Unit 3- Sensation and Perception (6-8%) Flashcards
Size Constancy
We perceive objects as having a constant size, even when our distance from them varies
Shape Constancy
We perceive the form of familiar objects as a constant even while our retinal image of it changes
Closure
We fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object. Thus we assume that the circles are complete but partially blocked by the triangle. Add nothing more than little line segments that close off the circles and now your brain stops constructing a triangle.
Constancy
Unchanging and constant in perception, shape, or size.
Ossicles
Any of three small bones in the middle ear that transfer sounds from the air to the cochlea. They are the smallest bones in the body.
Oval Window
The cochlea’s membrane.
Eardrum
Tight membrane that vibrates with the sound waves from the outer ear
Iris
A colored muscle that adjusts light intake
Lens
focuses incoming light rays into an image
Frequency Theory
In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pinch.
Nerve Deafness
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’a receptor cells or to the auditory nerves.
Sensation
Sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensations, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
Sensory adaptation/habituation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Cocktail Party Phenomenon
Your ability to attend to only one voice among many. An example of selective attention.
Light Intensity and Wavelength
Light intensity affects how bright an object appears, and the color or hue is affected by the light wavelength in the visual color spectrum an object reflects. Objects that appear black actually absorb all colors, while objects that are white reflect all light wavelengths. The blue sky absorbs all colors but blue, which it reflects.
Conduction hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
Gate control theory
The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain
Shadowing
Uses light and darkness to signal to the viewer the location of objects
Retinal/Binocular Disparity
Retinal disparity is defined as the way that your left eye and your right eye view slightly different images. Retinal disparity is important in gauging how far away objects are. The more difference (or greater disparity) between the image each eye has of the same object, the closer it is to you.
Convergence
The muscles of the eyes send signals to the brain as they move, the more they converge (turn inward toward each other), the closer an object must be.
Accommodation
The process by which the lens bends and focuses the rays of light on the retina
Cochlear Implant
Electronic device that directly converts sounds and stimulates the auditory nerve. A correction for nerve deafness.
Figure-ground
The organization of our visual field into objects (figure) and their surroundings (ground).
Blind spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
