Ch.1

Question 1

absolute threshold

Answer 1

minimum stimulus energy required for an observer to detect a stimulus

Question 2

Action

Answer 2

motor activities such as moving the head or eyes and locomoting through the environment. One of the major outcomes of the perceptual process

Question 3

Bottum up Processing

Answer 3

processing based on the information in the receptors. data based processing

Question 4

classical psychophysical methods

Answer 4

method of limits, adjustment, and constant stimuli, described by Fetchner that are used for measuring thresholds.

Question 5

cognitive influences on perception

Answer 5

how the knowledge, memories, and expectations that a person brings to a situation influence his/her perception

Question 6

Difference threshold

Answer 6

minimum detectable difference between two stimuli

Question 7

Environmental stimulus

Answer 7

the stimulus “out there” in the external environment

Question 8

Frontal Lobe

Answer 8

receiving signals from all the senses, plays an important role in perceptions that involve the coordination of information received through two or more senses. serves function such as language,memory, thought, motor functioning

Question 9

Knowledge

Answer 9

Any information that the perceiver brings to a situation. Top down processing

Question 10

Magnitude Estimation

Answer 10

a psychophysical in which the subject assigns numbers to a stimulus that are proportional to the subjective magnitude

Question 11

method of adjustment

Answer 11

A psychophysical method in which the experimenter or observer adjusts the stimulus intensity in a continuous manner until the observer detects the stimulus

Question 12

method of constant stimuli

Answer 12

a psychophysical method in which a number of stimuli with different intensities are repeated in a random order

Question 13

method of limits

Answer 13

psychophysical method in which the experimenter presents sequences of stimuli in ascending and descending order

Question 14

Neural processing

Answer 14

Operations that transform electrical signals within a network of neurons or that transform the response of individual neurons

Question 15

Oblique Effect

Answer 15

Enhanced sensitivity to vertically and horizontally oriented visual stimuli compared to obliquely oriented stimuli. This effect has been demonstrated by measuring both perception and neural responding

Question 16

occipital lobe

Answer 16

a lobe at the back of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for vision

Question 17

Parietal Lobe

Answer 17

a lobe at the top of the cortex that’s the site of the cortical receiving area for touch and is the termination point of the dorsal(where or how) stream for visual processing.

Question 18

Perceived magnitude

Answer 18

a perceptual measure of stimuli, such as light or sound, that indicates the magnitude of experience

Question 19

Perception

Answer 19

Conscious sensory experience

Question 20

Perceptual process

Answer 20

A sequence of steps leading from the environment to perception of a stimulus, recognition of the stimulus, and action with regard to the stimulus.

Question 21

Phenomenological method

Answer 21

Method of determining the relationship between stimuli and perception in which the observer describes what he/she perceives

Question 22

Physiological approach to perception

Answer 22

analyzing perception by determining how a person’s perception is related to physiological process that are occurring within the person. this approach focuses on determining the relationship between stimuli and physiological responding and between physiological responding and perception

Question 23

Power function

Answer 23

A mathematical function of the form P=KSn, where P is perceived magnitude, K is a constant, S is stimulus intensity and n is an exponent

Question 24

primary receiving areas

Answer 24

areas of the cerebral cortex that first receive most of the signals initiated by a sense’s receptors. For example, the occipital cortex is the site of the primary receiving area for vision, and the temporal lobe is the site of the primary receiving area for hearing

Question 25

Principle of representation

Answer 25

a principle of perception that everything a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli but on representations of stimuli on the receptors and in the person’s nervous system

Question 26

Principle of transformation

Answer 26

principle of perception that stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed/ changed between the environmental stimulus and perception

Question 27

psychophysical approach to perception

Answer 27

analyzing perception by determining how a person’s perception is related to stimuli in the environment. this approach focuses on determining the relationship between stimuli in the environment and perceptual responding

Question 28

psychophysics

Answer 28

all methods that are used to determine the relationship between perception will be broadly referred to as psychophysical methods

Question 29

Rat-man demonstration

Answer 29

demonstration in which presentation of a “ratlike or manlike picture influences an observer’s perception of a second picture, which can be interpreted either as a rat or a man. demonstratio illustrates an effect of top-down processing

Question 30

reaction time

Answer 30

time between presentation of a stimulus and an observer’s response to the stimulus. reaction time is often used in experiments as a measure of speed of precessing

Question 31

recognition

Answer 31

ability to place an object in a category that gives it meaning- ex: recognizing a particular red object as a tomato

Question 32

response to compression

Answer 32

result when doubling the physical intensity of a stimulus less than doubles the subjective magnitude of the stimulus

Question 33

response criterion

Answer 33

in a signal detection experiment, the subjective magnitude of a stimulus above which the participant will indicate that the stimulus is present

Question 34

Response expansion

Answer 34

result when doubling the physical intensity of a stimulus more than doubles the subjective magnitude of the stimulus

Question 35

Sensory receptors

Answer 35

cells specialized to respond to environmental energy, with each sensory system’s receptors specialized to respond to a specific type of energy

Question 36

signal detection theory

Answer 36

a theory stating that the detection of a stimulus depends both on the participant’s sensitivity to the stimulus and on the participant’s response criterion

Question 37

Steven’s power law

Answer 37

law concerning the relationship between the physical intensity of a stimulus and the perception of the subjective magnitude of the stimulus. P-KSn.

Question 38

Temporal Lobe

Answer 38

lobe on the side of the cortex that’s the site of the cortical receiving area for hearing and the termination point for the ventral or what stream for visual processing. a number of areas in the temporal lobe, such as the fusiform face area and the extrastriate body area, serve functions related to perceiving and recognizing objects

Question 39

top down processing

Answer 39

processing that starts with analysis of high level information such as knowledge a person brings to a situation.

Question 40

transduction

Answer 40

in the senses the transformation of environmental energy into electrical energy. ex: retinal receptors transduce light energy into electrical energy

Question 41

visual form agnosia

Answer 41

inability to recognize objects

Question 42

visual pigment

Answer 42

light sensitive molecule contained in the rod and cone outer segments. the reaction of this molecule to light results in the generation of an electrical response in the receptors

Question 43

visual search

Answer 43

procedure in which a person’s task is to find a particular element in a display that contains a number of elements

Question 44

Weber fraction

Answer 44

ratio of the difference threshold to the value of the standard stimulus in weber’s law

Question 45

Weber’s law

Answer 45

ratio of the difference threshold to the value of the stimulus is constant. according to this relationship, doubling the value of a stimulus will cause a doubling of the difference threshold.