chapter 4

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

simple stimulation of a sense organ

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation

Question 3

transduction

Answer 3

process whereby sense receptors convert physical signals from the environment into neural signals that are sent to the central nervous system

Question 4

sensory adaptation

Answer 4

process whereby sensitivity to prolonged stimulus tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current (unchanging) conditions

Question 5

psychophysics

Answer 5

methods that systemically relate the physical characteristics of a stimulus to an observers perception

Question 6

absolute threshold

Answer 6

the minimal intensity needed to barely detect a stimulus in 50% of trials

Question 7

sensitivity

Answer 7

how responsive we are to a faint stimulus

Question 8

acuity

Answer 8

how well we can distinguish 2 very similar stimuli

Question 9

just noticeable difference (JND)

Answer 9

the minimal change in stimulus that is just barely noticed
JND= K (constant) x I (intensity)

Question 10

webers law

Answer 10

for every sense domain, the change in a stimulus that is just noticeable is a constant proportion despite variation in intensities

Question 11

signal detection theory

Answer 11

a approach that holds that the response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a persons decision criteria

Question 12

retina

Answer 12

a layer of light sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball

Question 13

accommodation

Answer 13

the process whereby the eye maintains a clear image on the retina

Question 14

cones

Answer 14

photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine details

Question 15

rods

Answer 15

photoreceptors that become active under low light conditions

Question 16

fovea

Answer 16

area of the retina where vision is clearest and there are no rods at all

Question 17

blind spot

Answer 17

a location in the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina

Question 18

area V1

Answer 18

the part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex

Question 19

color opponent system

Answer 19

theory stating that pairs of cone types (channels) work in opposition

Question 20

visual receptive field

Answer 20

the region of the visual field to which each neuron responds

Question 21

visual form agnosia

Answer 21

the inability to recognize objects by sight

Question 22

binding problem

Answer 22

how the brain links features together so that we see unified objects in our visual world rather than free floating or miscombined features

Question 23

parallel processing

Answer 23

the brains capacity to perform multiple activities at the same time

Question 24

illusory conjunction

Answer 24

a perceptual mistake whereby the brain incorrectly combines features from multiple objects

Question 25

feature integration theory

Answer 25

the idea that focused attention is not required to detect individual features that make up stimuli

Question 26

attention

Answer 26

the active and conscious processing of particular info

Question 27

perceptual constancy

Answer 27

a perceptual principal stating that even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant

Question 28

perceptual organization

Answer 28

the process of grouping and segregating features to create whole groups organized in meaningful ways

Question 29

monocular depth cues

Answer 29

aspects of a scene that yield info about depth when viewed only with 1 eye

Question 30

binocular disparity

Answer 30

the difference in retinal images of the 2 eyes that provides info about depth

Question 31

apparent motion

Answer 31

the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations

Question 32

biological motion perception

Answer 32

the ability to perceive biological motion critical for identifying individuals and variables socially relevant features

Question 33

spatial acuity

Answer 33

the ability to distinguish 2 features that are very close together in time

Question 34

multisensory

Answer 34

events that stimulate multiple senses at a time

Question 35

ventriloquist illusion

Answer 35

the fact that you depend on your visual system for reliable info about spatial location

Question 36

change blindness

Answer 36

failure to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

Question 37

synthesia

Answer 37

when 1 attribute of a stimulus such as its sound or shape, leads to the conscious experience of ana additional attribute, often in a different sensory modality than the initiating stimulus

Question 38

inattentional blindness

Answer 38

a failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

Question 39

sound waves

Answer 39

how high or low a sound is

Question 40

frequency

Answer 40

corresponds to our perception of pitch. low frequency= low pitch, high frequency= high pitch

Question 41

amplitude

Answer 41

corresponds to our perception of loudness high amplitude= loud, low amplitude= soft

Question 42

complexity

Answer 42

corresponds to our perception of timbre. simple=pure tone, complex= mix of frequencies

Question 43

loudness

Answer 43

perception of a sounds intensity

Question 44

timbre

Answer 44

the quality of sound that allows you to distinguish 2 sounds with the same pitch and loudness

Question 45

cochlea

Answer 45

a fluid filled tube that contains cells that transduce sound vibrations into neural impulses

Question 46

basilar membrane

Answer 46

a structure in the inner ear that moves up and down in time with vibrations relayed from the ossicles, transmitted through the oval window

Question 47

travelling wave

Answer 47

the up and down movements that sound causes in the basilar membrane

Question 48

inner hair cells

Answer 48

specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane

Question 49

area a1

Answer 49

the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe

Question 50

place code

Answer 50

the process by which the brain uses info about the relative activity of hair cells (eg. which ones are more active) across the whole basilar membrane to help determine the pitch you hear

Question 51

temporal code

Answer 51

the process whereby the brain uses timing of the action potentials in the auditory nerve to help determine the pitch you hear

Question 52

haptic perception

Answer 52

the active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands

Question 53

tactile receptive field

Answer 53

a small patch of skin that relates info about pain pressure, texture, pattern, or vibration to a receptor

Question 54

referred pain

Answer 54

feeling of pain on the surface of the body, but due to internal damage, occurs because sensory info from internal and external areas converge on the same nerve cells in the spinal cord

Question 55

gate control theory

Answer 55

theory of pain perception based on the idea that signals arriving from pain receptors in the body can be stopped, or gated, by interneurons in the spinal cord via feedback from the skin or from the brain

Question 56

proprioception

Answer 56

your sense of bodily position

Question 57

vestibular system

Answer 57

3 fluid filled semi circular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear

Question 58

sensory receptor neurons (ORNs)

Answer 58

receptor cells that transduce odorant molecules into neural impulses

Question 59

olfactory bulbs

Answer 59

a brain structure located above the nasal cavity beneath the frontal lobe

Question 60

pheromones

Answer 60

biochemical odorants emitted by other members of an animals species that can affect its behavior or physiology

Question 61

taste buds

Answer 61

the organs of taste transduction