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PSYCH 1101 > Chapter 4 > Flashcards

Chapter 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

Sensation

A

simple stimulation of a sense organ; the basic registration of light, sound, pressure, odor, or taste as parts of your body interact with the physical world

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2
Q

Perception

A

the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation

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3
Q

Transduction

A

what takes place when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the CNS

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4
Q

Psychophysics

A

methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus

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5
Q

Absolute threshold

A

the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the trials

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6
Q

just noticeable difference (JND)

A

the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected; not a fixed quantity

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7
Q

Weber’s law

A

the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity

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8
Q

Signal detection theory

A

the response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s response criterion

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9
Q

Perceptual sensitivity

A

how effectively the perceptual system represents sensory events

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10
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions

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11
Q

Visual activity

A

the ability to see fine detail

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12
Q

Visible light

A

the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see

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13
Q

3 properties of light waves

A
  1. length of a light wave determines its hue, or what humans perceive as color
  2. intensity/amplitude of light wave determines what we perceive as the brightness of light
  3. purity is the number of distinct wavelengths that make up the light; corresponds to what humans perceive as saturation or richness of colors
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14
Q

Retina

A

light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball

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15
Q

Cornea

A

clear, smooth outer tissue of eye where light passes first , bending the light wave and sending it through the pupil

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16
Q

Pupil

A

hold in the colored part of the eye

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17
Q

Iris

A

colored part of the eye which is a translucent muscle that controls the size of the pupil and the amount of light that can enter the eye

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18
Q

Accommodation

A

the process by which the eye maintains a clear image of the retina

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19
Q

Cones

A

photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail

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20
Q

Rods

A

photoreceptors that become active under low-light conditions for night vision; more sensitive than cones; provide no info about color and sense only shades of gray

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21
Q

Fovea

A

an area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no rods at all; absence of rods decreases the sharpness of vision in reduced light

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22
Q

Blind spot

A

a location in the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina

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23
Q

Color-opponent system

A

pairs of visual neurons that work in opposition

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24
Q

area V1

A

the part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex

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25
Q

What are the 2 functionally distinct pathways that project from the occipital cortex to visual areas in other parts of the brain?

A
  1. the ventral stream: travels across occipital lobe into lower levels of the temporal lobes and includes brain areas that represent an object’s shape and identity
  2. the dorsal stream: travels up from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobes, connecting with brain areas that identify the location and motion of an object
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26
Q

Visual form agnosia

A

the inability to recognize objects by sight; can guide actions by sight

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27
Q

Binding problem

A

how features are linked together so that we see unified objects in our visual world rather than free-floating or miscombined features

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28
Q

Illusory conjunction

A

a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined

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29
Q

Feature-integration theory

A

the idea that focused attention is not required to detect the individual features that comprise a stimulus, but is required to bind those individual features together

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30
Q

Perceptual constancy

A

a perceptual principle stating that even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains consistent; perceptual grouping (simplicity, closure, continuity, similarity, proximity, common fate) govern how the features and regions of things fit together

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31
Q

Template

A

a mental representation that can be directly compared to a viewed shape in the retinal image (image-based object recognition)

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32
Q

Parts-based object recognition

A

theories that propose instead that the brain deconstructs viewed objects into a collection of parts

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33
Q

Monocular depth cues

A

aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only 1 eye

34
Q

Binocular disparity

A

the difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides info about depth

35
Q

Apparent motion

A

the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations

36
Q

Change blindness

A

when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

37
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

a failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

38
Q

Pitch

A

how high or low a sound is

39
Q

Loudness

A

a sound’s intensity

40
Q

Timbre

A

a listener’s experience of sound quality or resonance

41
Q

Frequency corresponds to our perception of _____.

A

pitch

42
Q

Amplitude corresponds to our perception of _______.

A

loudness

43
Q

Complexity corresponds to our perception of ______.

A

timbre

44
Q

Cochlea

A

a fluid-filled tube that is the organ of auditory transduction

45
Q

Basilar membrane

A

a structure in the inner ear that undulates when vibrations from the ossicles reach the cochlear fluid

46
Q

Hair cells

A

specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane; release neurotransmitter molecules, initiating a neural signal in the auditory nerve that travels to the brain

47
Q

area A1

A

a portion of the temporal lobe that contains the primary auditory cortex; for most of us, auditory areas in L hemisphere analyze sounds related to language and those in R hemisphere specialize in rhythmic sounds and music

48
Q

Place code

A

the process by which different frequencies stimulate neural signals at specific places along the basilar membrane, from which the brain determines pitch; used for high frequencies

49
Q

Temporal code

A

the cochlea registers low frequencies via the firing rate of action potentials entering the auditory nerve

50
Q

How does conductive hearing loss arise?

A

because the eardrum or ossicles are damaged to the point that they cannot conduct sound waves effectively to the cochlea

51
Q

Sensorineural hearing loss

A

caused by damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or the auditory nerve (happens to almost all of us as we age)

52
Q

Haptic perception

A

active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping object with our hands

53
Q

Referred pain

A

feeling of pain when sensory info form internal and external areas converges on the same nerve cells in the spinal cord

54
Q

Gate-control theory of pain

A

a theory of pain perception based on the idea that signals arriving from pain receptors in the body can be stopped, or gated, by interneurons in the spinal cord via feedback from two directions; bottoms-up control is when senses feed information, top-down control explains how brain influences the experience of touch and pain

55
Q

Experience of pain depends on 2 distinct pathways. What are they?

A
  1. Sends signals to the somatosensory cortex to indicate the location/type of pain.
  2. Sends signals to the emotional centers of the brain that result in unpleasant feelings
56
Q

What are balance and acceleration influenced by?

A

Depend primarily on the vestibular system but are influenced by vision

57
Q

Vestibular system

A

the 3 fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear; influences maintaining balance

58
Q

Smell is directly connected to what part of the brain?

A

Forebrain

59
Q

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs)

A

Receptor cells that initiate the sense of smell; when odorant molecules bind to these cells, they send action potentials to the olfactory nerve

60
Q

Olfactory bulb

A

a brain structure located above the nasal cavity beneath the frontal lobes; ORNs converge at the glomerulus within the olfactory bulb

61
Q

Why can smell have immediate and powerful effects on us?

A

the olfactory bulb sends signals to parts of the brain that control drives, emotions, and memories

62
Q

How is smell involved in social behavior?

A

pheromones

63
Q

Pheromones

A

biochemical odorants emitted by other members of its species that can affect an animal’s behavior or physiology

64
Q

taste buds

A

the organ of taste transduction

65
Q

What do sensations of taste depend on?

A

taste buds

66
Q

Taste experiences depend on _____.

A

cognitive influences

67
Q

Sensation involves ________, whereas perception involves _______.

a. organization, coordination
b. stimulation, interpretation
c. identification, translation
d. comprehension, information

A

b. stimulation, interpretation

68
Q

What process converts physical signals form the environment into neural signals by sensory neurons into the CNS?

a. representation
b. identification
c. propagation
d. transduction

A

d. transduction

69
Q

The smallest intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus is called

a. proportional magnitude
b. absolute threshold
c. just notable difference
d. Weber’s law

A

b. absolute threshold

70
Q

The world of light outside the body is linked tot he world of vision inside the CNS by the

a. cornea
b. lens
c. retina
d. optic nerve

A

c. retina

71
Q

Light striking the retina, causing a specific pattern of response in the 3 cone types, leads to our ability to see

a. motion
b. colors
c. depth
d. shadows

A

b. colors

72
Q

In which part of the brain is the primary visual cortex, where encoded info is systematically mapped into a representation of the visual scene?

a. the thalamus
b. the lateral geniculate nucleus
c. the fovea
d. area V1

A

d. area V1

73
Q

Our ability to visually combine details so that we perceive unified objects is explained by

a. feature-integration theory
b. illusory conjunction
c. synesthesia
d. ventral and dorsal streaming

A

a. feature-integration theory

74
Q

The idea that specialized brain areas represent particular classes of objects is

a. the modular view
b. attentional processing
c. distributed representation
d. neuron response

A

a. the modular view

75
Q

The principle of _____ holds that even as sensory signals change, perception remains consistent.

a. apparent motion
b. signal detection
c. perceptual constancy
d. closure

A

c. perceptual constancy

76
Q

Image-based and parts-based theories both involve the problem of

a. motion detection
b. object identification
c. separating figure from ground
d. judging proximity

A

b. object identification

77
Q

What kind of cues are relative size and linear perspective?

a. motion-based
b. binocular
c. monocular
d. template

A

c. monocular

78
Q

What does the frequency of a sound wave determine?

a. pitch
b. loudness
c. sound quality
d. timbre

A

a. pitch

79
Q

The placement of our ears on opposite sides of the head is crucial to our ability to

a. localize sound sources
b. determine pitch
c. judge intensity
d. recognize complexity

A

a. localize sound sources

80
Q

The location and type of pain we experience is indicated by signals sent to

a. the amygdala
b. the spinal cord
c. pain receptors
d. the somatosensory cortex

A

d. the somatosensory cortex

81
Q

What best explains why smells can have immediate and powerful effects?

a. the involvement in smell of brain centers for emotions and memories
b. the vast number of olfactory receptor neurons we have
c. our ability to detect odors from pheromones
d. the fact that different odorant molecules produce varied patterns of activity

A

a. the involvement in smell of brain centers for emotions and memories

PSYCH 1101 (12 decks)

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