Chapter 4 Sensation & Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

Stimulation of sense organ

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Organization, identification and interpretation of sensation

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

Conversion of physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system

Question 4

Psychophysics

Answer 4

Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus

Question 5

Absolute Threshold

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Just Noticeable Difference

Answer 6

Minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

Question 7

Weber’s Law

Answer 7

JND of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity

Question 8

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 8

The response to a stimulus depends on both a person’s sensitivity in the presence of noise and on a person’s decision criterion

Question 9

Perceptual Sensitivity

Answer 9

How effectively the perceptual system represents sensory events

Question 10

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 10

Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions

Question 11

Visual Acuity

Answer 11

Ability to see fine detail

Question 12

Length of Light

Answer 12

Determines hue or colour

Question 13

Amplitude of Light Wave

Answer 13

Determines brightness

Question 14

Purity

Answer 14

Determines saturation

Question 15

Retina

Answer 15

Light-sensitive tissue lining the back

Question 16

Accommodation

Answer 16

Process by which the eye maintains a clear image on the retina

Question 17

Cones

Answer 17

Detect colour, operate under normal daylight condiitons

Question 18

Rods

Answer 18

Become active under low-light conditions for night vision

Question 19

Fovea

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Blind Spot

Answer 20

Location in the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina

Question 21

Colour Deficiency

Answer 21

One of the cone types is missing

Question 22

Colour Opponent System

Answer 22

Pairs of visual neurons work in opposition

Question 23

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

Answer 23

Located in the thalamus which receives the inputs

Question 24

Ventral Stream

Answer 24

What

Question 25

Dorsal Stream

Answer 25

Where

Question 26

Binding Problem

Answer 26

How features are linked together so that we see unified objects in our visual world

Question 27

Illusory Conjunction

Answer 27

Perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined

Question 28

Feature Integration Theory

Answer 28

Focused attention is not required to detect the individual features that comprise a stimulus, but is required to bind those individual features together

Question 29

Perceptual Constancy

Answer 29

Even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains consistent

Question 30

Principles of Perceptual Organization

Answer 30

``` Simplicity Closure Continuity Similarity Proximity Common Fate ```

Question 31

Image-based Object Recognition

Answer 31

Object is stored in memory as a template

Question 32

Parts-based Object Recognition

Answer 32

Object is stored in geons

Question 33

Apparent Motion

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Change Blindness

Answer 34

When people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

Question 35

Inattentional Blindness

Answer 35

Failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

Question 36

Pitch

Answer 36

How high or low a sound is

Question 37

Loudess

Answer 37

A sound's intensity

Question 38

Timber

Answer 38

Sound quality or resonance

Question 39

Outer Ear

Answer 39

Auditory canal, eardrum

Question 40

Middle Ear

Answer 40

Ossicles (hammer, anvil and stirrup)

Question 41

Inner Ear

Answer 41

Cochlea, basilar membrane with tiny hair cells

Question 42

Place Code

Answer 42

Different frequencies stimulate signals at specific places along the basilar membrane

Question 43

Temporal Code

Answer 43

Registers low frequencies via the firing rate of action potentials

Question 44

Haptic Perception

Answer 44

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

Question 45

A-delta Fibers

Answer 45

Transmit the initial sharp pain one might feel

Question 46

C Fibers

Answer 46

Transmit longer-lasting, duller pain

Question 47

Referred Pain

Answer 47

Sensory information from internal and external areas converges

Question 48

Gate-Control Theory of Pain

Answer 48

Signals can be stopped by interneurons in the spinal cord

Question 49

Vestibular System

Answer 49

Three fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each innder ear