Psych Unit 4

Question 1

the process by which our sensory receptors/nervous system receive/represent stimulus energies from our environment

Answer 1

Sensation

Question 2

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Answer 2

Sensory receptors

Question 2

the process of organizing/interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects/events

Answer 2

Perception

Question 3

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Answer 3

Bottom-up processing

Question 4

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perception drawing on our experience and expectation

Answer 4

Top-down processing

Question 5

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Answer 5

Selective attention

Question 6

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Answer 6

Inattentional blindness

Question 6

failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness

Answer 6

Change blindness

Question 7

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Answer 7

Transduction

Question 7

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Answer 7

Psychophysics

Question 7

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

Answer 7

Absolute threshold

Question 7

predicts how/ when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold/ that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectation, motivation, alertness

Answer 7

Signal detection theory

Question 7

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 7

Subliminal

Question 8

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as just a noticeable difference (jnd)

Answer 8

Difference threshold

Question 8

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain association, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Answer 8

Priming

Question 8

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Answer 8

Weber’s law

Question 8

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 8

Sensory adaptation

Question 9

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Answer 9

Perceptual set

Question 9

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Answer 9

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

Question 10

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Answer 10

Parapsychology

Question 11

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next, vary from the short blips of gamma rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Answer 11

Wavelength

Question 12

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

Answer 12

Hue

Question 12

the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness, determined by the wave’s amplitude (height)

Answer 12

Intensity

Question 13

the eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil/iris

Answer 13

Cornea

Question 14

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Answer 14

Pupil

Question 14

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil/controls the size of the pupil opening

Answer 14

Iris

Question 15

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Answer 15

Lens

Question 15

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

Answer 15

Retina

Question 16

the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near/far objects on the retina

Answer 16

Accommodation

Question 16

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral/ twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

Answer 16

Rods

Question 17

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina/ that function in daylight/ in well-lit conditions, detect fine detail/ give rise to color sensation

Answer 17

Cones

Question 18

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 18

Optic nerve

Question 19

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

Answer 19

Blindspot

Question 20

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

Answer 20

Fovea

Question 20

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 any color

Answer 20

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

Question 20

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green/ inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red/ inhibited by green

Answer 20

Opponent-process theory

Question 21

nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, movement

Answer 21

Feature detectors

Question 21

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

Answer 21

Parallel processing