ch5 Flashcards
transduction
stimuli are turned into neutral impulses
sensory adaptation
decreasing response to stimuli due to constant stimulation
sensory habituation
perception of stimuli is partially due to how much you focus on them
cocktail party phenomena
perceiving stimuli can be both voluntary & involuntary
sensation
activation of senses
perception
process of understanding sensations
energy senses
vision, hearing, touch
trichromatic theory
states that there are 3 types of cones in the retina (cones that detect red, blue & green)
opponent process theory
(explains color blindness & afterimages)
states that sensory receptors in the retina come in pairs (red/green, yellow/blue, black/white)
and when one sensory is stimulated, it prevents the other from firing
amplitude
height of wave, determines vollume
frequency
length of wave, determines pitch
ossicles (small bones in ears)
hammer, anvil, stirup
cochlea
snail shell like structure that is filled with fluids
basilar membrane
floor of cochlea, filled with hair cells connected to organ of corti
organ of corti
neurons activated by movement of hair cells
place theory
theorizes that hairs in the cochlea respond to different pitches depending on where they are located in the cochlea
frequency theory
pitch is sensed because hair fires at different rates in the cochlea
conduction deafness
deafness that is caused when something is wrong with conducting sound to the cochlea
nerve/sensorineural deafness
deafness that is caused when hair in the cochlea is damaged
gate control theory
touch theory. states that some pain messages have higher priority when passing through the “gate”
chemical senses
taste, smell
taste/gustation
chemicals from food are absorbed by taste buds
smell/olfaction
absorbs molecules of substances that rise into the air
body position senses
vestibular sense, kinesthetic sense
vestibular sense
tells how body is oriented
kinesthetic sense
tells how specific parts of the body are oriented
absolute threshold
the minimum amount of stimulation needed before the body can detect it
difference threshold
how much a stimulus needs to change before a difference can be noticed
just-noticeable difference
smaller amount of change in a stimulus before change is detected
weber’s law/Weber-Fechner’s law
states that the amount of change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus
signal detection theory
theorizes the intensity of the stimulus + the physical/psychological state of the person determines whether or not a person can process the stimulus
top down processing
when background knowledge is used to fill gaps about what is perceived
schemata
how you expect the world to be likeperce
perceptual set
the tendency to perceive something in a certain way
bottom up processing/feature analysis
uses individual characteristics of an object to create a complete perception
figure ground relationship
brain deciding what part of the image is the figure and what is the background
gestalt rules
states that people are more likely to process images as groups.
proximity, similarity, continuity, closure
proximity
objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same grounp
similarity
objects similar in appearance are likely to be perceived as the same group
continuity
objects that are arranged in a particular pattern are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group
closure
objects that make up a recognizable image share more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.
constancy
the ability to maintain a constant perception of an object despite changes in angle, light, etc
size constancy
when objects are perceived to be the same size despite changes caused by the distance a person is from it.
shape constancy
when objects are perceived to be the same shape despite being looked at from a different angle
brightness constancy
when objects are perceived to be a constant color(s) despite the amount of light.
perceived motion
when a brain perceives something as moving when its not
stroboscope effectt
still pictures presented at a certain speed will appear to be moving
phi phenomenom
a series of lights turned on and off at a particular rate will cause it to appear as one moving light
autokinetic effect
if people stare at spots of light in a dark room, they will see the spots move even if there is no movement
monocular cues
depth cues that can be perceived without 2 eyes
linear perspective
a series of parallel lines that connect at a single vanishing point to create the illusion of depth
relative size cue
the close an object is to the viewer, the bigger it is
interposition cue
objects that block other objects are closer
texture gradient
the closer an object is to the viewer, the more detailed it is
shadows
implies a light source
binocular cues
depth cues that require 2 eyes
binocular/retinal disparity
each eye sees a slightly different angle of an image, and the brain combines the images to detect depth
convergence
as an object gets closer, the eyes must converge (move) to perceive it. the brain takes into account the amount of movement in order to perceive depth.
