Ch. 4 sensation and perception Flashcards
a binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in an individual’s two eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is
Convergence
the process of receiving stimulus energies from the environment and transforming those energies into neural energy
sensation
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense
perception
the operation in sensation and perception in which sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation
bottom-up processing
the operation in sensation and perception, launched by cognitive processing at the brain’s higher levels, that allows the organism to sense what is happening and to apply that framework to information in the world
top-down processing
specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain
sensory receptors
the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect
absolute threshold
irrelevant and competing stimuli– not only sounds but also any distracting stimuli for the senses
noise
the degree of difference that must exist between two stimuli before the difference is detected
difference threshold
the principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) to be perceived as different
Weber’s Law
the detection of information below the level of conscious awareness
subliminal perception
an approach to perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli under conditions of uncertainty
signal detection theory
the process of focusing awareness on a narrowed aspect of the environment
attention
the act of focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others
selective attention
a predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way
perceptual set
a change in responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation
sensory adaptation
the receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light but not very useful for color vision
rods
the receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light but not very useful for color vision
rods
the receptor cells in the retina that allow for color perception
cones
the structure at the back of the eye, made up of axons of the ganglion cells, that carries visual information to the brain for further processing
optic nerve
neurons in the brain’s visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulur
feature detectors
in the sense of vision, the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells
binding
theory stating that color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths
trichromatic theory
theory stating that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green, blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue
opponent-process theory
the principle by which we organize the perceptual field of stimuli that stand out (figure) and those that are left over (ground)
figure-ground relationship
a school of thought interested in how people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns
Gestalt psychology
the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally
depth perception
a binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in an individual’s two eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is
Convergence
a binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in an individual’s two eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is
Convergence
powerful depth cues available from the image in one eye, either the right or the left
monocular cues
the perception that a stationary object is moving
apparent movement
the recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing
perceptual constancy
the part of the ear consisting of the pinna and the external auditory canal
outer ear
the part of the ear that channels sound through the eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup to the inner ear
middle ear
the part of the ear that includes the oval window, cochlea, and basilar membrane and whose function is to convert sound waves into neural impulses and send them to the brain
inner ear
theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane
place theory
theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that the perception of a sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires
frequency theory
modification of frequency theory stating that a cluster of nerve cells can fire neural impulses in rapid succession, producing a volley of impulses
volley principle
the nerve structure that receives information about sound from the hair cells of the inner ear and carries these neural impulses to the brain’s auditory areas
auditory nerve
sensory nerve endings under the skin that respond to changes in temperature at or near the skin and provide input to keep the body’s temperature at 98.6 degrees fahrenheit
thermoreceptors
the sensation that warns an individual of damage to the body
pain
rounded bumps above the tongue’s surface that contain the taste buds, the receptors for taste
papillae
the lining the roof of the nasal cavity, containing a sheet of receptor cells for smell
olfactory epithelium
senses that provide information about movement, posture, and orientation
kinesthetic senses
sense that provides information about balance and movement
vestibular sense
three fluid-filled circular tubes in the inner ear containing the sensory receptors that detect head motion caused when an individual tilts or moves the head and/or the body
semi-circular canals
