Sensation and Perception

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the process of interpreting the world around us

Question 2

transduction

Answer 2

the conversion of different types of energy into info that our brains can make sense of (for bodily sensation to occur)

Question 3

perception

Answer 3

involves the aggregation and interpretation of sensory input from raw neural signals into meaningful information

Question 4

5 primary senses

Answer 4

-sight (vision)
-smell (olfaction)
-taste (gustation)
-hearing (audition)
-skin sensation (somatosensation)

Question 5

other senses (not primary)

Answer 5

-balance (vestibulation)
-time (chronoception)
-temperature (thermoception)
-kinesthesis (proprioception)
-pain (nociception)

Question 6

vestibulation

Answer 6

balance

Question 7

chronoception

Answer 7

time

Question 8

thermoception

Answer 8

temperature

Question 9

proprioception

Answer 9

kinesthesis
(detects bodily position)

Question 10

nociception

Answer 10

pain

Question 11

fissure

Answer 11

large sulcus

Question 12

proximal stimulus

Answer 12

the stimulus as it appears to the sensory receptors

Question 13

distal stimulus

Answer 13

the actual 3D object out in the world

Question 14

rods

Answer 14

black and white
very sensitive
responds to lower light intensities (useful for night vision)
located on outer regions of retina
low visual acuity
~120 million cells in humans

Question 15

cones

Answer 15

necessary for colour vision
visual receptors that respond to greater light intensities
high visual acuity
~6 million cells in humans

Question 16

the fovea

Answer 16

located at the back of the eye
where our vision is the sharpest

Question 17

the blind spot

Answer 17

where cells from the eye connect with the optic nerve, so we cannot see anything that falls on that part of the retina
(at the back of the eye)

Question 18

the cornea

Answer 18

the outside surface of the eye
bends light that enters the eye

Question 19

the iris

Answer 19

bands of muscle that contract and relax to regulate how much light enters the eye via the pupil

Question 20

the pupil

Answer 20

the opening into the eye, controlled by the iris

Question 21

the lens

Answer 21

can be adjusted to focus on near or far objects

Question 22

the retina

Answer 22

contains photoreceptor cells, that are stimulated by different qualities of light

Question 23

causes of myopia

Answer 23

-near-work hypothesis
people acquire myopia through working too close to computers, etc

-visual stimuli hypothesis
people acquire myopia through a lack of normal visual stimulation which impairs optic development

Question 24

visual acuity

Answer 24

sharpness of vision

Question 25

afterimage

Answer 25

after looking at something bright, when you look away you might continue to see an image or colours the lingering visual impression is called an afterimage

Question 26

opponent-process theory of colour

Answer 26

the theory that we have 3 cone types: red, green and blue, which inhibit each other when excited e.g. the excitation of blue cone prevents the red and green cones from being activated

Question 27

what theory of colour explains afterimages

Answer 27

the opponent-process theory of colour prolonged excitation of red receptors means that as soon as these receptors are no longer activated, the blue and green receptors suddenly 'spring into action'

Question 28

the central sulcus divides the...

Answer 28

frontal and parietal lobes

Question 29

3 views we can look at a scan image from

Answer 29

-coronal -axial -sagittal

Question 30

the visual signal crosses the hemispheres at the level of...

Answer 30

the chiasma

Question 31

liberal criterion implies...

Answer 31

high false alarms, high hits, no misses

Question 32

white light is composed of...

Answer 32

all different colours

Question 33

combining colours produces...

Answer 33

different wavelengths of light

Question 34

hue

Answer 34

distinguishes different colours from one another colours can vary in brightness but share the same hue e.g. light red and dark red share the same hue

Question 35

brightness

Answer 35

diffrentiates how far a colour is from black (low brightness) or white (high brightness)

Question 36

what type of colours is brightness a property of

Answer 36

both chromatic and achromatic colours

Question 37

saturation

Answer 37

the purity of colour e.g. colours that have more achromatic colours mixed in are less saturated (less pure), than colours than have fewer achromatic colour

Question 38

synaesthesia

Answer 38

when senses collide involves a fusion of different senses and input

Question 39

examples of synaesthesia

Answer 39

-grapheme-colour synaesthesia letters and numbers associated with different colours -chromaesthesia different sounds trigger sensation of seeing colours -auditory-tactile synaesthesia different sounds trigger tacticle sensation in parts of the body

Question 40

grapheme-colour synaesthesia

Answer 40

letters and numbers associated with different colours

Question 41

chromaesthesia

Answer 41

different sounds trigger sensation of seeing colours

Question 42

auditory-tactile synaesthesia

Answer 42

different sounds trigger tactile sensation in parts of body

Question 43

psychophysics

Answer 43

study of how sensory experience changes with changes in sensory stimulation (e.g. amount of light, pattern, etc)

Question 44

just noticeable difference (JND)

Answer 44

the smallest change in something that can be noticed depends on the proportion of change to overall brightness (Weber's Law)

Question 45

absolute threshold

Answer 45

smallest amount detectable e.g. faintest sound you can hear

Question 46

Weber's law

Answer 46

states that the size of the JND is in constant proportion to the size of the original stimulus value e.g. if you can barely notice a difference in weight between 100g and 102g, you will barely be able to notice a difference in weight between 200g and 204g