chapter 4 vocab Flashcards

1
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% OF THE TIME

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2
Q

Accommodation

A

involves altering one’s existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences

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3
Q

Audition

A

the sense or act of hearing

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4
Q

basilar membrane

A

runs the length of the spiral cochlea, holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells

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5
Q

blind spot

A

point where the optic nerve leaves eye, there are are no receptors cells there

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5
Q

binocular depth cues

A

clues about distance based on differing views of the two eyes

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6
Q

bottom-up processing

A

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up the brains integration of sensory information

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6
Q

change blindness

A

a phenomenon of visual perception that occurs when a stimulus undergoes a change without it being noticed by the observer

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7
Q

cocktail party effect

A

the ability to focus one’s attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

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7
Q

Cochlea

A

a snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where the physical stimuli of the sound wave is converted into a neural impulse.

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8
Q

depth perception

A

involves interpretation of visual cues that indicate how near or far away objects are

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9
Q

Cones

A

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions, distinguishes colors

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10
Q

difference threshold

A

also known as just noticeable difference, the minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time

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11
Q

feature detectors

A

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, movement

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11
Q

fovea

A

the retina’s area of central focus

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12
Q

frequency theory

A

The rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone; enabling us to sense its pitch.

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13
Q

gate-control theory

A

a mechanism which pain signals can be sent up to the brain to be processed to accentuate the perceived pain

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14
Q

Gestalt

A

the different ways individuals group stimuli together in order to make a whole that makes sense to them.
proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure.

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15
Q

gustatory system -

A

the sensory for taste

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16
Q

inattentional blindness

A

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

17
Q

Kinesthesis

A

the perception of body movements

17
Q

Iris

A

a colored muscle that adjusts light intake

18
Q

Lens

A

focusing incoming light rays into an image

19
Q

middle ear

A

carry sound waves from the outer ear to the inner ear,

19
Q

olfactory system

A

the sensory system for smell

20
Q

opponent processing theory

A

Ewald Hering, the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision (red-green, yellow-blue)

21
Q

parallel processing

A

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously, brain’s natural mode of information processing

22
Q

perceptual constancy

A

consistency, a tendency to experience a stable perception in the face of a continually changing sensory input

22
Q

phi phenomenon

A

the illusion of movement created by presenting visual stimuli in rapid succession

22
Q

Perception

A

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

23
Q

perceptual set

A

a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way

24
Q

place theory

A

presumes that we hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places

25
Q

Priming

A

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

26
Q

Retina

A

a multilayered tissue on the eyeball’s sensitive inner surface

26
Q

Psychophysics

A

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

27
Q

Pupil

A

a small adjustable opening

28
Q

Rods

A

retinal receptors that detect black, white, gray, necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cone doesn’t respond

29
Q

Sensation

A

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

30
Q

selective attention

A

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

31
Q

sensory adaptation

A

our diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

32
Q

signal detection theory

A

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) and background stimulation (noise)

33
Q

Subliminal

A

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

34
Q

top-down processing

A

construct perceptions drawing on sensations coming bottom-up to their brain and on experience and expectations

35
Q

Transduction

A

conversion of one form of energy into another

36
Q

trichromatic theory

A

three color theory, that the retina contains 3 different color receptors, when stimulate in combination can produce the perception of any color, the cones do their color magic in teams of 3

37
Q

vestibular sense

A

the movement, gravity, balance sense that allows us to move smoothly

38
Q

visual illusion

A

involves an apparently inexplicable discrepancy between the appearance of a visual stimulus and its physical reality

39
Q

Weber’s Law

A

computes the difference threshold/just noticeable difference, the change needed is proportional to the the original intensity of the stimulus