PSYC 107 1st EditionExam # 3 Study Guide Lectures 8 – 14Chapter 3: SensationsBottom-Up vs Top-Down ProcessingStarting with the bottom of the chain and working to the top (starting with the sensory nerves then working up to processing) is bottom-up processing.Starting at the highest level then working to the small details is top-down processing.Absolute and Subliminal ThresholdsAbsolute thresholds are the minimal stimulation necessary to detect the light, sound, pressure, taste, or odor 50% of the time. Subliminal thresholds are below threshold stimuli and they can occur without our awareness. We can still detect the stimulus some of the time. Sometimes a subliminal perception which is something that our brain “saw,” but does not know that we “saw” it can affect how we look at the thing immediately following.What is the function of sensory adaptation?The function of sensory adaptation is for our mind to adapt to an unchanging stimulus. Sensory adaptation also allows our mind to focus on informative changes and cut out the unimportant things that stay the same. (we perceive the world not exactly as it I, but as it is useful for us to perceive it.”What is the energy that is seen as visible light?Our eyes see light, but the light is pulses of energy that our visual system perceives as color. The color (hue) is dependent on the wavelength of the energy and the brightness is dependent on the intensity or the amount of energy in the pulses of energy.How does the eye transform the light energy into neural messages?Light enters the cornea and passes through the pupil. Behind the pupil is a lens that focuses the light on the retina. How does the brain process visual information?Impulses travel across the optic nerve to the thalamus onto the visual cortex. Which theories help understand color vision?Young-Helmholtz (tri-color): the retina contains three types of color receptors or three different types of cones sensitive to three colors.Hering: the brain pairs colors together into opposing pairs in order to have a contrast. Red vs green, blue vs yellow, and black vs white.Characteristics of Air Pressure WavesSound waves are sections of compressed and expanded air. Our ears collect their waves and send them to the brain in order for the brain to decode them. Frequency is correlated to pitch and amplitude is correlated to loudness.How does the ear transform the sound energy into messages?Outer ear channels collect these sound waves which cause tiny vibrations of the eardrums. The bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations which are then transferred to the cochlea. Tiny hairs are bent in the fluid-filled cochlea which the cells then send neural messages to the auditory cortex.How do we locate sounds?Sound waves hit the ear stronger and faster in one ear which is the brain analyzes the differences to determine where the sound came from.How do we experience taste?The brain region associated with memory and taste are closely connected; therefore, many memories are associated with taste. Perceptual OrganizationFigure 6.37 our brain tells us that a farther away object can only be the same size as one that is nearer if in reality the one farther away is bigger.How do we see the world in 3D?Depth perception is the ability to judge distance, all species can see a drop at a young age. Depth perception is learned and innate. Binocular convergence is most useful for close-up objects. The muscles are forming the eyes to make the move determining how far or close something is.Chapter 4: LearningWhat distinguishes the forms of learning?Learning is a permanent change to the organism’s behavior due to experience. Associative learning is when learning to associate to stimuli together while in observational learning is whenlearning is done by watching others.Neutral Stimulus to Conditioned StimulusA neutral stimulus is introduced right before a stimulus that elicits a unconditioned response, or natural response. Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, Generalization, and DiscriminationAcquisition: a neutral stimuli is converted into a conditions stimuliExtinction: when the conditioned stimuli stops being conditionedSpontaneous Recovery: the reappearance of whatever became extinct after a rest timeGeneralization: tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to a CSDiscrimination: only responding to the CSImportance of PavlovClassical conditioning is a basic form of learning that applies to all speciesOperant Conditioning vs Classical ConditioningWhen an organism learns associations between its own behavior and resulting events. Classical conditioning is the formation of associations between stimuli (automatic responses). Classical ConditioningOperant ConditioningTarget behavior isAutomatic Emitted voluntarilyReward or punishment isProvided unconditionallyContingent on behaviorBehavior depends on…Autonomic nervous systemSkeletal musclesTypes of Reinforcers Reinforcements are any even that strengthens the following behavior; positive reinforcement is adding a stimuli while negative reinforcement takes something away. Primary, innately reinforcing; secondary, leads to satisfaction; immediate, NOW.Extra Readings/Videos:Original Pavlov FootagePavlov was initially interested in the salivation of dogs. When presented with food, the dog salivated. Eventually, only seeing the food dish or hearing the footsteps of the researches would elicit the same response. Pavlov decided to introduce different stimuli and measure how much the dogs salivated. Metronomes, lights, and bells were all used for stimuli. Pavlov discovered classical conditioning which are the stimulus and response are natural. The neutral stimulus is introduced just before the classical stimulus. Conditioning has taken place when the neutral stimulus elicits the classical response. Any sound, sight, or smell can influence us any way. Synesthesia Synesthesia is when some sense fuse together. Words can be tasted and sounds can be smelled, etc. Synesthesia is born this way; it is not a disease. Synesthesia is joined sensations. When a doorbell rings; they may see blue spots. The Ames Room ExplainedThe brain has to resolve ambiguities that is knows about the world; knowing this, you can trick the mind. The room is trapezoidal, but the room looks normal. The brain has an assumption that walls are always parallel; so, the walls are seen as being parallel even when the people change size. McGurk EffectWhen an actor is recorded