Chapter 1- Vocabulary Flashcards
What is perception. Hint: organizing
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it has meaning
What is bottom-up processing. Hint: registering…
The operation in sensation and perception in which sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation
Top-down processing. Hint: cognitive
The operation in sensation and perception launched by cognitive processing at the brains higher levels that allows the organism to sense what is happening and to apply that framework to information from the world
What are sensory receptors?
Specialized cells that detect stimulus information interest transmitted it into sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain
Absolute threshold
The minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect. The absolute amount
Noise
Irrelevant and competing stimuli- not only sounds but also any distracting stimuli for our senses.
Difference threshold
The degree of difference that must exist between two stimuli before the difference is detected.
Webers law
The principle that 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage ( rather than a constant amount ) to Best regards, perceived as different.
Subliminal perception
The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness.
Signal detection theory
A theory perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty
What is sensation. Hint: receiving…
The process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy
Photoreception
Detection of light, perceived as sight
Mechanoreception
Detection of pressure, vibration, and movement, preceived as touch, hearing and equilibrium.
Chemoreception
Detection of chemical stimuli, preceived as smell and taste
Selective attention
The process of focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others.
Attention not only is selective but also is __________
Shiftable
What is novel stimuli
Those who are new, different, or unusual
Emotion-induced blindness
Refers to the fact that one we encounter an emotionally charged stimulus we often fail to recognize a stimulus that is present immediately after it.
Perceptual set
A predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way.
Sensory adaption
A change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation
Extra sensory perception
That a person can read another’s persons mind or perceive future events in the absence of concrete sensory input.
Light
A form of electromagnetic energy that can be described in the terms of wavelength
Optic nerve
The structure at the back of the eye. Made up of axons of the ganglion cells.
Feature detectors
Neurons in the brains visual system that respond to a particular features of the stimulus
