unit 3 (20-25)

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

process that our sensory receptor and nervous system receive and represent stimulus from our environment

Question 2

sensory receptors

Answer 2

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Question 3

perception

Answer 3

process of our brain organizing and interpreting sensory input

Question 4

bottom up processing

Answer 4

sensory receptors –> higher processing

Question 5

top down processing

Answer 5

using models, ideas, and expectations to try and interpret sensory information

Question 6

selective attention

Answer 6

focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Question 7

inattentional blindness

Answer 7

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Question 8

change blindness

Answer 8

failing to notice changes in the environment (type of inattentional blindness)

Question 9

transduction

Answer 9

conversion of one energy form into another. ex: stimulus energies (sight, sound, smells) into neural impulses

Question 10

psychophysics

Answer 10

studies physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Question 11

absolute threshold

Answer 11

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

Question 12

signal detection theory

Answer 12

predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus

Question 13

subliminal

Answer 13

below ones absolute threshold

Question 14

difference threshold

Answer 14

minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. just noticeable difference

Question 15

priming

Answer 15

introduction of one stimulus influences how people respond to a subsequent stimulus

Question 16

webers law

Answer 16

to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum

Question 17

sensory adaptation

Answer 17

when constantly exposed to an unchanging stimulus, we become less aware of it.

Question 18

extrasensory perception

Answer 18

claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. (telepathy, clairvoyance, etc)

Question 19

parapsychology

Answer 19

study of paranormal phenomena, like ESP

Question 20

wavelength

Answer 20

sight: hue (color)
hearing: pitch

Question 21

hue

Answer 21

color we experience

Question 22

intensity

Answer 22

amount of energy the wave contains

sight: brightness
hearing: decibel (loudness)

Question 23

cornea

Answer 23

eyes clear, protective outer layer. bends light to help focus

Question 24

pupil

Answer 24

small adjustable opening, light enters through.

Question 25

iris

Answer 25

ring of colored muscle that controls size of pupil opening.

Question 26

lens

Answer 26

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

Question 27

retina

Answer 27

light-sensitive inner surface of eye, contains receptor rods+cones that begin the processing of visual info

Question 28

accommodation

Answer 28

process which eyes lens changes to focus retina on near or far objects

Question 29

rods

Answer 29

detect black, white, gray. sensitive to movement. necessary for twilight vision and peripheral.

Question 30

cones

Answer 30

concentrated near center of retina, function in daylight or well lit conditions. detect fine detail, give rise to color.

Question 31

optic nerve

Answer 31

carries neural impulses from eye to brain

Question 32

blind spot

Answer 32

point where optic nerve leaves eye. no receptor cells located there, spot filled in by brain.

Question 33

fovea

Answer 33

retina central focal point, where cones cluster

Question 34

3 color theory (young-helmholtz trichromatic)

Answer 34

retina contains 3 different color receptors sensitive to: red, green, blue.

Question 35

feature detectors

Answer 35

nerve cells in visual cortex that respond to stimulus like shape, angle, or movement

Question 36

parallel processing

Answer 36

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously

Question 37

gestalt

Answer 37

organized whole

Question 38

figure ground

Answer 38

organization of visual fields into objects that stand out from surroundings

Question 39

grouping

Answer 39

tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Question 40

depth perception

Answer 40

ability to see objects in 3 dimesion

Question 41

visual cliff

Answer 41

device used to test depth perception in young animals/babies

Question 42

binocular cue

Answer 42

depth cue that depends on use of both eyes

Question 43

retinal disparity

Answer 43

binocular cue for perceiving depth. compares retinal images from each eye. greater distance between images = closer object

Question 44

monocular cue

Answer 44

depth cue needing only 1 eye

Question 45

phi phenomenom

Answer 45

illusion of movement when 2+ lights blink on and off in quick succession

Question 46

perceptual constancy

Answer 46

perceiving objects as constant even as illumination and retinal images change

Question 47

color constancy

Answer 47

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if illumination alters it

Question 48

audition

Answer 48

sense of hearing

Question 49

frequency

Answer 49

of wavelengths in a period

Question 50

pitch

Answer 50

highness or lowness of a tone

Question 51

middle ear

Answer 51

chamber between eardrum and cochlea; contains HAS that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochleas oval window

Question 52

cochlea

Answer 52

coiled, bony, fluid filled tube that sound waves pass through to trigger neural impulses

Question 53

inner ear

Answer 53

innermost part of ear. contains cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 54

sensoineural hearing loss

Answer 54

hearing loss caused by damage to auditory nerve or damage to cochlea receptor cells. most common hearing loss

Question 55

conduction hearing loss

Answer 55

caused by damage to mechanical system in ear (eardrum, middle ear bones). less common

Question 56

cochlear implant

Answer 56

device for converting sounds into electrical signals. stimulates auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into cochlea

Question 57

place theory

Answer 57

theory that links pitch we hear with place where cochlea membrane is stimulated

Question 58

frequency theory

Answer 58

theory that rate of nerve impulses traveling via auditory nerve matches frequency of tone. allows us to sense pitch

Question 59

gate-control theory

Answer 59

theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that controls transmission of pain messages to brain

Question 60

olfaction

Answer 60

sense of smell

Question 61

kinesthesia

Answer 61

movement sense. system of sensing the position and movement of our body parts

Question 62

vestibular sense

Answer 62

sense of body movement + position that enables sense of balance. located within semicircular canals; fluid in it moves with our body

Question 63

sensory interaction

Answer 63

principle that one sense may influence another (ex: smell and taste)

Question 64

embodied cognition

Answer 64

influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive prefs and judgments

Question 65

perceptual set

Answer 65

set of mental tendencies and assumptions that affects top-down what we hear, taste, feel, see. mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Question 66

opponent process theory

Answer 66

opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision.

Question 67

relative height

Answer 67

higher in vision field = farther lower = closer

Question 68

relative size

Answer 68

smaller = farther bigger = closer

Question 69

interposition

Answer 69

if one object partially blocks another, we perceive it as closer

Question 70

relative motion

Answer 70

as we move, objects that are stable look like their moving. objects in front of a fixation point will appear to move backwards. closer = faster object moves

Question 71

linear perspective

Answer 71

parallel lines appear to meet in the distance

Question 72

light and shadow

Answer 72

shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from above.