Unit 5

   Perceptions

• The process of organizing and interpreting information enabling

   Visual capture

• The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

     Gestalt psychology

• These psychologists emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
• The whole is the greater than the sum of its parts.

    Figure ground relationship

• The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

    Grouping

• The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into groups that we understand

          1.proximity we group by figures together
          2 similarity we group items that are similar
          3 continuity we are looking for continuous patterns
          4 contentedness that is uniform and link together

       Depth perception

• The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional.
• Allows us to judge distance.

         Visual cliff

• A baby is crawling to the edge

How do we transform a two dimensional objects to a three dimensional

•  Binocular cues: depth cues that depend on two eyes
•  Monocular cues: depth cues that depend on one eye
•  Binocular cue

                 -Retinal disparity: a binocular cue for seeing depth
                 -The closer an object comes  to you the greater the disparity is between the two Image

•  Monocular cues

                -Interposition: if something is blocking our view we perceive it as closer
                -Relative size: if we know that two objects are similar in size the one that looks smaller is farther away
                -Relative clarity we assume hazy objects are farther away
                -Texture gradient : the coarser it looks the closer it is
                 -Relative height: things higher in our field of vision they look farther away
                -Relative motion: things that are closer appear to move more quickly
               -Linear perspective : parallel lines seen to converge with distance
                -Light and shadow dimmer objects appear farther away because they reflect less light
    Phi phenomenon

• An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession

    Perceptual consistency

• Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images changes

Unit 5

Language

• Our spoken written or gestured words and the way we combining them in communication

Phonemes

• In a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

Morphemes

• In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning

Grammar

• A system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate and understand others

Semantics

• The set of rules by which we derive meaning in a language

Syntax

• The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

Language development:
Babbling stage

•  starting at 3-4 months, the infant makes spontaneous sounds. Not limited to the phonemes of the infant’s household language.

One word stage

• 1-2 years old, uses one word to communicate big meanings

Two word stage 

• at age 2, uses two words to communicate meanings- called telegraphic speech

Skinner
• Skinner thought that we can explain language development through social learning theory.

Chomsky
• In born universal grammar
• We acquire language too quickly for it to be learned.
• We have this “learning box” inside our heads that enable us to learn any human language.
Whorf’s linguistic relativity

• The idea that Language determines the way we think

Unit 4

Development 

Study how we change physically, socially, cognitively, and morally over our lifetimes

• Nature VS Nurture:
• Are you who you are because of:
• Nature- the way you were born
• Nurture- the way you were raised

• Physical Development

- Focus on our physical changes over time Prenatal Development - Conception begins with the drop of an egg and the release of about 200 million sperm Zygote(1st stage) - Lasts about two weeks and consists of rapid cell divison - Less than half survive the first two weeks - 10 days after conception, it will attach itself to the uterine wall - Outer part of zygote becomes the placenta Embryo(2nd stage) - Lasts about 6 weeks - Heart begins to beat - Organs begin to develop Fetus(3rd stage) - about the 6th month, 

-stomach and other organs formed - at this time the baby, can hear, recognize sounds and respond to light Teratogens - Chemical agents can harm the prenatal environmenta - Alcohol ,STDs,HIV Healthy Newborns - Turn their heads towards voices - See 8 - 12 inches from their faces Reflexes - Inborn automatic response Rooting (cheek) - When a newborn is touched on the cheek, the infant will turn his or her head toward the source of stimulation Grasping - If an object is places into a baby's palm, the baby will try to grasp the object with his/her fingers Moro (startle) - When startled a baby will fling his/her limbs out and then quickly retract them Babinski (foot) - When a baby's foot is stroked, he or she will spread their toes Maturation - Physical growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, regardless of the environment Motor Development - First learn to roll over, sit up unsupported, crawl, walk, etc Cognition - All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing and remembering. Schemas - The way we interpret the world around us (concepts) Assimilation - Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas Accommodation - Changing an existing schema to adapt new informtion 4 Stages of Cognitive Development -Jean Pieget 1: Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 yrs) - experience the world through our senses - object permanance: develops around 6-8 months of age 2: Preoperational Stage (2-6 or 7 yrs) - Begin to use language to represent objects and ideas, think in symbols - Non logical, "magical thinking" - Egocentric: early in this stage they cannot look at the world through anyone's eyes but their own Conservation - Refers to the idea that a quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance and is part of logical thinking 3: Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 yrs) - Can demonstrate concept of conservation - Learn to think logically - Understanding of reversibility, of awareness that action 4: Formal Operational Stage (12+ yrs) - Abstract reasoning - Reasoning with metaphore and analogies Social Development - Up until a year, infants do not mind strangers - At about a year, infants develop stranger anxiety Attachment - Most important social construct an infant must develop a bond with caregiver - Konrad Lorenz discovered that some animals form attachment through imprinting. Origins of Attachment - Harry Harlow and his monkeys - Showed that monkeys needed touch or body contact to form attachment - Deprived of touch can led to trouble forming attachment when they are older Responsive Parenting - Mary Ainsworths "Strange Situation" study - Three types: 1 -Secure Attachment - Children show some distress when parent leaves, seek contact at the reunion, explore when parent gone, play and greet when parent present 2 - Stranger Anxiety - Fear of strangers that infants display - beginning about 8 months of age 3-Seperation Anxiety - Distress the infant shows when object of attachment leaves - Peaks between 14 and 18 months Parenting Styles 1-Authoritarian Parents - impose rules and expect obediance 2-Permissive Parents - parents submit to childrens desires 3-Authoritative Parents - both the parent and the child compromis Sigmund Freud - We all have a libido - Our libido travels to diff areas of our body throughout our development - If we become preoccupied with any one area, Freud said we have become fixated on it - Together Freud called these stages our Psychosexual Stages of Development Oral Stage (0-1) - Seek pleasure through the mouth - Psychological task: weaning Anal Stage (1-3) - Psychological task: toilet training - Libido is focused on controlling waste and expelling waste Phallic Stage (3-6) - Children first recognize their gender - Psychological task: identify with the same sex parent - Causes conflict in families with the Oedipus and Electra Complexes Latency (6-11) - Libido is hidden - Cooties stage Genital Stage (11 and up) - Libido is focused on their genitals - Experience sexual feelings toward others Adolescence - transition period from childhood to adulthood Puberty - Period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing Primary Sexual Characteristics - Body structures that make reproduction possible Secondary Sexual Characteristics - None reproductive sexual characteristics Adulthood - All physical abilities peak by our mid twenties Physical Milestones - Menopause: the natural ending of a woman's ability to reproduce Types of Intelligence Crystallized - accumulated knowledge - increases with age Fluid - ability to solve problems quickly and think abstractly - peaks in 20s and decreases over time Alzheimer's Disease - A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, language and physical functioning - Caused by deterioration of neurons that produce the transmitter acetylcholine Life Expectancy - Keeps increasing: now about 75 - Women outlive men by about 4 years Death - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's Stages of Death & Grief 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance

Unit 4

Nervous System-it starts with an individual nerve cell called neuron

how a neuron fire:

1-restingpotential: slightly negative charge ;2-reach the threshold when enough neuron-transmitters reach dendrites;3-go into action potential (firing)

The All or None Response- the idea that either the neuron fires or it does not not-no part way firing.

Types or Neurotransmitter:

Acetlycholing (ACH)- deals with motor movement and memory. Lack  of ACH has been linked to Alzheimer's disease

Dopamine- deals with motor movements and alertness. Lack of dopamine has been linked to  Parkinson's disease. Too much has been linked to schizophrenia.

Serotonin- involved in mood control. Lack of serotonin has been link to clinical depression

Endorphin-involved in pain control. Many of our most addictive drugs deal with endorphin.

Norepinephrine-helps control alertness and arousal. An under supply can lead to depression. AN over supply can lead to manic symptoms.

GABA (gamma-aminobutytic acid)-major inhibitory neurotransmitters. An under supply can lead to tremor.

Types Neurons:

• Sensory neurons-take information from the senses to the brain
• Inter neurons- take messages from sensory neurons to other parts of the brain or to motor neurons.
• Motor neurons-take information from the brain to the rest of the body