Chapter 7: Sensation and Perception= Visual Perception

Question 1

What is reception? Give an example:

Answer 1

The process of detecting and responding to incoming sensory info.
Eg. Catching a falling lamp.

Question 2

What is transduction?

Answer 2

The process by which the receptors change the energy of the detected sensory info into a form which can travel along nueral pathways to the brain as action potentials.

Question 3

What is perception?

Answer 3

The process of giving meaning to sensory info, resulting in a personal interpretation of the info.

Question 4

What is transmission?

Answer 4

The process of sending the sensory info to relevant areas of the brain via the thalamus.

Question 5

What is interpretation?

Answer 5

The process in which incoming sensory info is given meaning so that it can be understood.

Question 6

What is perceptual constancy?

Answer 6

The tendency to perceive an object as remaining stable and unchanging despite any changes that may occur to the image cast on the retina.

Question 7

What is shape constancy? Give an example:

Answer 7

The tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its shape despite any changes of shape in the retina.
Eg. Looking at the front of a book, and then at its side.

Question 8

What is brightness constancy? Give an example:

Answer 8

The tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its level of brightness in relation to its surroundings, despite changes in the amount of light being reflected from the object to the retina.
Eg. Shadows being cast on your skin when the lights are turned off.

Question 9

What is perceptual set? Give an example:

Answer 9

The predisposition, or readiness to perceive something in accordance with what we expect it to be.
Eg. Thinking the lyrics of a song are different from how they actually are.

Question 10

What does context mean?

Answer 10

The setting or environment in which a perception is made.

Question 11

Define the term emotional state:

Answer 11

How feelings can influence how we perceive visual info.

Question 12

Define the term past experience:

Answer 12

Refers to our personal experiences throughout our lives.

Question 13

What is culture?

Answer 13

The way of life of a particular community or group that sets it apart from other communities or groups.

Question 14

What is motivation?

Answer 14

The internal processes which activate behaviour that we direct towards achieving a particular goal.

Question 15

What are sensory receptors and where are they located?

Answer 15

They are cells that receive and process sensory info from the eyes, tongue and other sense organs in which they are located.

Question 16

What is the cornea and what is its function?

Answer 16

Is the covering where light initially enters the eye which protects the eye and helps to focus light onto the retina at the back of the eye.

Question 17

What is the aqueous humour and what is its function?

Answer 17

A watery fluid which helps to maintain the shape of the eye and provides nutrients and oxygen for the eye and removes waste.

Question 18

What is the pupil and what is its function?

Answer 18

The opening in the iris that helps to control how much light enters the eye. When there is not much light, the pupil dilates to let in more light, and when there is a lot of light, the pupil contracts to decrease the amount of light let in.

Question 19

What is the iris and what is its function?

Answer 19

Is the coloured ring of muscle around the pupil, which contracts or expands to change the size of the pupil, which controls how much light is let into the eye.

Question 20

What is the lens and what is its function?

Answer 20

It is behind the pupil and helps to focus light onto the retina by adjusting its shape depending on the distance of the object being viewed.

Question 21

What are the ciliary muscles and what are there function?

Answer 21

Are attached to the end of the lens and expand and contract to enable the lens to bulge to focus on nearby objects and flatten to focus on distant objects.

Question 22

What is the vitreous humour and what is its function?

Answer 22

Is a jelly-like substance which helps to maintain the shape of the eyeball and to focus light.

Question 23

What is the retina and what is its function?

Answer 23

Receives and absorbs light, processes images, and contains photoreceptors.

Question 24

What are photoreceptors and what are there function?

Answer 24

Consist of rods and cones, which react to light in different ways.

Question 25

What is the function of rods?

Answer 25

Respond to very low levels of light and are responsible for night vision. Are very poor at detecting fine detail and are not involved in colour vision.

Question 26

What is the function of cones?

Answer 26

Respond to high levels of light and are responsible for ‘day’ vision and for colour vision and detecting fine detail.

Question 27

What is the optic nerve and what is its function?

Answer 27

Is at the very back of the eye in a blind spot, in which there are no photoreceptors, and transmits visual info from the retina to the primary visual cortex.

Question 28

What is a blind spot?

Answer 28

Where there are no photoreceptors (rods and cones) to detect light.

Question 29

What is the optic chiasm and what is its function?

Answer 29

The point where axons that are transmitting visual info from each retina cross over.

Question 30

What is the range of the visible light spectrum?

Answer 30

From 390 nanometres to 700 nanometres.

Question 31

What form is information transmitted to the visual cortex?

Answer 31

Electrochemical energy

Question 32

What does peripheral vision mainly rely on?

Answer 32

Rods

Question 33

What does colour vision mainly rely on?

Answer 33

Cones