Week 4 + Chapter 5

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from the body.

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

The process of interpreting sensory information.

Question 3

Psychophysics

Answer 3

the study of relationships between the physical qualities of stimuli and the subjective responses they produce.

Question 4

Signal Detection

Answer 4

the analysis of sensory and decision-making processes in the detection of faint, uncertain stimuli.

Essentially determining when a faint stimulus is or is not present
‘‘hit’’ or ‘‘miss’’

Question 5

Signal Detection Hit

Answer 5

Correctly detecting the signal (e.g., hearing the faint sound

Question 6

Signal Detection Miss

Answer 6

Failing to detect the signal when it’s actually present (e.g., not hearing the faint sound).

Question 7

Absolute threshold

Answer 7

the smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected

So basically the smallest thing that can affect any of our senses

Question 8

Signal Detection False Alarm

Answer 8

Incorrectly detecting the signal when it’s not present (e.g., thinking you hear the faint sound when it’s just noise).

Question 9

Signal Detection Correct Rejection

Answer 9

Correctly identifying when there is no signal present (e.g., not hearing anything when no sound is made).

Question 10

Difference Threshold

Answer 10

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

Question 11

Sensory adaptation

Answer 11

the tendency to pay less attention to a nonchanging source of stimulation

Question 12

Audition

Answer 12

The sense of hearing

Question 13

Agnosia

Answer 13

Is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize or interpret sensory information, despite the absence of basic sensory deficits. In other words, individuals with agnosia can see, hear, or feel things, but they can’t identify or make sense of them.

Question 14

Binocular cue

Answer 14

A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes

Question 15

Monocular cue

Answer 15

A depth cue that requires the use of only one eye

Question 16

Bottom-up Processing

Answer 16

Assumes that as information moves from the retina to higher levels of visual processing, more complicated responses are built from simpler input.

Question 17

Top-Down processing

Answer 17

A type of perception where your expectations, experiences, knowledge, and context shape how you interpret incoming sensory information.

You can read messy handwriting or a sentence with missing letters like:
→ “Th_ c_t s_t on th_ m_t”

Question 18

Cochlea

Answer 18

the structure in the inner ear that contains auditory receptors.

The cochlea may be divided into three parallel chambers divided from one another by membrane

Question 19

Cone

Answer 19

Photoreceptor in the retina that processes color and fine detail

Question 20

Cornea

Answer 20

The clear surface at the front of the eye that begins the process of directing light to the retina.

Question 21

Depth Perception

Answer 21

the ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the retina to perceive three-dimensions

Question 22

Difference Threshold

Answer 22

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

Question 23

Fovea

Answer 23

An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision

Question 24

Somatosensory homunculus

Answer 24

Is often depicted as a distorted human figure, with exaggeratedly large hands, lips, and face, which visually represent the heightened sensory sensitivity in those regions

Question 25

Mechanoreceptors

Answer 25

Are sensory receptors that respond to mechanical stimuli, such as pressure, vibration, stretch, and texture. These receptors are found in various parts of the body and are involved in detecting physical changes in the environment that can affect tissues, such as touch, sound, and proprioception (awareness of body position).

Question 26

nociceptors

Answer 26

Are specialized receptors that detect harmful stimuli (painful sensations) and play a key role in alerting the brain to potential injury. They come in different types that respond to various forms of harmful stimuli (thermal, mechanical, chemical). Their activation leads to the perception of pain, which serves as a protective response.

Question 26

Simplicity

Answer 26

We will use the simplest solution to a perceptual problem

Question 27

Gate control theory

Answer 27

The theory that suggests that input from touch fibers competes with input from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages from reaching certain areas of the brain According to the gate control theory, incoming pain messages can be influenced by factors such as chronic stress (opening the gate wider and producing a greater sensation of pain) or rubbing an injured body part (closing the gate and reducing the sensation of pain). If the gate is “open” à pain is experienced * If the gate is “closed” à pain is reduced (or prevented)

Question 28

Gustation

Answer 28

The sense of Taste

Question 29

Gestalt principles

Answer 29

we are born with built-in tendencies to organize incoming sensory information in certain ways.

Question 30

Proximity

Answer 30

Objects that are close together tend to be group together

Question 31

Continuity

Answer 31

Suggest that we assume that points that form smooth lines when connected form together

Question 32

Closure

Answer 32

we ''fill in the blanks'' to see a single object even though it is made up of multiple objects

Question 33

Iris

Answer 33

adjusts the opening of the pupil in response to the amount of light present in the environment and to signal from the autonomic nervous system.

Question 34

Lens

Answer 34

The clear structure behind the pupil that bends light towards the retina

Question 35

Motion parallax

Answer 35

a depth cue used by the brain to perceive distance and depth based on the relative motion of objects as we move

Question 36

Olfactory bulb

Answer 36

One of 2 structures below the frontal lobes of the brain that receives input from the olfactory receptors in the nose

Question 37

Opponent process Theory

Answer 37

A theory of color vision that suggests we have a red-green color channel and a blue-yellow color channel in which activation of one color in each pair inhibits the other color.

Question 38

Optic Nerve

Answer 38

The nerve exiting the retina of the eye Optic nerves cross the midline at the optic chiasm where the axons cross... the right hemisphere processes visual stimuli from the left eye Optic tracts; Nerve pathways travelling from the optic chiasm to the thalamus, hypothalamus, and midbrain.

Question 39

Pupil

Answer 39

an opening formed by the muscle of the iris

Question 40

Retina

Answer 40

layers of visual processing cells in the back of the eye

Question 41

Retinal Disparity

Answer 41

The difference between the images projected onto each eye

Question 42

Rod

Answer 42

Rods are specialized for low-light (scotopic) vision and help us see in dim or dark environments. Number: There are about 120 million rods in each human retina. Sensitivity: They are more sensitive to light than cones, but they cannot detect color or fine detail.

Question 43

Taste Bud

Answer 43

A structure found in the papillae that contains taste receptor cells.

Question 44

Transduction

Answer 44

The translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals.

Question 45

Trichromatic Theory

Answer 45

A theory of color vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short, medium and long wavelengths.

Question 46

Vestibular System

Answer 46

The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement. The receptors of the vestibular system provide information about the position of the head relative to the ground, linear acceleration, and rotational movements of the head.

Question 47

Vision

Answer 47

The sense that allows us to process reflected light. 50% of our cerebral cortex processes visual information

Question 48

Synesthesia

Answer 48

A condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the stimulation and automatic stimulation of another sensory pathway.

Question 49

Temporal Pathway (ventral stream)

Answer 49

The ''what'' pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the temporal lobe

Question 50

Parietal Pathway (dorsal Stream)

Answer 50

The ''where'' visual pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the parietal lobe

Question 51

Laterization of Brain Functions

Answer 51

lateralization helps the brain become more efficient in processing different types of information, with the left hemisphere generally handling logic and language, and the right hemisphere dealing with spatial and creative functions. Each hemisphere can process information independently, leading to unusual behaviors. For example, if an object is shown to the left visual field (which is processed by the right hemisphere), the person might not be able to name it because the left hemisphere (which controls speech) isn't getting the visual information.

Question 52

Contradictory Actions

Answer 52

One hand might pick up an object, while the other hand tries to push it away, with no conscious control or coordination between them.

Question 53

Contralateral Organization

Answer 53

collateral organization helps to ensure the resilience and adaptability of the brain’s functioning, supporting the idea of neural plasticity where the brain can reorganize itself to compensate for lost functions or damage.

Question 54

Somatosensation

Answer 54

The body senses, including body position, touch, skin temperature, and pain. Provides us with information about the position and movement of our bodies

Question 55

Riffs