CH 6 Flashcards
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent physical energy from the environment
Sensation
The process by which we organize and interpret sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Perception
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Bottom-Up Processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes
Top-Down Processing
Refers to the conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, it is the process by which receptor cells in the eyes, ears, skin, and nose convert stimulus energies into neural impulses our brain can interpret.
Transduction
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Absolute Threshold
Explains precisely how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Detection depends partly on experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness
Signal Detection Theory
A stimulus that is below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Subliminal
The activation, often unconsciously, of an association by an imperceptible stimulus, the effect of which is to predispose a perception, memory, or response
Priming
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time
Difference Threshold
States that, to be perceived as different, the just noticeable difference between tow stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Weber’s Law
Refers to the diminished sensitivity that occurs with continued exposure to an unchanging stimulus
Sensory Adaptation
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Perceptual Set
Refers to the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the next, gives rise to the perceptual experiences of hue, or color, in vision and pitch in hearing
Wavelength
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, of light and sound is determined by the amplitude of the waves and is experienced as brightness and loudness, respectively
Intensity
The light-sensitive, multilayered inner surface of the eye that contains the rods and cones as well as neurons that form the beginning of the optic nerve
Retina
The process by which the lens of the eye changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Accommodation
Visual receptor that converts light energy into neural impulses. They are concentrated in the periphery of the retina. They have poor sensitivity; detect black, white, and gray; function well in dim light; and are needed for peripheral vision
Rods
Visual receptor that converts light energy into neural impulses. They are located in the fovea. They have excellent sensitivity, enable color vision, and function best in daylight or bright light
Cones
It is composed of the axons of retinal ganglion cells, and it carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Optic Nerve
The region of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye. Because there are no rods or cones in this area, there is no vision here.
Blind Spot
The retina’s point of central focus. It contains only cones; therefore, images focused here are clearest
Fovea
Nerve cells, located in the occipital lobe’s visual cortex, that selectively respond to specific visual features, such as movement, shape, or angle. These are evidently the basis of visual information processing
Feature Detectors
Information processing in which several aspects of a stimulus, such as light or sound, are processed simultaneously
Parallel Processing
