The process of questioning sexuality is a profoundly personal experience that many people find themselves trying to navigate throughout life. It’s also (perhaps surprisingly) common — a recentGallup pollfound that more than 7% of the adult U.S. population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or something else other than heterosexual (commonly referred to as LGBTQ). That’s more than double the number in 2012 when Gallup first began measuring it.The journey of self-exploration can be fraught with mixed emotions....

On This Page:ToggleBottom-Up vs. Top-Down ProcessingHow Bottom-Up Processing WorksReal-Life Applications On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Key Takeaways The bottom-up process involves information traveling “up” from the stimuli, via the senses, to the brain which then interprets it, relatively passively. Bottom-up processing is also known as data-driven processing becauseinformation processingbegins with environmental stimuli, and perceptions are built from sensory input. Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Processing Bottom-up processing begins with the retrieval of sensory information from our external environment to build perceptions based on the current input of sensory information (Gibson, 1966)....

On This Page:ToggleDefinitionsKitty GenoveseDecision Model of HelpingWhy It OccursBystander ExperimentsCritical Evaluation On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Take-home Messages The bystander effect can cause someone to hesitate and refrain from taking action or offering help in a situation, assuming that others will step in or feeling less responsible when they see others present. Thus, people tend to help more when alone than in a group. Kitty Genovese On the morning of March 13, 1964,Kitty Genovesereturned to her apartment complex, at 3 am, after finishing her shift at a local bar....

On This Page:ToggleWhat is Cultivation Theory?Cultivation Theory and TelevisionThe Mean World SyndromeMainstreaming and ResonanceResearchCriticismFAQs On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Key Takeaways Cultivation theory proposes that prolonged exposure to television and media shapes viewers’ perceptions of reality, making them more likely to believe the world aligns with the most frequently portrayed messages and images on TV. What is Cultivation Theory? Cultivation theory is a communications and sociological framework which posits that long-term exposure to media shapes how the consumers of media perceive the world as well as conduct themselves in life...

Declarative memory, also known as explicit memory, is a type of long-term memory that involves conscious recall. It’s divided into two categories: semantic memory for facts and general knowledge, and episodic memory for personal experiences and specific events. Key Takeaways Long-term memoryis not a single store and has two components: declarative (explicit) and non-declarative (implicit). Implicit memory (non-declarative) includesprocedural memoryand things learned through conditioning.Declarative memoryhas to do with the storage of facts and events we have personally experienced....

On This Page:ToggleExamplesResearchMethods for TestingNeurology Related to Iconic MemoryEchoic Memory and AgeFAQs On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Take-home Messages Ulric Neisser introduced the term ‘echoic memory’ to signify a type ofsensory memorythat registers and temporarily holds auditory information (sounds) until it is processed and comprehended.The initial search for echoic memory emulated Sperling’s experiments oniconic memory, but subsequent research has utilized more advanced neuropsychological techniques.The brain regions involved in echoic memory includeBroca’s area, the dorsal premotor cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, the superior temporalgyrus, and the inferior temporal gyrus....

On This Page:ToggleOriginExamplesTypesEpisodic Memory vs. Semantic MemoryRelated Brain StructuresNeural Networks On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Episodic memory is a type of long-term, declarative memory that involves the recollection of personal experiences or events, including the time and place they occurred. It allows you to travel back in time to relive past experiences, like remembering your first day at school.Your wedding day is an example of episodic memory because episodic memory involves the recollection of personal events that are tied to particular places and times....

On This Page:ToggleExamplesCausesResearchReal-World ImplicationsLearning Check On This Page:Toggle On This Page: In psychology, a false memory refers to a mental experience that’s remembered as factual but is either entirely false or significantly different from what actually occurred. Key Takeaways false memory In other words, a false memory could either be an entirely imaginary fabrication or a distorted recollection of an actual event. Moreover, false memories are distinct from simple errors in recollection....

On This Page:ToggleExamplesProspect TheoryOriginsExperimentsAgeHow To Avoid On This Page:Toggle On This Page: The framing effect in psychology refers to the bias where people react differently to a particular decision depending on how it’s presented, or “framed”, emphasizing either the positive (gain) or negative (loss) aspects. The same information, when framed differently, can alter people’s responses. Take-home Messages Hand turns a dice and changes the expression “half empty” to “half full” with a glass of water in the background...

On This Page:ToggleExamplesResearchExperimentThe Reverse Halo EffectKey Takeaways On This Page:Toggle On This Page: The halo effect refers to the tendency to allow one specific trait or our overall impression of a person, company or product to positively influence our judgment of their other related traits. The halo effect refers to the tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more favorably for their personality traits or characteristics as compared to those who are less attractive....

On This Page:ToggleOrganize Your SourcesOutline Your StructureWrite Paragraphs With Topic SentencesRevise & Edit On This Page:Toggle On This Page: When you write a literature review or essay, you have to go beyond just summarizing the articles you’ve read – you need tosynthesizethe literature to show how it all fits together (and how your own research fits in). Synthesizing simply means combining. Instead of summarizing the main points of each source in turn, you put together the ideas and findings of multiple sources in order to make an overall point....

On This Page:ToggleExamplesSperling’s ExperimentsIconic Memory and Change BlindnessNeurology Related to Iconic MemoryFAQs On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Iconic memory is the visual sensory memory register which stores visual images after the extinction of a physical stimulus. While iconic memory contains a huge capacity, it declines rapidly. Information stored in iconic memory generally disappears within half a second (depending on the brightness). Iconic memory is asensory memorycomponent involving a fast-decaying visual information store (Sperling, 1960)....

On This Page:ToggleBehaviorist TheoryChomsky Language TheoryUniversal GrammarContemporary ResearchConclusionFAQs On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Language is a cognition that truly makes us human. Whereas other species do communicate with an innate ability to produce a limited number of meaningful vocalizations (e.g., bonobos) or even with partially learned systems (e.g., bird songs), there is no other species known to date that can express infinite ideas (sentences) with a limited set of symbols (speech sounds and words)....

On This Page:ToggleHistory and BackgroundWhat Research SuggestsEpisodic vs Semantic MemorySemantic NetworkSemantic SatiationRelated Brain Regions On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Semantic memory is a type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge, concepts, facts, and meanings of words, allowing for the understanding and comprehension of language, as well as the retrieval of general knowledge about the world.Key TakeawaysSemantic memory is a long-term memory category involving the recollection of ideas, concepts, and facts commonly regarded as general knowledge....

On This Page:ToggleWhat is Sensory Memory?TypesSperling’s ExperimentsFAQs On This Page:Toggle On This Page: Sensory memory in psychology refers to the short-term retention of sensory information, like sights, sounds, and smells, immediately following stimuli input. It’s a crucial stage in memory processing that briefly stores vast amounts of sensory data before it’s selectively filtered into conscious awareness as working memory. Key Takeaways Sensory memory is responsible for briefly storing information from our senses, such as sights, sounds, and smells, before being processed by our brains....