AP Psych Unit 4 Flashcards
Raw data, information from our five senses. The source is our sensory receptors (bottom-up)
Sensation
The process of interpreting the information that we obtained through our five senses. (Top-down)
Perception
minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (such as the sound of an approaching bike on sidewalk behind us) 50% of the time.
Absolute threshold
When, w/o our awareness, our sensory system processes stimulus below our absolute threshold.
Subliminal stimulation
The amount of change needed between two stimuli to be perceived by an individual
Difference threshold
Mental predisposition that functions as lens thru which we perceive the world.
Perceptual set
Influences our interpretation of stimuli based on our experiences, assumptions, and expectations. (Involves top-down processing)
Perceptual set
sensory analysis that begins at entry lvl. w/ starting at small units and going up to form a complete perception
Bottom-up processing
Information processing guided by high lvl. Mental processes such as when we construct perceptions by filtering info thru our experience and expectations
Top-down processing
Predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus amid background noise.
Signal theory
The principal that in order to perceive two different stimuli the difference must be by a constant percent, instead of a constant amount.
Weber’s Law
Phenomenon in which exposure to one stimulus influences how a person responds to a subsequent, related stimulus
Priming
Process of converting one form of energy into another.
Transduction
Our diminished sensitivity to constant or routine odors, sounds, and touches) focuses our attention on the informative changes in our environment. Allows us to focus on changing stimuli
Sensory adaptation
A collection of basic knowledge that guides the perception of a situation (ambiguous stimuli)
Schemas
Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other.
Perceptual set
Unique function of the brain that accounts for the differences viewed in the world, as it relates to the senses
Perceptual adaptation
a scientific discipline which examines human behavior and capabilities in order to find the best ways to design products, equipment and systems for maximum safe, effective, satisfying use by humans.
Human Factors Psychologists
The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition .
ESP
Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
Parapsychology
Distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic (?’s) vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Wavelength
The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as colors blue, green, etc.
Hue
Amt. of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. (?) is determined by the wave’s amplitude (height).
Intensity
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
Pupil
Ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. When you feel disgust or are about to answer no to question, your pupils constrict.
Iris
The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
Lens
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.
Retina
In sensation and perception, the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects in the retina
Rods
Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or well-lit conditions. The (?) detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Cones
Nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Optic Nerve
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a (?) because no receptor cells are located there.
Blind spot
The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.
Fovea
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.
Three color theory
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.
Opponent-process theory
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
Feature detectors
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions.
Brain delegates the work of processing motion, form, depth, and color to different areas
Parallel processing
An organized whole. Psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes; imagining the panda bear and triangle out of circles
Gestalt
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
Figure-ground
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups. Proximity, Continuity, Closure
Grouping
The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Depth perception
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
Visual cliff
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Binocular cues
A binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance– the greater the disparity between two images, the closer the object.
Retinal disparity
Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Monocular cues
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Phi phenomenon
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.
Perceptual constancy
The ability to perceive an object as the same color, even when the brightness around the object changes.
Color constancy
2 Equal-length lines topped w/ inward or outward pointing V’s
Muller-Lyer Illusion
The bands of high and low pressure that travel outwards from the sound source
Sound wave
The sense or act of hearing
Audition
In auditory perception, identification of the direction of the sound source
Localization
Whether a sound seems soft or loud
Loudness
Sound waves or vibration input felt
Stimulus input
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time
Frequency
The height of a sound wave, measured as the distance between the peak and the midpoint; related to the loudness of a sound
Amplitude
A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency
Pitch
Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum in the cochlea’s oval window
Middle ear
A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in inner ear, sound waves traveling thru (?) fluid trigger nerve impulses
Cochlea
Innermost part of ear, containing cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
Inner ear
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to auditory nerves; most common form of hearing loss (need cochlear implant)`
Nerve deafness
A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
Cochlear Implant
In hearing, the theory that links pitch we hear w/ the place the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
Place theory
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 pitch (also called temporal theory)
Frequency theory
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 to small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in the larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Gate-control theory
The sense of smell
Olfaction
Specialized cells in nose that detect chemicals floating in the air, located at the top of the nasal cavity
Olfactory receptor cells
The tube-shaped structure at lower front of the brain that receives signals from the olfactory receptor cells
Olfactory bulb
Part of the brain that processes info abt. smell; located at lower edges of the frontal and temporal lobes
Olfactory cortex
Our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and the movement of individual body parts (located in muscles)
Kinesthesia
Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance
Vestibular sense
Specialized cells in the sensory systems that can capture energy or info from a stimulus and covert that info into neural impulses
Sensory receptors
Bumps on the surface of the tongue; each containing 200 taste buds
Papillae
Complex structure inside tongue papillae, each containing 50 to 100 taste receptor cells
Taste buds
Specialized cells within a taste bud that detects a particular type of chemical in food and send taste messages to the brain
Taste receptor cells
Basic flavors that are generated by a single type of taste receptor; sweet, salty, sour, bitter, unami (savory)
Taste sensation
The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Sensory interaction
Influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preference and judgements,
Embodied cognition
Shell-shaped part of the outer ear that captures sound waves and concentrates them into the ear canal
Pinna
The thin flap of skin at the end of the ear canal
Tympanic membrane
The pathway from the outer ear to the middle ear
External auditory canal
The nerve connecting the inner ear with the brain and carrying nerve impulses concerned with hearing and balance
Auditory nerve
Monocular cue of when one object partially covers another object
Interposition
An electrical signal that carries a message along an axon
Nerve impulses
Main relay center in the brain for sensory information on their way to the proccessing areas in the cortex
Thalamus
Damage caused by exposing hair cells to excessively loud sounds
Stimulation deafness
Motion sickness occurs bc vestibular system sensations don’t match sensations from the eyes and body
Sensory conflict theory
When a stimulus is repeated the effectiveness of that stimulus is increasingly reduced
Habituation
An impairment in the ability to recognize faces
Prosopagnosia
The ability to perceive an object as the same size whether it’s closer or farther away from you
Size constancy
The ability to perceive an object as the same shape, even when it’s viewed at different angles
Shape constancy
The ability to perceive an object w/ the same brightness even when the light around you is different
Lightness constancy
When a person is focused on certain stimuli over others
Selective attention
When a person doesn’t notice change in their surroundings, especially when the change is somehow hidden.
Change blindness
A disorder of the curvature of the cornea or lens that results in difficulty in seeing fine detail
Astigmatism
