Lecture 7

Question 1

What is psychophysics?

Answer 1

The study of how physical stimuli (e.g., Light) are translated into psychological experience.

Question 2

Who was Gustav Fechner?

Answer 2

A German Physicist interested in studying strength of stimuli and how we detect/differentiate information from the environment.

Question 3

What is a stimulus?

Answer 3

Any detectable input from the environment.

Question 4

Define ‘Threshold’ in the context of sensation.

Answer 4

A dividing point between energy levels that do and do not have a detectable effect.

Question 5

What does JND stand for?

Answer 5

Just Noticeable Difference.

Question 6

What is the Just Noticeable Difference (JND)?

Answer 6

The smallest difference in the amount of stimulation that a specific sense can detect.

Question 7

What are the two processes that involve how we perceive information?

Answer 7

Sensation and perception.

Question 8

Define ‘sensation’.

Answer 8

The stimulation of sensory organs.

Question 9

What role do sensory receptors play in sensation?

Answer 9

They convert stimuli from the environment into patterns of electrical signals (action potentials).

Question 10

What are sensory neurons?

Answer 10

Nerve cells that transmit sensory information from the body to the brain and spinal cord.

Question 11

What are primary sensory receptors?

Answer 11

Neurons that directly convert a stimulus into an electrical signal.

Question 12

What are secondary sensory receptors?

Answer 12

Non-neuronal cells that first respond to a stimulus and then communicate it to a nearby neuron.

Question 13

What is perception?

Answer 13

The selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory input.

Question 14

What is a percept?

Answer 14

A mental representation of sensory input, forming our conscious awareness of the world.

Question 15

Where does perception occur?

Answer 15

In the brain, specifically in the primary cortices.

Question 16

True or False: Sensation happens mostly in the brain.

Answer 16

False.

Question 17

What is signal detection theory?

Answer 17

detection of stimuli involves both decision processes and sensory processes, influenced by various factors besides signal intensity.

Question 18

Define sensory adaptation.

Answer 18

A gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged stimulation.

Question 19

What does the retina do?

Answer 19

Captures incoming light and transmits visual signals along neuronal pathways.

Question 20

What are rods and cones?

Answer 20

Rods are visual receptors for night and peripheral vision; cones are visual receptors for daylight and color vision.

Question 21

What is the blind spot?

Answer 21

A small area on the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye, lacking photoreceptor cells.

Question 22

What is contralateral processing in vision?

Answer 22

Visual fields are projected to the opposite side of the brain for processing.

Question 23

What are feature detectors?

Answer 23

Neurons that respond selectively to very specific visual features of more complex stimuli.

Question 24

What is feature analysis?

Answer 24

The process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into more complex forms.

Question 25

What are the two main pathways for visual processing in the brain?

Answer 25

* Dorsal Stream (Where pathway) * Ventral Stream (What pathway)

Question 26

What is the trichromatic theory of color?

Answer 26

Suggests our ability to perceive color is based on three types of color receptors (cones) in the retina.

Question 27

Define color-blindness.

Answer 27

Deficiencies in the ability to distinguish colors.

Question 28

What is after-images?

Answer 28

A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed.

Question 29

What is opponent process theory?

Answer 29

Explains color perception as a result of opposing pairs of color receptors.

Question 30

What is a visual illusion?

Answer 30

An apparently inexplicable discrepancy between the appearance of a visual stimulus and its physical reality.

Question 31

What is the McGurk Effect?

Answer 31

When the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of a different sound.

Question 32

Fill in the blank: Sensory integration shows that what we see/hear and what we _______ are two different things.

Answer 32

perceive.

Question 33

What is illusory motion?

Answer 33

Stationary or non-moving objects create the false impression of motion due to the brain's interpretation of visual cues.

Question 34

What is negative space illusion?

Answer 34

Occurs when the brain struggles to distinguish between the main object and the surrounding empty space.

Question 35

What is the difference between seeing/hearing and perceiving?

Answer 35

Seeing/hearing and perceiving are two different things ## Footnote Perception involves the interpretation of sensory information.

Question 36

What are auditory illusions?

Answer 36

Auditory illusions occur when visual and auditory information don’t match ## Footnote Expectations formed from vision can alter how we perceive sound.

Question 37

What is the McGurk Effect?

Answer 37

The McGurk Effect occurs when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of a different sound.

Question 38

What are the components involved in hearing (audition)?

Answer 38

Sound vibrations enter the outer ear, transmitted to the inner ear and cochlea by ossicles ## Footnote Ossicles include Malleus, Incus, and Stapes.

Question 39

What are ossicles?

Answer 39

Ossicles are three small bones in the middle ear that transmit air vibrations from the outer ear to the inner ear ## Footnote The three ossicles are Malleus, Incus, and Stapes.

Question 40

What is the smallest bone in the human body?

Answer 40

Stapes

Question 41

What type of cells are responsible for hearing?

Answer 41

Hair cells ## Footnote Hair cells are specialized sensory cells in the inner ear.

Question 42

What do hair cells do?

Answer 42

Hair cells detect and convert vibrations into electrical signals.

Question 43

What are stereocilia?

Answer 43

Stereocilia are the 'hairs' of hair cells that convert movement into electrical signals.

Question 44

What is the vestibular system?

Answer 44

The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining balance and spatial orientation in the body.

Question 45

What structures are included in the vestibular system?

Answer 45

The vestibular system includes the semicircular canals (SCCs) ## Footnote SCCs are fluid-filled and contain hair cells.

Question 46

What happens when there is damage to the vestibular system?

Answer 46

Damage can cause vertigo, which is the sensation of motion or spinning.

Question 47

Where is auditory information processed in the brain?

Answer 47

Auditory information is processed by the primary auditory cortex (A1).

Question 48

What is the primary auditory cortex (A1)?

Answer 48

located in the temporal lobe responsible for processing auditory information, including sound and speech.

Question 49

What is a tonotopic map?

Answer 49

A tonotopic map is a neural arrangement where specific sound frequencies are organized spatially for processing in the auditory system.

Question 50

True or False: Different regions of A1 process different sound frequencies.

Answer 50

True