chapter 2 vocab

Question 1

absolute threshold

Answer 1

the smallest amount of stimulation needed for detection by a sense

Question 2

agnosia

Answer 2

loss of the ability to perceive stimuli

Question 3

anosmia

Answer 3

loss of the ability to smell

Question 4

audition

Answer 4

ability to process auditory stimuli

Question 5

auditory canal

Answer 5

tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear

Question 6

auditory hair cells

Answer 6

receptors in the cochlea that transduce sounds into electric potentials

Question 7

binocular disparity

Answer 7

difference in images processed by the left and right eyes

Question 8

binocular vision

Answer 8

our ability to perceive 3D and depth because of the difference between the images on each of our retinas

Question 9

bottom-up processing

Answer 9

building up to perceptual experience from individual pieces

Question 10

chemical senses

Answer 10

our ability to process the environmental stimuli of smell and taste

Question 11

cochlea

Answer 11

spiral bone structure in the inner ear containing auditory hair cells

Question 12

cones

Answer 12

photoreceptors of the retina sensitive to colour. located primarily in the fovea

Question 13

dark adaptation

Answer 13

adjustment of eye to low levels of light

Question 14

differential threshold

Answer 14

the smallest difference needed in order to differentiate two stimuli

Question 15

dorsal pathway

Answer 15

pathway of visual processing. the “where” pathway

Question 16

just noticeable difference (JND)

Answer 16

the smallest difference needed in order to differentiate two stimuli

Question 17

light adaptation

Answer 17

adjustment of the eye to high levels of light

Question 18

mechanoreceptors

Answer 18

mechanical sensory receptors in the skin that respond to tactile stimulation

Question 19

multimodal perception

Answer 19

the effects that concurrent stimulation in more than one sensory modality has on the perception of events and objects in the world

Question 20

nociception

Answer 20

ability to sense pain

Question 21

odorants

Answer 21

chemicals transduced by olfactory receptors

Question 22

olfaction

Answer 22

ability to process olfactory stimuli (smell)

Question 23

olfactory epithelium

Answer 23

organ containing olfactory receptors

Question 24

opponent-process theory

Answer 24

theory proposing colour vision as influenced by cells responsive to pairs of colours

Question 25

ossicles

Answer 25

a collection of three small bones in the middle ear that vibrate against the middle tympanic membrane

Question 26

perception

Answer 26

the psychological process of interpreting sensory information

Question 27

phantom limb

Answer 27

the perception that a missing limb still exists

Question 28

phantom limb pain

Answer 28

pain in a limb that no longer exists

Question 29

pinna

Answer 29

outermost portion of the ear

Question 30

primary auditory cortex

Answer 30

area of the cortex involved in processing auditory stimuli

Question 31

primary somatosensory cortex

Answer 31

area of the cortex involved in processing somatosensory stimuli

Question 32

primary visual cortex

Answer 32

area of the cortex involved in processing visual stimuli

Question 33

principle of inverse effectiveness

Answer 33

the finding that, in general, for a multimodal stimulus, if the response to each unimodal component (on its own) is weak, then the opportunity for multisensory enhancement is very large. However, if one component - by itself - is sufficient to evoke a strong response, then the effect on the response gained by simultaneously processing the other components of the stimulus will be relatively small

Question 34

retina

Answer 34

cell layer in the back of the eye containing photoreceptors

Question 35

rods

Answer 35

photoreceptors of the retina sensitive to low levels of light. located around the fovea

Question 36

sensation

Answer 36

the physical processing of environmental stimuli by the sense organs

Question 37

sensory adaptation

Answer 37

decrease in sensitivity of a receptor to stimulus after constant stimulation

Question 38

shape theory of olfaction

Answer 38

theory proposing that odourants of different size and shape correspond to different smells

Question 39

signal detection

Answer 39

method for studying the ability to correctly identify sensory stimuli

Question 40

somatosensation

Answer 40

ability to sense touch, pain, and temperature

Question 41

somatotopic map

Answer 41

organization of the primary somatosensory cortex maintaining a representation of the arrangement of the body

Question 42

sound waves

Answer 42

changes in air pressure. the physical stimulus for audition

Question 43

superadditive effect of multisensory integration

Answer 43

the finding that responses to multimodal stimuli are typically greater than the sum of the independent responses to each unimodal component if it were presented on its own

Question 44

tastants

Answer 44

chemicals transduced by taste receptor cells

Question 45

taste receptor cells

Answer 45

receptors that transduce gustatory information

Question 46

top-down processing

Answer 46

experience influencing the perception of stimuli

Question 47

transduction

Answer 47

the conversion of one form of energy into another

Question 48

trichromatic theory

Answer 48

theory proposing colour vision as influenced by three different cones responding preferentially to red, green, and blue

Question 49

tympanic membrane

Answer 49

thin, stretched membrane in the middle of the ear that vibrates in response to sound. also called the eardrum

Question 50

ventral pathway

Answer 50

pathway of visual processing. the “what” pathway

Question 51

vestibular system

Answer 51

parts of the inner ear involved in balance

Question 52

Weber’s law

Answer 52

states that just noticeable difference is proportional to the magnitude of the initial stimulus