CHAPTER 3 Vocab (A-F) Flashcards
The minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin
Absolute refractory period
The minimum amount of stimulation that an organism can detect for a specific type of sensory input
Absolute threshold
Changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences
Accommodation
An inherited characteristic that increased in population (through natural selection) because it helped solve a problem of survival or reproduction
Adaptation
Formation of colors by superimposing lights, putting more light in the mixture than exists in any one light by itself
Additive color mixing
A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed
Afterimage
Orientations that locate objects of thought on dimensions of judgment
Attitudes
Locating the source of a sound in space
Auditory localization
A structure that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells
Basilar membrane
Clues about distance based on the differing views of the two eyes
Binocular depth cues
In form perception, progression from individual elements to the whole
Bottom-up processing
The fluid-filed, coiled tunnel in the inner ear that contains the receptors for hearing
Cochlea
Deficiency in the ability to distinguish among colors
Color blindness
People, objects, events, and other standards that are used as a baseline for comparisons in making judgments
Comparitors
Pairs of colors that produce gray tones when added together
Complementary colors
Specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daytime vision and color vision
Cones
A cue to depth that involves sensing the eyes converging toward each other as they focus on closure depths
Convergence
The process in which the eyes become more sensitive to light in low illumination
Dark adaptation
Interpretation of visual cues that indicate how near or far away objects are
Depth perception
Stimuli that lie in the distance (world outside body)
Distal stimuli
Making a large request that is likely to be turned down as a way to increase the chances that people will agree to a small request later
Door-in-face technique
A device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
The entire family of internally produced chemicals that resemble opiates in structure and effects
Endorphins
A vision deficiency in which distant objects are seen clearly but close together objects appear blurry
Farsightedness
The process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form
Feature analysis
Neurons that respond selectively to very specific features of more complex stimuli
Feature detectors
A psychophysical law stating that larger and larger increases in stimulus intensity are require to produce perceptible increments in the magnitude of sensation
Fechner’s law
A tiny spot in the center of the retina that contains only cones; visual acuity is greatest at this spot
Fovea
the theory that perception of pitch corresponds to the rate, or frequency, at which the entire basilar membrane vibrates
Frequency theory
