PSY 140 Exam #1 2023 with verified questions and answers

How do theories and hypotheses advance our knowledge of development? - allow us to service explanations and predications from behavior, mental and psychological processes - allow us to test predictions and break apart the big questions Nature vs. Nurture name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior Stability vs. Change the debate about which early traits and characteristics (personality) persist through life or change Continuous vs. Discontinuous Theory on whether development is gradual or whether children develop in bursts example: continuous = height discontinuous = Piaget's stages eg cognitive development, sensorimotor etc. ... ... Three stages of childbirth Stage one: cervix relaxes, causing it to dilate and thin out Stage two: uterine contractions increase in strength and the infant is delivered Stage three: the placenta is expelled Explain reasons for and against home birth and hospital birth -easier to relax at a home setting than hospital -hospital gives faster medical supplies if needed What does a midwife do? the person who is trained in birth and assist in home birth. usually have medical background and varies from state to state. help emotionally as well Know each other five things the Apgar scale measures, when these measurements are taken, and how they are scored/interpreted 5 measurements: -appearance/complexion -pulse rate -reflex irritability -activity -respiratory effort Measured 1 and 5 minutes after birth Scored 1-5 (look at chart) Understand the hormones released in the mother and newborn during the birth process and how they affect maternal bonding -Oxytocin: love hormone -Endorphines: pain relief -Adrenaline: excitement, fight or flight -Prolactin: mothering hormone (production of milk) Sensation and Perception sensation: how sensory receptors and nervous system take in stimulus energies from the environment perception: how the brain organizes and interpret sensory information, transforming it into meaningful object and events ex: high pitch sound for dog and not human, i like music but esther do not Understand transduction, absolute thresholds, subliminal stimulation, and sensory adaptation transduction: changing one form of energy into another. Steps are Receive stimulation, transform to neural impulses, deliver information to brain absolute threshold: the smallest amount of stimulation we can detect more than 50% of the time. Example= seeing a candle 30 miles away subliminal stimulation: sensory stimulation below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness Example: lion king in class sensory adaptation: reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation. Example = not noticing odor anymore Understand how the frequency and amplitude of a light wave affects our perception of color high frequency = blue low frequency = red large amplitude = bright colors small amplitude = dull colors Know these parts of the eye and their function: cornea, lens, iris, pupil, retina, photoreceptors (rods and cones), fovea, blindspot, optic nerve cornea: clear protective cover, focuses light on retina lens: hard disc that also focuses light on retina iris: colored part of eye, muscle helps pupil open and close pupil: appears black, opening that controls light entering the eye retina: light-sensitive inner surface of the eye. contains neurons that change input into neural impulse rods: detect light/dark periphery cones: detect color, central/detail vision, 3 kinds: red, blue, green (look in notes) photoreceptors: cells that respond to light fovea: focus point blindspot: where optic nerve leaves the eye (no receptors) optic nerve: nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain Understand how aftereffects work according to the Opponent Process Theory idk yet Understand how the frequency and amplitude of a sound wave affects our perception of sound frequency: determines pitch aptitude: determines loudness Know the basic parts of the ear and how sound is perceived 1. sound waves enter ear 2. pressure change moves the eardrum 3. moves fluid in the cochlea 4. hair cells move 5. neural impulse is sent to temporal lobe Know 4 touch sensations and how our perception affects our experience of pain 1. pressure 2. warmth 3. cold (5 times more receptors than for warmth) 4. pain Know 5 taste sensations and how our sense of smell, sound, touch, and vision affects our perception of taste 1. sweet 2. sour 3. salty 4. bitter 5. umami (meaty taste) Know how smell and taste differ from other senses ... Know how experience or context might affect our interpretation of perceptual stimuli Picture and eyes close example in class -expectations can shape how brain interprets information Understand how our brain organizes information (gestalt, figure/ground, proximity, continuity, closure, linear perspective) gestalt: an organized whole figure/ground: proximity: nearness; grouping objects near each other continuity: tendency to perceive a series of points or lines as having unity closure: cube example (connecting a shape not actually present) linear perspective: Know what is meant by perceptual constancy (size constancy, color constancy) color: dim light vs bright size constancy: we perceive objects as having a constant size Understand how the Ames room illusion works two people of equal size appear to be very different in size