chapter 1

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

ability to detect a physical stimulus

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

act of giving meaning to a detected stimulus

Question 3

gustav fechner

Answer 3

• panpsychism
• went blind from sun
• fruit, spiced ham, wine diet
• regain vision, concocts psychopsychics and perception

Question 4

panpsychism

Answer 4

the idea that everything has a mind

Question 5

psychophysics

Answer 5

the science of defining quantitative relationships between physical stimuli and the psychological experience of those stimuli

Question 6

magnitude estimation

Answer 6

the strategy of having participants assign an estimated value to a physical stimulus

Question 7

what is the problem with magnitude estimation?

Answer 7

most psychometric functions are nonlinear

Question 8

fechner’s law

Answer 8

the observer is less sensitive at high physical intestines than low physical intensities

Question 9

just noticeable difference

Answer 9

the smallest difference detectable between two stimuli

Question 10

absolute threshold

Answer 10

minimum amount of physical stimulus intensity necessary for a person to detect it 50% of the time

Question 11

what methods can be used to estimate absolute threshold?

Answer 11

method of constant stimuli

method of limits

method of adjustment

Question 12

method of constant stimuli

Answer 12

present tones of different volumes in a random order, participant indicates if they can hear it or not

each volume level is tested multiple times

Question 13

method of limits

Answer 13

present tones in an increasing/decreasing order, participant says when they hear it

multiple runs

Question 14

method of adjustment

Answer 14

participant adjusts volume until they can hear the tone, multiple runs are required

Question 15

signal detection theory

Answer 15

observer’s goal is to detect a signal amongst noise

Question 16

signal

Answer 16

what are you trying to detect

Question 17

noise

Answer 17

internal and external factors that make the signal hard to detect

Question 18

a person can shift their _________ depending on the desired type of error

Answer 18

response criteria

Question 19

brady et al.

Answer 19

2008

participants view 2500 objects over 5.5 hours for 3 seconds each

afterwards, they’re given a recall test

participants recall 90% of the images

Question 20

light

Answer 20

thought of as a wave and a particle

Question 21

photon

Answer 21

particle of light

Question 22

light is a _____

Answer 22

waveform

Question 23

what does the color of light depend on?

Answer 23

its wavelength

Question 24

refraction

Answer 24

light waves are altered when they pass from one medium to another

Question 25

cornea

Answer 25

transparent membrane 1st step in focusing light

Question 26

anterior chamber

Answer 26

pouch of aqueous humor

Question 27

pupil

Answer 27

hole in front of the eye

Question 28

iris

Answer 28

circular muscles that control the size of the pupil

Question 29

lens

Answer 29

focuses the light by bending itself

Question 30

what coordinates to accommodate the lens?

Answer 30

ciliary muscle and zonules of zinn

Question 31

virtuous chamber

Answer 31

inner chamber of the eyeball

Question 32

vitreous humor

Answer 32

fluid that fills the eye and maintains shape of eye

Question 33

how is light perceived?

Answer 33

it is transducer into a neural signal

Question 34

retina

Answer 34

processes what we see

Question 35

rods

Answer 35

photoreceptors specialized for night vision

Question 36

cones

Answer 36

photoreceptor specialized for color vision

Question 37

how many types of cones are there?

Answer 37

three

Question 38

blindspot

Answer 38

result of the retina being set up ‘backwards’

Question 39

optic nerve

Answer 39

where neural signal leaves your eye

Question 40

what were some early hypotheses as to why the sun makes us sneeze?

Answer 40

aristotle- heat of sun irritates nose bacon- isn’t heat because it occurs when eyes are closed, it’s the tears aroma irritated eyes seeping into the nose everett- confusion of nerve signals, highly heritable conclusion- unknown

Question 41

light adaptation

Answer 41

process by which your visual system adjusts to the overall light levels (20-25 mins)

Question 42

how do we achieve a broad range of light adaption?

Answer 42

pupil dilation photopigment regeneration neural circuitry duplex retina

Question 43

pupil dilation

Answer 43

you can physically adjust the mount of light entering the eye

Question 44

bleaching

Answer 44

too many light photons overwhelming the photoreceptors, resulting in all of the photopigment being used up

Question 45

photopigment regeneration

Answer 45

photopigment take time to regenerate, but if they are fast enough we perceive bright stimuli

Question 46

neural circuitry

Answer 46

bright lights simultaneously inhibit and excite the retinal system

Question 47

duplex retina

Answer 47

rods detect dim light, cones detect bright light

Question 48

fovea

Answer 48

center of your retina

Question 49

scotopic

Answer 49

cull of rods that are poor at color discrimination and function well at low light levels

Question 50

photopic

Answer 50

full of cones which are good at color discrimination during daylight