unit 3 vocab

Question 1

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

Answer 1

sensation

Question 2

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Answer 2

sensory receptors

Question 3

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Answer 3

perception

Question 4

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Answer 4

bottom up processing

Question 5

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Answer 5

top down processing

Question 6

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Answer 6

selective attention

Question 7

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Answer 7

inattentonal blindness

Question 8

failing to notice changes in the environment

Answer 8

change blindness

Question 9

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.

Answer 9

transduction

Question 10

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Answer 10

psychophysics

Question 11

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Answer 11

absolute threshold

Question 12

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Answer 12

signal detection theory

Question 13

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 13

subliminal

Question 14

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

Answer 14

difference threshold

Question 15

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Answer 15

priming

Question 16

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Answer 16

webers law

Question 17

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 17

sensory adaptation

Question 18

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Answer 18

perceptual set

Question 19

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Answer 19

extrasensory perception

Question 20

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Answer 20

parapsychology

Question 21

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of gamma rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Answer 21

wavelength

Question 22

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

Answer 22

hue

Question 23

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

Answer 23

intensity

Question 24

the eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris

Answer 24

cornea

Question 25

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Answer 25

pupil

Question 26

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Answer 26

iris

Question 27

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

Answer 27

lens

Question 28

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Answer 28

retina

Question 29

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Answer 29

accomodation

Question 30

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Answer 30

rods

Question 31

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Answer 31

cones

Question 32

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 32

optic nerve

Question 33

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

Answer 33

blind spot

Question 34

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

Answer 34

fovea

Question 35

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

Answer 35

young helmholtz trichromatic theory

Question 36

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Answer 36

opponent process theory

Question 37

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

Answer 37

parallel processing

Question 38

an organized whole. psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Answer 38

gestalt

Question 39

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Answer 39

figure ground

Question 40

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Answer 40

gruping

Question 41

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Answer 41

depth perception

Question 42

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Answer 42

visual cliff

Question 43

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Answer 43

biocular cue

Question 44

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity(difference) between the two images, the closer the object

Answer 44

retinal disparity

Question 45

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Answer 45

monucular cue

Question 46

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Answer 46

phi phenomenon

Question 47

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

Answer 47

perceptual constancy

Question 48

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Answer 48

color constancy

Question 49

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Answer 49

perceptual adaptation

Question 50

the sense or act of hearing

Answer 50

audition

Question 51

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Answer 51

frequency

Question 52

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Answer 52

pitch

Question 53

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Answer 53

middle ear

Question 54

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses

Answer 54

cochlea

Question 55

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Answer 55

inner ear

Question 56

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

Answer 56

sensorineural hearing loss

Question 57

less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Answer 57

conduction hearing loss

Question 58

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Answer 58

cochlear implant

Question 59

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Answer 59

place theory

Question 60

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Answer 60

frequency theory

Question 61

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Answer 61

gate control theory

Question 62

sense of smell

Answer 62

olfaction

Question 63

our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Answer 63

kinesthesia

Question 64

the sense of body movement and position that enable our sense of balance

Answer 64

vestibular sense

Question 65

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

Answer 65

sensory interaction

Question 66

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements

Answer 66

embodied cognition

Question 67

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

Answer 67

feature detectors