ch. 3

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain

Question 3

stimulus

Answer 3

energy that produces a response in a sense organ

Question 4

psychophysics

Answer 4

the study of the relationship between the actual physical aspects of a stimulus and our psychological experience of that stimulus

Question 5

absolute threshold

Answer 5

the lowest intensity of a stimulus that an organism can detect
50% of the time

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

background stimulation that interferes with perception of other stimuli

Question 7

difference threshold

Answer 7

the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred
*jnd

Question 8

Weber’s law

Answer 8

a basic law of psychophysics stating that a jnd is a constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus (rather than a constant amount)

Question 9

adaptation

Answer 9

an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli

Question 10

The decline in sensitivity to sensory stimuli is due to…

Answer 10

the inability of the sensory nerve receptors to fire off messages to the brain indefinitely

Question 11

wavelengths

Answer 11

distance between peaks of the lightwaves

Question 12

sound localization

Answer 12

the process by which we identify the direction from which a sound is coming

Question 13

sound

Answer 13

the movement of air molecules brought about by a source of vibration

Question 14

olfaction allows

Answer 14

10,000+ diff smells

Question 15

smells are strongly linked with

Answer 15

memory

Question 16

pheromones

Answer 16

produce a social response in other members of the same species

Question 17

5 basic tastes

Answer 17

sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami

Question 18

receptor cells

Answer 18

located in taste buds, replaced every 10 days

Question 19

skin senses

Answer 19

senses of touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

Question 20

perceptual set

Answer 20

mental tendencies and assumptions that effect what we hear, smell, taste, and see

Question 21

schema

Answer 21

a concept or framework that allows us to organize or interpret information
ex. slowing down when seeing a cop

Question 22

perception

Answer 22

we go beyond the stimuli that are presented to us and attempt to construct a meaningful situation

Question 23

gestalt laws of organization (5)

Answer 23

a series of classic principles in psychology that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Question 24

closure

Answer 24

we usually group elements to form enclosed or complete figures rather than open ones

Question 25

proximity

Answer 25

we perceive elements that are closer together as grouped together

Question 26

similarity

Answer 26

elements that are similar in appearance, we perceive as grouped together

Question 27

simplicity

Answer 27

when we observe a pattern, we perceive it in the most basic, straightforward manner we can

Question 28

continuity

Answer 28

lines that are broken, interprets more of the continuous figure

Question 29

top-down processing

Answer 29

perception is guided by higher level knowledge, experience, expectation and motivations

Question 30

bottom-up processing

Answer 30

take stimuli and move it up to process through our perception

Question 31

depth perception

Answer 31

ability to view the world in 3D and perceive distance

Question 32

binocular disparity

Answer 32

difference in the images seen by the left and right eye

Question 33

perceptual constancy

Answer 33

our understanding that physical objects are unvarying and consistent even though sensory input about them may vary

Question 34

visual illusions

Answer 34

physical stimuli that consistently produces errors in perception

Question 35

subliminal perception

Answer 35

the perception of messages about which we have no awareness