Chapter 1

Question 1

Variances that result from stimulation of the senses-something we usually accomplish so easily that we often don’t even give it a second thought.

Answer 1

Perception

Question 2

Identified as involving simple “ elementary” processes that occur right at the beginning of a sensory system, such as when light reaches the eye, sound, waves, enter the ear, or your food touches your tongue.

Answer 2

Sensation

Question 3

The process begins with a stimulus in the environment (a tree in this example) and ends with the conscious experiences of preceiving the tree, recognizing the tree, and taking action with respect to the tree (like walking up to take a closer look)

Answer 3

Perceptual process

Question 4

It is called this because it is “distant”-out there in the environment

Answer 4

Distal stimulus

Question 5

It is in proximity to the receptors

Answer 5

Proximal stimulus

Question 6

Stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed, or changed, between the distal stimulus and perception

Answer 6

Principle of transformation

Question 7

Everything a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli, but on representations of stimuli that are formed on the receptors and the resulting activity in the persons nervous system

Answer 7

Principle of representation

Question 8

Cells specialized to respond to environmental energy, with each sensory systems, receptors specialized to respond to a specific type of energy

Answer 8

Sensory receptors

Question 9

The transformation of environmental energy (such as light, sound, or thermal energy) to electric energy

Answer 9

Transduction

Question 10

An object in a category, such as “ tree,” that gives it meaning.

Answer 10

Recognition

Question 11

An inability to recognize objects

Answer 11

Visual form agnosia

Question 12

Motor activities in response to the stimulus

Answer 12

Action

Question 13

Any information that the perceiver brings to a situation, such as prior experience or expectations

Answer 13

Knowledge

Question 14

To place objects into categories

Answer 14

Categorize

Question 15

Processing that is based on the stimuli reaching the receptors. The stimuli provide the starting point for perception, because with the exception of unusual situation, such as drug induced perceptions, or “ seeing stars” from a bump to the head, perception involves activation of the receptors

Answer 15

Bottom up processing/data based processing

Question 16

Refers to processing that is based on knowledge

Answer 16

Top down processing/knowledge based processing

Question 17

People see vertical or horizontal lines better than lines oriented obliquely (at any orientation, other than vertical or horizontal)

Answer 17

Oblique effect

Question 18

Relates stimuli to behavioral responses, such as perception, recognition, and action

Answer 18

Stimulus-behavior relationship

Question 19

The smallest width of lines that participants can detect. One way to measure this is to ask participants to indicate the orientation and testing with the thinner and thinner lines. The smallest line width at which the participant can still indicate the correct orientation is this

Answer 19

Grating acuity

Question 20

The relationship between stimuli and physiological responses, like neurons firing. This relationship is often studied by measuring brain activity.

Answer 20

Stimulus-physiology relationship

Question 21

Relates physiological responses and behavioral responses

Answer 21

Physiology-behavior relationship

Question 22

The smallest stimulus level that can be detected

Answer 22

Absolute threshold

Question 23

Measure the limits of sensory systems; they are measures of minimum’s-the smallest line-with that can be detected, the smallest concentration of a chemical we can taste or smell, the smallest amount of sound energy we can hear

Answer 23

Thresholds

Question 24

The method of limits, the method of constant stimuli, and the method of adjustment

Answer 24

Classical psychophysical methods

Question 25

Similar to the method of limits, in that different stimulus intensity’s are presented one at a time, and the participant must respond whether they perceive it on each trial. The difference is that in this method, the stimulus intensity’s are presented in random order rather than in descending or ascending order.

Answer 25

Method of constant stimuli

Question 26

Slightly different, in that the participant – rather than the experimenter – adjust the stimulus intensity continuously until he, or she could just barely detect the stimulus

Answer 26

Method of adjustment

Question 27

The smallest difference between two stimuli that enables us to tell the difference between them

Answer 27

Difference threshold

Question 28

Determining the relationship between physical stimuli (like rock music, and a whisper) and the perception of the magnitude (like perceiving, want to be loud and the other soft)

Answer 28

Magnitude estimation

Question 29

A participant hears sounds of different intensities, and is asked to assign a number to each of the sounds, that is proportional to the loudness of the original sound. The number for “loudness” is the perceived magnitude of the stimulus.

Answer 29

Perceived magnitude

Question 30

The time between the presentation of a stimulus and the person’s reaction to it

Answer 30

Reaction time

Question 31

Look around. Describe what you see. Describing what is out there is called a…

Answer 31

Phenomenological report

Question 32

This spectrum is a band of energy ranging from gamma rays at the short wave end of the spectrum to AM radio and AC circuits at the long wave end

Answer 32

Electromagnetic spectrum