings may resolve conflicts, and forgiveness may rid us of angry feelings.
The snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are converted into neural activity, is called the ________.
Cochlea
Why are some of us more prone than others to coronary heart disease?
Coronary heart disease, the United States' number one cause of death, has been linked with the reactive, anger-prone Type A personality. Compared with relaxed, easygoing Type B personalities, Type A people secrete more stress hormones. Chronic stress also contributes to persistent inflammation, which heightens the risk of clogged arteries and depression.
How do we use binocular and monocular cues to perceive the world in three dimensions?
Depth perception is our ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance. The visual cliff and other research demonstrate that many species perceive the world in three dimensions at, or very soon after, birth. Binocular cues, such as retinal disparity, are depth cues that rely on information from both eyes. Monocular cues (such as relative size, interposition, relative height, relative motion, linear perspective, and light and shadow) let us judge depth using information transmitted by only one eye.
Which of the following is NOT one of the three main types of stressors? a. Daily hassles b. Catastrophes b. Significant life changes d. Distant threats that we hear about
Distant threats that we hear about
How can our self-control be depleted, and why is it important to build this strength?
Exercising willpower temporarily depletes the mental energy needed for self-control on other tasks. Self-control requires attention and energy, but it predicts good health, higher income, and better grades.
What does research on restored vision, sensory restriction, and perceptual adaptation reveal about the effects of experience on perception?
Experience guides our perceptual interpretations. People blind from birth who gained sight after surgery lack the experience to visually recognize shapes, forms, and complete faces. Sensory restriction research indicates that there is a critical period for some aspects of sensory and perceptual development. Without early stimulation, the brain's neural organization does not develop normally. People given glasses that shift the world slightly to the left or right, or even upside down, experience perceptual adaptation. They are initially disoriented, but they manage to adapt to their new context.
Where are feature detectors located, and what do they do?
Feature detectors, located in the visual cortex, respond to specific features of the visual stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement. Supercell clusters in other critical areas respond to more complex patterns.
Which component of the Type A personality has been linked most closely to coronary heart disease?
Feeling angry and negative much of the time.
How did the Gestalt psychologists understand perceptual organization, and how do figure-ground and grouping principles contribute to our perceptions?
Gestalt psychologists searched for rules by which the brain organizes fragments of sensory data into gestalts (from the German word for "whole"), or meaningful forms. In pointing out that the whole may exceed the sum of its parts, they noted that we filter sensory information and construct our perceptions. To recognize an object, we must first perceive it (see it as a figure) as distinct from its surroundings (the ground). We bring order and form to stimuli by organizing them into meaningful groups, following such rules as proximity, continuity, and closure.
What do we mean when we say that, in perception, the whole may exceed the sum of its parts?
Gestalt psychologists used this saying to describe our perceptual tendency to organize clusters of sensations into meaningful forms or coherent groups.
Does perceptual set involve bottom-up or top-down processing? Why?
It involves top-down processing. Our perceptual set influences our interpretation of stimuli based on our experiences, assumptions, and expectations.
________is your sense of body position and movement. Your _________ sense specifically monitors your head's movement, with sensors in the inner ear.
Kinesthesia, vestibular sense
Where are kinesthetic sense and vestibular sense receptors located?
Kinesthetic receptors are located in our joints, tendons, and muscles. Vestibular sense receptors are located in our inner ear.
How do the rods and cones process information, and what is the path information travels from the eye to the brain?
Light entering the eye triggers chemical changes in the light-sensitive rods and color-sensitive cones at the back of the retina, which convert light energy into neural impulses. After processing by bipolar and ganglion cells, neural impulses travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the thalamus, and on to the visual cortex.
What is the rapid sequence of events that occurs when you see and recognize a friend?
Light waves reflect off the person and travel into your eye, where the receptor cells in your retina convert the light waves' energy into neural impulses sent to your brain. Your brain processes the subdimensions of this visual input—including depth, movement, form, and color—separately but simultaneously. It interprets this information based on previously stored information and your expectations, and forms a conscious perception of your friend.
How do we detect loudness, discriminate pitch, and locate sounds?
Loudness is not related to the intensity of a hair cell's response. The brain interprets loudness from the number of activated hair cells. Place theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds, and frequency theory explains how we hear low- pitched sounds. (A combination of the two theories explains how we hear pitches in the middle range.) Place theory proposes that our brain interprets a particular pitch by decoding the place where a sound wave stimulates the cochlea's basilar membrane. Frequency theory proposes that the brain deciphers the frequency of the neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve to the brain. Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. To locate sounds, the brain analyzes the minute differences in the sounds received by the two ears and computes the sound's source.
Which of the following ESP phenomena is supported by solid, replicable scientific evidence? a. telepathy b. clairvoyance c. precognition d. none of these
None of these
How do absolute thresholds and difference thresholds differ, and what effect, if any, do stimuli below the absolute threshold have on us?
Our absolute threshold for any stimulus is the minimum stimulation necessary for us to be consciously aware of it 50 percent of the time. Signal detection theory predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus amid background noise. Individual absolute thresholds vary, depending on the strength of the signal and also on our experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness. Our difference threshold (also called just noticeable difference, or jnd) is the difference we can discern between two stimuli 50 percent of the time. Weber's law states that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (not a constant amount) to be perceived as different. Priming shows that we process some information from stimuli below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
How does the biopsychosocial approach explain our experience of pain? Provide examples.
Our experience of pain is influenced by biological factors (such as sensory receptors that detect pressure), psychological factors (such as our focused attention), and social-cultural factors (such as social expectations about tolerance and expression of pain).
How do we sense touch?
Our sense of touch is actually several senses—pressure, warmth, cold, and pain—that combine to produce other sensations, such as "hot."
What three steps are basic to all our sensory systems?
Our senses (1) receive sensory stimulation (often using specialized receptor cells); (2) transform that stimulation into neural impulses; and (3) deliver the neural information to the brain. Transduction is the process of converting one form of energy into another.
How does sensory interaction influence our perceptions, and what is embodied cognition?
Our senses can influence one another. This sensory interaction occurs, for example, when the smell of a favorite food amplifies its taste. Embodied cognition is the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive prefer- ences and judgments.
What biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences affect our experience of pain? How do placebos, distraction, and hypnosis help control pain?
Pain reflects bottom-up sensations (such as input from nociceptors, the sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals) and top-down processes (such as experience, attention, and culture). One theory of pain is that a "gate" in the spinal cord either opens to permit pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers to reach the brain, or closes to prevent their passage. The biopsychosocial perspective views our perception of pain as the sum of biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences. For example, our experience of pain is influenced by activity in the spinal cord's large and small fibers (a biological influence), attention to pain (a psychological influence), and cultural expectations (a social-cultural influence). Pain treatments often combine physical and psychological elements. Placebos can help by dampening the central nervous system's attention and response to painful experiences. Distractions draw people's attention away from painful stimulation. Hypnosis, which increases our response to suggestions, can also help relieve pain. Posthypnotic suggestion is used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms.
What are the claims of ESP, and what have most research psychologists concluded after putting these claims to the test?
Parapsychology is the study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis. The three most testable forms of ESP are telepathy (mind-to-mind communication), clairvoyance (perceiving remote events), and precognition (perceiving future events). Skeptics argue that (1) to believe in ESP, you must believe the brain is capable of perceiving without sen- sory input, and (2) researchers have been unable to replicate ESP phenomena under controlled conditions.
What is the function of sensory adaptation?
Sensory adaptation (our diminished sensitivity to constant or routine odors, sounds, and touches) focuses our attention on informative changes in our environment.
How do perceptual constancies help us construct meaningful perceptions?
Perceptual constancies enable us to perceive objects as stable despite the changing image they cast on our retinas. Color constancy is our ability to perceive consistent color in objects, even though the lighting and wavelengths shift. Brightness (or lightness) constancy is our ability to perceive an object as having a constant lightness even when its illumination—the light cast upon it—changes. Our brain constructs our experience of an object's color or brightness through comparisons with other surrounding objects. Shape constancy is our ability to perceive familiar objects (such as an opening door) as unchanging in shape. Size constancy is perceiving objects as unchanging in size despite their changing retinal images. Knowing an object's size gives us clues to its distance; knowing its distance gives clues about its size, but we sometimes misread monocular distance cues and reach the wrong conclusions, as in the Moon illusion.
How do our expectations, contexts, motivation, and emotions influence our perceptions?
Perceptual set is a mental predisposition that functions as a lens through which we perceive the world. Our learned concepts (schemas) prime us to organize and interpret ambiguous stimuli in certain ways. Our physical and emotional context, as well as our motivation, can create expectations and color our interpretation of events and behaviors.
Cats are able to open their ______________ much wider than we can, which allows more light into their eyes so they can see better at night.
Pupils
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception?
Sensation is the bottom-up process by which our sensory receptors and our nervous system receive and represent stimuli. Perception is the top-down process in which our brain creates meaning by organizing and interpreting what our senses detect.
What are sensation and perception? What do we mean by bottom-up processing and top-down processing?
Sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting this information, enabling recognition of meaningful events. Sensation and perception are actually parts of one continuous process. Bottom-up processing is sensory analysis that begins at the entry level, with information flowing from the sensory receptors to the brain. Top-down processing is information processing guided by high-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions by filtering information through our experience and expectations.
How does social support promote good health?
Social support promotes health by calming us, by reducing blood pressure and stress hormones, and by fostering stronger immune functioning.
What are some predictors of happiness, and how can we be happier?
Some individuals, because of their genetic predispositions and personal histories, are happier than others. Cultures, which vary in the traits they value and the behaviors they expect and reward, also influence personal levels of happiness. Those who want to be happier can (1) realize that financial success may not lead to enduring happiness; (2) take control of their time; (3) act happy to trigger facial and behavioral feedback; (4) seek skill-engaging work and leisure to foster flow; (5) buy shared experiences rather than things; (6) exercise; (7) get adequate sleep; (8) nurture close relationships; (9) focus beyond themselves; (10) record and express their gratitude; and (11) nurture their spiritual self.
What are the characteristics of air pressure waves that we hear as sound?
Sound waves are bands of compressed and expanded air. Our ears detect these changes in air pressure and transform them into neural impulses, which the brain decodes as sound. Sound waves vary in amplitude, which we perceive as differing loudness, and in frequency, which we experience as differing pitch.
What events provoke stress responses, and how do we respond and adapt to stress?
Stress is the process by which we appraise and respond to stressors (catastrophic events, significant life changes, and daily hassles) that challenge or threaten us. Walter Cannon viewed the stress response as a "fight-or-flight" system. Hans Selye proposed a general three-phase (alarm-resistance-exhaustion) general adaptation syndrome (GAS). Facing stress, women may have a tend-and-befriend response; men may withdraw socially, turn to alcohol, or become aggressive.
What general effect does stress have on our overall health?
Stress tends to reduce our immune system's ability to function properly, so that higher stress generally leads to greater incidence of physical illness.
How does an optimistic outlook affect health and longevity?
Studies of people with an optimistic outlook show that their immune system is stronger, their blood pressure does not increase as sharply in response to stress, their recovery from heart bypass surgery is faster, and their life expectancy is longer, compared with their pessimistic counterparts.
Does subliminal sensation enable subliminal persuasion?
Subliminal stimuli are those that are too weak to detect 50 percent of the time. While subliminal sensation is a fact, such sensations are too fleeting to enable exploitation with subliminal messages: There is no powerful, enduring effect.
In what ways are our senses of taste and smell similar, and how do they differ?
Taste and smell are both chemical senses. Taste is a composite of five basic sensations—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami—and of the aromas that interact with information from the taste receptor cells of the taste buds. There are no basic sensations for smell. We smell something when molecules of a substance carried in the air reach a tiny cluster of 20 million receptor cells at the top of each nasal cavity. Odor molecules trigger combinations of receptors, in patterns that the olfactory cortex interprets. The receptor cells send messages to the brain's olfactory bulb, then to the temporal lobe, and to parts of the limbic system.
If an ESP event occurred under controlled conditions, what would be the next best step to confirm that ESP really exists?
The ESP event would need to be reproduced in other scientific studies.
What are two key theories of color vision? Are the contradictory or complementary?
The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory shows that the retina contains color receptors for red, green, and blue. The opponent-process theory shows that we have opponent-process cells in the retina and thalamus for red-green, yellow-blue, and white-black. These theories are complementary and outline the two stages of color vision: (1) The retina's receptors for red, green, and blue respond to different color stimuli. (2) The receptors' signals are then processed by the opponent-process cells on their way to the visual cortex in the brain.
What is the faith factor, and what are some possible explanations for the link between faith and health?
The faith factor is the finding that religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active. Possible explanations may include the effect of intervening variables, such as the healthy behaviors, social support, or positive emotions often found among people who regularly attend religious services.
How do time, wealth, adaptation, and comparison affect our happiness levels?
The moods triggered by good or bad events seldom last beyond that day. Even significant good events, such as sudden wealth, seldom increase happiness for long. Happiness is relative to our own experiences (the adaptation-level phenomenon) and to others' success (the relative deprivation principle).
What are the basic steps in transforming sound waves into perceived sound?
The outer ear collects sound waves, which are translated into mechanical waves by the middle ear and turned into fluid waves in the inner ear. The auditory nerve then translates the energy into electrical waves and sends them to the brain, which perceives and interprets the sound.
How does the ear transform sound energy into neural messages?
The outer ear is the visible portion of the ear. The middle ear is the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea. The inner ear consists of the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. Through a mechanical chain of events, sound waves traveling through the auditory canal cause tiny vibrations in the eardrum. The bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations and relay them to the fluid-filled cochlea. Rippling of the basilar membrane, caused by pressure changes in the cochlear fluid, causes movement of the tiny hair cells, triggering neural messages to be sent (via the thalamus) to the auditory cortex in the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss (or nerve deafness) results from damage to the cochlea's hair cells or their associated nerves. Conduction hearing loss results from damage to the mechanical system that transmits sound waves to the cochlea. Cochlear implants can restore hearing for some people.
Why is it that after wearing shoes for a while, you cease to notice them (until questions like this draws your attention back to them)?
The shoes provide constant stimulation. Sensory adaptation allow us to focus on changing stimuli.
How do we sense our body's position and movement?
Through kinesthesia, we sense the position and movement of our body parts. We monitor our head's (and thus our body's) position and movement, and maintain our balance, with our vestibular sense.
How does the brain use parallel processing to construct visual perceptions?
Through parallel processing, the brain handles many aspects of vision (color, movement, form, and depth) simultaneously. Other neural teams integrate the results, comparing them with stored information and enabling perceptions.
A Chinese proverb warns, "The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns you more than him." How is this true of Type A individuals?
Type A individuals frequently experience negative emotions (anger, depression), during which the sympathetic nervous system diverts blood away from the liver. This leaves fat and cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream for deposit near the heart and other organs, increasing the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Thus, Type A individuals actually harm themselves by directing anger at others.
How does Type D personality differ from Type A?
Type D individuals experience distress rather than anger, and they tend to suppress their negative emotions to avoid social disapproval.
Which one of the following is an effective strategy for reducing angry feelings? a. Express anger in action or fantasy b. Retaliate verbally or physically c. Review the grievance silently d. Wait or "simmer down"
Wait or "simmer down"
The characteristic of light that determines the color we experience, such as blue or green, is _______.
Wavelength
How do we normally perceive depth?
We are normally able to perceive depth thanks to 1) binocular cues (which are based on our retinal disparity) 2) monocular cues (which include relative height, relative size, interposition, linear perspective, light and shadow and relative motion)
How does our system for sensing smell differ from our sensory systems for touch and taste?
We have four basic touch senses and five basic taste sensations. But we have no specific smell receptors. Instead, different combinations of odor receptors send messages to the brain, enabling us to recognize some 1 trillion different smells.
We have specialized nerve receptors for detecting which five tastes? How did this ability aid our ancestors?
We have specialized receptors for detecting sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami tastes. Being able to detect pleasurable tastes enabled our ancestors to seek out energy- and protein-rich foods. Detecting aversive tastes deterred them from eating toxic substances, increasing their chances of survival.
In what two ways do people try to alleviate stress?
We use problem-focused coping to change the stressor or the way we interact with it. We use emotion-focused coping to avoid or ignore stressors and attend to emotional needs related to stress reactions.
What are the characteristics of the energy that we see as visible light? What structures in the eye help focus that energy?
What we see as light is only a thin slice of the broad spectrum of electromagnetic energy. The portion visible to humans extends from the blue-violet to the red light wavelengths. After entering the eye and being focused by a lens, light energy particles strike the eye's inner surface, the retina. The hue we perceive in a light depends on its wavelength, and its brightness depends on its intensity.
What mental processes allow you to perceive a lemon as yellow?
Your brain constructs this perception of color in two stages. In the first stage, the lemon reflects light energy into your eyes, where it is transformed into neural messages. Three sets of cones, each sensitive to a different light frequency (red, blue, and green) process color. In this case, the light energy stimulates both red-sensitive and green-sensitive cones. In the second stage, opponent-process cells sensitive to paired opposites of color (red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white) evaluate the incoming neural messages as they pass through your optic nerve to the thalamus and visual cortex. When the yellow-sensitive opponent-process cells are stimulated, you identify the lemon as yellow.
Why do you feel a little dizzy immediately after a roller-coaster ride?
Your vestibular sense regulates balance and body positioning through kinesthetic receptors triggered by fluid in your inner ear. Wobbly legs and a spinning world are signs that these receptors are still responding to the ride's turbulence. As your vestibular sense adjusts to solid ground, your balance will be restored.
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
pitch
a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency
cochlea
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses
Weber's law states that for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by
a constant minimum percentage
cochlear implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
mindfulness meditation
a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner
Hypnosis
a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
Dissociation
a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others
health psychology
a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine
posthypnotic suggestion
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
signal detection theory
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's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.
After moving to a new apartment, you find the street noise irritatingly loud, but after a while, it no longer bothers you. This reaction illustrates the a. relative deprivation principle. b. adaptation-level phenomenon. c. importance of mindfulness meditation. d. feel-good, do-good phenomenon.
adaptation-level phenomenon
Because it triggers the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and the endorphins, _________ exercise raises energy levels and helps alleviate depression and anxiety.
aerobic
What are some of the tactics we can use to manage successfully the stress we cannot avoid?
aerobic exercise, relaxation procedures, mindfulness meditation, and religious engagement
Coping
alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods
Gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
bottom-up processing
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction
subliminal
below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Sensation is to ________ as perception is to ________.
bottom-up processing, top-down processing
Cones are the eye's receptor cells that are especially sensitive to ________ light and are responsible for our ________ vision.
bright, color
Transduction
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.
monocular cues
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
When faced with a situation over which you feel you have no sense of control, it is most effective to use ___________ (emotion/problem)-focused coping.
emotion
Our perceptual set influences what we perceive. This mental tendency reflects our
experiences, assumptions, and expectations
The number of short-term illnesses and stress-related psychological disorders was higher than usual in the months following an earthquake. Such findings suggest that a. daily hassles have adverse health consequences. a. small, bad events don't cause stress, but large ones can be toxic. c. the amount of stress a person feels is directly related to the number of stressors experienced. d. experiencing a very stressful event increases a person's vulnerability to illness.
experiencing a very stressful event increases a person's vulnerability to illness.
The cells in the visual cortex that respond to certain lines, edges, and angles are called _______.
feature detectors
In listening to a concert, you attend to the solo instrument and perceive the orchestra as accompaniment. This illustrates the organizing principle of _______.
figure-ground
Our tendencies to fill in the gaps and to perceive a pattern as continuous are two different examples of the organizing principle called _______.
grouping
place theory
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated
frequency theory
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
Catharsis
in psychology, the idea that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
top-down processing
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Sensory adaptation helps us focus on
informative changes in the environment
When elderly patients take an active part in managing their own care and surroundings, their morale and health tend to improve. Such findings indicate that people do better when they experience an _________(internal/external) locus of control.
internal
Depth perception underlies our ability to
judge distances
Another term for difference threshold is the _________.
just noticeable difference
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
The process by which we organize and interpret sensory information is called ________.
perception
In experiments, people have worn glasses that turned their visual fields upside down. After a period of adjustment, they learned to function quite well. This ability is called ____________ ____________.
perceptual adaptation
Perceiving a tomato as consistently red, despite lighting shifts, is an example of
perceptual constancy
Which of the following has NOT been proven to reduce pain? a. distractions b. placebos c. phantom limb sensations d. endorphins
phantom limb sensations
Which theory of pitch perception would best explain a symphony audience's enjoyment of the high-pitched piccolo? How about the low-pitched cello?
place theory, frequency theory
________ theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds, and ________ theory explains how we hear low-pitched sounds.
place, frequency
psychology is a scientific field of study focused on how humans thrive and flourish.
positive
To cope with stress when we feel in control of our world, we tend to use _________-focused (emotion/problem) strategies. To cope with stress when we believe we cannot change a situation, we tend to use _________ -focused (emotion/problem) strategies.
problem, emotion
The field of _______ studies mind-body interactions, including the effects of psychological, neural, and endocrine functioning on the immune system and overall health
psychoneuroimmunology
After surgery to restore vision, patients who had been blind from birth had difficulty
recognizing objects by sight.
A philosopher observed that we cannot escape envy, because there will always be someone more successful, more accomplished, or richer with whom to compare ourselves. In psychology, this observation is embodied in the _________ principle.
relative deprivation
Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS) consists of an alarm reaction followed by ______ , then ________. .
resistance, exhaustion
Cones
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Rods
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond
Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
Intensity
the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude (height)
middle ear
the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window
coronary heart disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries
extrasensory perception (ESP)
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
hue
the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth
Wavelength
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
embodied cognition
the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements
inner ear
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
Retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
difference threshold
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
sensorineural hearing loss
the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness; caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
The blind spot in your retina is located where
the optic nerve leaves the eye
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
internal locus of control
the perception that we control our own fate
grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there
sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
Weber's Law
the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
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 combination, can produce the perception of any color.
Two theories together account for color vision. The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory shows that the eye contains, ________ and the opponent-process theory accounts for the nervous system's having ________.
three types of color receptors; opponent-process cells
tend and befriend
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)