AP PSYCH UNIT 4 FLAHSH CARDS Flashcards
What is sensation
- The process that occurs when special receptors on sensory organs are activated - becomes neural signals in the brain.
Top down vs bottom up processing
Bottom up - is the analysis of the more minor features to build up to a complete perception.
Top-down processing- the use of pre-existing knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole using our experience knowledge and memory to make meaning out of sensory input
absolute threshold
The absolute minimum we can see or hear
difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection is 50% of the time, Aka a noticeable difference
How might these thresholds vary from person to person
Our ability is influenced by experiences, expectations, and psychological state.
What is signal detection theory? How does the theory explain the differing perceptions of pain
The theory seeks to predict when we will successfully detect a weak stimulus. reacting no stimulus.
There is a threshold we have to pass to detect pain
Explain the just noticeable difference and webers law
Webers, law the stimuli must differ by a constant apportion not an amount for the difference to be noticed
What is sensory adaptation? What occurs to ouyr ability to detect sensory stimuli after prolonged exposure, examples for senses
Sensory adaption-Our sensitivity to stimulus diminishes as a sequence of constant stimulation
Sight is different because eyes are constantly moveing
What is transduction
the process by which one form of energy is converted into another.
Perception
the method by which the sensations experienced at any given moment is - interpreted and organized in some meaningful fashion,( he way you think about or understand someone or something)
What is selective attention? what is the benefit of this characterisic of our sensory abilities?
Focusing of conscious on a particular stimulus excluding other sensory information allows people to have more focus on task relevant information
What is change blindness
The concept that we don’t notice changes after interruption’s to the visual field
What is a perceptual set understand how our knowledge experiences, expectation’s influence the way in which we interpret sensory stimuli
A mental predisposition to see things in a certain way, Prevents us from accurately perceiving the truth
Influenced by your experiences, assumptions, and expectations.
What is a schema? How does it help us interpret vague sensory information?
Schemas can describe how specific knowledge is organized and stored in memory so that it can be accessed and used when it is needed., allows us to take shortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information
What is the context effect? Why does the same stimulus produce different percetion in different situations. - relate to top-down processing
The context of a stimulus influence the way we interpret information, therefore the same stimulus can evoke different perceptions in different situations.(motivation nd emotion affects the way we interpret a stimulus.
The context or circumstance in which an event or object being perceived can influence what we expect to find in the situation.
What is ESP, why is it not respected in the scientific world
ESP- extrasensory perception(sixth sense).
Parapsychology - paranormal studies.
Not respected because psychics predictions are seldom true, and many are vague and general
What kinds of energy do eyes detect? what do the frequency and amplitude of waves determine?
Visible lightwaves,
Amplitude- describes the power of the wave, which is representing by the height of sound wave
Frequency- the speed of the wave.(distance between start and end of each wave)
What are the photoreceptors that detect light in the retina and what do they ach detect specifically?
Cones- Provide the detail and color (doesn’t work in low light)
rods- Detect black white and gray(works in low light conditions)
Explain bipolar and ganglion cells function.- What order do the cells come in
bipolar- collects light photoreceptor signals to the outer retinal and signals to the inner retina
Ganglion- provides info important for detecting shape and movement for objects.
Young helmholtz trichromatic theory
-The retina contains different cones each sensitive to a different color, receptive to a different wave length->combined produces a wide array of colors
Opponent process theory- which complementary colors compete against each other - how does the theory relate the seeing afterimages
Made to answer lingering questions about color vision. proposes that one member of the color pair suppresses the other color
When looking at a color for a long period, it causes receptor cells to be tired. Causes weak signals, thus the perception of opposing colors
What is parallel processing?
Processing different visual stimuli simultaneously, depth, movement, and front
What is color blindness?
occurs when there is a problem with pigmentation in certain nerves that sense color
Who are Hubel and Weasel? What did their work focus on? Understand their discovery
Feature detector neurons in the occipital lobe primary visual cortex are specialized to respond to specific features of visual stimuli such as shape orientation or movement
( some neurons were only responsive to information that came from a single eye).
What is Gestalt psychology? what is its key principal?
A movement in psychology- emphasized our tendency to intergrade pieces of information into a meaningful whole
Proximity and similarity
proximity- nearness
Similarity- likeness
Continuity and connectedness
continuity-smooth patterns
Connectedness- we can see connections in disjointed objects
Closure
The concept that we tend to fill in blanks to perceive a complete object
Define depth perception
The ability to see things in three dimension’s(length, witeth, depth, and judge how far away an object is
Eplain the visual cliff experiment. What does the device test for? WHat are the findings of the research?
Elanor givson and richard walk, tested on babies and animals. Used a half cutten table
Tests depth perception to understand the babies and animals take on depth perception.
-Resulted on the idea the Depth perception is partially innate.
Retinal disparity
We tend to note differences between the images detected in each eye, to calculate distance
Convergence
The idea that we detect tention in oyr eyes as they turn inward t veiw objects.- Also allows us to determine distance
Relative size
closer obkects appear larger
Interpostition
Closer objects block the objects further away (you know that your keyboard is closer than your desk because you see the desk around the keyboard.)
Realative clarity
Closer obkects appear mopre clearly
Texture gradient
texture is more coarse(rought) and detailed up close
Relative hight
Objects higher in ur visual field are perceived as further away and objects lower than our field are closer
Motion parallax
Objects closer appear to move faster than objects that are further.- as we move statinary objects seem to move with us.
Linear perspective
Parrallel lines appear to meet at a distance
Light and shadow
Nearby objects reflect more light so dimmer objects seem further away
Size
The ability to perceive an object frm distances and be able to recognize it
Shape
The ability to perceive that a shape remains the same
lightness
The anility to percieve the relative reflectance of objects
Color
To percieve colors as relatively cnstant over varying illuminations
Perceptual adaptin
The ability of the body to adopt to an eniviroment by filtering out distractions
Pinna & malleus
Pinna- collects sound waves and channels them
Malleus- transfers auditory oscillations(the rhythmic and/or repetitive electrical activity generated spontaneously and in response to stimuli )
Catilage& temporal bone
cartilage- maiontains the shape of your ears
Temporal bone- houses cockles, canals, and hearing organs
Cochlea& ear canal
Cochlea- recieves sounds
Ear canal- entryway for soundwaves
ear drums& semi circlar canals
sends vibrations to inner ear
helps keep balance in the body
naspharynx
Vesticular nerve
Connects nasal passage to respititory system
Handles balace and equillibrium
How are sound waves converted into neural impulses? understand the stuctures of the cochlea and how they function
Waves are created throught auditory stimului and particles through the air
What are two theories regarding our perception of pitch
place theory
Frequency theory
Explain the different types of deafness and possible treatments
Conduction- damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound wave
Sensorineural- Damage to cochlea’s receptor cells
how do we detect the location of sound? Why might moving you head help you determine where a sound is coming from?
Our ears are able to detect miniute differences in the stimulus that reaches each ear
it helps Because soundwaves hit the closest ear sooner, and is slightly louder
Explain the gate theory. What are the types of stimuli that might provide competing signals that block pain messages
A mechanism, in the spinal cord, in which pain signals can be sent up to the brain to be processed to accentuate the possible perceieved pin, or attenuate it at the spinal cord itself.
What kind of stimuli is being detected– taste
A chemical stimuli
what is sensory interaction
The intergration of sensory processes wehen performing a task
Smell- doesn’t go with the thalamus, what is Olfaction
A sense of smell we use to process external stimuli
How do we detect smells? what kinda of stimuli is being detected
Detected by a ample number of sensory receptors in the top of the nasal caviety
A chemical stimuli
What is kinethesis and where are the recptor cells located
Our sense of body position and movement, inner ear
what is our vestibular sense? What is the role of the semicircular canals in the balance
Vestibular sense- the sense of body movement asnd position, provides a sense of balance
explain how the biopsychosocial model applies to pain
It describes pain to have all three components biological, psychological, and social
