Back to AI Flashcard MakerPsychology /GRE® Psychology Biological: Sensation and Perception Part 6
GRE® Psychology Biological: Sensation and Perception Part 6
This deck covers key concepts in sensation and perception, focusing on psychophysics, signal detection theory, and sensory pathways.
What brain structure is important for processing touch?
somatosensory cortex
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
What brain structure is important for processing touch?
somatosensory cortex
What is the method of limits used for in psychophysics?
To determine the threshold at which a stimulus is perceived. The method of limits involves presenting stimuli in ascending or descending order to find...
True or False: The method of constant stimuli uses a fixed order of stimuli presentation.
False The method of constant stimuli presents stimuli in a random order, not fixed, to prevent anticipation and habituation effects, thus providing a ...
Fill in the blank: Staircase procedures are often used because they are more ________ than traditional methods of threshold determination.
efficient Staircase procedures adjust the level of stimulus based on the participant's responses, allowing quicker convergence on the threshold while ...
Define: • hit • miss • false alarm • correct rejection In the context of signal detection theory.
Hit: correctly identifying a signal when it is present. Miss: failing to identify a signal when it is present. False Alarm: incorrectly identifying a ...
What does the parameter 'd' represent in signal detection theory?
Sensitivity or discriminability 'd′' measures how well a person can distinguish between signal and noise. Higher d′ values indicate better discriminat...
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
What brain structure is important for processing touch? | somatosensory cortex |
What is the method of limits used for in psychophysics? | To determine the threshold at which a stimulus is perceived. The method of limits involves presenting stimuli in ascending or descending order to find the point where a participant first detects or no longer detects the stimulus, thereby establishing the sensory threshold. |
True or False: The method of constant stimuli uses a fixed order of stimuli presentation. | False The method of constant stimuli presents stimuli in a random order, not fixed, to prevent anticipation and habituation effects, thus providing a more accurate threshold measurement. |
Fill in the blank: Staircase procedures are often used because they are more ________ than traditional methods of threshold determination. | efficient Staircase procedures adjust the level of stimulus based on the participant's responses, allowing quicker convergence on the threshold while using fewer trials compared to traditional methods like the method of constant stimuli. |
Define: • hit • miss • false alarm • correct rejection In the context of signal detection theory. | Hit: correctly identifying a signal when it is present. Miss: failing to identify a signal when it is present. False Alarm: incorrectly identifying a signal when it is absent. Correct Rejection: correctly identifying the absence of a signal. Signal detection theory is used to measure the ability to differentiate between information-bearing patterns (signals) and random patterns that distract from the information (noise). |
What does the parameter 'd' represent in signal detection theory? | Sensitivity or discriminability 'd′' measures how well a person can distinguish between signal and noise. Higher d′ values indicate better discrimination ability. |
What is the difference between 'd' and 'β' in signal detection theory? | 'd' measures sensitivity or the ability to discriminate between signal and noise. 'β' measures response bias or the tendency to favor responding with one signal over the other. While 'd' is about sensitivity, 'β' is about the subjective criterion a person uses to decide whether a signal is present or not. |
How do you construct and interpret a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve? | Plot the true positive rate (sensitivity) against the false positive rate (1-specificity) at various threshold settings. An ROC curve is used to visualize the trade-offs between sensitivity and specificity. The area under the curve (AUC) provides a single measure of overall accuracy; a larger AUC indicates better performance. |
Define: Broadbent's Filter Theory | A theory that suggests we filter information early in processing based on physical characteristics. It posits that humans have a limited capacity for information processing, and thus, a selective filter allows only certain messages based on their physical properties to pass through for further processing. This theory helps explain how we focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others. |
How does Treisman's Attenuation Model differ from Broadbent's Filter Theory? | It suggests that unattended information is attenuated, not completely filtered out. Treisman's Attenuation Model proposes that while the selective filter weakens (attenuates) the strength of unattended messages, it does not eliminate them. This allows some unattended information to be processed if it is relevant or important, explaining why we can sometimes hear our name in a noisy room. |
True or False: The Stroop Effect demonstrates the difficulty of dividing attention between different cognitive tasks. | True The Stroop Effect reveals that reading words can interfere with task performance, such as naming the color of the ink they are printed in. This interference suggests that our cognitive system struggles with dividing attention between conflicting stimuli, highlighting automatic vs. controlled processing. |
What are the main steps involved in taste transduction? | • Taste molecules bind to taste receptors on the tongue. • This binding activates gustatory cells. • Ion channels open, leading to a change in cell membrane potential. • Neurotransmitters are released, sending signals to the brain. Taste transduction is the process by which taste stimuli are converted into electrical signals in the brain. It involves the interaction of taste molecules with taste receptors, which are specialized cells located on the tongue. |
Which cranial nerves are involved in the gustatory pathway? | • Facial nerve (VII) • Glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) • Vagus nerve (X) The gustatory pathway is responsible for transmitting taste information from the tongue to the brain. The cranial nerves involved convey these signals from different parts of the oral cavity to the gustatory cortex. |
What is the sequence in the olfactory pathway from receptor to cortex? | • Olfactory receptor • Glomerulus • Mitral cell • Primary olfactory cortex The olfactory pathway begins with the detection of odorants by olfactory receptors in the nasal cavity. Signals are then transmitted to the glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, where they synapse with mitral cells. The information is finally relayed to the primary olfactory cortex for processing. |
True or False: The primary olfactory cortex is responsible for the initial processing of olfactory information. | True The primary olfactory cortex, located in the temporal lobe, is directly involved in the processing and perception of smells. It plays a crucial role in interpreting the olfactory signals received from the mitral cells. |