Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
(239 cards)
1
Q
What is prosopagnosia?
A
Face blindness
2
Q
What is sensation?
A
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
3
Q
What are sensory receptors?
A
Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli
4
Q
What is perception?
A
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
5
Q
What is bottom-up processing?
A
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
6
Q
What is top-down processing?
A
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
7
Q
What three steps are basic to all our sensory systems?
A
1) Receiving sensory stimulation
2) Transforming the stimulation into neural impulses
3) Delivering the neural information to our brain
8
Q
What is transduction?
A
Conversion of one form of energy into another
9
Q
What is transduction (in sensation)?
A
Transforming of stimulus energies, such as sight, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret
10
Q
What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception?
A
Sensation is a bottom-up process by which your sensory receptors receive and represent stimuli. Perception is a top-down process by which your brain creates meaning by interpreting what your senses detect.
11
Q
What is absolute threshold?
A
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
12
Q
Who came up with the idea of absolute threshold?
A
German scientist and philosopher Gustav Fechner
13
Q
To test one’s absolute threshold for sound, a hearing specialist would do what?
A
Send tones, at varying levels, into each of your ears and record whether you could hear each tone. The test results would show the point where, for any sound frequency, half the time you could detect the sound and half the time you could not. That 50-50 point would define your absolute threshold.
14
Q
What are subliminal stimuli?
A
Stimuli that people cannot consciously detect 50 percent of the time (below people’s absolute threshold)
15
Q
What is signal detection theory?
A
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). It assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.
16
Q
What is priming?
A
Priming is the idea that exposure to one stimulus may influence a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention.
17
Q
What is the difference threshold (or the just noticeable difference [jnd])?
A
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
18
Q
What is the difference threshold also called?
A
Just noticeable difference (jnd)
19
Q
What is Weber’s Law?
A
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
20
Q
Using sound as your example, explain how these concepts differ: absolute threshold, subliminal stimulation, and difference threshold.
A
Absolute threshold: Minimum stimuli needed to detect it 50 percent of the time (such as bike sound behind you on the sidewalk)
Subliminal stimulation: When your sensory systems process stimuli that are below your absolute threshold i.e. you aren’t aware of them (such as a very far biker)
Difference threshold: Minimum difference in stimuli required for you to notice a change 50 percent of the time (such as a biker vs. a runner behind you on the sidewalk)
21
Q
What is sensory adaptation?
A
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of contact stimulation
22
Q
Noticing a bad smell in your room which vanishes after a time that you have spend in the room (but which another person entering the room will notice) is an example of what?
A
Sensory adaptation
23
Q
Why doesn’t an object vanish from sight when we continuously stare at it (which it should according to sensory adaptation)?
A
Because our eyes are continuously moving without our awareness, thus making sure that the stimulation on the eye receptors continually changes
24
Q
Why is it that after wearing shoes for a while, you cease to notice them (until questions like this draw your attention back to them)?
A
The shoes provide constant stimulation. Thanks to sensory adaptation, we tend to focus primarily on changing stimuli.
25
What is a perceptual set?
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
26
What determines our perceptual set?
Through experience we form concepts, or schemas, that organize and interpret unfamiliar information (our preexisting schemas for monsters and tree trunks influence how we apply top-down processing to interpret ambiguous sensations such as the image of the Loch Ness monster).
27
Does perceptual set involve bottom-up or top-down processing? Why?
Top-down, because it draws on your experiences, assumptions, and expectations when interpreting stimuli
28
What three other aspects besides perceptual set influence our top-down processing?
Context, motivation, and emotion
29
How are we affected by subliminal stimuli?
We do sense some stimuli subliminally (less than 50 percent) and can be affected by these sensations. But although we can be primed, subliminal sensations have no powerful, enduring influence.
30
What is the point of sensory adaptation?
It focuses our attention on informative changes in our environment
31
Sensation is to ________________ as perception is to _____________.
a. absolute threshold; difference threshold
b. bottom-up processing; top-down processing
c. interpretation; detection
d. grouping; priming
b
32
The process by which we organize and interpret sensory information is called ______________.
Perception
33
Subliminal stimuli are
a. too weak to be processed by the brain.
b. consciously perceived more than 50 percent of the time.
c. strong enough to affect our behavior at least 75 percent of the time.
d. below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
d
34
Another term for difference threshold is the _____________________.
just noticeable difference
35
Weber’s law states that for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by
a. a fixed or constant energy amount.
b. a constant minimum percentage.
c. a constantly changing amount.
d. more than 7 percent.
b
36
Sensory adaptation helps us focus on
a. visual stimuli.
b. auditory stimuli.
c. constant features of the environment.
d. important changes in the environment.
d
37
Our perceptual set influences what we perceive.This mental tendency reflects our
a. experiences, assumptions, and expectations.
b. sensory adaptation.
c. priming ability.
d. difference thresholds.
a
38
What's the difference between a bee's visible light spectrum and a human's?
Bees cannot see what we perceive as red but they can see ultraviolet light
39
What are the wavelengths of light that are visible to humans (in nm)?
Around 350nm - 750nm
40
We perceive the shortest waves in our visible spectrum as what color?
Blue-violet
41
We perceive the longest waves in our visible spectrum as what color?
Red
42
What is wavelength?
The distance from the peak of one light wave or sound wave to the peak of the next
43
Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from what type of waves to what type of wave?
From short gamma waves to long radio waves
44
What is hue?
The dimension of color that is determined by wavelength of light (what we know as the color names blue, green, and so on)
45
What is intensity of a light wave or sound wave?
The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave
46
Intensity of a wave is determined by what?
A wave's amplitude (height)
47
What is a wave's amplitude?
It is it's height distance from the peak to the bottom of the wave
48
What does the intensity of a light or sound wave influence?
It influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness
49
What is the frequency of a wave?
It is the amount of wave cycles that are occurring in a given time period
50
The shorter the wavelength the __________ the frequency.
higher
51
The longer the wavelength the ___________ the frequency.
lower
52
Light enters the eye through what?
The cornea
53
What part of the eye bends light to help provide focus?
The cornea
54
What does the cornea of the eye do?
It bends the light to help provide focus
55
What is the pupil?
A small adjustable opening of the eye
56
What is surrounding the pupil and controlling its size?
The iris
57
What is the iris?
A colored muscle that dilates or constricts the size of the pupil in response to light intensity
58
The iris constricts when it is a sunny day but when does it also constrict?
When you feel disgust or when you are about to answer "no" to a question
59
The iris dilates in a dark room but when does it also dilate?
When you have sexual desires or are interested
60
What is the retina?
The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
61
What is accommodation of the eye?
The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
62
What is myopia?
Nearsightedness
63
What are rods?
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement
64
What are rods necessary for?
Peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond
65
What are cones?
Retinal receptors that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions
66
Where on the retina are cones concentrated?
Near the center of the retina (around the fovea)
67
What do cones do?
They detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
68
What is an optic nerve?
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
69
What is the blind spot?
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there
70
What is the fovea?
The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster
71
Where are rods located in the retina?
In the periphery of it
72
How many cones do we have?
6 million
73
How many rods do we have?
120 million
74
How is cone's sensitivity in dim light?
Low
75
How is rod's sensitivity in dim light?
High
76
How is cone's color sensitivity?
High
77
How is rod's color sensitivity?
Low
78
How is cone's detail sensitivity?
High
79
How is rod's detail sensitivity?
Low
80
How long does it take for the eyes to fully adapt to darkness?
Around 20 minutes
81
What is so special and interesting about the 20 minutes that it takes for the eyes to fully adapt to darkness?
That is usually the time it takes for the twilight transition between the Sun's setting and darkness
82
Where is the visual cortex located?
In the occipital lobe at the back of your brain
83
Some nocturnal
animals, such as toads,
mice, rats, and bats,
have impressive night
vision thanks to having many more ________________ than ______________ in their retinas. These creatures probably have very poor _______________ vision.
rods; cones; color
84
Cats are able to open their _____________ much wider than we can, which allows more light into their eyes so they can see better at night.
pupils
85
What is the scientifically correct answer to “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound” ?
No, because the tree only creates air pressure waves. They are only perceived as sound by a human standing close enough to hear it.
86
What is the Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory?
The theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue - which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of color
87
What is tetrachromatic color vision?
It is a genetic condition where humans (mostly female) are able to see up to 100 million colors
88
Humans can generally see differences among how many color variations?
More than 1 million
89
What is colorblindness?
The inability to distinguish between green and red (due to a lack of green-sensitive cones, red-sensitive cones, or both).
90
Who discovered the afterimage effect?
Ewald Hering
91
What color vision hypothesis did Ewald Hering form?
That color vision must involve two additional color processes, one responsible for red-versus-green perception, and one for blue-versus-yellow perception
92
What is the opponent-process theory?
The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision.
93
Color processing occurs in two stages. What are the two stages?
1. The retina’s red, green, and blue cones respond in varying degrees to different color stimuli, as the Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory suggested.
2. The cones’ responses are then processed by opponent-process cells, as Hering’s theory proposed.
94
What are the two key theories of color vision?
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory
95
What are feature detectors?
Nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
96
What is parallel processing?
Processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem at once
97
What is the binding problem?
The question of how the brain binds multiple sensory inputs into a single perception
98
What is blindsight?
The ability of individuals with blindness to detect and respond to visual stimuli despite lacking awareness of having seen anything
99
What are the four steps that rapidly occur when a human sees a scene?
1. Retinal processing
2. Feature detection
3. Parallel processing
4. Recognition
100
What is gestalt?
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
101
As you read, what makes up the figure and what makes up the ground?
The words are the figure and the white space is the ground
102
At a party, listening to one of your friends, what makes up the figure and what makes up the ground?
Your friend is the figure and other people talking are the ground
103
What is the figure-ground concept?
The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
104
What is grouping?
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
105
What are the three types of grouping?
1. Proximity
2. Continuity
3. Closure
106
What is grouping by proximity?
The tendency to perceive things that are closer together as part of a group
107
What is grouping by continuity?
The tendency to perceive things as continuous
108
What is grouping by closure?
The tendency to perceive things as being complete and whole objects
109
In terms of perception, a band’s lead singer would be considered _____________, and the other musicians would be considered _____________.
Figure; ground
110
What do we mean when we say that, in perception, “the whole may exceed the sum of its parts”?
Gestalt psychologists used this saying to describe our perceptual tendency to organize clusters of sensations into meaningful forms or coherent groups
111
What is depth perception?
The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional
112
What does depth perception allow us?
To judge distances
113
What is a visual cliff?
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
114
What was Eleanor Gibson's and Richard Walk's famous series of experiments in their Cornell University lab?
They used a visual cliff (a model of a cliff with a "drop off" area that was actually covered by sturdy glass), placed 6-to-14-month-old infants on the edge of the supposed cliff and let their mothers call them over to see if they would crawl over the "cliff"
115
What is binocular cue?
A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes
116
What is retinal disparity?
A binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
117
How do 3D movies work?
Moviemakers sometimes film a scene with two cameras placed a few inches apart. Viewers then watch the film through glasses that allow the left eye to see only the image from the left camera, and the right eye to see only the image from the right camera. The resulting effect, as 3-D movie fans know, mimics or exaggerates normal retinal disparity giving the perception of depth.
118
Retinal disparity works at what kind of distances?
Very short distances (usually right in front of your eyes)
119
Monocular cues work at what kind of distance?
Large distances (such as 10 or 100 meter)
120
What is a monocular cue?
A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone
121
What is interposition (monocular cue)?
If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
122
What is linear perspective (monocular cue)?
Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance. The sharper the angle of convergence, the greater the perceived distance.
123
What are the six monocular cues?
1. Relative height
2. Light and shadow
3. Relative size
4. Interposition
5. Relative motion
6. Linear perspective
124
What is relative size (monocular cue)?
If we assume (or know) two objects to be similar in size, most people perceive the object that is smaller in our retinal image to be farther away
125
What is relative height (monocular cue)?
We perceive objects that are higher in our field of vision to be farther away
126
What is relative motion (monocular cue)?
The farther something is the slower it seems to move (when we are moving in a car or train) and the nearer something is the faster it seems to move past us
127
How do we normally perceive depth?
Thanks to binocular and monocular cues
128
What is stroboscopic movement?
A phenomenon where our brain perceives a rapid series of slightly different still images as continuous movement
129
What is the Phi phenomenon?
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
130
What is perceptual constancy?
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
131
What are the four types of perceptual constancy?
1. Color constancy
2. Brightness constancy
3. Shape constancy
4. Size constancy
132
What is perceptual adaptation?
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
133
What did George Stratton show with his optical headgear?
He used an optical headgear that switched up and down and left and right in his vision. The result of this was that he adapted in 8 days to this new vision.
134
The characteristic of light that determines the color we experience, such as blue or green, is ___________________.
wavelength
135
The amplitude of a light wave determines our perception of
a. brightness.
b. color.
c. meaning.
d. distance
a
136
The blind spot in your retina is located where
a. there are rods but no cones.
b. there are cones but no rods.
c. the optic nerve leaves the eye.
d. the bipolar cells meet the ganglion cells.
c
137
Cones are the eye’s receptor cells that are especially
sensitive to __________ light and are responsible for our ____________ vision.
bright; color
138
Two theories together account for color vision.The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory shows that the eye contains _________________, and Hering’s theory accounts for the nervous system’s having ______________.
three types of color receptors; opponent-process cells
139
What mental processes allow you to perceive a lemon as yellow?
Your brain constructs this perception of color in two stages. In the first stage, the lemon reflects light energy into your eyes, where it is transformed into neural messages. In this case the light energy stimulates red-sensitive and green-sensitive cones. In the second stage, opponent-process cells sensitive to paired opposites of color (red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white) evaluate the incoming neural messages as they pass through your optic nerve to the thalamus and visual cortex. When the yellow-sensitive opponent-process cells are stimulated, you identify the lemon as yellow.
140
The cells in the visual cortex that respond to certain lines, edges, and angles are called ________________.
feature detectors
141
The brain’s ability to process many aspects of an object or a problem simultaneously is called __________________________.
parallel processing
142
In listening to a concert, you attend to the solo instrument and perceive the orchestra as accompaniment. This illustrates the organizing principle of _________________.
figure-ground
143
Our tendencies to fill in the gaps and to perceive a pattern as continuous are two different examples of the organizing principle called ________________.
grouping
144
The visual cliff experiments suggest that
a. infants have not yet developed depth perception.
b. crawling human infants and very young animals perceive depth.
c. we have no way of knowing whether infants can perceive depth.
d. unlike other species, humans are able to perceive depth in infancy.
b
145
Depth perception underlies our ability to
a. group similar items in a gestalt.
b. perceive objects as having a constant shape or form.
c. judge distances.
d. fill in the gaps in a figure.
c
146
Two examples of ______________ depth cues are interposition and linear perspective.
monocular
147
Perceiving a tomato as consistently red, despite lighting shifts, is an example of
a. shape constancy.
b. perceptual constancy.
c. a binocular cue.
d. continuity.
b
148
After surgery to restore vision, adults who had been blind from birth had difficulty
a. recognizing objects by touch.
b. recognizing objects by sight.
c. distinguishing figure from ground.
d. distinguishing between bright and dim light.
b
149
Adults with hearing loss have a how much higher risk of depression?
Doubled
150
What is audition?
The sense or act of hearing
151
What is frequency?
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)
152
What is pitch?
A tone's experienced highness or lowness
153
On what does the pitch of a sound depend?
On the frequency
154
Loudness depends on what?
The amplitude of the sound waves
155
What does zero decibel represent?
The absolute threshold for hearing by a human
156
Every 10 decibel correspond to a __________ increase in sound intensity.
tenfold
157
If prolonged, exposure to sounds above ___ decibels can produce hearing loss.
85
158
What is the middle ear?
The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea
159
The middle ear contains which three tiny bones?
Hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes)
160
What do the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes) in the middle ear do?
They concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
161
What is the cochlea?
A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear
162
What does the cochlea do?
Sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.
163
What is the inner ear?
The innermost part of the ear
164
What does the inner ear contain?
Cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
165
What does the outer ear do?
It funnels sound waves to the eardrum
166
What triggers impulses at the base of the nerve cell, whose fibers converge to form the auditory nerve?
Hair cell movements
167
The auditory nerve carries the neural messages where to?
To the thalamus and then on to the auditory cortex in the brain's temporal lobe
168
What can cause sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)?
Damage to the cochlea's hair cell receptors or the auditory nerve
169
What is sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)?
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves
170
What is the most common hearing loss?
Sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)
171
What is conduction hearing loss?
A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system (eardrum and middle ear bones) that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
172
For now, the only way to restore hearing is what?
A sort of bionic ear, a cochlear implant
173
What is a cochlear implant?
A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
174
The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of ________________.
Loudness
175
The longer the sound waves are, the __________ their frequency and the _________ their pitch.
Lower; lower
176
The brain interprets loudness from what?
From the number of activated hair cells
177
What are the two theories of how we know whether a sound is high-pitched or low-pitched?
1. Place theory
2. Frequency theory (also called temporal theory)
178
What is place theory?
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.
179
What is frequency theory?
In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.
180
Frequency theory is also called?
Temporal theory
181
Which theory of pitch perception would best explain a symphony audience’s enjoyment of a high-pitched piccolo? How about a low-pitched cello?
Place theory; Frequency theory
182
How does our brain compute a sound's location?
Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. Using this information the brain can judge where the sound came from.
183
What are the sensory receptors in the skin that are for sensing pain called?
Nociceptors
184
Is a man or woman more sensitive to pain?
Woman
185
What is gate-control theory?
The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
186
Is a quick and intense pain better / more comfortable for people than an intense pain followed by a long (slightly less intense) pain at the end?
No, the ending of a pain procedure is perceived as most important. People reported to have felt better after a long painful procedure compared to an intense short procedure.
187
What is hypnosis?
A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
188
What are the two theories explaining how hypnosis works?
1. Social influence theory
2. Dissociation theory
189
What is dissociation?
A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
190
What is posthypnotic suggestion?
A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.
191
Which of the following has NOT been proven to reduce pain?
a. Distraction
b. Hypnosis
c. Phantom limb sensations
d. Endorphins
c
192
What are the five taste sensations?
1. Sweet
2. Sour
3. Salty
4. Bitter
5. Umami
193
What's the survival function of the sweet taste (what does it indicate)?
Energy source
194
What's the survival function of the salty taste (what does it indicate)?
Sodium essential to physiological processes
195
What's the survival function of the sour taste (what does it indicate)?
Potentially toxic acid
196
What's the survival function of the bitter taste (what does it indicate)?
Potential poisons
197
What's the survival function of the umami taste (what does it indicate)?
Proteins to grow and repair tissue
198
Why doesn't it matter for your taste abilities if you burn your tongue?
Because taste receptors reproduce themselves every week or two
199
What accelerates the decline of taste buds as you get older?
Alcohol and smoking
200
What is olfaction?
Our sense of smell
201
What is it called when people are unable to smell?
Anosmia
202
How many olfactory receptors do humans have?
20 million
203
How many olfactory receptors do dogs have?
200 million
204
How does our system for sensing smell differ from our sensory systems for touch and taste?
We have four basic touch senses and five basic taste sensations. But we have no specific smell receptors. Instead, different combinations of odor receptors send messages to the brain, enabling us to recognize some 1 trillion different smells.
205
What is kinesthesia?
Our movement sense—our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
206
What is the vestibular sense?
Our sense of balance—our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.
207
Where are the kinesthetic receptors located?
In our joints, tendons, and muscles
208
Where are the vestibular sense receptors located?
In our inner ear
209
What is sensory interaction?
The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
210
What is the McGurk effect?
What if our eyes see a speaker form one sound but our ears hear another sound? Surprise: Our brain may perceive a third sound that blends both inputs. Seeing the mouth movements for ga while hearing ba we may perceive da. This phenomenon is known as the McGurk effect.
211
What is embodied cognition?
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.
212
What is synesthesia?
In a few select individuals, the brain circuits for two or more senses become joined in a phenomenon called synesthesia, where the stimulation of one sense (such as hearing sound) triggers an experience of another (such as seeing color)
213
What is the key brain area involved in vision?
Occipital lobes
214
What is the key brain area involved in hearing?
Temporal lobes
215
What is the key brain area involved in touch?
Somatosensory cortex
216
What is the key brain area involved in taste?
Frontal temporal lobe border
217
What is the key brain area involved in smell?
Olfactory bulb
218
What is the key brain area involved in kinesthesia (sense of body position)?
Cerebellum
219
What is the key brain area involved in the vestibular sense (sense of body movement)?
Cerebellum
220
What are the four types of touch receptors?
1. Pressure
2. Warmth
3. Cold
4. Pain
221
What is extrasensory perception (ESP)?
The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input (includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition)
222
What is telepathy?
Mind-to-mind communication
223
What is clairvoyance?
Perceiving remote events, such as a house on fire in another state
224
What is precognition?
Perceiving future events, such as an unexpected death in the next month
225
What is psychokinesis (or telekinesis)?
Ability to move matter with your mind
226
What is parapsychology?
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis (also called telekinesis)
227
What's an estimate by Charpak and Brock that shows that the improbable becomes inevitable with enough time and people?
By one careful estimate, chance alone would predict that more than a thousand times per day, someone on Earth will think of another person and then, within the next five minutes, learn of that person’s death.
228
If an ESP event occurred under controlled conditions, what would be the next best step to confirm that ESP really exists?
The ESP event would need to be reproduced in other scientific studies
229
The snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are converted into neural activity, is called the ___________.
Cochlea
230
What are the basic steps in transforming sound waves into perceived sound?
The outer ear collects sound waves, which are translated into mechanical waves by the middle ear and turned into fluid waves in the inner ear. The auditory nerve then translates the energy into electrical waves and sends them to the brain, which perceives and interprets the sound.
231
______________ theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds, and ____________ theory, extended by the ______________ principle, explains how we hear low-pitched sounds.
Place; frequency; volley
232
The sensory receptors that are found mostly in the skin and that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals are called ____________.
Nociceptors
233
The gate-control theory of pain proposes that
a. special pain receptors send signals directly to the brain.
b. pain is a property of the senses, not of the brain.
c. small spinal cord nerve fibers conduct most pain signals, but large-fiber activity can close access to those pain signals.
d. pain can often be controlled and managed effectively through the use of relaxation techniques.
c
234
How does the biopsychosocial approach explain our experience of pain? Provide examples.
Our experience of pain is influenced by biological factors (such as genetic differences in endorphin production), psychological factors (such as our attention), and social-cultural factors (such as the presence of others)
235
We have specialized nerve receptors for detecting which five tastes? How did this ability aid our ancestors?
We have special receptors for sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. Our ancestors avoided aversive tastes because it could be a toxic substance and they detected pleasurable taste to find energy- or protein-rich foods.
236
__________________ is your sense of body position and movement. Your __________________________ specifically monitors your head’s movement, with sensors in the inner ear.
Kinesthesia; vestibular sense
237
Why do you feel a little dizzy immediately after a roller- coaster ride?
Your vestibular sense regulates balance and body positioning through kinesthetic receptors triggered by fluid in your inner ears. Wobbly legs and a spinning world are signs that these receptors are still responding to the ride's turbulence.
238
A food’s aroma can greatly enhance its taste.This is an example of
a. olfaction.
b. synesthesia.
c. kinesthesia.
d. sensory interaction.
d
239
Which of the following ESP phenomena is supported by solid, replicable scientific evidence?
a. Telepathy
b. Clairvoyance
c. Precognition
d. None of these phenomena
d
