Chapter 5

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

detection of physical stimuli and transmission of that info to the brain

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

further processing of sensory information, deeper than sensation

Question 3

bottom up processing

Answer 3

based on physical features of the stimulus–> perception

Question 4

top down processing

Answer 4

how knowledge/expectations affect interpretation of stimuli

Question 5

sensory coding

Answer 5

general process of translating of physical properties into neural impulses

Question 6

transduction

Answer 6

physical energy are translated into electrochemical brain signals

Question 7

how are quantitative and qualitative impulses coded differently

Answer 7

quantitative=rate of neurons firing, qualitative=different neural pathways

Question 8

absolute threshold

Answer 8

minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation (you can hear it 50% of the time)`

Question 9

difference threshold

Answer 9

smallest difference between two stimuli you can notice

Question 10

signal detection theory

Answer 10

detecting a stimulus is subjective, depending on 1) other competing stimuli 2) judgements on ambiguous information

Question 11

sensory adaptation

Answer 11

decrease in sensitivity to constant level of simulation

Question 12

retina

Answer 12

surface on the back of the eyeball

Question 13

rods and cones

Answer 13

rods=levels of light, night vision

cones=color in bright conditions

Question 14

fovea

Answer 14

center of retina with densely packed cones

Question 15

two streams of visual pathway

Answer 15

ventral stream (lower)=what, dorsal stream (upper)=where

Question 16

binocular disparity

Answer 16

uses disparity between images from two eyes to determine an object’s depth when it’s close up

Question 17

object constancy

Answer 17

brain correctly perceives objects as constant despite changing sensory details

Question 18

vestibular sense

Answer 18

uses information from liquid in inner ear–> sense of balance

Question 19

temporal coding

Answer 19

encoding low frequency auditory stimuli by matching firing rates of hair cells to frequency of sound waves

Question 20

place coding

Answer 20

frequency of a sound wave is coded on different areas of basilar membrane

Question 21

olfactory epithelium

Answer 21

thin layer of tissue with smell receptors

Question 22

olfactory bulb

Answer 22

smell receptors bypass thalamus and transmit info directly here, located below frontal lobes

Question 23

haptic sense

Answer 23

sense of touch

Question 24

kinesthetic sense

Answer 24

perception of where our body is in space

Question 25

two types of pain

Answer 25

fast fibers for immediate sharp pain and slow fibers for dull pain