Unit 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies in the environment

Question 2

absolute threshold

Answer 2

the minimum intensity needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

Question 3

transduction

Answer 3

physical energy into neural impulses, process by which sensory info is converted into neural signals that the brain can understand (5 senses)

Question 4

just-noticeable difference

Answer 4

refers to the smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be detected 50% of the time, minimum to notice a difference between two

Question 5

sensory adaptation

Answer 5

the process by which our sensory receptors become less sensitive to constant stimuli over time, smell

Question 6

weber’s law

Answer 6

constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity, means that the larger original stimulus, the larger the change needed for people to notice a difference, lifting weights

Question 7

sensory interaction

Answer 7

stimulation of one sensory influences the perception of another, smell of food

Question 8

synesthesia

Answer 8

input of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experience of a third, visualizing colors to taste them

Question 9

retina

Answer 9

(cute puppies lick roses) rod for black and white seeing in the dark (peripheral), cones for color and detail (center), receptors for red green blue, optic nerve made up of roped ganglion ties

Question 10

blind spot

Answer 10

small area on retina where there are no rods or cones

Question 11

lens and accommodation

Answer 11

(lick), bends back and forth, perception and blurriness

Question 12

nearsightedness

Answer 12

myopia, see things close up but struggle to see things far away

Question 13

farsightedness

Answer 13

hyperopia, far away, struggle to see up close images

Question 14

photo-receptors

Answer 14

rods and cones, black and white for seeing dark peripheral, color and detail center

Question 15

wavelengths and colors

Answer 15

the distance from one peak to the next determines hue or color, closer together cooler, farther away warmer

Question 16

trichromatic theory

Answer 16

individual cones in the retina are responsible for red, green, and blue

Question 17

opponent-process theory

Answer 17

three opponent retinal channels, brain cannot see signals for both channels at the same time (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black), afterimages + rebound

Question 18

ganglion cells

Answer 18

neuron located in retina, receives visual info from photoreceptors and transits info to brain via optic nerve

Question 19

afterimages

Answer 19

evidence of opponent processing theory, rebound of opposing color

Question 20

color vision deficiency

Answer 20

color blindness

Question 21

dichromatism, monochromatism

Answer 21

only 2 functioning cones, complete color blindness

Question 22

prosopagnosia

Answer 22

can see faces but has a hard time recognizing their identity, occipital and right temporal lobe with racial recognition and memory, blurry

Question 23

blindsight

Answer 23

seeing without seeing, can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it

Question 24

sensation of hot

Answer 24

thermoreceptors with warm and cold

Question 25

gate control theory

Answer 25

small fiber cords for negative pain, large for positive sensations, spinal cord transmits pain, large fibers transmit other sensations, only one open at a time (body in pain, stimulate gate)

Question 26

phantom limb sensation

Answer 26

lost a limb, continue to experience sensations that feel like the missing limb

Question 27

wavelength

Answer 27

distance from one wave peak to the next determines hue or color, closer cooler farther warmer, pitch frequency for how quickly they go back and forth

Question 28

amplitude

Answer 28

height influences brightness of color, brighter colors higher amplitudes

Question 29

place theory

Answer 29

pitch discrimination, our ability to hear is determined by where the basilar membrane sound waves hit, high hit more places, less precise for lower sounds farther down membrane, better job explaining why we hear HIGH

Question 30

volley theory

Answer 30

two neurons next to each other work in tandem to take a turn to send a signal to account for the refractory period

Question 31

frequency theory

Answer 31

ability to hear depends on frequency/speed in which nerve signals in the ear fire, explains low pitch

Question 32

sound localization

Answer 32

ability to understand where a sound is coming from, cocktail party effect

Question 33

conductive deafness

Answer 33

sound waves not effectively conducted, blockages, hearing aid

Question 34

sensorineural deafness

Answer 34

cochlea not working, cochlear implant

Question 35

vestibular sense

Answer 35

semicircular canals, keeps us balance

Question 36

kinesthesis

Answer 36

awareness of how to move

Question 37

olfaction

Answer 37

smell, directly related to taste

Question 38

pheremones

Answer 38

chemical signals released by an individual to influence behavior of physiology of other members of the same species

Question 39

gustation

Answer 39

refers to sense of taste

Question 40

oleogustus

Answer 40

fat taste

Question 41

taste receptors

Answer 41

papillae taste buds

Question 42

bottom-up processing

Answer 42

processing that starts with sensory input and builds final perception, recognizing tree from its leaves

Question 43

top-down processing

Answer 43

information processing by higher mental processes to individual sensory experiences, past knowledge, know what grandma's goulash tastes like-more spicy

Question 44

schemas and perceptual sets

Answer 44

mental frameworks to interpret info - mental predisposition to perceive something a certain way

Question 45

figure ground

Answer 45

ability to identify clear figure from background

Question 46

selective attention

Answer 46

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimuli, used for all senses

Question 47

similarity

Answer 47

pens by color

Question 48

proximity

Answer 48

stickers in piles

Question 49

change blindness

Answer 49

visual stimulus introduced and an observer fails to see it

Question 50

binocular cues

Answer 50

visual info by both eyes, depth perception

Question 51

retinal disparity

Answer 51

binocular cue for depth perception, slight difference in each eye

Question 52

convergence

Answer 52

inward movement of both eyes to focus on nearby object

Question 53

monocular cues

Answer 53

perceived using only one eye, - and +

Question 54

relative clarity

Answer 54

perception that hazy objects are farther away than sharp and more detailed objects

Question 55

relative size

Answer 55

assume objects are the same size, ones that are larger appear closer, smaller are father

Question 56

texture gradient

Answer 56

objects seen as closer have more apparent detail, smoother less distinct farther away

Question 57

linear perspective

Answer 57

parallel lines converge in distance, depth perception

Question 58

interposition

Answer 58

when objects overlap, we perceived unblocked objects as closer

Question 59

visual perception constancies

Answer 59

size and shape, see familiar objects as having the same size/shape no matter angle/distance

Question 60

apparent movement

Answer 60

perception of movement when there is none, white dot on pink