Psychology chapter 4

Question 1

doctrine of specific nerve energies

Answer 1

the idea that the different senses are separated in the brain, first proposed in 1826 by the German physiologist Johannes Müller

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

attending to, organizing, and interpreting stimuli that we sense

Question 3

selective attention

Answer 3

focusing on one particular event or task

Question 4

top-down processing

Answer 4

when our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or by our prior knowledg

Question 5

Weber’s law

Answer 5

states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli changes as a proportion of those stimuli

Question 6

inattentional blindness

Answer 6

a failure to notice clearly visible events or objects because attention is directed elsewhere

Question 7

divided attention

Answer 7

paying attention to more than one stimulus or task at the same time

Question 8

priming

Answer 8

a technique used in laboratory-based studies in which previous exposure to a stimulus can influence that individual’s later responses, either to the same stimulus or to one that is related to it

Question 9

absolute threshold

Answer 9

the minimum amount of energy or quantity of a stimulus required for it to be reliably detected at least 50% of the time it is presented

Question 10

difference threshold

Answer 10

the smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliably detected at least 50% of the time

Question 11

subliminal perception

Answer 11

perception below the threshold of conscious awareness

Question 12

bottom-up processing

Answer 12

occurs when we perceive individual bits of sensory information (e.g., sounds) and use them to construct a more complex perception (e.g., a message)

Question 13

signal detection theory

Answer 13

states that whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both the sensory experience and the judgment made by the subject

Question 14

psychophysics

Answer 14

the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience

Question 15

transduction

Answer 15

when specialized receptors transform the physical energy of the outside world into neural impulses.

Question 16

sensory adaptation

Answer 16

the reduction of activity in sensory receptors with repeated exposure to a stimulus

Question 17

sensation

Answer 17

the process of detecting external events with sense organs and turning those stimuli into neural signals

Question 18

dark adaptation

Answer 18

the process by which the rods and cones become increasingly sensitive to light under low levels of illumination

Question 19

rods

Answer 19

photoreceptors that occupy peripheral regions of the retina; they are highly sensitive under low light levels

Question 20

lens

Answer 20

a clear structure that focuses light onto the back of the eye

Question 21

trichromatic theory (Young-Helmholtz theory)

Answer 21

maintains that colour vision is determined by three different cone types that are sensitive to short, medium, and long wavelengths of light

Question 22

cones

Answer 22

photoreceptors that are sensitive to the different wavelengths of light that we perceive as colour

Question 23

cornea

Answer 23

the clear layer that covers the front portion of the eye and also contributes to the eye’s ability to focus

Question 24

iris

Answer 24

a round muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil; it also gives the eyes their characteristic colour

Question 25

perceptual constancy

Answer 25

the ability to perceive objects as having constant shape, size, and colour despite changes in perspective

Question 26

pupil

Answer 26

regulates the amount of light that enters by changing its size; it dilates (expands) to allow more light to enter and constricts (shrinks) to allow less light into the eye

Question 27

ventral stream

Answer 27

extends from the visual cortex to the lower part of the temporal lobe

Question 28

retinal disparity

Answer 28

also called binocular disparity), the difference in relative position of an object as seen by both eyes, which provides information to the brain about depth.

Question 29

prosopagnosia

Answer 29

a condition in which specific genetic problems or brain damage lead to an inability to recognize faces

Question 30

dorsal stream

Answer 30

extends from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe

Question 31

retina

Answer 31

lines the inner surface of the back of the eye and consists of specialized receptors that absorb light and send signals related to the properties of light to the brain

Question 32

binocular depth cues

Answer 32

distance cues that are based on the differing perspectives of both eyes

Question 33

opponent-process theory

Answer 33

states that we perceive colour in terms of opposing pairs: red to green, yellow to blue, and white to black

Question 34

optic chiasm

Answer 34

the point at which the optic nerves cross at the midline of the brain

Question 35

monocular cues

Answer 35

depth cues that we can perceive with only one eye

Question 36

feature detection cells

Answer 36

cells respond selectively to simple and specific aspects of a stimulus, such as angles and edges

Question 37

sclera

Answer 37

the white, outer surface of the eye

Question 38

optic nerve

Answer 38

a dense bundle of fibres that connect to the brain

Question 39

fovea

Answer 39

the central region of the retina

Question 40

convergence

Answer 40

when the eye muscles contract so that both eyes focus on a single object

Question 41

semicircular canals

Answer 41

three fluid-filled canals found in the inner ear that respond when the head moves in different directions (up-down, left-right, forward-backward)

Question 42

vestibular system

Answer 42

a sensory system in the ear that provides information about spatial orientation of the head as well as head motion

Question 43

primary auditory cortex

Answer 43

a major perceptual centre of the brain involved in perceiving what we hear

Question 44

sound localization

Answer 44

the process of identifying where sound comes from

Question 45

vestibular sacs

Answer 45

structures that influence your ability to detect when your head is no longer in an upright position

Question 46

cochlea

Answer 46

a fluid-filled membrane that is coiled in a snail-like shape and contains the structures that convert sound into neural impulses

Question 47

place theory of hearing

Answer 47

how we perceive pitch is based on the location (place) along the basilar membrane that sound stimulates

Question 48

pitch

Answer 48

the perceptual experience of sound wave frequencies

Question 49

frequency theory

Answer 49

the perception of pitch is related to the frequency at which the basilar membrane vibrates

Question 50

gustatory system

Answer 50

functions in the sensation and perception of taste

Question 51

autonomous sensory meridian response

Answer 51

a phenomenon in which specific auditory or visual stimuli trigger tingling sensations in the scalp and neck, sometimes extending across the back and shoulders

Question 52

olfactory epithelium

Answer 52

a thin layer of cells that are lined by sensory receptors called cilia

Question 53

olfactory system

Answer 53

involved in smell—the detection of airborne particles with specialized receptors located in the nose

Question 54

gate-control theory

Answer 54

explains our experience of pain as an interaction between nerves that transmit pain messages and those that inhibit these messages

Question 55

kinesthesis

Answer 55

the sense of bodily motion and position

Question 56

nociception

Answer 56

the activity of nerve pathways that respond to uncomfortable stimulation

Question 57

multimodal integration

Answer 57

the ability to combine sensation from different modalities such as vision and hearing into a single integrated perception

Question 58

olfactory bulb

Answer 58

located on the bottom surface of the frontal lobes, which serves as the brain’s central region for processing smells

Question 59

phantom limb sensations

Answer 59

frequently experienced by amputees, who report pain and other sensations coming from the absent limb

Question 60

haptics

Answer 60

the active, exploratory aspect of touch sensation and perception