module 18 vision, sensory, & perceptual processing

Question 1

wavelength

Answer 1

the distance from the peak of the one light wave or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from short gamma waves to the long pulses of ratio transmission

Question 1

hue

Answer 1

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue and so forth

Question 2

intensity

Answer 2

the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. intensity is determined by the amplitude (height)

Question 3

retina

Answer 3

the light-sensitive back inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods & cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Question 4

accommodation

Answer 4

(1) in developmental psychology adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information (2) in sensation & perception, the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus on near or far objects on the retina

Question 5

rods

Answer 5

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and are sensitive to movement. Rods are necessary for peripheral & twilight vision when cones don’t respond

Question 6

cones

Answer 6

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina & that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. Cones detect fine detail & give rise to color sensations

Question 7

optic nerve

Answer 7

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Question 8

blind spot

Answer 8

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

Question 9

fovea

Answer 9

the control focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

Question 10

young helmholtz trichromatic ( 3 color theory)

Answer 10

the theory is that the retina contains 3 different types of color receptors, one most sensitive to red, one most sensitive to gree, and one to blue, which when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

Question 11

opponent process theory

Answer 11

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red, gree, blue, yellow, black, white) enable color vision. For ex. some cells are stimulated by gree & inhibited by red; other stimulated by red and inhibited by gree

Question 12

feature detectors

Answer 12

nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

Question 13

parallel processing

Answer 13

processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

Question 14

gestalt

Answer 14

an organized whole, gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Question 15

feature ground

Answer 15

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

Question 16

grouping

Answer 16

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Question 17

depth perception

Answer 17

the ability to seee objects in 3 dimensions, although the images that strike the retina are 2 dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Question 18

visual cliff

Answer 18

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants & young animals

Question 19

binocular cue

Answer 19

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Question 20

retinal disparity

Answer 20

a binocular for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance, the greater the (difference) between the 2 images, the closer the object

Question 21

monocular cues

Answer 21

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to the other eye alone

Question 22

phi phenomenon

Answer 22

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

Question 23

perceptual constancy

Answer 23

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

Question 24

perceptual adaption

Answer 24

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field