CH4 - Sensation & Perception

Question 1

What is olfaction?

Answer 1

Smell

Question 2

What is the minimum amount of physical energy needed for an observer to notice a stimulus?

Answer 2

Absolute threshold

Question 3

Explain monocular cues

Answer 3

Visual input from a single eye alone that contributes to depth perception.

Question 4

Describe ganglion cells and their role

Answer 4

Nerve cells in the retina that integrate information from multiple bipolar cells, the axons of which bundle together to form the optic nerve.
ROLE

Question 5

Define perception

Answer 5

The process by which the brain selects, organises, and interprets sensations

Question 6

Name the chemicals secreted by organisms in some species that allows communication between organisms.

Answer 6

Pheromones

Question 7

Define proprioceptive senses

Answer 7

Senses that provide information about body position and movement.

Question 8

Describe the function of the pupil and iris in regards to light.

Answer 8

The pupil regulates the amount of light entering the eye by constricting and dilating. The iris is a ring of muscle connected to the pupil that controls this movement. The iris also gives the eye its colour.

Question 9

What are rods?

Answer 9

One of two types of photoreceptors; allow vision in dim light.

Question 10

Define the retina

Answer 10

The light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural impulses.

Question 11

Explain Signal Detection Theory

Answer 11

The theory that experiencing a sensation means making a judgement about whether a stimulus is present or absent. // HIT (present, present), MISS (present, absent), FALSE ALARM (absent, present), CORRECT REJECTION (absent, absent)

Question 12

List and describe the Gestalt rules of perception

Answer 12

Completion
Continuation
Simplicity
Similarity
Proximity

Question 13

What is Steven’s Power Law

Answer 13

A law of sensation proposed by S. S. Stevens, which states that the subjective intensity of a stimulus grows as a proportion of the actual intensity raised to some power.

Question 14

What are sound waves?

Answer 14

A pulsation of acoustic energy.

Question 15

Define transduction

Answer 15

The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses.

Question 16

Perception of stimuli below the threshold of consciousness is called…

Answer 16

Subliminal perception

Question 17

Vestibular sense is..

Answer 17

The sense that provides information about the position of the body in space by sensing gravity and movement.

Question 18

Describe Weber’s Law

Answer 18

The perceptual law described by Ernst Weber that states that for two stimuli to be perceived as differing in intensity, the second must differ from the first by a constant proportion.

Question 19

Describe the ‘what’ pathway. Include what lobes are involved.

Answer 19

The pathway running from the striate cortex in the occipital lobes through the lower part of the temporal lobes, involved in determining what an object is.

Question 20

Describe the ‘where’ pathway. Include what lobes are involved.

Answer 20

The pathway running from the striate cortex through the middle and upper regions of the temporal lobes and up into the parietal lobes, involved in locating an object in space, following its movement, and guiding movement toward it.

Question 21

Name the bundle of sensory neurons that transmit auditory information from the ear to the brain.

Answer 21

Auditory nerves

Question 22

Name the minimum amount of physical energy (stimulation) needed for an observer to notice a stimulus.

Answer 22

Absolute threshold

Question 23

Define accommodation

Answer 23

In vision, the changes in the shape of the lens that focus light rays; in Piaget’s theory, the modification of schemas to fit reality.

Question 24

Differentiate between monocular and binocular cues.

Answer 24

Binocular cues: visual input integrated from two eyes that provides perception of depth.
Monocular cues:

Question 25

Name the phenomenon in which individuals with cortical lesions have no conscious visual awareness but can make discriminations about objects placed in front of them.

Answer 25

Blindsight

Question 26

Name a Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete.

Answer 26

Closure

Question 27

Identify the point on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye and which contains no receptor cells.

Answer 27

Blind spot

Question 28

Describe the function of cones in the eye

Answer 28

One of two types of photoreceptors, which are specialized for colour vision and allow perception of fine detail.

Question 29

What is colour constancy?

Answer 29

The tendency to perceive the colour of objects as stable despite changing illumination.

Question 30

Name the tough, transparent tissue covering the front of the eyeball.

Answer 30

Cornea

Question 31

What do decibels measure?

Answer 31

The amplitude (loudness) of a sound wave.

Question 32

The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect.

Answer 32

Difference threshold

Question 33

What is the eardrum and what does it do?

Answer 33

The thin, flexible membrane that marks the outer boundary of the middle ear; the eardrum is set in motion by sound waves and in turn sets in motion the ossicles.

Question 34

What is Fechner’s Law?

Answer 34

he law of psychophysics proposed by Gustav Fechner, that the subjective magnitude of a sensation grows as a proportion of the logarithm of the stimulus.

Question 35

The central region of the retina, where light is most directly focused by the lens, is called..

Answer 35

The fovea

Question 36

Explain figure-ground perception

Answer 36

A fundamental rule of perception described by Gestalt psychology which states that people inherently differentiate between figure (the object they are viewing, sound to which they are listening, etc.) and ground (background).

Question 37

Define the gate-control theory

Answer 37

Theory that emphasises the role of the central nervous system in regulating pain

Question 38

What is another word for gustation?

Answer 38

Taste

Question 39

What is the iris?

Answer 39

The ring of pigmented tissue that gives the eye its blue, green, or brown colour; its muscle fibers cause the pupil to constrict or dilate.

Question 40

What is jnd?

Answer 40

Just Noticeable Difference - The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect.

Question 41

Describe kineasthesia

Answer 41

The sense that provides information about the movement and position of the limbs and other parts of the body; receptors in joints transduce information about the position of the bones, and receptors in the tendons and muscles transmit messages about muscular tension.

Question 42

What is the ‘cocktail party effect’?

Answer 42

The cocktail effect is being able to focus auditory attention on one stimulus while filtering out other stimuli, just like being able to focus on a conversation at a noisy party.