Chapter 4

Question 1

Illusion

Answer 1

Perception in chich the way we perceive a stimulus doesn’t match its physical reality

Question 2

Sensation

Answer 2

Detection of physical energy sense by organs, which send information to the brain

Question 3

Perception

Answer 3

The brain’s perception of raw sensory inputs

Question 4

Transduction

Answer 4

process of converting an external anergy or substance into electrical activity within neurons

Question 5

Sense Receptor

Answer 5

Specialized cell responsible for converting external stimuli into neural activity for a specific sensory system

Question 6

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 6

Process in which activation is greatest when a stimulus is first detected

Question 7

Psychophysics

Answer 7

The study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical characteristics

Question 8

Absolute Threshold

Answer 8

Lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervous system to detect a change 50% of the time

Question 9

Just Noticeable Difference

Answer 9

The smallest change in the intensity of a stimulus that we can detect

Question 10

Weber’s Law

Answer 10

Principle stating there is a constant proportional relationship between the JND and original stimulus intensity

Question 11

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 11

Theory of how stimuli are detected under different conditions

Question 12

Synthesia

Answer 12

A condition in which people experience cross-modal senses

Question 13

Selective Attention

Answer 13

Process of selecting one sensory channel and ignoring or minimizing others

Question 14

Inattentional Blindness

Answer 14

Failure to detect stimuli that are in plain sight when our attention is focused elsewhere

Question 15

Hue

Answer 15

Colour of light

Question 16

Pupil

Answer 16

Circular hole through which light enters the eye

Question 17

Cornea

Answer 17

Part of the eye containing transparent cells that focus light on the retina

Question 18

Lens

Answer 18

Part of the eye that changes curvature to keep images in focus

Question 19

Accomodation

Answer 19

Changing the shape of the lens to focus on objects near or far

Question 20

Retina

Answer 20

Membrane at the back of eye responsible for converting light into neural activity

Question 21

Fovea

Answer 21

Central portion of retina

Question 22

Acuity

Answer 22

Sharpness of vision

Question 23

Rods

Answer 23

Receptor cells in the retina allowing us to see in low levels of light

Question 24

Dark Adaptation

Answer 24

Time in dark before rods regain maximum light sensitivity

Question 25

Cones

Answer 25

Receptor cells in the retina allowing us to see colour

Question 26

Optic Nerve

Answer 26

Nerve that travels from the retina to the brain

Question 27

Blind Spot

Answer 27

Region of the retina containing no rods and completely devoid of sense receptors

Question 28

Feature Detector Cell

Answer 28

Cell that detects lines and edges

Question 29

Trichromatic Theory

Answer 29

The idea that colour vision is based on our sensitivity to three primary colours

Question 30

Colour Blindness

Answer 30

Inability to see some or all colours

Question 31

Opponent Process theory

Answer 31

Theory that we perceive colours in terms of three pairs of opponent colours

Question 32

Timbre

Answer 32

Complexity or quality of sound that makes sounds unique

Question 33

Cochlea

Answer 33

Bony, spiral-shaped sense organ used for hearing

Question 34

Organ of Corti

Answer 34

Tissue containing the hair cells necessary for hearing

Question 35

Basilar Membrane

Answer 35

Membrane supporting the organ of Corti and hair cells in the cochlea

Question 36

Place Theory

Answer 36

A specific place along the basilar membrane matches a tone with a specific pitch

Question 37

Frequency theory

Answer 37

Rate at which neurons fire the action potentials reproduces the pitch

Question 38

Olfaction

Answer 38

Sense of smell

Question 39

Gustation

Answer 39

Sense of taste

Question 40

Taste Bud

Answer 40

Sense receptor in the tongue that responds to sweet, salty, sour, umami and perhaps fat

Question 41

Pheromone

Answer 41

Odourless chemical that serves as a social signal to members of one’s species

Question 42

Somatosensory

Answer 42

Sense of touch, temperature and pain

Question 43

Gate Control Model

Answer 43

Idea that pain is blocked or gated from consciousness by neural mechanisms in the spinal cord

Question 44

Phantom Pain

Answer 44

Pain or discomfort felt in an amputated limb

Question 45

Vestibular Sense

Answer 45

Our sense of equilibrium or balance

Question 46

Semicircular Canals

Answer 46

Three fluid-filled canals in the inner ear responsible for our sense of balance

Question 47

Parallel Processing

Answer 47

Ability to attend to many sense modalities simultaneously

Question 48

Bottom-up Processing

Answer 48

Processing in which a whole is constructed from parts

Question 49

Top-down Processing

Answer 49

Conceptually driven processing influenced by beluefs and expectancies

Question 50

Perceptual set

Answer 50

Set formed when expectations influence perceptions

Question 51

Perceptual constancy

Answer 51

The process by which we perceive stimuli consistently across varied conditions

Question 52

Depth Perception

Answer 52

Ability to judge distance and three-dimensional relations

Question 53

Monocular Depth Cues

Answer 53

Stimuli that enable us to judge depth using only one eye

Question 54

Binocular depth cues

Answer 54

Stimuli that enable us to judge depth using both eyes

Question 55

Subliminal Perception

Answer 55

Perception below the limen or threshold of conscious awareness