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Intro Psychology > chapter 4 > Flashcards

chapter 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

sensation

A

the process of detecting external events with sensory receptors producing electrical impulses that travel to the brain and represent our internal or external experiences. (physical process)

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2
Q

perception

A

act of attending to, organizing, and interpreting sensory experience (psychological process)

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3
Q

transduction

A

when specialized receptors transform the physical energy of the outside world into neural impulses

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4
Q

neural impulses involved in transduction

A

travel into the brain and influence the activity of different brain structures

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5
Q

organizing perception involves

A

organizing the different vibrations of the eardrum in a way that allows you to recognize them as a voice and linking together the stimulation of groups of receptions in the eye into visual experience

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6
Q

sensory adaptation

A

reduction of activity in sensory receptors with repeated exposure to a stimulus

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7
Q

vision stimuli and type of receptor

A

light waves.

light-sensitive structures are the back of the eye.

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8
Q

hearing stimuli and type of receptor

A

sound waves.

hair cells that respond to pressure changes in the ear.

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9
Q

touch stimuli and type of receptor

A

pressure, stretching, warming, cooling, or piercing of the skin surface.
different types of nerve endings that respond to pressure, temperature changes, and pain.

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10
Q

taste stimuli and type of receptor

A

chemicals on the tongue and in the mouth.

cells lining the taste buds of the tongue.

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11
Q

smell stimuli and type of receptor

A

chemicals contacting mucus lined membranes of the nose.

nerve endings that respond selectively to different compounds.

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12
Q

from stimulus to perception

A

stimulus (light, sound, smell, etc) - sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, etc) - transduction - neural impulses - perception (visual, auditory, olfactory areas)

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13
Q

all of our senses

A

use the same mechanism for transmitting information in the brain: the action potential

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14
Q

doctrine of specific nerve energies

A

different senses are separated in the brain

- proposed in 1826 by Johannes Müller

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15
Q

the orienting response

A

describes how we quickly shift our attention to stimuli that signal a change in our sensory world

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16
Q

sensory adaptation provides

A

the benefit of allowing us to adjust to our surroundings and shift our focus to other events that may be important

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17
Q

drawback to sensory adaptation

A

we get used to listening to loud music in our earbuds, which can eventually damage the auditory system. we also stop noticing how polluted and loud city life can be.

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18
Q

psychophysics

A

the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience.

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19
Q

thresholds

A

amount of stimulus or amount of change need to be detected

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20
Q

absolute threshold

A

minimum stimulation needed to detect the presence of a particular stimulus 50% of the time

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21
Q

difference threshold

A

the smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliably detected at least 50% of the time

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22
Q

weber’s law

A

states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli changes as a proportion of those stimuli

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23
Q

signal detection theory

A

states that whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both the sensory experience and that judgment made by the subject

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24
Q

signal detection theory is designed

A

to deal with response biase

- emphasizes process of making a judgment about the presence or absence of a stimuli

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25
Q

signal detection theory requires us to examine

A

two processes: a sensory process and a decision process

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26
Q

sensory process

A

reflects observers sensitivity to the strength of the stimulus

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27
Q

decision process

A

reflects observers response bias

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28
Q

priming

A

previous exposure to a stimulus can influence that individuals later responses either to the same stimulus or to one that is related to it

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29
Q

gestalt psychology

A

an approach to perception that emphasizes that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
(understood only when viewed as organized, structured wholes, and not when broken down)

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30
Q

one basic gestalt principle is that

A

objects or “figures” in our environment tend to stand out against a background
- referred to as the figure-ground principle

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31
Q

there are two different stimuli involved in perception

A

proximal stimulus and distal stimulus

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32
Q

proximal stimulus

A

the optical image on the retina (anything close to you)

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33
Q

distal stimulus

A

the physical object in the world (distant things)

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34
Q

illusions occur when

A

perceptual systems deceive you into experiencing a stimulus pattern in a manner that is demonstrably incorrect

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35
Q

gestalt laws of grouping

A 
similarity 
continuity
proximity
closure
figure-ground
36
Q

divided attention

A

paying attention to more than one stimulus at the same time

37
Q

selective attention

A

focusing on one particular event or task to the exclusion of others

38
Q

inattentional blindness

A

a failure to notice clearly visible events or objects because attention is directed elsewhere

39
Q

wavelength

A

distance from peak of one wave to peak of next

40
Q

amplitude

A

vertical distance from peak to trough

41
Q

hue

A

dimension of colour determined by wavelength of light

42
Q

intensity

A

amount of energy in wave determined by amplitude (brightness)

43
Q

saturation

A

variety of wavelengths from the same point (colourfulness)

44
Q

the primary function of the eye

A

is to gather light and change it into an action potential

45
Q

differences in wavelength corresponds to

A

different colours on the electromagnetic spectrum

46
Q

long wavelengths correspond to

A

our perception of reddish colours

47
Q

short wavelengths correspond to

A

our perception of bluish colours

48
Q

low amplitude waves are seen as

A

dim colours

49
Q

high amplitude waves are seen as

A

bright colours

50
Q

sclera

A

the white, outer surface of the eye

51
Q

cornea

A

the clear layer that covers the front portion of the eye and contributes to the eyes ability to focus and bends incoming light

52
Q

light enters the eye through

A

the cornea and passes through an opening called the pupil

53
Q

pupil

A

opening in the centre of the iris that regulates the amount of light that enters by changing sizes

  • dilates (expands) to allow more light in
  • constricts (shrinks) to allow less light in
54
Q

the changes in the pupils sizes are performed by the

A

iris

55
Q

iris

A

coloured area which is a round muscle that adjusts the side of the pupil

56
Q

lens

A

a clear structure that focuses light rays onto the retina

57
Q

retina

A

lines the inner surface of the back of the eye and consists of specialized receptors that absorb light and send signals related to the properties of light to the brain

58
Q

information from the photoreceptors at the back of the retina is transmitted to

A

the ganglion cells closer to the front of the retina. the ganglion cells gather up information from the photoreceptors. the activity of all the ganglion cells is then sent out of the eye through the optic nerve

59
Q

optic nerve

A

a dense bundle of fibres that connect to the brain and transmits impulses to the visual centre of the brain

60
Q

fovea

A

the part of the retina where light rays are most sharply focused, the central region of the retina

61
Q

accommodation

A

change in shape of lens to focus near objects

62
Q

there are two general types of photoreceptors

A

rods and cones

- each responds to different characteristics of light

63
Q

rods

A

are photoreceptors that occupy peripheral regions of the retina; they are highly sensitive under low light levels
- particularly responsive to black and grey

64
Q

cones

A

are photoreceptors that are sensitive to the different wavelengths of light that we perceive as colour
- cones tend to be clustered around the fovea

65
Q

dark adaptation

A

the process by which the rods and cones become increasingly sensitive to light under low levels of illumination

66
Q

blind spot

A

point at which optic nerve leaves eye, creating “blind spot” because if no receptor cells there

67
Q

trichromatic theory (or young-helmholtz theory)

A

vision is determined by three different cone types that are sensitive to short, medium, and long wavelengths of light.
- suggests there are three types of colour receptors: red, green, blue. all other colours are combinations of the three

68
Q

opponent-process theory of colour perception

A

we perceive colour in terms of opposing pairs: red to green, yellow to blue and white to black

69
Q

optic chiasm

A

the point at which the optic nerves cross at the midline of the brain

70
Q

left half of vision =

right half of vision =

A

left half of vision = right hemisphere of brain

right half of vision = left hemisphere of brain

71
Q

fibres from the optic nerve first connect with

A

the thalamus

- the brains “sensory relay station”

72
Q

the thalamus is made up of over

A

20 different nuclei with specialized functions

73
Q

the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

A

is specialized for processing visual information

74
Q

fibres from the LGN nucleus send messages

A

to the visual cortex, located in the occipital lobe, where the processes of visual perception begin

75
Q

neurone in visual cortex respond to specific features

A

shake
angle / orientation (feature detection cells)
movement

76
Q

the ventral stream

A

extends from the visual cortex to the lower part of the temporal lobe

77
Q

the dorsal stream

A

expands from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe

78
Q

dorsal stream of vision could be referred to as

A

the “what” and “where” pathway. the dorsal stream locates an object in space and allows you to interact with it
- involved with visually guided movement

79
Q

perceptual constancy

A

the ability to perceive objects as having constant shape, size, and colour despite changes in perspective

80
Q

shape constancy

A

we judge the angle of the object relative to our position

81
Q

size constancy

A

is based on judgments of how close an object is relative to ones position as well as to the positions of other objects

82
Q

colour constancy

A

allows us to recognize an objects colour under varying levels of illumination

83
Q

binocular depth cues

A

distance cues that are based on the differing perspective of both eyes (require use of two eyes)

84
Q

convergence

A

occurs when the eye muscles contract so that both eyes focus on a single object

85
Q

retinal disparity (binocular disparity)

A

the difference in relative position of an object seen by both eyes which provides information to the brain about depth

86
Q

monocular cues

A

depth cues that we can perceive with only one eye

Intro Psychology (6 decks)

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