Science Skills
What is a IV and DV
IV = what is being tested and a variable that can be manipulated
DV = the variable that is being measured
Define attention
Outline the process of transduction during visual perception.
Light is converted into electromagnetic energy
Electromagnetic energy act like action potentials which are neural impulses.
Define taste perception?
The process of detecting and interpreting taste stimuli.
Define social cognition?
How people interpret and understand social information about others.
A graph should include the following:
Title
OPIV (Labeled)
OPDV (labeled)
Accurate Scale
Define sensation
process of receiving and detecting raw sensory stimuli via sensory organs and sending this to the brain as a neural impulse
Outline the process of transmission and interpretation during visual perception.
The electromagnetic energy is sent to the brain via the optic nerve.
The action potentials are received in the primary visual cortex
And interpretation occurs in that area of the brain
Name one biological factor that influences taste perception.
Age or genetics
What is a stereotype?
A generalised belief about a group of people
Define EV and list 3 examples
Extraneous variables are variables that may affect the IV.
Examples include: Situational variables, Participant Variables, Placebos, Demand Characteristics, Experimenter effects
the process of selecting, organising and interpretation of information is...
a. Attention
b. Perception
c. Sensation
Define Fallible
Prone to making errors/mistakes
Identify the brain area is responsible for interpreting taste?
Gustatory cortex
Explain how stereotypes can influence social perception.
Stereotypes (top-down processing) shape expectations, influencing how we interpret others’ behaviour.
How do the following errors effect data
Random errors effect...
Systematic errors effect...
Random errors effect the accuracy of data
Systematic errors effect the precision of data
Distinguish the difference between top down and bottom down processing.
Top-down = using your brain/experience to understand what you see
Bottom-up = using only what your eyes/ears detect
Which of the following options is the definition of visual illusion:
a. an error or judgement/interpretation of sensory stimuli
b. misinterpretation (distortion/mistake) of the reality of a visual stimulus
b. Misinterpretation of the reality of a visual stimulis
A person thinks a drink tastes better because it is labelled “premium.” What factor is influencing their perception?
Perceptual set (psychological factor
When forming impressions people typically examine...
Physical appearance and non-verbal cues
Describe what internal validity and external validity is and list ways to improve them.
Internal validity is how confident we are that the results are caused by the independent variable, not other factors.
Ways to improve internal validity include controlling for systematic errors and confounding variables.
External Validity The extent to which the results of an investigation can be generalised to other people, settings, or situations beyond the study.
Ways to improve external validity is to use a representative sample, increase the sample size or to use environments that are closer to a natural setting (not in a lab)
Alaysha is walking through a dark street and sees a long, thin shape on the ground. She quickly jumps back, thinking it is a snake. When she looks closer, she realises it is just a rope.
What type of processing is this?
top-down processing.
uses prior knowledge/expectations (snakes are dangerous)
sensory information is unclear (dark environment)
Involves a trapezium-
shaped room that is longer and higher on one side than the other
Is an example of...
Ames Room
Explain how expectation can change taste perception
Expectations (top-down processing) influence how the brain interprets taste, altering perception.
The halo effect is...
a cognitive bias in which the impression we form about one quality of a person influences our belief and expectations about the person in other qualities.
e.g. strangers are more likely give help to more 'attractive' people