Chapter 5

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the detection of physical stimuli and the transmission of this information to the brain

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals in the brain

Question 3

bottom-up

Answer 3

perception based on the physical features of the stimuli

Question 4

top-down

Answer 4

the interpretation of sensory information based on knowledge, expectation, and past experiences

Question 5

transduction

Answer 5

the process by which sensory stimuli are converted to neural signals the brain can interpret

Question 6

qualitative

Answer 6

consists of the most basic qualities of stimulus ex. the difference between salty and sweet

Question 7

quantitative

Answer 7

consists of the degree or magnitude of those qualities ex. the softness of a toot

Question 8

vision pathway

Answer 8

light waves - light-sensitive rods and cones - optic nerve

Question 9

hearing pathway

Answer 9

soundwaves - pressure-sensitive hair cells in the cochlea - auditory nerve

Question 10

taste pathway

Answer 10

molecules dissolved in the fluid on the tongue - cells on taste buds - facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves

Question 11

touch pathway

Answer 11

pressure on the skin - ends of touch neurons in the skin - cranial nerves for touch above the neck, spinal nerves for elsewhere

Question 12

signal detection theory (SDT)

Answer 12

a theory perception based on the idea that the detection of a stimulus requires a judgment. it is not an all-or-nothing process

Question 13

sensory adaptation

Answer 13

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

Question 14

retina

Answer 14

the thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball, which contains the sensory receptors that transduce light into neural signals

Question 15

rods

Answer 15

retinal cells that respond to low levels of light and result in black-and-white perception

Question 16

cones

Answer 16

retinal cells that respond to higher levels of light and result in colour perception

Question 17

optic chiasm

Answer 17

where the optic nerves cross

Question 18

ventral stream

Answer 18

occipital lobe to the temporal lobe - perception and recognition of objects

Question 19

dorsal stream

Answer 19

occipital lobe to the parietal lobe - spatial perception (where objects are in relation to each other)

Question 20

trichromatic theory

Answer 20

colour vision from three types of cones that are sensitive to different wave lengths of light

Question 21

opponent-process theory

Answer 21

when receptors become fatigued opponent receptors take over - stare at something red for too long and the green receptors will take over

Question 22

gestalt psychology

Answer 22

theorized that perception is the result of collection of sensory data - the whole perceptual experience is more than the sum of its parts

Question 23

gestalt grouping laws

Answer 23

• proximity- how close things are to one another
• similarity - how objects reassemble one another
• good continuations - grouping based on contours, edges, texture
• closure - completing figures with gaps
• common fate - things that move together belong together

Question 24

object constancy

Answer 24

correctly perceiving objects as constant in their shape, colour, size, weight despite sensory information that could mislead perception

Question 25

binocular depth cues

Answer 25

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

Question 26

monocular perception

Answer 26

cues of depth perception that are available in each eye alone

Question 27

binocular disparity

Answer 27

because of the distance between your eyes, the eyes receive slightly different signals

Question 28

convergence

Answer 28

when an object gets closer the muscles in the eyes turn inwards

Question 29

motion parallax

Answer 29

monocular depth cue observed when moving relative objects that are closer appear to be moving faster than those farther away

Question 30

motion aftereffects

Answer 30

provide evidence that there are motion-sensitive neurons that exist in the brain

Question 31

audition

Answer 31

hearing - the sense of sound perception

Question 32

sound wave

Answer 32

a pattern of changes in air pressure during a period of time, produces the perception of sound

Question 33

vestibular sense

Answer 33

perception of balance determined by receptors in the ear

Question 34

temporal coding

Answer 34

a mechanism for encoding low-frequency auditory stimuli in which firing rates of cochlea hair cells match those of the sound wave

Question 35

place coding

Answer 35

a mechanism for encoding the frequency of auditory stimuli in which the frequency of the sound wave is encoded by location of the hair cells along the basilar membrane

Question 36

gustation

Answer 36

the sense of taste

Question 37

olfaction

Answer 37

sense of smell

Question 38

olfactory epithelium

Answer 38

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

Question 39

olfactory bulb

Answer 39

the brain center for smell is located below the frontal cortex - deciding if a smell is good or not is decided by the prefrontal cortex

Question 40

haptic sense

Answer 40

the sense of touch

Question 41

tactile sensation

Answer 41

anything that makes contact with our skin

Question 42

two kinds of nerve fibres

Answer 42

• slow (unmyelinated) - chronic, dull, steady pain
• fast (myelinated) - sharp, immediate pain

Question 43

ronald melzack and patrick wall

Answer 43

gate control theory - neural gates in the spinal cord allow signals through - gates close when information of touch is being transmitted ex. rubbing a sore knee