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Psychology Unit 1 > Chapter 3: Sensation & Perception > Flashcards

Chapter 3: Sensation & Perception Flashcards

(109 cards)

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1
Q

sensation

A

is the stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system.

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2
Q

perception

A

is an active process in which sensations are organized and interpreted to form an inner representation of the world

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3
Q

absolute threshold

A

weakest level of a stimulus necessary to produce a sensation. detected 50% of the time. Some people might have a slightly different response at different times

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4
Q

pitch

A

the highness or lowness of a sound, as determined by the frequency of the sound waves

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5
Q

subliminal stimulation

A

sensory stimulation below a person’s absolute threshold for a conscious perception.

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6
Q

difference threshold

A

the minimum difference in magnitude of two stimuli required to tell them apart, which is detected 50% of the time

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7
Q

auditory stimuli can be played

A

at a volume too low to consciously hear, backward.

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8
Q

visual stimuli flashed too briefly

A

can be processed

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9
Q

weber’s constant

A

fraction denoting the difference threshold for perceiving differences in the intensity of energy (fraction = 1/60th)

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10
Q

Just-noticeable difference (JND)

A

the minimum difference in stimuli that can be detected

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11
Q

signal-detection theory

A

the view that the perception of sensory stimuli involves the interaction of physical, biological, and psychological factors

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12
Q

feature detectors

A

the neurons in the sensory cortex that fire in response to specific features of sensory information such as lines of edges of objects

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13
Q

sensory adaptation

A

the processes by which organisms become more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude and less sensitive to stimuli that are constant or ongoing in magnitude

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14
Q

sensitization (positive adaptation)

A

the type of sensory adaptation in which we become more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude

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15
Q

desensitization (negative adaptation)

A

the type of sensory adaptation in which we become less sensitive to constant stimuli

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16
Q

visible light

A

the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that stimulates the eye and produces visual sensations

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17
Q

hue

A

the color of light, as determined by its wavelength

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18
Q

cornea

A

the transparent tissue forming the outer surface of the eyeball

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19
Q

iris

A

a muscular membrane whose dilation regulates the amount of light that enters the eye

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20
Q

pupil

A

the black opening in the center of the iris, through which light enters the eye

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21
Q

lens

A

changes thickness to adjust or accommodate an image, the image is projected onto the retina

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22
Q

retina

A

the area of the inner surface of the eye that contains rods and cones

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23
Q

photoreceptors

A

cells that respond to light

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24
Q

bipolar cells

A

neurons that conduct neural impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells

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25
ganglion cells
neurons whose axons form the optic nerve
26
optic nerve
the nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain
27
rods
rod-shaped photoreceptors that are sensitive only to the intensity of light
28
cones
cone-shaped photoreceptors that transmit sensations of color
29
fovea
an area near the center of the retina that is dense with cones, and where vision is mot acute
30
blind spot
the area of the retina where axons from ganglion cells meet to form the optic nerve, which is insensitive to visual stimulation.
31
visual acuity
sharpness of vision, connected to the shape of the eye (nearsightedness and far)
32
presbyopia
a condition characterized by the brittleness of the lens, difficult to perceive nearby visual stimuli
33
dark adaptation
the process of adjusting to conditions of lower lighting by increasing the sensitivity of rods and cones. Cones reach maximum adaptation in 10 min, rods continue to adapt up to 45 min.
34
amacrine cells and horizontal cells
make sideways connection at a level near the rods and cones and at another level near ganglion cells
35
value
degree of brightness or darkness
36
saturation
the intensity of color perceived
37
complementary
descriptive of colors of the spectrum that when combined produce white or nearly white light
38
afterimage
the lingering visual impression made by a stimulus that has been removed
39
trichromatic theory
the theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones, some of which respond to relight, some to green, and some to blue
40
opponent-process theory
the theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones, some of which respond to red or green light, some to blue or yellow, and some to the intensity of light
41
trichromat
a person with normal color vision
42
monochromats
a person who is sensitive to black and white only, color-blind
43
dichromats
a person who is sensitive to black-white and either red-green or blue-yellow and is partially color-blind
44
visual perception
process used to organize sensory impressions caused by the light that strikes one's eyes and involves our knowledge, expectations, and motivations.
45
closure
the tendency to perceive a broken figure as being complete or whole
46
perceptual organization
the tendency to integrate perceptual elements into meaningful patterns
47
figure-ground perception
ambiguous, or capable of being interpreted in various ways, relationships lead to unstable perceptions
48
proximity
nearness, the perceptual tendency to group together objects that are near one another
49
similarity
the perceptual tendency to group together objects that are similar in appearance
50
continuity
the tendency to perceive a series of points or lines as having unity
51
common fate
the tendency to perceive elements that move together as belonging together
52
top-down processing
the use of contextual information of knowledge of a pattern in order to organize parts of the pattern
53
bottom-up processing
the organization of the parts of a pattern to recognize, or form an image of, the pattern they compose
54
Visual perception of motion
is based on a change of position relative to other objects
55
illusions
sensations that give rise to misperceptions
56
stroboscopic motion
a visual illusion in which the perception of motion is generated by a series of stationary images that are presented in rapid succession
57
monocular cues
stimuli suggestive of depth that can be perceived with only one eye
58
perspective
a monocular cue for depth based on the convergence (coming together) of parallel lines as they recede into the distance
59
relative size
the fact that distant objects look smaller than nearby objects of the same size
60
clearness
can suggest the objects distance
61
overlapping
the placing of one object in front of another
62
shadowing
provides additional information about depth
63
texture gradient
a monocular cue for depth based on the perception that closer objects appear to have rougher (more detailed) surfaces
64
motion parallax
a monocular cue for depth based on the perception that nearby objects appear to move more rapidly in relation to our own motion
65
binocular cues
stimuli suggestive of depth that involve simultaneous perception by both eyes
66
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for depth based on the difference in the image cast by an object on the retinas of the eyes as the object moves closer or farther away
67
convergence
a binocular cue for depth based on the inward movement of the eyes as they attempt to focus on an abject that is drawing nearer
68
perpectual constancies
enable us to recognize the characteristics of objects when their apparent size, color, brightness, and shape differ from the norm.
69
size constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as being the same size even as the size of its retinal image changes according the object's distance
70
color constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as being the same color even though lighting conditions change its appearance
71
brightness constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as being just as bright even though lighting conditions change its intensity
72
shape constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as being the same shape although the retinal image varies in shape as it rotates
73
sound (auditory stimulation)
is the vibration of molecules in a medium such as air or water, compressing and expanding the molecules of the medium create pressures of vibrations
74
hertz
a unit expressing the frequency of sound waves. One hertz equals one cycle per second
75
decibels
a unit expressing the loudness of a sound
76
pitch
determined by a sound's frequency
77
frequency
number of cycles per second expressed hertz
78
the ear is
shaped and structured to capture sound waves, vibrate in sympathy with them, and transmit them to the brain.
79
outer ear
funnels sound waves to the eardrum, which vibrates in response to sound waves
80
eardrum
a thin membrane that vibrates in response to sound waves
81
middle ear
contains the eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup, acts as an amplifier, increasing the pressure of the air entering the ear
82
the oval window and round window (thin membranes)
work in conjunction, which balance the pressure in the inner ear
83
cochlea
(inner ear), the bony tube that contains the basilar membrane and the organ of Corti
84
basilar membrane
a membrane that lies coiled within the cochlea, vibrations in the fluids within the chambers of the inner ear press against this
85
organ of Corti
the receptor for hearing the lies on the basilar membrane
86
auditory nerve
the axon bundle that transmits neural impulses from the organ of Corti to the brain
87
perception of loudness and pitch
related to number of receptor neurons on the organ of Corti that fire and the firing frequency, sounds are perceived as louder when more sensory neurons fire
88
place theory
the theory that the pitch of a sound is determined by the section of the basilar membrane that vibrates in response to the sound
89
frequency theory
the theory that the pitch of a sound is reflected in the frequency of the neural impulses that are generated in response to the sound
90
volley principle
pitch is discriminated through the alternate firing of neurons
91
conductive deafness
due to damage to the middle ear, hearing aids can help
92
sensorineural deafness
due to damage to the structures of the inner ear or auditory nerve, cochlear implants made help but cannot adopt auditory nerve functions
93
smell (one of the chemical senses)
contributes to the flavor of foods
94
olfactory nerve
the nerve that transmits information concerning odors from olfactory receptors in the brain
95
odors
sample molecules of substances in the air
96
taste (one of the chemical senses)
sensed through taste cells which are receptor neurons on taste buds
97
flavor
a complex quality of food based on its odor, texture, temperature, and taste
98
taste qualities
sweet, sour, salty, bitter umami (savory)
99
touch and pressure (skin senses)
sensory receptors embedded in the skin fire when the surface of the skin is touched
100
active touching
continuously moving your hand along the surface of an abject so that you continue to receive sensory input from the object
101
temperature (a skin sense)
receptoes are located beneath and skin. when skin temperature increases, the receptors for warmth fire, vice versa
102
pain
occurs when neurons called nociceptors in the skin are stimulated, pain is usually sharpened where nerve endings are densely packed
103
prostaglandins
facilitate the transmission of the pain message to the brain and heighten circulation to the injured area, causing the redness and swelling called inflammation.
104
phantom limb pain
the perception of pain apparently in limbs that have been amputated, often because of activation of nerves in the stump of the missing limb
105
gate theory of pain
the nervous system can process only a limited amount of stimulation at a time so rubbing the pained area competes for neural attention and presents many nerves from transmitting pain messages to the brain
106
acupuncture
use of pins to diminish pain, possible because of the stimulation of the release of endorphins and cortisol
107
kinesthesis
is the sense that informs you about the position and motion of parts of the body
108
vestibular sense
informs the brain as to whether one is physically upright
109
ESP
perception of objects or events through means other than the recognized sensory organs

Psychology Unit 1 (3 decks)

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