chapter 4

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

processing of basic information from the external world by the sensory receptors in the sense organs

Question 2

psychophysics

Answer 2

study of physical characteristics of stimuli and how we perceive them

Question 3

absolute threshold

Answer 3

needed to detect on 50% of trials

Question 4

just noticeable difference

Answer 4

minimal change that can be detected 50% of the time

Question 5

webers law

Answer 5

proportional increase in stimulus for JND is the same regardless of signal intensity

Question 6

adaptation

Answer 6

stop noticing a stimulus that remains constant over time

• enhanced detection of stimulus change

Question 7

amplitude

Answer 7

the height of the crests of a wave

Question 8

wavelength

Answer 8

the distance between any two consecutive crests or troughs of a wave

Question 9

retina

Answer 9

back of the eye, contains 2 kinds of photoreceptor cells

Question 10

retina-rods

Answer 10

supports nighttime vision

Question 11

cone

Answer 11

responsible for high resolution color vision

Question 12

fovea

Answer 12

only contains cones, rods are more periphery

Question 13

photopigments

Answer 13

light-sensitive molecules found in the retina of the eye that play a key role in vision

Question 14

optic nerve

Answer 14

Visual information leaves the eye via the optic nerve.

Question 15

opponent process theory

Answer 15

pairs of visual neurons that work in opposition

Question 16

trichromatic theory

Answer 16

3 cone photopigments work together to produce color perception

Question 17

monocular cues

Answer 17

aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only one eye

• texture gradient, linear perspectives, interposition, relative height, relative size, relative motion

Question 18

binocular cues

Answer 18

difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides information about depth

Question 19

pathway to occipital cortex

Answer 19

involves the optic nerves, optic tracts, and the thalamus

Question 20

feature detectors

Answer 20

neurons in the brain that identify specific properties of stimuli, such as color, shape, edges, angles, and movement

Question 21

visual association cortex

Answer 21

regions of the brain where objects are reconstructed from feature detectors and prior knowledge

Question 22

what vs. where pathways

Answer 22

ventral stream (“what”)
dorsal stream (“where”)

disorders
-visual form agnosia

Question 23

hearing

Answer 23

involves the detection of waves or changes in air pressure unfolding over time

Question 24

frequency

Answer 24

(pitch) - measured in Hz

Question 25

amplitude

Answer 25

(loudness) - measured in dB

Question 26

Timbre

Answer 26

experience of sound quality resonance

Question 27

middle ear

Answer 27

- eardrum/tympanic membrane - ossicles: hammer, anvil, and stirrup

Question 28

inner ear

Answer 28

- cochlea: a fluid-filled tube in the inner ear - basilar membrane: lines the cochlea where the auditory cilia (hair cells) are located

Question 29

frequency theory

Answer 29

the brain uses the frequency of auditory sensory neuron firing to indicate pitch

Question 30

place theory

Answer 30

different pitches arise from stimulation at different places along the basilar membrane

Question 31

tonotopic organization

Answer 31

the arrangement of the auditory cortex-nearby frequencies are processed near each other in the brain

Question 32

sound localization

Answer 32

having two ears allow for comparisons to localize sound - inter-aural timing: when the sound reaches each ear - inter-aural intensity: loudness of sound in each ear

Question 33

conductive hearing loss

Answer 33

happens when the natural movement of sound through the external ear or middle ear is blocked, and the full sound does not reach the inner ear.

Question 34

sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 34

results from damage to the hair cells within the inner ear, the vestibulocochlear nerve, or the brain's central processing centers

Question 35

epithelium

Answer 35

mucous membrane in the nasal cavity that contains the olfactory receptor neurons

Question 36

olfactory bulb

Answer 36

structure just above the nasal cavity where information is communicated to the primary olfactory cortex

Question 37

glomeruli

Answer 37

a spherical cluster of neurons in the olfactory bulb

Question 38

vestibular sense

Answer 38

the sense of balance and body position

Question 39

sensory integration

Answer 39

the process by which the brain receives and responds to information from the senses

Question 40

sense of taste

Answer 40

the study of how people perceive taste, and how factors like culture, environment, and early development can influence taste preferences