Chapter 3 Key Terms

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system.

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

The process by which sensations are organized into an inner representation of the world.

Question 3

Sensory adaption

Answer 3

The processes by which organisms become more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude and less sensitive to stimuli that are constant or ongoing in magnitude.

Question 4

Sensitization

Answer 4

The type of sensory adaptation in which we become more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude. Also called positive adaptation.

Question 5

Desensitization

Answer 5

The type of sensory adaptation in which we become less sensitive to constant stimuli. Also called negitive adaptaion.

Question 6

Visible light

Answer 6

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that stimulates the eye and produces visual sensations.

Question 7

Cornea

Answer 7

Transparent tissue forming the outer surface of the eyeball.

Question 8

Iris

Answer 8

A muscular membrane whose dilation regulates the amount of light that enters the eye.

Question 9

Pupil

Answer 9

The black-looking opening in the center of the iris, through which light enters the eye.

Question 10

Lens

Answer 10

A transparent body behind the iris that focuses an image on the retina.

Question 11

Retina

Answer 11

The area of the inner surface of the eye that contains rods and cones.

Question 12

Optic nerve

Answer 12

The nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain.

Question 13

Rods

Answer 13

Rod-shaped photo-receptors that are sensitive only to the intensity of light.

Question 14

Cones

Answer 14

Cone-shaped photo-receptors that transmit sensations of color.

Question 15

Fovea

Answer 15

An area near the center of the retina that is dense with cones and where vision is consequently most acute.

Question 16

Blind spot

Answer 16

The area of the retina where axons from ganglion cells meet to form the optic nerve.

Question 17

Trichromatic theory

Answer 17

The theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones, some of which respond to red light, some to green, and some to blue.

Question 18

Opponent-process theory

Answer 18

The theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones, some of which respond to red or green light, some to blue or yellow, and some to the intensity of light.

Question 19

Top-down processing

Answer 19

The use of contextual information or knowledge of a pattern in order to organize parts of the pattern.

Question 20

Bottom-up processing

Answer 20

The organization of the parts of a pattern to recognize, or form an image of, the pattern they compose,

Question 21

Monocular cues

Answer 21

Stimuli suggestive of depth that can be perceived with only one eye.

Question 22

Binocular cues

Answer 22

Stimuli suggestive of depth that involve simultaneous perception by both eyes.

Question 23

Retinal disparity

Answer 23

A binocular cue for depth based on the difference in the image cast by an object on the retinas of the eyes as the object moves closer or farther away.

Question 24

Kinesthesis

Answer 24

The sense that informs us about the positions and motion of parts of our bodies.

Question 25

Vestibular sense

Answer 25

The sense of equilibrium that informs us about our bodies’ positions relative to gravity.

Question 26

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

Answer 26

Perception of objects or events through means other than the recognized sensory organs.