Sensation and Perception Vocabulary

Question 1

Knesthesis

Answer 1

the sense of body position and movement of body parts, also called kinesthesia

Question 2

Neuromatrix theory

Answer 2

the theory that a matrix of neurons in the brain is capable of generating pain (and other sensations) in the absence of signals from sensory nerves

Question 3

Equilibrium

Answer 3

the sense of balance

Question 4

Semicircular Canals

Answer 4

sense organs in the inner ear, which contribute to equilibrium by responding to rotation of the head

Question 5

Needs

Answer 5

when we need something, have an interest in it, or want it. Therefore you are more likely to perceive it.

Question 6

Expectations

Answer 6

The tendency to perceive what you believe

Question 7

Perceptual set

Answer 7

a habitual way of perceiving based on expectations

Question 8

Subliminal perception

Answer 8

Messages sent underneath your absolute threshold that are processed and received unconsciously

Question 9

Subliminal persuasion

Answer 9

persuading someone by using subliminal perception

Question 10

Sensation

Answer 10

detection of physical energy emitted off a reflected physical object

Question 11

Perception

Answer 11

set of processes that organize sensory impulses into meaningful patterns

Question 12

Sense receptors

Answer 12

specialized cells that convert physical energy in the environment or the body to electrical energy that can be transmitted as nerve impulses to the brain

Question 13

anatomical encoding

Answer 13

a type of code that is related to physical structure, dealing specifically with the doctrine of specific nerve energies

Question 14

doctrine of specific nerve energies

Answer 14

the doctrine that different sensory modalities such as vision and hearing, exist because signals received by the sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways leading to different areas of the brain.

Question 15

Functional encoding

Answer 15

variation within each sense, ie. red versus rose

Question 16

psychophysics

Answer 16

study of how physical properties of stimuli relate to our psychological experience

Question 17

absolute threshold

Answer 17

smallest quantity of physical energy that can be reliably detected by an observer

Question 18

Visible spectrum of electromagnetic energy

Answer 18

our visual system detects only a small fraction of the electromagnetic energy around

Question 19

gustation

Answer 19

taste, occurs due to chemicals stimulating thousands of receptors in the mouth

Question 20

papillae

Answer 20

knoblike elevations on the tongue containing the tastebuds

Question 21

taste bud

Answer 21

nests of taste-receptor cells (salty, sour, bitter, sweet)

Question 22

olfaciton

Answer 22

sense of smell

Question 23

gate control theory

Answer 23

theory that the experience of pain depends partly on whether pain impulses get past a neurological “gate” in the spinal cord to reach the brain

Question 24

phantom pain

Answer 24

person continues to feel pain seemingly from an amputated limb, or an organ that was surgically removed

Question 25

supertasters

Answer 25

find saccharin, caffeine, broccoli, and many other substances very bitter and others very sweet or sour

Question 26

tasters

Answer 26

detect less bitterness, sourness, sweetness

Question 27

nontaster

Answer 27

do not taste bitterness, sourness, sweetness

Question 28

olfactory nerve

Answer 28

signals from the receptors are carried to the brain’s olfactory bulb through this nerve

Question 29

signal detection theory

Answer 29

a psychological theory that divides the detection of a sensory signal into a sensory process and decision process.

Question 30

sensory adaptation

Answer 30

the reduction or disappearance of sensory responsiveness that occurs when stimulation is changing or repetitious.

Question 31

selective attention

Answer 31

the focusing of attention on selected aspects of the environment and the blocking out of others.

Question 32

Hue

Answer 32

the dimension of visual experience specified by color names and related to the wavelength of light

Question 33

brightness

Answer 33

lightness of luminance; the dimension of visual experience related to the amount of light emitted from or reflected by an object.

Question 34

Saturation

Answer 34

vividness or purity of color; the dimension of visual experience related to the complexity of light waves.

Question 35

Retina

Answer 35

neural tissue lining the back of the eyeball's interior, which contains the receptors for vision

Question 36

Rods

Answer 36

Visual receptors that respond to dim light

Question 37

Cones

Answer 37

Visual receptors involved in color vision

Question 38

dark adaptation

Answer 38

a process by which visual receptors become maximally sensitive to dim light.

Question 39

Ganglion cells

Answer 39

neurons in the retina of the eye, which gather information from receptor cells (by way of intermediate bipolar cells); their axons make up optic nerve.

Question 40

Perceptual illusion

Answer 40

the result of being fooled by a perceptual constancy

Question 41

Audition

Answer 41

the sense of hearing

Question 42

Loudness

Answer 42

the dimension of auditory experience related to the intensity of a pressure wave

Question 43

Intensity

Answer 43

corresponds to h amplitude or maximum height of the wave

Question 44

Decibels

Answer 44

units used to measure sound intensity, one-tenth of a bel (a unit named after Alexander Graham Bell)

Question 45

Pitch

Answer 45

the dimension of auditory experience relate to the frequency of the sound wave and, to some extent, its intensity

Question 46

Frequency

Answer 46

how rapidly the air vibrates

Question 47

Hertz

Answer 47

one sound wave cycle per second

Question 48

timbre

Answer 48

the dimension of auditory experience related to the complexity of the sound wave—to the relative breadth of the range of frequencies that make up the wave

Question 49

White noise

Answer 49

the hissing sound produced when all the frequencies of the sound spectrum occur

Question 50

Eardrum

Answer 50

a sensitive, oval shaped tissue that can respond to the movement of a single molecule

Question 51

Cochlea

Answer 51

a sail-shaped structure within the inner ear that contains the receptor cells

Question 52

Cilia

Answer 52

receptor cells that look like bristles

Question 53

basiliar membrane

Answer 53

stretches across the interior cochlea

Question 54

figure

Answer 54

voices

Question 55

ground

Answer 55

distant sounds

Question 56

proximity

Answer 56

tell you which notes go together to form phrases

Question 57

continuity

Answer 57

helps follow melodies

Question 58

similarity

Answer 58

helps separate sounds

Question 59

closure

Answer 59

helps understand

Question 60

distance

Answer 60

how far away a sound is

Question 61

direction

Answer 61

where a sound is coming from

Question 62

signal detection theory

Answer 62

a psychophysical theory that divides the detection of a sensory signal into a sensory process and a decision process, which is influenced by the person’s response bias.