Chapter 3 & Chapter 4 Test Preperation

Chapter 3 1. Sensation is the process through which the senses pick up visual, auditory, and other sensory stimuli and transmit them to the brain. 2. Perception is the process by which the brain actively organizes and interprets sensory information. 3. Absolute Threshold is the minimum amount of sensory stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time. Example) Just as the threshold of a doorway is the dividing point between being outside a room and inside, the absolute threshold of a sense marks the difference between not being able to perceive a stimulus and being just barely able to perceive it. 4. Difference Threshold is a measure of the smallest increase or decrease in a physical stimulus that is required to produce a difference in sensation that is noticeable 50% of the time. 5. Transduction is the process through which sensory receptors convert the sensory stimulation into neural impulses. 6. The Cornea bends light rays inward through the pupil – the small, dark opening in the eye. The Iris dilates and contracts the pupil to regulate the amount of light entering the eye. The lens changes its shape as it focuses images of objects at varying distances on the retina, a thin layer of tissue that contains the sensory receptors for vision. The Cones detect color and fine detail; they function best in adequate light. The Rods are extremely sensitive and enable vision in dim light. 7. Cones are the light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that enable humans to see color and fine detail in adequate light but do not function in very dim light. 8. Rods are the light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that look like slender cylinders and allow the eye to respond to as few as five photons of light. 9. Fovea is a small area at the center of the retina that provides the clearest and sharpest vision because it has the largest concentration of cones. 10. Neural impulses are carried from the retina to the thalamus by the optic nerve and then relayed to their final destination, the primary visual cortex. 11. Depth Perception is the ability to perceive the visual world in three dimensions and to judge distances accurately. 12. The Gestalt principles of perceptual organization include:  Figure-Ground. As we view the world, some object (the figure) often seems to stand out from the background (the ground).  Similarity. Objects that have similar characteristics are perceived as a unit.  Proximity. Objects that are close together in space or time are usually perceived as belonging together.  Continuity. We tend to perceive figures or objects as belonging together if they appear to form a continuous pattern.  Closure. We perceive figures with gaps in them to be complete. Even though parts of a triangle are missing, we use closure and perceive it as a triangle anyway.

13. Perceptual Constancy is the tendency to perceive objects as maintaining the same size, shape, and brightness, despite changes in the retinal image that result when an object is viewed from different angles and distances. 14. Binocular depth cues include convergence and binocular disparity, which depend on both eyes working together for depth perception. 15. Convergence occurs when the eyes turn inward to focus on nearby objects – the closer the object, the more the two objects appear to come together. 16. Binocular Disparity (or retinal disparity), provides an important cue for depth perception. The farther away from the eyes (up to 20 feet or so) the objects being viewed, the less the disparity, or difference, between the two retinal images. The brain integrates the two slightly different retinal images and creates the perception of three dimensions. 17. Saturation is the Purity of a color, or the degree to which the light waves producing it are of the same wavelength. 18. Brightness refers to the Intensity of the light energy that is perceived as a color and corresponds to the amplitude (height) of the color‟s light wave. 19. The Three different parts of the Ear consist of:  The Outer Ear is the visible part of the ear, consisting of the pinna and the auditory canal.  The Middle Ear is the portion of the ear containing the ossicles, which connect the eardrum to the oval window and amplify sound waves.  The Inner Ear is the innermost portion of the ear, containing the Cochlea, the vestibular sacs, and the semicircular canals. 20. Cochlea is the fluid filled, snail-shaped, bony chamber in the inner ear that contains the basilar membrane and its hair cells (the sound receptors). 21. The Place Theory is the theory of hearing that holds that each individual pitch a person hears is determined by the particular location along the basilar membrane of the cochlea that vibrates the most. 22. The Frequency Theory is the theory of hearing that holds that hair cell receptors vibrate the same number of times per second as the sounds that reach them. 23. The Gate-Control Theory attempts to answer the question of how pain works by saying that an area in the spinal cord can act like a “gate” and either block pain messages or transmit them to the brain. Only so many messages can go through the gate at any one time. The theory also accounts for the fact that psychological factors, both cognitive and emotional, can influence the perception of pain. 24. Negative thinking can influence the perception of pain. Some cultures encourage individuals to suppress (or exaggerate) emotional reactions to pain. Chapter 4 1. Circadian Rhythm refers to the regular fluctuation from high to low points of certain bodily functions and behaviors within each 24-hour period.

2. The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus or the SCN is a pair of tiny structures in the brain‟s hypothalamus that control the timing of circadian rhythms; the biological clock. 3. Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland that is usually secreted when there are low lighting conditions is detected (drowsy), and not secreted when high lighting conditions is detected (alert). 4. During NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the heart rate and respiration are slow and regular, and blood pressure and brain activity are at a 24-hour low point; there is little body movement and no rapid eye movements. 5. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the large muscles of the body are paralyzed, respiration and heart rate are fast and irregular, brain activity increases, and rapid eye movements and vivid dreams occur. Many psychologists believe that important neurological tasks such as the consolidation of new learning, take place during REM sleep. 6. Sleep cycles are a period of sleep lasting about 90 minutes and including one or more stages of NREM sleep, followed by REM sleep.  Awake (beta waves)  Drowsy (alpha waves)  Stage 1 (irregular or theta waves) sometimes called „light sleep‟, Stage 1 is actually a transition stage between waking and sleeping.  Stage 2 (sleep spindles) Sleep Stage 2 brain waves that feature short periods of calm interrupted by brief flashes of intense activity.  Stage 3 (delta waves appear)  Stage 4 (delta waves) the deepest stage of NREM sleep, characterized by an EEG pattern of more than 50% delta waves. Also the deepest sleep, from which sleepers are hardest to awaken. 7. Sleep Deprivation may lead to the suppression of neurological activity in the temporal lobes. The brain attempts to compensate for this inhibition by increasing activity in the pre-frontal cortex and the parietal lobes. 8. REM Rebound is the increased amount of REM sleep that occurs after REM deprivation; often associated with unpleasant dreams or nightmares. 9. Restorative Theory of Sleep is the theory that the function of sleep is to restore the body and mind (the restoration of energy and the consolidation of memory). 10. Circadian Theory of Sleep (or the Evolutionary Theory of Sleep) is the theory that sleep evolved to keep humans out of harm‟s way during the night. 11. Hypnosis is a procedure through which one person, the hypnotist, uses the power of suggestion to induce changes in thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, or behavior in another person, the subject. In short, a state of heightened suggestibility. 12. Sociocognitive Theory of Hypnosis is a theory suggesting that the behavior of a hypnotized person is a function of that person‟s expectations about how subjects behave under hypnosis.

13. Neodissociation Theory of Hypnosis is a theory proposing that hypnosis induces a split, or dissociation, between two aspects of the control consciousness: the planning function and the monitoring function. 14. Psychoactive Drugs are any substance that alters mood, perception, or thought; called a controlled substance if approved for medical use. It increases the availability of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. 15. Substance (Drug) Abuse is the continued use of a substance after several episodes in which use of the substance has negatively affected an individual‟s work, education, and social relationships. 16. Physical Drug Dependence is a compulsive pattern of drug use in which the user develops a drug tolerance coupled with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug use is discontinued. 17. Drug Tolerance is a condition in which the user becomes progressively less affected by the drug and must take increasingly larger doses to maintain the same effect or high. 18. The Categories of Drugs consist of:  Stimulants is a category of drugs that speed up activity in the central nervous system, suppress appetite, and can cause a person to feel more awake, alert, and energetic; also called “uppers.” (Caffeine, Nicotine, Amphetamines, and Cocaine)  Depressants is a category of drugs that decrease activity in the central nervous system, slow down bodily functions, and reduce sensitivity to outside stimulation; also called “downers.” (Alcohol, Barbiturates, Tranquilizers [Valium, Xanax], Narcotics)  Hallucinogens is a category of drugs that can alter and distort perceptions of time and space, alter mood, produce feelings of unreality, and cause hallucinations; also called psychedelics. (Marijuana, LSD [Lysergic Acid Diethylamide], MDMA [Methylene-DioxyMethamphetamine], also known as Ecstasy) 19. Narcotics are a class of Depressant drugs derived from opium poppy that produce both pain-relieving and calming effects. Because Opium suppresses the cough center, it is used in some cough medicines. Morphine and Codeine, natural constituents of opium, may be found in some drugs prescribed for pain relief. Such drugs, including Oxycontin and Vicodin, are addictive and are sold illegally to millions of people in the United States every year. 20. Cocaine, a stimulant derived from coca leaves, can be sniffed as a white powder, injected intravenously, or smoked in the form of crack. This stimulant also brings on euphoric mood, energy boost, feeling of excitement, and it suppresses appetite. Cocaine stimulates the reward, or “pleasure,” pathways in the brain, which use the neurotransmitter Dopamine.