Chapter 3: Sensation Flashcards
Sensation
The experience of sensory stimulation.
Perception
The brain’s interpretation of sensory information so as to give it meaning.
Cones
Receptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision.
Rods
Receptor cells in the retina responsible for night vision and perception of brightness.
Fovea
The area of the retina that is the center of the visual field.
Blind Spot
The place on the retina where the axons of all the ganglion cells leave the eye and where there are no receptors.
Kinesthetic Senses
Senses of muscle movement, posture, and strain on muscles and joints.
Vestibular Senses
The senses of equilibrium and body position in space.
Absolute Threshold
The least amount of energy that can be detected as a stimulation 50% of the time.
Difference Threshold, or Just-Noticeable Difference (JND)
The smallest change in stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time.
Adaption
An adjustment of the senses to the level of stimulation they are receiving.
Afterimage
Sense experience that occurs after a visual stimulus has been removed.
Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization
Proximity: When objects are close to one another, we tend to perceive them together rather than separately
Similarity: Objects that are of similar color, size, or shape are usually perceived as part of a pattern
Closure: We are inclined to overlook incompleteness in sensory information and to perceive a whole object even where none really exists
Continuity: Items that continue a pattern or direction tend to be grouped together as part of the pattern
Perceptual Constancy
A tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory stimulation. (Size, Shape, Color, Brightness)
Monocular Cues
Visual cues requiring the use of one eye
