AP Psych Unit 3 Flashcards
psychophysics
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli
Absolute Threshold
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus
Subliminal
Below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Weber’s Law
different thresholds increase with magnitude of the stimulus
Sensory (neural) adaption
diminished sensitivity to stimuli as result of constant stimulation
signal detection theory
our thresholds vary constantly depending on emotions, distractions, motivations, expectations
perceptual set
mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
context
how we interpret stimuli depends on surrounds/situation
light energy wavelength
hue of color
light energy amplitude
intensity of color
Cornea
protects eye/bends light
pupil
small adjustable opening
Iris
colored muscles that dilates/constricts in response to light intensity
Lense
Light rays into an image on the fovea in the back of eyeball
Retina
blood vessel tissue on eyeballs inner surface
Optic nerves
ganglion cells axons twined together
visual cortext
occipital lobe
feature detectors
neurons in visual cortex that respond to specific features of a visual stimulus
parallel processing
brain can carry out multiple tasks simultaneously
Stroop effect
delay in perception when stimuli are “mistmatched”
opponent process theory
cones complete
Gestalt
german - early study of visual organization
form perception
figure and background
similarity
we group things that are similar
proximity
how close things are to each other
continunity
perceive continuous patters rather than separated ones
closure
fill in gaps to create a whole object
binocular disparity
brain uses both eyes to judge distance
monocular cues
we can judge depth in two dimension images like photos by using only one eye
perceptual constancy
enables us to see an object as unchanging
color constancies
familiar objects as having consistent color even if the color is different
shape constancies
we perceive familiar objects as unchanging in shape despite actual changing images they cast on our retinas
ames room
1934 room designed to manipulate our size constancy
moon illusion
moon seems larger on the horizon than they sky
restored vision
distinguish depth, motion, figure
sound waves
height, length and complexity of sound waves determines what we hear
loudness
height of sound wave determines volume
pitch
length of sound wave determines pitch
frequency
a mix of frequencies timbre (tone)
place theory
perception of pitch is associated with vibration of different portions of the cochlea
frequency theory
perception or pitch is associated with the frequency of which the entire basilar membrane vibrates
mechanoreceptors
sense pressure, texture, and vibrations
thermoreceptors
sense temperature
nociceptors
pain
gate control theory
spinal cord has a “gate” that either blocks pain signals from the small nerve fibers or allows them to pass the brain
hypnosis
social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, or behavior will occur
social influence theory
people may act the role of “good hypnotic subjects” influences by hypnotist/crowd
divided consciousness theory
controversial theory that hypnosis is a state of disassociation where you temporarily live in your subconscious
taste
a chemical sense
sweet
energy
sour
toxic acid
salty
sodium
Umami
savoriness
bitter
poisons
olfacation
chemical sense (smell)
sensory interaction
senses can influence each other
embodied cognition
an approach to cognition that has roots in motor behavior
bottom up processing
sensory receptors pick up signals for the brain to integrate and process
top down processsing
perceiving the world around us by drawing from what we already know in order to interpret new information
perception
brain organizes sensations
transductions
converting one form of energy into another that our brain can use
young-helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
within your eye are tiny cells that can receive waves of light and translate them into blue, green or red
kinesthesis
how we coordinate movements without having to constantly watch our movements
vestibular sense
chambers in the ear that have hair-like receptors that send messages to the cerebellum to help us balance
