Chapter 4 Key Terms Pt. 1 [Sensation & Perception] Flashcards
sensation
simple stimulation of a sense organ
perception
the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
transduction
what takes place when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system
psychophysics
methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitive to that stimulus
absolute threshold
the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the trials
just noticeable difference (JND)
the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected {{related to Weber’s law}}
Weber’s law
the just noticeable difference (JND) of a stimulus in a constant proportion despite variations in intensity
signal detection theory
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
sensory adaptation
sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions
visual activity
the ability to see fine detail
retina
light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball
accommodation
the process by which the eye maintains a clear image on the retina
cones
photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail
rods
photoreceptors that become active under low-light conditions for night vision
fovea
an area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no rods at all