AP Psych Unit 4

Question 1

Raw data, information from our five senses. The source is our sensory receptors (bottom-up)

Answer 1

Sensation

Question 2

The process of interpreting the information that we obtained through our five senses. (Top-down)

Answer 2

Perception

Question 3

minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (such as the sound of an approaching bike on sidewalk behind us) 50% of the time.

Answer 3

Absolute threshold

Question 4

When, w/o our awareness, our sensory system processes stimulus below our absolute threshold.

Answer 4

Subliminal stimulation

Question 5

The amount of change needed between two stimuli to be perceived by an individual

Answer 5

Difference threshold

Question 6

Mental predisposition that functions as lens thru which we perceive the world.

Answer 6

Perceptual set

Question 7

Influences our interpretation of stimuli based on our experiences, assumptions, and expectations. (Involves top-down processing)

Answer 7

Perceptual set

Question 8

sensory analysis that begins at entry lvl. w/ starting at small units and going up to form a complete perception

Answer 8

Bottom-up processing

Question 9

Information processing guided by high lvl. Mental processes such as when we construct perceptions by filtering info thru our experience and expectations

Answer 9

Top-down processing

Question 10

Predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus amid background noise.

Answer 10

Signal theory

Question 11

The principal that in order to perceive two different stimuli the difference must be by a constant percent, instead of a constant amount.

Answer 11

Weber’s Law

Question 12

Phenomenon in which exposure to one stimulus influences how a person responds to a subsequent, related stimulus

Answer 12

Priming

Question 13

Process of converting one form of energy into another.

Answer 13

Transduction

Question 14

Our diminished sensitivity to constant or routine odors, sounds, and touches) focuses our attention on the informative changes in our environment. Allows us to focus on changing stimuli

Answer 14

Sensory adaptation

Question 15

A collection of basic knowledge that guides the perception of a situation (ambiguous stimuli)

Answer 15

Schemas

Question 16

Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other.

Answer 16

Perceptual set

Question 17

Unique function of the brain that accounts for the differences viewed in the world, as it relates to the senses

Answer 17

Perceptual adaptation

Question 18

a scientific discipline which examines human behavior and capabilities in order to find the best ways to design products, equipment and systems for maximum safe, effective, satisfying use by humans.

Answer 18

Human Factors Psychologists

Question 19

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition .

Answer 19

ESP

Question 20

Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Answer 20

Parapsychology

Question 21

Distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic (?’s) vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.

Answer 21

Wavelength

Question 22

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as colors blue, green, etc.

Answer 22

Hue

Question 23

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

Answer 23

Intensity

Question 24

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Answer 24

Pupil

Question 25

Ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. When you feel disgust or are about to answer no to question, your pupils constrict.

Answer 25

Iris

Question 26

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Answer 26

Lens

Question 27

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

Answer 27

Retina

Question 28

In sensation and perception, the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects in the retina

Answer 28

Rods

Question 29

Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or well-lit conditions. The (?) detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Answer 29

Cones

Question 30

Nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Answer 30

Optic Nerve

Question 31

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a (?) because no receptor cells are located there.

Answer 31

Blind spot

Question 32

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Answer 32

Fovea

Question 33

The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

Answer 33

Three color theory

Question 34

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

Answer 34

Opponent-process theory

Question 35

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

Answer 35

Feature detectors

Question 36

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions. Brain delegates the work of processing motion, form, depth, and color to different areas

Answer 36

Parallel processing

Question 37

An organized whole. Psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes; imagining the panda bear and triangle out of circles

Answer 37

Gestalt

Question 38

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

Answer 38

Figure-ground

Question 39

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups. Proximity, Continuity, Closure

Answer 39

Grouping

Question 40

The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Answer 40

Depth perception

Question 41

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Answer 41

Visual cliff

Question 42

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.

Answer 42

Binocular cues

Question 43

A binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance-- the greater the disparity between two images, the closer the object.

Answer 43

Retinal disparity

Question 44

Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

Answer 44

Monocular cues

Question 45

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

Answer 45

Phi phenomenon

Question 46

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

Answer 46

Perceptual constancy

Question 47

The ability to perceive an object as the same color, even when the brightness around the object changes.

Answer 47

Color constancy

Question 48

2 Equal-length lines topped w/ inward or outward pointing V's

Answer 48

Muller-Lyer Illusion

Question 49

The bands of high and low pressure that travel outwards from the sound source

Answer 49

Sound wave

Question 50

The sense or act of hearing

Answer 50

Audition

Question 51

In auditory perception, identification of the direction of the sound source

Answer 51

Localization

Question 52

Whether a sound seems soft or loud

Answer 52

Loudness

Question 53

Sound waves or vibration input felt

Answer 53

Stimulus input

Question 54

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Answer 54

Frequency

Question 55

The height of a sound wave, measured as the distance between the peak and the midpoint; related to the loudness of a sound

Answer 55

Amplitude

Question 56

A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Answer 56

Pitch

Question 57

Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum in the cochlea's oval window

Answer 57

Middle ear

Question 58

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in inner ear, sound waves traveling thru (?) fluid trigger nerve impulses

Answer 58

Cochlea

Question 59

Innermost part of ear, containing cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Answer 59

Inner ear

Question 60

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to auditory nerves; most common form of hearing loss (need cochlear implant)`

Answer 60

Nerve deafness

Question 61

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Answer 61

Cochlear Implant

Question 62

In hearing, the theory that links pitch we hear w/ the place the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Answer 62

Place theory

Question 63

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 pitch (also called temporal theory)

Answer 63

Frequency theory

Question 64

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 to small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in the larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Answer 64

Gate-control theory

Question 65

The sense of smell

Answer 65

Olfaction

Question 66

Specialized cells in nose that detect chemicals floating in the air, located at the top of the nasal cavity

Answer 66

Olfactory receptor cells

Question 67

The tube-shaped structure at lower front of the brain that receives signals from the olfactory receptor cells

Answer 67

Olfactory bulb

Question 68

Part of the brain that processes info abt. smell; located at lower edges of the frontal and temporal lobes

Answer 68

Olfactory cortex

Question 69

Our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and the movement of individual body parts (located in muscles)

Answer 69

Kinesthesia

Question 70

Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance

Answer 70

Vestibular sense

Question 71

Specialized cells in the sensory systems that can capture energy or info from a stimulus and covert that info into neural impulses

Answer 71

Sensory receptors

Question 72

Bumps on the surface of the tongue; each containing 200 taste buds

Answer 72

Papillae

Question 73

Complex structure inside tongue papillae, each containing 50 to 100 taste receptor cells

Answer 73

Taste buds

Question 74

Specialized cells within a taste bud that detects a particular type of chemical in food and send taste messages to the brain

Answer 74

Taste receptor cells

Question 75

Basic flavors that are generated by a single type of taste receptor; sweet, salty, sour, bitter, unami (savory)

Answer 75

Taste sensation

Question 76

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Answer 76

Sensory interaction

Question 77

Influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preference and judgements,

Answer 77

Embodied cognition

Question 78

Shell-shaped part of the outer ear that captures sound waves and concentrates them into the ear canal

Answer 78

Pinna

Question 79

The thin flap of skin at the end of the ear canal

Answer 79

Tympanic membrane

Question 80

The pathway from the outer ear to the middle ear

Answer 80

External auditory canal

Question 81

The nerve connecting the inner ear with the brain and carrying nerve impulses concerned with hearing and balance

Answer 81

Auditory nerve

Question 82

Monocular cue of when one object partially covers another object

Answer 82

Interposition

Question 83

An electrical signal that carries a message along an axon

Answer 83

Nerve impulses

Question 84

Main relay center in the brain for sensory information on their way to the proccessing areas in the cortex

Answer 84

Thalamus

Question 85

Damage caused by exposing hair cells to excessively loud sounds

Answer 85

Stimulation deafness

Question 86

Motion sickness occurs bc vestibular system sensations don't match sensations from the eyes and body

Answer 86

Sensory conflict theory

Question 87

When a stimulus is repeated the effectiveness of that stimulus is increasingly reduced

Answer 87

Habituation

Question 88

An impairment in the ability to recognize faces

Answer 88

Prosopagnosia

Question 89

The ability to perceive an object as the same size whether it's closer or farther away from you

Answer 89

Size constancy

Question 90

The ability to perceive an object as the same shape, even when it's viewed at different angles

Answer 90

Shape constancy

Question 91

The ability to perceive an object w/ the same brightness even when the light around you is different

Answer 91

Lightness constancy

Question 92

When a person is focused on certain stimuli over others

Answer 92

Selective attention

Question 93

When a person doesn't notice change in their surroundings, especially when the change is somehow hidden.

Answer 93

Change blindness

Question 94

A disorder of the curvature of the cornea or lens that results in difficulty in seeing fine detail

Answer 94

Astigmatism