FlashcardsChapter05

Question 1

Term

Answer 1

Description

Question 2

Absolute threshold

Answer 2

The minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation. (page 167)

Question 3

Audition

Answer 3

Hearing; the sense of sound perception. (page 188)

Question 4

Binocular depth cues

Answer 4

Cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes. (page 182)

Question 5

Binocular disparity

Answer 5

A depth cue; because of the distance between the two eyes, each eye receives a slightly different retinal image. (page 182)

Question 6

Bottom-up processing

Answer 6

Perception based on the physical features of the stimulus. (page 164)

Question 7

Cones

Answer 7

Retinal cells that respond to higher levels of light and result in color perception. (page 173)

Question 8

Convergence

Answer 8

A cue of binocular depth perception; when a person views a nearby object, the eye muscles turn the eyes inward. (page 183)

Question 9

Difference threshold

Answer 9

The minimum amount of change required for a person to detect a difference between two stimuli. (page 168)

Question 10

Eardrum

Answer 10

A thin membrane that marks the beginning of the middle ear; sound waves cause it to vibrate. (page 189)

Question 11

Fovea

Answer 11

The center of the retina, where cones are densely packed. (page 173)

Question 12

Gustation

Answer 12

The sense of taste. (page 194)

Question 13

Haptic sense

Answer 13

The sense of touch. (page 199)

Question 14

Kinesthetic sense

Answer 14

Perception of the positions in space and movements of our bodies and our limbs. (page 199)

Question 15

Monocular depth cues

Answer 15

Cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone. (page 182)

Question 16

Object constancy

Answer 16

Correctly perceiving objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception. (page 186)

Question 17

Olfaction

Answer 17

The sense of smell. (page 197)

Question 18

Olfactory bulb

Answer 18

The brain center for smell, located below the frontal lobes. (page 198)

Question 19

Olfactory epithelium

Answer 19

A thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that contains the receptors for smell. (page 197)

Question 20

Perception

Answer 20

The processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals. (page 164)

Question 21

Place coding

Answer 21

A mechanism for encoding high-frequency auditory stimuli in which the frequency of the sound wave is encoded by the location of the hair cells along the basilar membrane. (page 192)

Question 22

Retina

Answer 22

The thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball; it contains the sensory receptors that transduce light into neural signals. (page 173)

Question 23

Rods

Answer 23

Retinal cells that respond to low levels of light and result in black-and-white perception. (page 173)

Question 24

Sensation

Answer 24

The detection of external stimuli and the transmission of this information to the brain. (page 164)

Question 25

Sensory adaptation

Answer 25

A decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation. (page 169)

Question 26

Signal detection theory (SDT)

Answer 26

A theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a stimulus requires a judgment -- it is not an all-or-nothing process. (page 168)

Question 27

Sound wave

Answer 27

A pattern of changes in air pressure during a period of time; it produces the percept of a sound. (page 188)

Question 28

Taste buds

Answer 28

Sensory organs in the mouth that contain the receptors for taste. (page 194)

Question 29

Temporal coding

Answer 29

A mechanism for encoding low-frequency auditory stimuli in which the firing rates of cochlear hair cells match the frequency of the sound wave. (page 192)

Question 30

Top-down processing

Answer 30

How knowledge, expectations, or past experiences shape the interpretation of sensory information. (page 164)

Question 31

Transduction

Answer 31

The process by which sensory stimuli are converted to signals the brain can interpret. (page 165)

Question 32

Vestibular sense

Answer 32

Perception of balance determined by receptors in the inner ear. (page 189)