Chapter 4

Question 1

Devices that convert one kind of energy into another

Answer 1

transducers

Question 2

The primary function of the sensory organs - our eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin, is to act as biological ____

Answer 2

transducers

Question 3

Conversion of energy from the environment into a pattern of response by the nervous system; also a sensory impression

Answer 3

sensation

Question 4

The eyes convert light energy, the ears translate mechanical energy from sounds, and the nose and tongue translate chemical energy from odors and foods. Information arriving at the brain from the sense organs creates ___ _____

Answer 4

sensory impressions

Question 5

the physical properties of stimuli (such as sound waves, light waves, or chemical molecules in food) are measured and related to the resulting experiences that our brain constructs (such as the loudness of a sound, the brightness of a light, or the sweetness of a piece of cheesecake). (objective to subjective).

Answer 5

Psychophysics

Question 6

minimum amount of physical energy that can be detected 50 percent of the time

Answer 6

absolute threshold

Question 7

minimum difference in physical energy between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time

the difference must be sufficiently large to be noticed

Answer 7

difference thresholds

Question 8

Example of ____: If you were to put one extra grain of sugar in your coffee, would you notice a difference in its taste? How much would it take? A few grains? A half-spoonful? A spoonful?

Answer 8

difference threshold

Question 9

What are the four ways sensory selection takes place:

Answer 9

• Lack of specific transducers
• Restricted range of transducers
• sensory adaption
• feature detection

Question 10

energy above a specific minimum intensity is necessary for a sensory impression to arise

Answer 10

absolute threshold

Question 11

sensory receptors do not transduce all the energies that they encounter

Answer 11

lack of SPECIFIC transducers

Question 12

sense receptors transduce only part of their target energy range

Answer 12

restricted range of transducers

Question 13

sense receptors transduce only part of their target energy range

Answer 13

sensory adaption

Question 14

senses reduce the flow of sensory input by dividing the world into basic stimulus patterns

Answer 14

feature detection

Question 15

a decrease over time in sensory response to an unchanging stimulus

Answer 15

sensory adaption

Question 16

basic attributes of a stimulus, such as lines, shapes, edges, or colors - or basic stimulus patterns

Answer 16

perpetual features

Question 17

is a cell, or a collection of cells, in the cerebral cortex that responds to a specific attribute of an object.

Answer 17

feature detector

Question 18

sensory receptors are biological ______, or devices for converting one type of energy to another

Answer 18

transducers

Question 19

As time passes, nerve endings in the skin under your clothes send fewer signals to the brain and you become unable to feel your clothes. This process is called.

Answer 19

sensory adaption

Question 20

Brain cells that respond to a specific attribute of an object are known as feature _____.

Answer 20

detectors

Question 21

Our ability to focus on specific sensory input

Answer 21

Selective attention

Question 22

attentional resources are divided between stimuli. Not possible to do multiple things at one time when focus is required.

Answer 22

Multitasking

Question 23

moving attention rapidly between each stimuli

Answer 23

task-switching

Question 24

Four factors that influence selective attention:

Answer 24

• Intensity
• Contrast
• Personal Importance
• Goals

Question 25

Very ____ stimuli COMMAND attention -- we naturally focus on stimuli that are brighter, louder, larger, or sharper

Answer 25

Intense (factor = INTENSITY)

Question 26

Frequently related to a STARK change in stimulation

Answer 26

Contrast

Question 27

Example: Standing in a crowded room, but still hearing your own name, auditory stimuli are referred to as the cocktail party effect. Humans are primed to divert attention towards things that are of importance to us.

Answer 27

Personal Importance

Question 28

- attention can be purposefully directed in ways that allow us to meet our goals

Answer 28

Goals

Question 29

a failure to notice a stimulus because attention is focused elsewhere

Answer 29

inattentional blindness

Question 30

a failure to notice that the background is changing because attention is focused elsewhere

Answer 30

change blindness

Question 31

our attention is narrowly focused while we attempt to address a goal we often miss things we aren't expecting and aren't looking for

Answer 31

Goal Driven Attention

Question 32

The process by which attention is withdrawn from the physical environment to focus on internal events or the tendency for our attention to stray to things that are internal, unrelated to stimuli in the environment

Answer 32

mind-wandering

Question 33

Which of the following influence selective attention? - goals - personal relevance - intensity -all of the above

Answer 33

All of the above

Question 34

Inattentional blindness refers to a situation in which

Answer 34

you fail to see a stimulus because your attention is directed toward something else

Question 35

selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory input

Answer 35

perception

Question 36

a misleading or mids-constructed perception distorted perceptions of stimuli that actually exist

Answer 36

illusion

Question 37

Perception with no basis in reality people perceive objects or events that have no external reality

Answer 37

Hallucination

Question 38

a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory system creates perceptual experiences in another sensory system

Answer 38

synesthesia

Question 39

involves a loss of contact with shared views of reality: delusions, hallucinations

Answer 39

psychoses

Question 40

moment by moment, our perceptions are typically constructed in both a ____ and ___ fashion

Answer 40

bottom-up and top-down

Question 41

-starts with sensory impressions - Organize perceptions by beginning with low-level features - Put together small pieces to build a complete perception "What am I seeing?

Answer 41

Bottom-up Processing

Question 42

- Prior knowledge and experience provide a guide to perception of meaningful wholes - Most apparent for ambiguous stimuli "Is that something I have seen before?"

Answer 42

Top-Down Processing

Question 43

Organizing a perception so that part of a stimulus appears to stand out as an object (figure) against a plainer background.

Answer 43

Figure-ground organization

Question 44

For most people, sensory organs transduce information in the same way perceptual similarities due to ___

Answer 44

Transduction

Question 45

Many perceptual experiences are the same because of perceptual constancies developed over years of experience perceptual similarities due to ___

Answer 45

Experience

Question 46

The principle that the perceived shape of an object is unaffected by changes in its retinal image

Answer 46

Shape constancy

Question 47

The principle that the perceived size of an object remains constant, despite changes in its retinal image

Answer 47

Size constancy

Question 48

The principle that the apparent (or relative) brightness of objects remains the same so long as they are illuminated by the same amount of light

Answer 48

Brightness Constancy

Question 49

ability to see space and accurately judge distances allows us to construct 3D experience

Answer 49

Depth perception

Question 50

In a ___, the brain misinterprets information sent from the senses; in a __, people perceive sensory events that have no basis in reality

Answer 50

illusions, hallucination

Question 51

sensory input: photoreceptors-visual spectrum of light transducer: sensory output:

Answer 51

eye-retina Vision

Question 52

sensory input: air conduction, fluid conduction transducer: Sensory output:

Answer 52

ear-ear drum and cochlear audition

Question 53

Sensory input: specific airborne chemicals. transducer: sensory output:

Answer 53

nose-specialized receptors smell