Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

simple stimulation of a sense organ

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

Turning sensations/ perceptions into neural signals to send to the central nervous system.

Question 4

Sensory adaptation

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Psychophysics

Answer 5

Methods that systematically relate the physical characteristics of a stimulus to an observer’s perception

Question 6

absolute threshold

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Sensitivity

Answer 7

how responsive we are to faint stimuli

Question 8

Acuity

Answer 8

how well we ca distinguish two very similar stimuli

Question 9

Just noticeable difference

Answer 9

minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

Question 10

Weber’s law

Answer 10

there’s a constant proportion between the change in a stimulus no matter it’s intensity.

Question 11

Signal detection theory

Answer 11

a way of analyzing data from psychophysics experiments that measures an individual’s perceptual sensitivity while also taking noise, expectations, motivations, and goals into account.

Question 12

Light waves
1. Difference between peaks
2. Height between peaks and dips
3. purity

Answer 12

Light waves
1. Length- hue/ color
2. Brightness
3. saturation or richness of color

Question 13

1. Cornea
2. Pupil
3. Iris
4. lens
5. retina
6. Bipolar cells
7. Retinal ganglion cells
8. Optic nerve
9. Area V1 in the brain
10. Ventral (what) and dorsal (where) stream

Answer 13

1. Bends light and sends it through the pupil
2. hole in the color part of the eye
3. muscle that controls the size of the people
4. bends light and focuses it on the retina
5. tissue lining the back of the eyeball
6. electrical signals from from rods and cones
7. organizes signals and sends them to the brain

Question 14

Accommodation

Answer 14

Who the eye maintains a clear image on the retina.
Nearsightedness- FRONT of retina
Farsightedness- BEHIND retina

Question 15

what makes up the retina?
Which do we have more of?
Where exactly are they?

Answer 15

Rods and Cones.
We have more rods in our eyes.
Everywhere but the fovea. vision is clearest and there are no rods found.

Question 16

Blind spot

Answer 16

A location in the visual field that produces no sensations on the retina

Question 17

Cone types

Answer 17

L-cones: sensitivity to long wavelengths
M-cones: sensitive to medium
S-cones: sensitive to short wavelengths

Question 18

Damage to ventral and dorsal streams

Answer 18

Ventral: identification of objects by sight is impaired, touch was normal
Dorsal: ability to grasp objects by sight is impaired.

Question 19

Binding problem

Answer 19

linking features together so we see unified objects.

Question 20

Illusory conjunction

Answer 20

incorrectly combining features from multiple objects.

Question 21

attention is necessary for binging features together

Question 22

perceptual constancy

Answer 22

the principle that even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant.

Question 23

perceptual contrast

Answer 23

the principle that although sensory information from two things mat be similar, we perceive them as different objects.

Question 24

perceptual organization:
1. Simplicity
2. Closure
3. Continuity
4. Similarly
5. proximity
6. common fate

Answer 24

grouping and segregating features to create whole objects organized in meaningful ways
1. arrow, not triangle on square
2. Combining lines to form a shape
3. Squiggly lines look like an X
4. Pattern
5.close together= grouped together
6. visual images together are one objects

Question 25

monocular depth cues

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Binocular depth cues

Answer 26

difference in retinal images of the two eyes

Question 27

apparent motion

Answer 27

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

Question 28

change blindness

Answer 28

a failure to detect changes in visual details of a scene

Question 29

inattentional blindness

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Sound waves 1. Difference between peaks/ frequency 2. Height between peaks and dips/ amplitude 3. purity/ timbre

Answer 30

Sound waves 1. pitch 2. loud vs soft 3. pure vs mixed

Question 31

outer ear

Answer 31

Pinna- outer ear auditory canal eardrum- flap that vibrates

Question 32

middle ear

Answer 32

ossicles (smallest bone in the body) hammer, anvil, and stirrup oval window

Question 33

inner ear

Answer 33

cochlea- spiral tube that turn vibrations into neural impulses basilar membrane- wavy hair cells that move with neural impulses

Question 34

Movement of sound 1. Outer ear 2. Middle ear 3. Inner ear 4. auditory nerve 5. thamalus 6. Area A1

Answer 34

Sí

Question 35

Place code

Answer 35

hair cells are used to determine the pitch

Question 36

Temporal code

Answer 36

timing of action potentials to help auditory nerve determine the pitch

Question 37

Conductive hearing loss

Answer 37

eardrum or ossicles are damaged. Medication or surgery can correct this

Question 38

Sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 38

damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory nerve. Genetic disorders, infections, etc. Cochlear implant can replace function of hair cells, but can't improve the problem.

Question 39

Haptic Perception

Answer 39

Active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands.

Question 40

What body parts have high acuity?

Answer 40

Lips and fingertips

Question 41

Fast-acting A-delta fibers do what?

Answer 41

transmit initial sharp pain.

Question 42

slow C-fibers do what?

Answer 42

transmit duller persistent pain

Question 43

referred pain

Answer 43

pain on surface of the body, but is actually internal.

Question 44

gate-controlled theory

Answer 44

signals arriving from pain receptors can be stopped by interneurons in the spinal cord

Question 45

proprioception

Answer 45

sense of body position

Question 46

Vestibular system

Answer 46

three fluid-filled semicircular canals and organs next to the cochlea that help us maintain balance.

Question 47

Smell movement 1. Olfactory epithelium 2. olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) 3. olfactory bulb

Answer 47

Smell movement 1. Situated on top of nasal cavity, contains ORNs 2. molecules into neural impulses 3. brain structure in naval cavity beneath frontal lobe

Question 48

Pheromones

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Taste receptors

Answer 49

Salt, Sweet, sour, bitter, umami (savory)

Question 50

taste movement 1. papillae 2. taste buds 3. microvilli 4. 5.

Answer 50

taste movement 1. Line the tongue and contain taste buds 2. taste transduction 3. receptor cells with chemicals that react to food 4. 5.

Question 51

Taste fades with age. T/F

Answer 51

True

Question 52

Taste and smell combine to create flavor. T/F

Answer 52

True