Chapter 4 Sensation and Perception

Question 1

additive color mixing

Answer 1

a process of color mixing that occurs when different wavelengths of light interact within the eyes’ receptors; a psychological process

Question 2

audition

Answer 2

hearing; the sense of sound perception

Question 3

binocular depth cues

Answer 3

cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes

Question 4

binocular disparity

Answer 4

a depth cue; because of the distance between a person’s eyes, each eye receives a slightly different retinal image

Question 5

blindsight

Answer 5

A condition in which people who are blind have some spared visual capacities in the absence of any visual awareness

Question 6

bottom-up processing

Answer 6

A hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which data are relayed from one level of mental processing to the next, always moving to a higher level of processing

Question 7

cones

Answer 7

retinal cells that response to higher levels of illumination and result in color perception

Question 8

convergence

Answer 8

A cue of binocular depth perception; when a person views a nearby object, the eye muscles turn the eyes inward

Question 9

cornea

Answer 9

the clear outer covering of the eye

Question 10

eardrum

Answer 10

A thin membrane that marks the beginning of the middle ear; sound waves cause it to vibrate

Question 11

fovea

Answer 11

the center of the retina; where cones are densely packed

Question 12

gustation

Answer 12

the sense of taste

Question 13

haptic sense

Answer 13

The sense of touch

Question 14

Iris

Answer 14

The colored muscular circle on the surface of the eye; it changes shape to let in more or less light

Question 15

kinesthetic sense

Answer 15

Perception of the positions in space and movements of our bodies and our limbs

Question 16

monocular depth cues

Answer 16

Cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone

Question 17

olfaction

Answer 17

The sense of smell

Question 18

Olfactory bulb

Answer 18

The brain center for smell; located below the frontal lobes

Question 19

olfactory epithelium

Answer 19

A thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that contain the receptors for smell

Question 20

Perception

Answer 20

The processing, organization and interpretation of sensory signals; it results in an internal representation of the stimulus

Question 21

Perceptual constancy

Answer 21

Correctly perceiving objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception

Question 22

pupil

Answer 22

The small opening in the eye; it lets in light waves

Question 23

retina

Answer 23

The thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball; it contains the photoreceptors that transduce light into neural signals

Question 24

rods

Answer 24

Retinal cells that respond to low levels of illumination and result in black-and-white perception

Question 25

sensation

Answer 25

The sense organs’ detection of external stimuli, their responses to the stimuli, and the transmission of these responses to the brain

Question 26

sensory adaptation

Answer 26

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

Question 27

signal detection theory (SDT)

Answer 27

A theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a faint stimulus requires a judgment– it is not an all-or-none process

Question 28

sound wave

Answer 28

a pattern of changes in air pressure during a period of time; it produces the percept of a sound

Question 29

subtractive color mixing

Answer 29

a process of color mixing that occurs within the stimulus itself; a physical, not psychological, process

Question 30

taste buds

Answer 30

sensory organs in the oral cavity that contains the receptors for taste

Question 31

top-down processing

Answer 31

A hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which information at higher levels of mental processing can also influence the lower, “earlier” levels in the processing hierarchy

Question 32

Transduction

Answer 32

A process by which sensory receptors produce neural impulses when they receive physical or chemical stimulation

Question 33

vestibular sense

Answer 33

perception of balance

Question 34

When you touch a smooth surface, information on the surface first goes to the thalamus. After leaving the thalamus, axons project to the:

Answer 34

primary somatosensory cortex

Question 35

Sensory stimuli are translated into chemical and electrical signals that the brain can interpret in a process called:

Answer 35

transduction

Question 36

occlusion

Answer 36

objects that appear to “occlude” or block the view of other objects are perceived as closer in depth

Question 37

hear cells

Answer 37

responsible for converting the sound waves into neural signals

Question 38

Motion parallax

Answer 38

As you move your eyes side to side, closer objects move more in the visual field than further objects.

Question 39

absolute threshold

Answer 39

the smallest intensity of a stimulus that has to be present for the stimulus to be detected