Unit 4 vocab

Question 0

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

Answer 0

perception

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

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

Answer 2

bottom-up processing

Question 3

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

Answer 3

top-down processing

Question 4

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Answer 4

selective attention

Question 5

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Answer 5

inattentional blindness

Question 6

failing to notice changes in the environment

Answer 6

change blindness

Question 7

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

Answer 7

psychophysics

Question 8

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

Answer 8

absolute threshold

Question 9

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 9

signal detection theory

Question 10

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 10

subliminal

Question 11

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

Answer 11

priming

Question 12

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

Answer 12

difference threshold

we experience this as a just noticeable difference (jnd)

Question 13

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

Answer 13

Weber’s Law

Question 14

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 14

sensory adaptation

Question 15

conversion of one form of energy into another

the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Answer 15

transduction

Question 16

the distance from the peak of one light or sounds wave to the peak of the next. electromagnetic __________ vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Answer 16

wavelength

Question 17

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the colors blue, green, etc.

Answer 17

hue

Question 18

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

Answer 18

intensity

Question 19

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

Answer 19

pupil

Question 20

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 20

iris

Question 21

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

Answer 21

lens

Question 22

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

Answer 22

retina

Question 23

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

Answer 23

accomodation

Question 24

retinal receptors that detect black, white and gray; | necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

Answer 24

rods

Question 25

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

Answer 25

cones

Question 26

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

Answer 26

optic nerve

Question 27

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

Answer 27

blind spot

Question 28

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

Answer 28

fovea

Question 29

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

Answer 29

feature detectors

Question 30

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of info processing for many functions, including vision contrasts step by step (serial) processing of computers and of conscious problem solving

Answer 30

parallel processing

Question 31

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors-red, blue, green- which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

Answer 31

Yound-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

Question 32

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision for ex: some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red others stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Answer 32

opponent-process theory

Question 33

the sense or act of hearing

Answer 33

audition

Question 34

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for ex. per second)

Answer 34

frequency

Question 35

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

Answer 35

pitch

Question 36

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

Answer 36

middle ear

Question 37

a coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Answer 37

cochlea

Question 38

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

Answer 38

inner ear

Question 39

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

Answer 39

place theory

Question 40

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 40

frequency theory

Question 41

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Answer 41

conduction hearing loss

Question 42

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

Answer 42

sensorineural hearing loss | aka nerve deafness

Question 43

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

Answer 43

cochlear implant

Question 44

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Answer 44

kinesthesis

Question 45

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Answer 45

vestibular sense

Question 46

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 an dis closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Answer 46

gate-control theory

Question 47

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

Answer 47

sensory interaction

Question 48

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

Answer 48

gestalt

Question 49

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Answer 49

figure-ground objects: figure surroundings: ground

Question 50

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Answer 50

grouping

Question 51

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

Answer 51

depth perception

Question 52

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

Answer 52

visual cliff

Question 53

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

Answer 53

binocular cues

Question 54

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

Answer 54

retinal disparity | disparity = distance

Question 55

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Answer 55

monocular cues

Question 56

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

Answer 56

phi phenomenon

Question 57

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

Answer 57

perceptual constancy

Question 58

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

Answer 58

color constancy

Question 59

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Answer 59

perceptual adaptation

Question 60

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Answer 60

perceptual set

Question 61

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

Answer 61

extrasensory perception (ESP)

Question 62

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychoinesis

Answer 62

parapsychology