Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

transduction

Answer 1

transformation of sensory stimuli into neural impulses

Question 2

sensory adaptation

Answer 2

decreased responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation

Question 3

sensory habituation

Answer 3

our perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on them

Question 4

cocktail-party phenomenon

Answer 4

suddenly focusing on your name even if it’s said across the room at a cocktail party

Question 5

rods

Answer 5

detect black and white

Question 6

cones

Answer 6

detect color

Question 7

fovea

Answer 7

center of retina, high density of cones;

Question 8

optic chiasm

Answer 8

area where optic nerve joins the eye, blind spot

Question 9

bipolar cells

Answer 9

layer under rods/cones that fires if provided enough stimulation

Question 10

ganglion cells

Answer 10

cells that form the optic nerve, fire if the bipolar cells fire and lead straight to the lateral geniculate nucleus

Question 11

lateral geniculate nucleus

Answer 11

area in the thalamus where optic signals are sent

Question 12

optic chiasm

Answer 12

spot where optic nerves cross

Question 13

feature detectors

Answer 13

different groups of neurons respond to different types of visual images, i.e. curves/lines/circles

Question 14

David Hubel & Torsten Wiesel

Answer 14

discovered the presence of feature detectors

Question 15

gate control theory

Answer 15

only one message can be sent at a time and higher priority messages (pain) can override lower priority ones (itchiness) and endorphins can ‘close’ the ‘gate’ too

Question 16

olfactory receptor cells

Answer 16

receive particles of smell stuff and transmit it to the brain

Question 17

olfactory bulb

Answer 17

receives messages from the olfactory receptor cells

Question 18

vestibular sense

Answer 18

sense of balance of our whole body

Question 19

kinesthetic sense

Answer 19

sense of where our individual body parts are oriented

Question 20

difference threshold

Answer 20

just-noticeable difference; smallest amount a stimulus must change before the difference is noticeable

Question 21

Weber-Fechner Law

Answer 21

Weber’s law; change needed to cross the difference threshold is proportionate to the intensity of the stimulus

Question 22

Ernst Weber

Answer 22

Weber’s law; just-noticeable difference

Question 23

Gustav Fechner

Answer 23

worked with WEber in creating Weber’s law

Question 24

signal detection theory

Answer 24

tries to determine which stimulus we will pay attention to out of competing stimuli

Question 25

response criteria

Answer 25

factors that will determine whether or not you detect a signla

Question 26

false positive

Answer 26

when we think we see something that actually isn't there

Question 27

false negative

Answer 27

when we don't see something that is actually there

Question 28

top-down processing

Answer 28

using background knowledge to fill gaps in perception

Question 29

bottom-up processing

Answer 29

relying on evidence to form an opinion

Question 30

schemata

Answer 30

mental representations of how we perceive the world to be

Question 31

perceptual set

Answer 31

perceiving something in a certain way

Question 32

figure-ground relationship

Answer 32

distinction made between an object and its background

Question 33

gestalt rules

Answer 33

proximity, continuity, similarity, closure

Question 34

proximity

Answer 34

how close things are together; objects closer together are perceived to be grouped together

Question 35

continuity

Answer 35

objects that form a continuous form are more likely to be perceived as belonging together

Question 36

similarity

Answer 36

objects of similar size/shape/color appearance are seen as more similar

Question 37

closure

Answer 37

objects that form an image are more likely to be grouped together

Question 38

constancy

Answer 38

size, shape, brightness; ability to maintain a constant perception of an object despite changes in light/position

Question 39

size constancy

Answer 39

objects close ot us look bigger but size constancy allows us to realize they are not actually bigger

Question 40

brightness constancy

Answer 40

perceive objects as being a constant color even as reflecting light changes color

Question 41

shape constancy

Answer 41

knowing that a coffee mug is circular even though it may appear elliptical from another perspective

Question 42

stroboscopic effect

Answer 42

a series of pictures will appear to be moving if presented in a certain speed

Question 43

phi phenomenon

Answer 43

series of lightbulbs turned on and off at a certain rate will appear to be a moving thing of light

Question 44

autokinetic effect

Answer 44

if a light is steadily pointed at a blank wall/screen it will appear to move if you stare long enough

Question 45

Eleanor Gibson

Answer 45

did the visual-cliff experiment with babies and concluded that we are able to perceive depth from a very young age

Question 46

monocular cues

Answer 46

depth cues that do not rely on having binocular vision; linear perspective, relative size cues, interposition, texture gradient

Question 47

binocular cues

Answer 47

depth cues that rely on having binocular vision; binocular disparity, convergence

Question 48

linear perspective

Answer 48

parallel lines that extend to the edge of a page would appear to converge; railroad tracks

Question 49

relative size cue

Answer 49

objects closer to the viewer appear larger than faraway objects

Question 50

interposition cue

Answer 50

objects closer to us block out pieces of objects behind us

Question 51

texture gradient

Answer 51

things are more detailed when they are close to us

Question 52

shadowing

Answer 52

provides a cue to light source and shadow

Question 53

retinal disparity

Answer 53

a faraway object causes the eyes to receive the same message/picture; a closeby object causes disparate images to appear

Question 54

convergence

Answer 54

as an object moves closer to us, we become more crosseyed trying to look at it, and this gives a perception of near/far

Question 55

Muller-Lyer illusion

Answer 55

a line with right angles looks longer than a line with arrowheads on the end; because of architecture with right angles