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PSYC 101 > Chapter 4 Sensation & Perception > Flashcards

Chapter 4 Sensation & Perception Flashcards

1
Q

Illusion

A

The way we perceive a stimulus doesn’t match its physical reality

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2
Q

Sensation

A

Detection of physical energy by sense organs, which send info to brain

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3
Q

Perception

A

Brains interpretation of raw sensory inputs

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4
Q

Naive realism

A

What we perceive is true/real, the world is precisely as we see it

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5
Q

Filling in

A

Reconstructing parts of what we perceive

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6
Q

Transduction

A

Process of converting an external energy/substance into electrical activity within neurons

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7
Q

Sense receptor

A

Specialized cell responsible for converting external stimuli into neural activity for a specific sensory system

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8
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

Activation is greatest when a stimulus is first detected

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9
Q

Psychophysics

A

Study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical characteristics

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10
Q

Absolute threshold

A

Lowest level of a stimulus needed for nervous system to detect change 50% of time

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11
Q

Just noticeable difference (JND)

A

Smallest change in intensity of a stimulus that we can detect

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12
Q

Weber’s Law

A

There is a constant proportional relationship between the JND/original stimulus intensity

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13
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions

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14
Q

Signal to noise ratio

A

How hard it becomes to detect signal when background noise present

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15
Q

Response biases

A

Tendencies to make one type of guess over others

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16
Q

Synesthesia

A

People experience cross-modal sensations

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17
Q

Parallel processing

A

Ability to attend many sense modalities simultaneously

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18
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Processing in which a whole is constructed from parts

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19
Q

Top-down processing

A

Conceptually driven processing influenced by beliefs/expectations

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20
Q

Perceptual set

A

Set formed when expectations influence perceptions

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21
Q

Perceptual constancy

A

Process by which we perceive stimuli consistently across varied conditions

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22
Q

Selective attention

A

Process of selecting one sensory channel and ignoring/minimizing others

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23
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

Failure to detect stimuli that are in plain sight when our attention is focused elsewhere

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24
Q

Subliminal perception

A

Perception below the threshold of conscious awareness

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25
Pupil
Circular hole where light enters eye
26
Cornea
Part of eye containing transparent cells that focus light on retina
27
Lens
Part of eye that changes curvature to keep images in focus
28
Accommodation
changing shape of lens to focus on objects near/far
29
Retina
Membrane at the back of eye responsible for converting light into neural activity
30
Forea
Central portion of retina
31
Acuity
Sharpness of vision
32
Rods
Receptor cells in the retina allowing us to see in low levels of light
33
Dark adaptation
Time in dark before rods regain max. light sensitivity
34
Cones
Receptor cells in the retina allowing us to see in colour
35
Optic nerve
Nerve that travels from the retina to brain
36
Blind spot
Region of retina containing no rods/cones, completely devoid of sense receptors
37
Feature detector cell
Cell that detects lines/edges
38
Trichromatic theory
Idea that colour vision is based on our sensitivity to three primary colours (red, green, blue)
39
Colour blindness
Inability to see some/all colours
40
Opponent process theory
Theory that we perceive colours in terms of three pairs of opposite colours (red/green, blue/yellow, black/white)
41
Depth perception
Ability to judge distance/3D relations
42
Monocular depth cues
Stimuli that enable us to judge depth using only one eye
43
Binocular depth cues
Stimuli that enable us to judge depth using both eyes
44
Gestalt Principles
1. Proximity 2. Similarity 3. Continuity 4. Closure 5. Symmetry 6. Figure-ground
45
Gestalt: Proximity
Objects physically close to each other perceived as unified wholes
46
Gestalt: Similarity
See similar objects comprising a whole
47
Gestalt: Continuity
Perceive objects as wholes even if other objects block part of them
48
Gestalt: Closure
Partial visual info present, brains fill in what's missing
49
Gestalt: Symmetry
Perceive objects that are symmetrically arranged as wholes more often than those that aren't
50
Gestalt: Figure-ground
Make instantaneous decision to focus attention on what we believe to be the central figure, ignore what's in the background
51
Monocular cues (List)
Relative size, texture gradient, interposition, linear perspective, height in plane, light and shadow
52
Mono cues: Relative size
All things being equal, more distance objects look smaller than closer objects
53
Mono cues: Texture gradient
Texture of objects become less apparent as objects become further away
54
Mono cues: Interposition
One object that is closer blocks our view of an object behind it (know which object is closer vs farther)
55
Mono cues: Linear perspective
Outlines of rooms/buildings converge as distance increases (vanishing point)
56
Mono cues: Light and shadow
Objects cast shadows that give us a sense of their 3D form
57
Binocular cues (list)
Binocular disparity, binocular convergence
58
Binocular disparity
Left/right eyes transmit different info for near objects but see distant objects similarly
59
Binocular convergence
Look at nearby objects, focus on them reflexively by using our eye muscles to turn eyes inward
60
Audition
Sense of hearing
61
Timbre
Complexity/quality of sound that makes musical instruments, human voices, other sounds
62
Cochlea
Bony, spiral-shaped sense organ used for hearing
63
Pitch
Frequency of sound wave
64
Loudness
Amplitude/height of sound wave
65
Organ of corti
Tissue containing hair cells necessary for hearing
66
Basilar membrane
Membrane supporting organ of corti/hair cells in cochlea
67
Place theory
Specific place along the basilar membrane matches a tone w/ a specific path
68
Frequency theory
Rate at which neurons fire action potentials faithfully reproduces pitch
69
Olfaction
Sense of smell
70
Gustation
Sense of taste
71
Taste buds
Sense receptor in the tongue that responds to sweet, salty, bitter, umami, fat
72
Pheromones
Odourless chemicals that serve as social signal to members of one's species
73
Somatosensory
Our sense of touch, temperature, pain
74
Gate control model
Idea that pain is blocked/gated from consciousness by neural mechanisms in spinal cord
75
Phantom pain
Pain/discomfort felt in an amputated limb
76
Proprioception
Our sense of body position
77
Vestibular sense
Our sense of equilibrium/balance
78
Semicircular canals
Three fluid-filled canals in the inner ear responsible for our sense of balance

PSYC 101 (6 decks)

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