Section 2 Class Notes PDF

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02/19/2018 - Monday Sensation: The simple stimulation of a sense organ. - Vision - Hearing - Touch - Taste - Smell Perception: Organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation -The brain is a perceptual organ Transduction: When sensors in the body convert physical signals into neural signals, required for Perception Absolute Threshold: The minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus 50% of the time Just Noticeable Difference (JND): The minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected Signal Detection Theory: Response to stimulus depends on individuals decision criterion and sensitivity to stimulus Sensory Adaptation: Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation leads to decline over time as the organism adapts to current conditions Cones: Detect color under normal daylight conditions, RGB Rods: Active under low-light conditions for night vision 02/21/2018 - Wednesday Change Blindness: When people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene Inattentional Blindness: Failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention Gestalt Theory: We perceive a unified whole rather than the collection of their separate parts Simplicity: The visual system selects the most simple interpretation of an object

Closure: The visual system fills in missing elements Continuity: The visual system groups together edges with the same orientation Similarity: Objects that are similar are perceived as being the same Proximity: Objects that are close together are perceived as a unit Common Fate: Objects that move together are grouped together Olfactory Receptor Neurons: Receptor cells that initiate a sense of smell Olfactory Bulb: A brain structure located above the nasal cavity that interprets smell -Smells can influence emotions and memory -Smells can influence social behavior Pheromones: Biochemical odorants emitted by other members of our own species that can affect behavior or physiology Papillae: Small bumps on the tongue with many taste buds Five Types of Taste Receptors: - Salty - Sour - Sweet - Bitter - Umami 02/23/2018 - Friday Consciousness: A person’s subjective experience of the world and mind 4 Basic Properties of Consciousness (IUTS): - Intentionality: The quality of being directed towards an object - Unity: Resistance to division - Transience: The tendency to change - Selectivity: The capacity to include some objects but not others

Phenomenology: How things seem to the conscious person Experience Sampling: People are asked to report their conscious experiences at particular times Thought Suppression: The conscious avoidance of a thought The Problem of Other Minds: The fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others The Mind-Body Problem: The issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body Dynamic Unconscious: An active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, instincts, and desires. All repressed, theorized by Freud Cognitive Unconscious: Includes all mental processes that give rise to a person's thoughts, behaviors, and emotions 02/26/2018 - Monday Circadian Rhythm: Naturally occuring 24 hour sleep cycle -We have a 25 hour rest-activity cycle REM Sleep: Characterized by rapid eye movement, higher frequency of dreams, and difficulty waking -As we age, the amount of sleep required decreases -Sleep is necessary for the consolidation of new memories -Only visual association areas are active during dreaming 5 Characteristics of Dreams (IIMUD): - Intense emotion - Illogical thought - Meaningful sensation - Uncritical acceptance - Difficulty remembering Dream Theories: Freud: Dreams are created by the Dynamic Unconscious to represent wishes

Activation-Synthesis Model: Dreams are produced when the mind attempts to make sense of random neural activity that occurs in the brain during sleep 02/28/2018 - Wednesday Do your SONA credits Psychoactive Drugs: Chemicals that influence consciousness or behavior by altering the brain’s chemical messaging system Agonist: Increases the release of neurotransmitters Antagonist: Decreases the release of neurotransmitters Drug Tolerance: Tendency for larger drug doses to be required over time to achieve the same effect Depressants: Reduce the activity of the brain and central nervous system, alcohol Stimulants: Excite the central nervous system, heightened arousal and activity levels Hallucinogens: Drugs that alter sensation and perception, and can have visual and auditory hallucinations. Animals will not work to self-administer these drugs 03/02/2018 - Friday 3 Key Functions of Memory (ESR): - Encoding: The process by which we transform what we perceive into a memory - Storage: The process of maintaining information in memory over time - Retrieval: The process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored

3 Ways of Encoding Memory (SVO): - Semantic Encoding: The process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory - Visual Imagery Encoding: The process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures - Organizational Encoding: The process of categorizing information according to relationships among a series of items

3 Types of Memory Storage (SSL): - Sensory Memory: A type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less - Short Term Memory: A type of storage that holds non-sensory information for 15-20 seconds, can hold about 7 items - Long Term Memory: A type of storage that holds information with no known capacity limits Retrieval Cue: External information that helps bring stored information to mind State Dependent Retrieval: You are more likely to recall information in the same state during encoding and retrieval Context Dependent Retrieval: Recalling information when the person is in the same context during encoding and retrieval

03/05/2018 - Monday Reinforcement: Increases behavior Positive Reinforcement: Something was added to the situation Negative Reinforcement: Something was taken away from the situation Punishment: Decreases behavior Positive Punishment: Add something negative to the situation Negative Punishment: Something good was taken away from the situation Shaping: Learning that results from successive steps to a final desired goal

03/07/2018 - Wednesday Classical Conditioning: When a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus Pavlov’s Experiment: 1. Unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response

2. Neutral stimulus is paired with unconditioned stimulus 3. Conditioned stimulus elicits a conditioned response Acquisition: The phase of conditioning when the neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus Extinction: The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus Spontaneous Recovery: The tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period Generalization: The tendency for a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response 03/09/2018 - Friday Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement only comes when desired behavior is obtained, pattern of learning trials is important Observational Learning: Learning that takes place by watching the actions of others Mirror Neurons: Neurons that fire when watching an action being performed Implicit Learning: Learning that takes place largely independent of awareness...