Ch 05: Sensation & Perception

Question 1

aboslute threshold

Answer 1

minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

Question 2

afterimage

Answer 2

continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

Question 3

binocular cue

Answer 3

cue that relies on the use of both eyes

Question 4

binocular disparity

Answer 4

slightly different view of the world that each eye receives

Question 5

blind spot

Answer 5

point where we cannot respond to visual information in that portion of the visual field

Question 6

bottom-up processing

Answer 6

system in which perceptions are built from sensory input

Question 7

closure

Answer 7

organizing our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

Question 8

cochlear implant

Answer 8

electronic device that consists of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array to directly stimulate the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain

Question 9

conductive hearing loss

Answer 9

failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles

Question 10

cone

Answer 10

specialized photoreceptor that works best in bright light conditions and detects color

Question 11

congenital deafness

Answer 11

deafness from birth

Question 12

cornea

Answer 12

transparent covering over the eye

Question 13

decibel (dB)

Answer 13

logarithmic unit of sound intensity

Question 14

depth perception

Answer 14

ability to perceive depth

Question 15

figure-ground relationship

Answer 15

segmenting our visual world into figure and ground

Question 16

fovea

Answer 16

small indentation in the retina that contains cones

Question 17

Gestalt psychology

Answer 17

field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts

Question 18

hair cell

Answer 18

auditory receptor cell of the inner ear

Question 19

inattentional blindness

Answer 19

failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention

Question 20

iris

Answer 20

colored portion of the eye

Question 21

just noticeable difference

Answer 21

difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the stimuli

Question 22

kinesthesia

Answer 22

perception of the body’s movement through space

Question 23

lens

Answer 23

curved, transparent structure that provides additional focus for light entering the eye

Question 24

linear perspective

Answer 24

perceive depth in an image when two parallel lines seem to converge

Question 25

monocular cue

Answer 25

cue that requires only one eye

Question 26

night blindness

Answer 26

poor vision at night or in dim light

Question 27

optic chiasm

Answer 27

X-shaped structure that sits just below the brain’s ventral surface; represents the merging of the optic nerves from the two eyes and the separation of information from the two sides of the visual field to the opposite side of the brain

Question 28

optic nerve

Answer 28

carries visual information from the retina to the brain

Question 29

perception

Answer 29

way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced

Question 30

principle of closure

Answer 30

organize perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

Question 31

proprioception

Answer 31

perception of body position

Question 32

proximity

Answer 32

things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together

Question 33

pupil

Answer 33

small opening in the eye through which light passes

Question 34

retina

Answer 34

light-sensitive lining of the eye

Question 35

rod

Answer 35

specialized photoreceptor that works well in low light conditions

Question 36

sensation

Answer 36

what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

Question 37

sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 37

failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain

Question 38

sensory adaptation

Answer 38

not perceiving stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time

Question 39

similarity

Answer 39

things that are alike tend to be grouped together

Question 40

subliminal message

Answer 40

message presented below the threshold of conscious awareness

Question 41

top-down processing

Answer 41

interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts

Question 42

transduction

Answer 42

conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

Question 43

vestibular sense

Answer 43

contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture