Chapter 5 Flashcards
What is sensation?
Detection of stimuli (physical), goes to the brain
What is perception?
Interpretation of sensory input
What is bottom-up processing?
Start with the individual elements that make up an object, put them together, and interpret as a whole
What is top-down processing?
Interpreting sensory information with existing knowledge, expectations, experience
What is transduction?
Process whereby the sensory info is converted to neural signals for the brain to interpret
What is a stimulus?
Any detectable input from the environment
What is an absolute threshold?
The minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected (50% of the time)
What is sensory adaption?
A decline in sensitivity due to constant stimulation
The sense of hearing is associated with what system?
The auditory system
What are sound waves?
Vibrations of molecules that travel through a medium, such as air
How is sound measured?
In decibels (dB)
Sounds can be described in _____
amplitude
How can sounds be described? And how is it measured?
In terms of their frequency; cycles per second or hertz (Hz)
Pitch depends on what?
Frequency
The sense of taste is associated with what system?
Gustatory System
What are gustatory receptors?
Clusters of taste cells found in the taste buds
What are the 5 different types of how we perceive taste?
Sweet; salty; sour; bitter; umami
What animal relies heavily on their taste buds?
Catfish
What system is associated with sense of smell?
The Olfactory System
In the olfactory system what are stimuli?
Chemical substances
What are the receptors in the olfactory system?
Olfactory cilia (hair) to olfactory bulb to other parts of the brain
Name an animal that uses the Jacobson’s organ (aka the vomeronasal)?
Snakes
What is the Flehmen’s response?
When animals use their Jacobson’s organ to “smell” the pheromones of other animals
What system is associated with the sense of touch?
The tactile system
What parts of the brain does the tactile system activate?
Thalamus -> parietal lobe
Anything that comes in contact with skin is considered to be what?
Tactile stimulation
Tactile system is activated by what 3 senses/feelings?
Temperature, pressure, and pain
Higher order processes matter (e.g. being tickled will effect mood) in what system?
Tactile system
Spiders use the vibrations of their web for what?
Status of web (health or if they’ve captured anything); Courtship; territory defense
The visual system is associated with what sense?
Sense of sight
What is the visual system?
The sensory system for sight
What is the stimulus for the visual system?
Light
How is light measured in the visual system?
Nanometers (one billionth of a metre)
What is the cornea?
The eye’s outer layer
Where is the lens located?
Behind the pupil
What is the lens?
An elastic structure that focuses light to the optic nerve in the eye
What is the retina?
A multilayered tissue at the rear of the rear (light is focused/collected here
What nerve connects what we see/perceive to the brain?
Optic nerve
What part of the brain would the eye be associated with?
Occipital lobe
What are rods?
Receptor with key role in night vision and peripheral vision (concentrated around the edges of the eye)
What are cones?
Receptors with key role in daylight vision and colour vision (located in center of the retina)
What is Gestalt psychology when it comes to perception?
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and humans have basic tendencies to actively organize what they see
What type of psychology are ambiguous figure-ground relationships considered to be a part of?
Gestalt Psychology
What are the 4 Gestalt Laws of Organization?
1) Law of similarity
2) Law of proximity
3) Law of closure
4) Law of continuity
What are 3 perceptual constancies?
Shape constancy; size constancy; brightness constancy
