chapter 5

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

The process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from the body, responses to those stimuli and the transmission of responses to the brain

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

The process of interpreting sensory information. - internal representation of stimuli

Question 3

psychophysics

Answer 3

The study of relationships between the physical qualities of stimuli and the subjective responses they produce.

Question 4

absolute threshold

Answer 4

The smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected.

Question 4

difference threshold

Answer 4

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

Question 5

sensory adaptation

Answer 5

The tendency to pay less attention to a nonchanging source of stimulation.

Question 6

audition

Answer 6

The sense of hearing.

Question 7

agnosia

Answer 7

Loss of the ability to identify objects using one or more senses

Question 8

binocular cue

Answer 8

A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes.

Question 9

bottom up processing

Answer 9

Perception based on building simple input into more complex perceptions.

Question 10

top down processing

Answer 10

A perceptual process in which memory and other cognitive processes are required for interpreting incoming sensory information.

Question 11

cochlea

Answer 11

The structure in the inner ear that contains auditory receptors.

Question 12

cone

Answer 12

A photoreceptor in the retina that processes colour and fine detail.

Question 13

cornea

Answer 13

The clear surface at the front of the eye that begins the process of directing light to the retina.

Question 14

depth perception

Answer 14

The ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the retina to perceive three dimensions.

Question 15

difference threshold

Answer 15

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

Question 16

fovea

Answer 16

An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision.

Question 17

somatosensory homunculus

Answer 17

The body senses, including body position, touch, skin temperature, and pain.

Question 18

mechanoreceptors

Answer 18

respond to mechanical distortion or pressure

Question 19

nociceptors

Question 20

gate control theory

Answer 20

The theory that suggests that input from touch fibres competes with input from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages from reaching the brain.

Question 21

gustation

Answer 21

The sense of taste.

Question 22

gestalt principles

Question 23

iris

Answer 23

The brightly coloured circular muscle surrounding the pupil of the eye.

Question 24

lens

Answer 24

The clear structure behind the pupil that bends light toward the retina.

Question 25

monocular cue

Answer 25

A depth cue that requires the use of only one eye.

Question 26

motion parallax

Question 27

olfaction

Answer 27

The sense of smell.

Question 28

olfactory bulb

Answer 28

One of two structures below the frontal lobes of the brain that receive input from the olfactory receptors in the nose.
-brain center for smell

Question 29

olfactory nerve

Answer 29

A nerve carrying olfactory information from the olfactory receptors to the olfactory bulbs.

Question 30

opponent process theory

Answer 30

A theory of colour vision that suggests we have a red-green colour channel and a blue-yellow colour channel in which activation of one colour in each pair inhibits the other colour.

Question 31

optic nerve

Answer 31

The nerve exiting the retina of the eye.

Question 32

pupil

Answer 32

An opening formed by the iris.

Question 33

retina

Answer 33

Layers of visual processing cells in the back of the eye.

Question 34

retinal disparity

Answer 34

The difference between the images projected onto each eye.

Question 35

rod

Answer 35

A photoreceptor specialized to detect dim light.

Question 36

taste bud

Answer 36

A structure found in papillae that contains taste receptor cells.

Question 37

transduction

Answer 37

The translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals.
-process by which sensory receptors pass implses to connecting neurons when they receive stimulation

Question 38

trichromatic theory

Answer 38

A theory of colour vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short, medium, and long wavelengths.

Question 39

vestibular system

Answer 39

The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement.

Question 40

vision

Answer 40

The sense that allows us to process reflected light.

Question 41

synesthesia

Answer 41

A condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the simultaneous and automatic stimulation of another sensory pathway.

Question 42

temporal path (ventral stream)

Answer 42

The “what” visual pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the temporal lobe.

Question 43

parietal path (dorsal stream)

Answer 43

The “where” visual pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the parietal lobe.

Question 44

split brain

Question 45

contralateral organization

Answer 45

left hand and right hemisphere
right hand and left hemisphere

Question 46

signal detection theory

Answer 46

The analysis of sensory and decision-making processes in the detection of faint, uncertain stimuli.