Chapter 6- Sensation and Perception

Question 1

SENSATION

Answer 1

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

Question 2

PERCEPTION

Answer 2

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Question 3

BOTTOM-UP PROCESSING

Answer 3

Analysis that begins w/ the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory info

Question 4

TOP-DOWN PROCESSING

Answer 4

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

Question 5

TRANSDUCTION

Answer 5

The process of converting one form of energy into another that the brain can use

Question 6

ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD

Answer 6

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

Question 7

SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY

Answer 7

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a weak stimulus or signal, depends not only on the signals strength, but also on our psychological state– our experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Question 8

SUBLIMINAL

Answer 8

Below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Question 9

PRIMING

Answer 9

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, which predisposes ones perception, memory, and response .

Question 10

DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD

Answer 10

Also known as (just noticeable difference JND) is the minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time.

Question 11

WEBER’S LAW

Answer 11

A principle that, to perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage ( not constant amount).

Question 12

SENSORY ADAPTATION

Answer 12

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of a constant stimulation.

Question 13

PERCEPTUAL SET

Answer 13

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Question 14

WAVELENGTH

Answer 14

The distance from one wave peak to the next. Short wavelength = high frequency (bluish colors) and long wavelength = low frequency (reddish colors).

Question 15

HUE

Answer 15

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

Question 16

INTENSITY

Answer 16

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by waves amplitude.

Question 17

RETINA

Answer 17

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptors rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

Question 18

ACCOMMODATION

Answer 18

The process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Question 19

RODS

Answer 19

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

Question 20

CONES

Answer 20

Retinal receptors that function in daylight or in well- lit conditions.

Question 21

OPTIC NERVE

Answer 21

The nerve that carries the neural impulse from the eye to the brain.

Question 22

BLIND SPOT

Answer 22

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind- spot because no receptor cells are located there.

Question 23

FOVEA

Answer 23

The central focal point in the retina, around the eyes cones cluster.

Question 24

FEATURE DETECTORS

Answer 24

Nerve cells that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

Question 25

PARALLEL PROCESSING

Answer 25

Doing many things at once. The brain divides a visual scene into sub-dimensions -- color, motion, form, depth, and works each aspect simultaneously.

Question 26

YOUNG-HELMHOLTZ TRICHROMATIC (3 colors) THEORY

Answer 26

A theory that implies that the receptors do their color magic in teams of 3. ( red, green, and blue)

Question 27

OPPONENT PROCESS THEORY

Answer 27

A theory of 3 sets of opponent retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white- black) enable color vision.

Question 28

GESTALT

Answer 28

A German word meaning "form" or "whole", people's tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes.

Question 29

FIGURE-GROUND

Answer 29

The organization of the visual field into objects ( the figures) that's stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

Question 30

GROUPING

Answer 30

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Question 31

DEPTH PERCEPTION

Answer 31

The ability to see objects in 3 dimensions

Question 32

VISUAL CLIFF

Answer 32

A device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Question 33

BINOCULAR CUES

Answer 33

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

Question 34

RETINAL DISPARITY

Answer 34

The greater the difference between the two images, the closer the object.

Question 35

MONOCULAR CUES

Answer 35

Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perceptive, available to either eye alone.

Question 36

PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCY

Answer 36

Perceiving objects as unchanging, even as illumination and retina images change.

Question 37

COLOR CONSTANCY

Answer 37

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color.

Question 38

PERCEPTUAL ADAPTATION

Answer 38

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Question 39

AUDITION

Answer 39

The sense of hearing

Question 40

FREQUENCY

Answer 40

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time.

Question 41

PITCH

Answer 41

A tones experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 42

MIDDLE EAR

Answer 42

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones ( hammer, anvil, and stirrup).

Question 43

COCHLEA

Answer 43

A coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear.

Question 44

COCHLEAR IMPLANT

Answer 44

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Question 45

PLACE THEORY

Answer 45

The theory that links the pitch we hear w/ the place where the cochleas membrane is stimulated.

Question 46

FREQUENCY THEORY

Answer 46

The theory that the rate of nerve Impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it's pitch

Question 47

GATE-CONTROL THEORY

Answer 47

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological " gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass.

Question 48

KINESTHESIS

Answer 48

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Question 49

VESTIBULAR SENSE

Answer 49

The sense of your heads movements and position, including the sense of balance.

Question 50

SENSORY INTERACTION

Answer 50

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences it taste.

Question 51

EMBODIED COGNITION

Answer 51

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preference and judgments .