Sensation and Perception

Question 1

the amount something must be changed in order for a difference to be noticeable

Answer 1

just noticeable different

Question 2

the minimum amount of stimulus energy (ex. how bright, loud, strong, etc) needed to activate the sensory system

Answer 2

absolute threshold

Question 3

how different in magnitude 2 stimuli must be in order to be perceived to be different

Answer 3

difference threshold

Question 4

law that states the change in stimulus intensity needed to produce JND divided by the stimulus intensity of the standard stimulus is a constant - measuring difference threshold

Answer 4

Weber’s Law

Question 5

law that expresses the relationship between the intensity of the sensation and the intensity of the stimulus

Answer 5

Fechner’s Law

Question 6

law that suggests Fechner’s law is incorrect, also related sensation and stimulus intensity

Answer 6

Steven’s Law

Question 7

theory stating that non-sensory factors influence our perception, including experiences, motives, and expectations, and this differs between people

Answer 7

Signal Detection Theory

Question 8

the tendency of subjects to respond in a certain way due to non-sensory factors

Answer 8

response bias

Question 9

What is the first step of all sensory information processing?

Answer 9

reception

Question 10

second step of sensory information processing - involves the translation of physical energy into neural impulses or action potentials

Answer 10

transduction

Question 11

after transduction, electrochemical energy is sent to various __ in the brain along neural pathways to be processed across the nervous system

Answer 11

projection areas

Question 12

clear, domelike window in front of your eye that gathers and focuses incoming light

Answer 12

cornea

Question 13

a hole in the iris that contracts in bright light to keep light out, and expands in dim light to let more light in

Answer 13

pupil

Question 14

colored part of the eye, has involuntary muscles and autonomic nerve fibers and controls the size of the pupil - therefore the amount of light entering the eye

Answer 14

iris

Question 15

behind the iris, helps control the curvature of light coming in and can focus near or distant objects on the retina

Answer 15

lens

Question 16

in the back of the eye, like a screen filled with neural elements and blood vessels, the image detecting part of the eye

Answer 16

retina

Question 17

functions best in reduced illumination and allow perception only of achromatic colors, have low sensitivity to detail and are not involved in color vision

Answer 17

rods

Question 18

used for color vision and perceiving fine detail, most effective in bright light, allow for chromatic and achromatic color vision

Answer 18

cones

Question 19

theory that states the retina contains 2 kinds of photoreceptors, and the organization of the retina makes light pass through intermediate sensory neurons before reaching and stimulating the photoreceptors

Answer 19

duplexity/duplicity theory of vision

Question 20

cells that group together to form the optic nerve

Answer 20

ganglion cells

Question 21

where the fibers from the nasal half of retina cross paths

Answer 21

optic chaism

Question 22

fibers from the __ halves of the retina don’t cross paths

Answer 22

temporal

Question 23

scientists that found a neural basis for feature detection theory - suggests that certain cells in the cortex are maximally sensitive to certain features of stimuli

Answer 23

Hubel and Wiesel

Question 24

cells in cortex that give information about the orientation and boundaries of an object

Answer 24

simple cells

Question 25

cells in cortex that give advanced information about orientation, such as movement

Answer 25

complex cells

Question 26

cells in cortex that give information about abstract features like object shape

Answer 26

hypercomplex cells

Question 27

a physical, objective measurement that is simply the amount of light falling on an object

Answer 27

illumination

Question 28

the subjective impression of the intensity of a light stimulus

Answer 28

brightness

Question 29

the only photopigment in rods, helps with dark adaptation

Answer 29

rhodopsin

Question 30

the phenomenon in which a target area appears brighter when surrounded by a darker stimulus than a lighter one

Answer 30

simultaneous brightness/contrast

Question 31

explains simultaneous brightness/contrast, adjacent cells inhibit one another so if one cell is excited, others near it will be inhibited

Answer 31

lateral inhibition

Question 32

color perception that has to do with lights, primary colors are blue, green, and red

Answer 32

additive

Question 33

color perception that involves missing pigments, like finger paints

Answer 33

subjective

Question 34

theory of color vision that states that the retina contains three types of color receptors (cones) which are sensitive to different colors (red, blue, green) - all colors are formed by combined stimulation of receptors

Answer 34

Young-Helmholtz/Trichromatic Theory

Question 35

theory of color vision, states that there are four primary colors arranged in opposing pairs (yellow/blue and red/green), red would excite a red/green cell, green would inhibit it

Answer 35

Ewald Hering's/Opponent Process Theory

Question 36

a visual sensation that appears after a prolonged or intense exposure to a stimulus

Answer 36

afterimages

Question 37

refers to the cue of depth perception, when object A covers/overlaps object B, we see object A as being in the front

Answer 37

interposition

Question 38

convergence of parallel lines in the distance - only appear to converge, we know they do not actually, so we use this cue in forming our impression of depth

Answer 38

linear perspective

Question 39

refers to the variations in perceive surface texture as a function of distance from an observer

Answer 39

texture gradients

Question 40

in a car or train - choose a fixation point halfway between you and the horizon, and you will notice that objects closer to you appear to move in the same direction as you do

Answer 40

motion parallax

Question 41

when the object rather than the perceiver is moving, the motion of the object gives us cues about the relative depth of parts of the object

Answer 41

kinetic depth effect

Question 42

the distance between the eyes provides us with two disparate views due to the slight differences in horizontal positioning, combining the two views gives us perception of depth

Answer 42

binocular disparity/stereopsis

Question 43

the integrated visual experience that stands out at the center of attention, one of the most important concepts in form perception

Answer 43

figure

Question 44

the background against which a figure appears, one of the most important concepts in form perception

Answer 44

ground

Question 45

Gestalt: elements close together tend to be perceived as one unit

Answer 45

law of proximity

Question 46

Gestalt: objects that are similar to one another tend to be grouped together

Answer 46

law of similarity

Question 47

Gestalt: elements that appear to follow the same direction (like a straight line or simple curve) tend to be grouped together, there is a tendency to perceive continuous patterns in stimuli rather than abrupt changes

Answer 47

law of good continuation

Question 48

Gestalt: the tendency to perceive incomplete objects as being complete

Answer 48

law of closure

Question 49

Gestalt: perceptual organization will always be "good" - symmetrical, regular, simple

Answer 49

law of Pragnanz

Question 50

figure/ground configuration theory that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the object in the perceptual field and pattern of stimulation in the brain

Answer 50

Wolfgang Kohler's Theory of Isomorphism

Question 51

processing that is data driven, object perception that responds directly to the components of an incoming stimulus on the basis of fixed rules - then sums up the components to arrive at the whole pattern

Answer 51

bottom-up

Question 52

processing that is conceptually driven, object perception guided by conceptual processes such as memories and expectations that allow the brain to recognize the whole object, then recognize the components

Answer 52

top-down

Question 53

illusion that occurs when 2 dots flashed in different locations in succession are perceived as a moving dot

Answer 53

apparent motion

Question 54

illusion of motion occurring when everything around a stationary light is moved

Answer 54

induced motion

Question 55

illusion that occurs when a light viewed in a totally dark room seems to move, probably because of involuntary eye movements and no frame of reference

Answer 55

autokinetic effect

Question 56

if a moving object is viewed for an extended period of time, it will appear to move in the opposite direction when the motion stops

Answer 56

motion after-effect

Question 57

an actual stimulus or event in the world

Answer 57

distal stimulus

Question 58

the information our sensory receptors receive about the object (in vision, this is the image on the retina)

Answer 58

proximal stimulus

Question 59

we don't perceive objects as changing sized, even when retinal size of the object changes

Answer 59

size constancy

Question 60

Law that size constancy depends on apparent distance - the farther away an object appears to be, the most scaling device in the brain will compensate for its retinal size doubles

Answer 60

Emmert's Law

Question 61

We see a shape as consistent, ex. we see a door as a rectangle, though in the course of opening/closing it, it can be a rectangle, trapezoid, or a line

Answer 61

shape constancy

Question 62

despite changes in the illumination of an object, the apparent lightness of the object remains unchanged because levels of illumination are the same for both object and background

Answer 62

lightness constancy

Question 63

the perceived color of an object remains constant despite changes in the spectrum of light falling on it

Answer 63

color constancy

Question 64

way of studying infant perception, record amount of time looking at 2 different stimuli, if there is a difference it can be inferred that the infant can discriminate between the two and prefers the one looked at the longest

Answer 64

preferential looking

Question 65

way of studying infant perception, when a new stimulus is presented to an infant, he will orient towards it - can tell the difference between the old stimulus they are used to and a new one

Answer 65

habituation

Question 66

number of sound wave cycles per second, measured in Hertz

Answer 66

frequency

Question 67

amplitude of sound waves measured in decibels

Answer 67

intensity

Question 68

the subjective experience of the magnitude or intensity of sound

Answer 68

loudness

Question 69

subjective experience of the magnitude or intensity of sound

Answer 69

pitch

Question 70

the quality of a particular sound, related to the complexity of a sound wave or measure of frequency

Answer 70

timbre

Question 71

part of the ear visible from the outside, main function of channelling sounds into the auditory canal

Answer 71

pinna

Question 72

channels sound into the eardrum, which vibrates according to incoming sound waves

Answer 72

auditory canal

Question 73

3 tiny bones in the ear that transmit vibrations of the tympanum into the inner ear

Answer 73

ossicles

Question 74

edge of stirrup rests on the ___, which is the entrance to the middle ear, which contains the ___

Answer 74

oval window, cochlea

Question 75

resting on the basilar membrane, composed of hair cells which are the receptors for hearing (like rods and cones in the eye), bending of hair cells causes electrical charges

Answer 75

organ of corti

Question 76

signals are transmitted out of the cochlea along the nerve fibers, which connects to the ___ and eventually reaches the ___ cortex

Answer 76

auditory nerve, temporal

Question 77

pitch perception theory that different pitches cause different places of the basilar membrane to vibrate, which causes different hair cells to bend

Answer 77

Helmholtz's Place-Resonance Theory

Question 78

theory that suggests that basilar membrane vibrates as a whole, and rate of vibration = frequency of stimulus

Answer 78

frequency theory

Question 79

principle in which high rates of neural firing can be maintained if nerve fibers work together

Answer 79

volley principle

Question 80

the movement of the basilar membrane is maximal at different places along the basilar membrane for each different frequency, though the entire membrane vibrates at stimulus (high frequencies closer to cochlea near oval window, low frequencies vibrate near apex/tip of cochlea)

Answer 80

Bekesy's Traveling Wave

Question 81

smell receptors are called

Answer 81

olfactory epithelium

Question 82

4 categories of touch

Answer 82

pressure, pain, warmth, cold

Question 83

occurs in receptors and information travels to somatosensory cortex in parietal lobe of the brain

Answer 83

transduction

Question 84

the minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as 2 distinct stimuli

Answer 84

2 point threshold

Question 85

temperature is judged relative to physiological zero, or the temperature of the skin

Answer 85

physiological zero

Question 86

there is a "gating" mechanism that can turn pain signals on and off, affecting whether we perceive pain, located in spinal cord and is able to block input from sensory fibers before brain receives pain signals

Answer 86

gate theory of pain

Question 87

our sense of body position

Answer 87

proprioception

Question 88

balance and body position relative to gravity

Answer 88

vestibular sense

Question 89

receptors for balance, located in inner ear above and behind cochlea

Answer 89

semicircular canals

Question 90

awareness of body movement and position, specifically with muscle, tendon, and joint position since receptors are located at/near them

Answer 90

kinesthetic sense

Question 91

acts as a filter between sensory stimuli and our processing systems - if a stimulus is attended to, it passes through a filter for further analysis, if not it is lost

Answer 91

selective attention

Question 92

when 2 ears are presented with 2 different messages simultaneously, it has shown that we can attend to one message an dampen out the other

Answer 92

dichotic listening

Question 93

law that states maintaining attention requires maintaining arousal, performance is worst at extremely low or high levels, optimal at intermediate level

Answer 93

Yerkes-Dodson Law