Ch. 4 Vocab

Question 1

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Answer 1

perception

Question 2

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Answer 2

bottom-up processing

Question 3

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Answer 3

top-down processing

Question 4

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Answer 4

selective attention

Question 5

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Answer 5

inattentional blindness

Question 6

failing to notice changes in the environment

Answer 6

change blindness

Question 7

conversion of one form of energy into another; the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Answer 7

transduction

Question 8

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Answer 8

psychophysics

Question 9

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Answer 9

absolute threshold

Question 10

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

Answer 10

signal detection theory

Question 11

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 11

subliminal

Question 12

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Answer 12

priming

Question 13

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

Answer 13

difference threshold

Question 14

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Answer 14

Weber’s law

Question 15

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 15

sensory adaptation

Question 16

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Answer 16

perceptual set

Question 17

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

Answer 17

extrasensory perception

Question 18

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Answer 18

parapsychology

Question 19

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Answer 19

wavelength

Question 20

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

Answer 20

hue

Question 21

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

Answer 21

intensity

Question 22

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

Answer 22

pupil

Question 23

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Answer 23

iris

Question 24

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

Answer 24

lens

Question 25

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 25

retina

Question 26

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

Answer 26

accommodation

Question 27

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

Answer 27

rods

Question 28

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Answer 28

cones

Question 29

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

Answer 29

optic nerve

Question 30

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

Answer 30

blind spot

Question 31

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

Answer 31

fovea

Question 32

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

Answer 32

feature detectors

Question 33

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision; contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

Answer 33

parallel processing

Question 34

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 34

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

Question 35

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

Answer 35

Opponent-processing theory

Question 36

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

Answer 36

gestalt

Question 37

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

Answer 37

figure-ground

Question 38

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Answer 38

grouping

Question 39

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

Answer 39

depth perception

Question 40

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

Answer 40

visual cliff

Question 41

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

Answer 41

binocular cues

Question 42

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object

Answer 42

retinal disparity

Question 43

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

Answer 43

monocular cues

Question 44

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

Answer 44

phi phenomenon

Question 45

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

Answer 45

perceptual constancy

Question 46

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Answer 46

color constancy

Question 47

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Answer 47

perceptual adaptation

Question 48

the sense or act of hearing

Answer 48

audition

Question 49

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)

Answer 49

frequency

Question 50

a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Answer 50

pitch

Question 51

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

Answer 51

middle ear

Question 52

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulse

Answer 52

cochlea

Question 53

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Answer 53

inner ear

Question 54

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

Answer 54

sensorineural hearing loss

Question 55

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Answer 55

conduction hearing loss

Question 56

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

Answer 56

cochlear implant

Question 57

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated

Answer 57

place theory

Question 58

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 its pitch

Answer 58

frequency theory

Question 59

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

Answer 59

gate-control theory

Question 60

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Answer 60

kinesthesia

Question 61

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Answer 61

vestibular sense

Question 62

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

Answer 62

sensory interaction

Question 63

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

Answer 63

embodied cognition

Question 64

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Answer 64

sensation