Localisation of the brain
Within the peripheral nervous system is the Somatic and Autonomic nervous system. What is one key difference?
Somatic NS: Voluntary movement (skeletal muscles)
Autonomic NS: Involuntary functions (organs, glands)
Name 1 psychological influences on visual perception
⚬Past experience (dog lovers see dogs in clouds).
⚬Context (seeing a “13” as “B” depending on letters around it).
⚬Motivation (seeing food ads more when hungry).
⚬Emotional state (fearful → misinterpret shadows as threats).
What are the 3 types of memory
Sensory memory, short term and long term
Describe social learning theory
•Learning by observing others.
•Modelling: Copying behaviours of role models.
•Vicarious Conditioning: Learning through observing consequences for others.
•Example: Bobo Doll experiments.
Describe the results of Hudson (1960)
The results indicated that samples without schooling from both cultures were able to perceive 2D images but were not able to use visual cues to indicate 3D image perception. The sample with schooling showed cultural differences, with Caucasian samples showing a much higher rate of 3D perception of the images compared with the African groups with similar schooling experience.
Describe the spinal reflex
•Automatic response without brain input (e.g., pulling hand from hot stove).
State the difference between shape and size constancy
Size - object seen as the same size, even if retinal image changes (car driving away)
Shape - object seen as the same shape even when the angle changes (door opening)
What part of the brain forms new explicit memories and consolidates short term memory into long term
Hippocampus
What are the elements in Pavlov's classical conditioning (UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR)
unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus, controlled stimulus and conditioned response
Describe the method for Bugelski & Alampay (1961)
Method
•Ambiguous picture of rat-man - aim to identify importance of experience on perception sets (past experiences, context, motivation and emotional state)
What part of the brain is responsible for fear, aggression and threat detection
Amygdala: Fear, aggression, threat detection
Explain the process of Transduction
Transduction:
•Photoreceptors (rods & cones) convert light → neural signals.
•Receptive fields collect info from small parts of retina.
Name 3 ways of measuring memory
•Recall: Retrieve without cues (e.g., short-answer test).
•Recognition: Identify correct info from options (e.g., multiple choice).
•Relearning: Learn something again faster (evidence of savings).
Explain operant conditioning
Learning through consequences.
•Reinforcement increases behaviour: Positive (add pleasant) and Negative (remove unpleasant)
•Punishment decreases behaviour: Positive (add unpleasant) and Negative (remove pleasant)
Who's experiment was this? 40 participants aged 17 to 59 years old. Participants read in silent or noisy conditions. Their reading comprehension was then assessed under silent or noisy conditions using multiple choice (recognition) and short answer (recall) questions.
Grant et al (1998)
Contrast between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters
•Excitatory: Increase likelihood of firing → Glutamate (Glu)
Inhibitory: Decrease likelihood of firing → GABA
Name the 4 Gestalt Principles
•Figure-ground, proximity, similarity, closure.
Pick one to describe
- Encoding failure
- retrieval failure
- interference
Encoding = info never stored properly
Retrieval failure = cues absent - cant access information
interference = old/new memories block each other
What is stimulus generalization vs stimulus discrimination
G= the tendency to respond to similar stimuli in a like manner
D=the learned ability to distinguish between two stimuli that are similar
Describe Watson & Rayner (1920)
In 1920, John B Watson ‘borrowed’ 9 month old “Little Albert” from a childcare facility.
Little Albert was selected because he never was seen to cry.
Little Albert was given an neutral stimulus (white rat) which he showed no fear to initially.
Watson associated the NS (rat) with a loud noise (UCS).
After a 7 pairings, Little Albert cried.
Soon after, when Little Albert was presented with the rat, but no noise, he cried and tried to crawl away from it.
Also showed generalised fear towards a dog, rabbit, fur coat and Santa Claus mask.
This study shows that you can learn fear responses.
Name the 4 brain lobes and their functions
•Frontal lobe: Planning, decision-making, movement, personality
•Parietal lobe: Touch, spatial awareness
•Occipital lobe: Vision
•Temporal lobe: Hearing, memory, language
Explain 3 of the following
- Muller-Lyer illusion
- Ames Room
- Ponzo illusion
- Ambiguous figures
- Impossible figures
•Müller-Lyer Illusion: Arrows trick depth cues → one line looks longer.
•Ames Room: Distorted room makes people look different sizes.
•Ponzo Illusion: Converging lines make top line appear longer.
•Ambiguous Figures: Same image can be seen two ways (e.g., duck-rabbit).
•Impossible Figures: Drawings that can’t exist in 3D (e.g., Penrose triangle).
State and scribe 2 strategies to improve memory
•Chunking: Grouping info (e.g., 0432-555-678).
Rehearsal: •Maintenance: Repeating info. •Elaborative: Linking new info to meaning.
Mnemonics: •Method of Loci: Associate items with locations. •SQ4R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Relate, Review.
Within operant conditioning, what does it mean by memory extinction and spontaneous recovery
memory extinction - is when the conditioned response disappears over time after reinforcement has ceased
Spontaneous recovery - occurs it the behaviour re-appears even if the stimulus has not been reintroduced
Who's experiment was this: Investigated whether semantic-associative attributes could facilitate free recall from STM. 85 participants were recruited using convenience sampling. They were presented with a cluster of six words, which were related either acoustically (e.g. pillow, fellow, hollow, shallow, wallow, yellow) or semantically, (e.g. stomach, ankle, shoulder, muscle, kidney, elbow).
Craik & Levy (1970)