Chapter 5- Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Bottom-up process by which physical sensory system receives and represents stimuli

Answer 1

Sensation

Question 2

Top-down mental process of organizing and interpreting sensory input from experience and expectations

Answer 2

Perception

Question 3

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Answer 3

Bottom-up processing

Question 4

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Answer 4

Top-down processing

Question 5

Changing one form of energy into another. in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Answer 5

Transduction

Question 6

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Answer 6

Absolute threshold

Question 7

Below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 7

Subliminal

Question 8

Activating, often unconsciously, associations in our mind, thus setting us up to perceive, remember, or respond to objects or events in certain ways

Answer 8

priming

Question 9

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (or jnd)

Answer 9

Difference threshold

Question 10

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Answer 10

Weber’s law

Question 11

Reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation

Answer 11

Sensory adaptation

Question 12

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Answer 12

Perceptual set

Question 13

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Answer 13

Wavelength

Question 14

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

Answer 14

Hue

Question 15

The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. intensity is determined by the wave’s amplitude (height)

Answer 15

Intensity

Question 16

The light- sensitive inner surface of the eye; contains the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Answer 16

Retina

Question 17

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

Answer 17

Rods

Question 18

Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina. Cones are sensitive to detail and color

Answer 18

Cones

Question 19

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 19

Optic nerve

Question 20

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye; this part of the retina is “blind” because it has no receptor cell

Answer 20

Blind spot

Question 21

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as edges, lines, and angles

Answer 21

Feature detectors

Question 22

The processing of many aspects of a problem or scene at the same time; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

Answer 22

Parallel processing

Question 23

Is perception based on context and experience?

Answer 23

Yes

Question 24

This part of the brain is dedicated to the crucial task of face recognition

Answer 24

Fusiform Gyrus

Question 25

Assignment of different teams of cells to simultaneously process many aspects of a scene or problem

Answer 25

Parallel processing

Question 26

A person unable to perceive movement

Answer 26

Akinetopsia

Question 27

Organizing pieces of information into an organized whole

Answer 27

Gestalt

Question 28

Organization of one’s visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Answer 28

Figure-ground

Question 29

Perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into meaningful groups

Answer 29

Grouping

Question 30

This allows us to judge distance and represents one’s ability to see objects in 3 dimensions

Answer 30

Depth perception

Question 31

Is it true that crawling, no matter when it beings, seems to increase an infant’s fear of heights?

Answer 31

True

Question 32

Ears detect these brief pressure changes for us to “hear” from

Answer 32

Sound waves

Question 33

Is it true that sound waves compress and expand air molecules?

Answer 33

Yes

Question 34

A mix of 4 distinct skin senses: pressure, warmth, cold and pain

Answer 34

Sense of touch

Question 35

Detection of chemicals and of 5 different flavors: sweet, sour, salt, bitter and Umami

Answer 35

Taste

Question 36

A chemical sense that involves hundreds of different receptors and odors that can evoke strong memories. This can bypass the Thalamus

Answer 36

Smell

Question 37

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. This system interacts with vision

Answer 37

Kinesthesis

Question 38

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Answer 38

Vestibular sense