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PSY A01 > Chapter 5 > Flashcards

Chapter 5 Flashcards

The Perceiving Mind: Sensation and Perception

1
Q

absolute threshold

A

the smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected at least 50% of the time

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2
Q

audition

A

the sense of hearing

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3
Q

binocular cues

A

a depth cue that requires the use of both eyes

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4
Q

cones

A

photoreceptors in the retina that process colour and fine detail

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5
Q

depth perception

A

the ability to use the 2D image project on the retina to perceive 3D

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6
Q

difference threshold (just-noticeable difference (JND))

A

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli that can be detected at least 50% of the time

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7
Q

gate control theory

A

the theory that suggests that incoming pain messages can be influenced by different factors that may “open the gate” and increase the sensation of pain (e.g. stress) or “close the gate” and decrease the sensation of pain (e.g. rubbing elbow)

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8
Q

gustation

A

the sense of taste

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9
Q

olfaction

A

the sense of smell

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10
Q

monocular cues

A

a depth cue that requires the use of only one eye

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11
Q

opponent process theory

A

a theory of colour vision that suggests we have a red-green colour channel and a blue-yellow colour channel, in which activation of one colour in each pair inhibits the other colour; colours like “reddish-green” or “bluish-yellow” cannot be seen, as the two colours share the same channel

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12
Q

psychophysics

A

the study of relationships between the physical qualities of stimuli and the subjective responses they produce

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13
Q

retinal disparity

A

the difference between the images projected onto each eye

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14
Q

rods

A

photoreceptors specialized to detect dim light

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15
Q

sensation

A

the process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from the body

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16
Q

sensory adaptation

A

the tendency to pay less attention to a non-changing source of stimulation

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17
Q

signal detection

A

the analysis of sensory and decision-making processes in the detection of faint, uncertain stimuli

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18
Q

somatosensation

A

the body senses, including body position, touch, skin temperature, and pain

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19
Q

synesthesia

A

a condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the simultaneous and automatic stimulation of another sensory pathway

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20
Q

taste buds

A

a structure found in papillae that contains taste receptor cells

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21
Q

transduction

A

the translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals

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22
Q

trichromatic theory

A

a theory of colour vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short (blue), medium (green), and long (red) wavelengths

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23
Q

vestibular system

A

the system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement

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24
Q

vision

A

the sense that allows us to process reflected light

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25
Q

Individual differences are more evident in __________ than sensation.

A

perception

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26
Q

three examples of synesthesia

A
  • grapheme-colour synesthesia: see letters as colours
  • lexical-gustatory synesthesia: taste words
  • chromesthesia: perceive sounds as colours
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27
Q

the two things that interact to form “sensations”

A

physical stimuli and the biological sensory system

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28
Q

stimulus

A

anything that elicits a reaction from our sensory systems

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29
Q

An important gateway to perception is the process of…

A

attention

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30
Q

the three stimuli most likely to grab our attention

A
  • unfamiliar stimuli in our ancestors’ environment might have meant new danger or new sources of food that warranted additional investigation
  • changing stimuli have more of an effect on our sensory systems, as we can grow accustomed to common stimuli
  • high-intensity stimuli (e.g. bright lights, loud noises) could have obvious consequences on our safety
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31
Q

two ways the brain constructs perceptions from incoming signals

A
  • bottom-up processing: perception pased on building simple input into more complex perceptions; is always used, but is likely to be used alone in simpler stimuli (e.g. a flash of light)
  • top-down processing: perception in which memory and other cognitive processes are required for interpreting incoming sensory information; is likely to be used in more complicated stimuli (e.g. recognizing a friend in a crowd)
32
Q

the founder of psychophysics

A

Gustav Fechner (1801-1887)

33
Q

the Weber-Fechner law

A

as stimuli get larger, differences must also become larger to be detected

(e.g. if you are eating super salty chips and your friend is eating lightly salted chips, and an equal amount of salt was added to both group of chips, your friend would notice the difference more than you)

34
Q

the two steps of signal detection

A
  1. the actual intensity of the stimulus influences the observer’s believer that it occurred
  2. the individual observer’s criteria for deciding whether the stimulus occurred
35
Q

the type of sensory information processed most and least by the cerebral cortex

A

visual information (50%) vs. auditory information (3%)

36
Q

Light energy moves in…

A

waves

37
Q

wavelength and amplitude in vision

A
  • wavelength translates into colour
  • amplitude translates into brightness (larger amplitude means brighter light)
38
Q

the biology of vision

A
  1. The cornea bends light to form an image on the back of the eye.
  2. Light travels through the pupil. The iris adjusts the opening of the pupil in response to the amount of light present (arousal is associated with dilation, relaxation is associated with constriction).
  3. The lens flatten to focus on distant objects, and sphere to focus on near objects.
  4. Rods and cones within the retina process light.
  5. The fovea within the middle of the retina specializes in central vision and seeing fine detail.
39
Q

reasoning behind blind spots

A

lack of rods and cones in the optic disk

40
Q

distribution of rods and cones acoss the retina, and its effect on processing dim light

A

rods become more common as we move from the fovea to the periphery of the retina; peripheral vision does a better job of viewing dim light than central vision

41
Q

drawbacks to rods

A
  • don’t provide information about colour
  • don’t provide clear, sharp images
42
Q

visual nerve pathway

A
  1. Ganglion cells form the optic nerve at the back fo the eye.
  2. Optic nerves cross the midline at the optic chiasm; axons closest to the nose cross over to the other hemisphere, and axons closest to the outside proceed to the same hemisphere.
  3. Optic tracts synapse in the thalamus.
  4. The thalamus sends information about vision to the amygdala, and the primary visual cortex.
  5. The amygdala uses visual information to make quick judgments, and the hypothalamus regulates sleep-wake cycles.
43
Q

two major pathways that continue the analysis of visual input

A
  • dorsal stream: the “where” pathway that extends from the primary visual cortex to the parietal lobe, helping process movement and localize objects in space
  • ventral stream: the “what” visual pathway that extends from the primary visual cortex to the temporal lobe, responding to shape and colour, and contributing to the ability to recognize objects and faces
44
Q

visual apperceptive agnosia

A

a condition in which individuals are unable to recognize and name objects, despite having intact vision, due to damage within the ventral stream

45
Q

the three primary colours of light

A

red, green, and blue

46
Q

colour deficiency

A

occurs when a person has fewer than the typical three types of cones

47
Q

gratings

A

the simplest patterns of lines that vary in frequency and contrast; higher frequency provide finer detail, and higher contrast provide more intense differences

48
Q

fusiform face area (FFA)

A

the area of the brain located in the inferior temporal cortex - and part of the ventral pathway - that becomes especially active during the processing of faces

49
Q

debate over the importance of face recognition

A

whether it is important due to evolutionary (faces are special) or expertise (faces are familiar) reasons

50
Q

cues necessary for depth perception

A
  • monocular cues (texture gradients, shading/highlights, occlusion; blocking of images of distant objects by closer objects)
  • binocular cues (retinal disparity)
  • relative size
  • motion
51
Q

developmental differences in vision

A

as we get older, iris muscles lose elasticity, pupils shrink, and eye lens yellow

52
Q

four examples of visual deficiencies

A
  • nearsightedness: elongated eyeballs interferes with the ability to see distant objects
  • farsightedness: shortened eyeballs interferes with the ability to see close-up objects
  • astigmatism: an uneven cornea leads to blurred vision
  • strabismus: unaligned eyes can lead to the failure of binocular depth development if untreated (e.g. amblyopia (lazy eye), double-vision in adults)
53
Q

Sound cannot occur in the vacuum of space because…

A

sound begins with the movement of an object, setting off waves of vibration in the form of mini-collision

54
Q

amplitude and frequency in sound

A
  • amplitude translates into loudness (higher amplitude means louder sound), and is measured in decibels (dB)
  • frequency translates into pitch (higher frequency means higher pitch), and is measured in hertz (Hz)
55
Q

parts of the auditory spectrum outside the range of human hearing

A
  • ultrasound (> 20,000 Hz)
  • infrasound (< 20 Hz)
56
Q

the biology of audition

A
  1. The pinna collects, focuses, and localizes sounds.
  2. Sounds are channelled through the auditory canal, which ends at the tympanic membrane (eardrum); the boundary between the outer and middle ears.
  3. A series of tiny bones connects the eardrum and the oval window; these bones transfer sound from the air of the outer and middle ears, to the fluid in the inner ear.
  4. The cochlea responds to vibrations transmitted to the inner ear.
  5. The basilar membrane responds with a wave-like motion, causing hair cells of the organ of Corti to move back and forth within the cochlear duct.
57
Q

three chambers of the cochlea

A
  • the vestibular canal
  • the tympanic canal
  • the cochlear duct
58
Q

auditory nerve pathway

A
  1. Hair cells stimulate one branch of each auditory nerve cell.
  2. The other branch of auditory nerve cells proceeds to the medulla.
  3. The midbrain manages reflexive responses to sound, and participates in sound identification and localization.
  4. The thalamus sends sound information to the primary auditory cortex, which analyzes sound wavelengths and amplitudes.
  5. The secondary auditory cortex responds to complex stimuli (e.g. clicks).
59
Q

pitch perception

A
  • High-frequency tones produce maximum movement of the narrow base of the basilar membrane; a higher pitch is perceived.
  • Low-frequency tones produce maximum movement near the wide apex of the basilar membranel; a lower pitch is perceived.
60
Q

loudness perception

A

when the intensity of a sound stimulus is 10x greater than before, we perceive it as being only twice as loud

61
Q

developmental differences in audition

A

as we get older, hearing loss occurs - affecting higher frequencies first

  • at 30, most people can’t hear above 15,000 Hz
  • at 50, most people can’t hear above 12,000 Hz
  • at 70, most people can’t hear above 6,000 Hz
62
Q

perfect pitch

A

the ability to name a musical tone when hearing it (larger left hemisphere)

63
Q

the biology of the somatosensory senses via body position

A
  1. Hair cells contained within vestibular receptors in the inner ear are bent back and forth when the head moves.
  2. Signals are produced in the auditory nerve; axons carry said signals to the cerebellum and the medulla.
  3. The cerebellum participates in balance and motor coordination.
  4. The medulla recieves input from other somatosenses and forms connections with the spinal cord, allowing us to adjust our posture to keep balance.
  5. Vestibular information travels from the medulla to the thalamus, primary somatosensory cortex, and the primary motor cortex, which allow for voluntary movement.
64
Q

the biology of the somatosensory senses via touch

A
  1. Specialized neurons within the skin respond to certain features of a touch stimulus (i.e. pressure, vibration, stretch).
  2. Information travels from the skin to the spinal cord.
  3. Touch pathways and input from the cranial nerves proceed to the thalamus.
  4. The thalamus transmits touch information to the primary somatosensory cortex.
65
Q

the biology of the somatosensory senses via pain

A
  1. Free nerve endings that respond to pain are triggered by stimuli associated with tissue damage, and carry pain information to the brain.
  2. Myelinated axons are responsible for the sharp “ouch” sensation, whereas unmyelinated axons are responsible for dull, aching sensations.
  3. Pain fibres from the body form synapses with spinal cord cells.
  4. Pain messages are sent to the thalamus.
  5. Pain information is sent to the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula, which manage the emotional qualities of pain.
  6. The primary somatosensory cortex then processes the location and intensity of pain.
66
Q

No other sensory modality is as dramatically affected by culture, context, and experience as our sense of… (give example)

A

pain (e.g. athletes in contact sports have higher pain tolerances than non-athletes)

67
Q

the “most dispensable” sense, according to philosopher Immanuel kant (1798/1978)

A

olfaction (smell)

68
Q

the biology of olfaction

A
  1. Air containing olfactory stimuli is taken in through the nostrils, and circulated within the nasal cavities.
  2. Olfactory receptors within the olfactory epithelium interact with the stimuli; cells at the base of the receptors are responsible for producing mucus.
  3. The olfactory nerve fibers synapse into one of two olfactory bulbs, below the frontal lobes of the brain.
  4. Fibers from the olfactory bulbs proceed to the olfactory cortex and the amygdala, which account for the emotional reactions (i.e. disgust and pleasure) in response to odour.
  5. The olfactory cortex makes connections with the thalamus.
  6. Information is sent to the orbitofrontal cortex, which contributes to the conscious awareness of odours.
69
Q

the biology of gustation

A
  1. Food coats papillae found along our tongue.
  2. Taste buds - 1-100 found within papillae - contain 50-150 receptor cells which interact with dissolved taste stimuli and transduce the information into neural signals.
  3. Taste information travels to the medulla, which communicates with the thalamus.
  4. Information is sent to the insula, lower somatosensory cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex, where emotional pleasantness/unpleasantness is processed.
70
Q

the two likely original purposes of our sense of taste

A
  • to protect us from poisonous/spoiled food
  • to attract us towards foods that boost our chances of survival
71
Q

the five major categories of taste

A
  • sweet
  • sour
  • salty
  • bitter
  • umami
72
Q

three themes shared among olfaction and gustation

A
  • We can easily identify a number of complex stimuli (e.g. the aroma of coffee).
  • We can detect small differences among similar smells/tastes.
  • Our experience shapes our perception.
73
Q

Chemical senses interact to provide the perception of…

A

flavour

74
Q

where the olfactory and gustatory pathways conferge

A

the orbitofrontal cortex

75
Q

developmental differences in the chemical senses

A

as we get older, the number of taste buds we have decreases, and our sensitivity to smell decreases; this leads to a change in overall appetite as we age

76
Q

the sex most sensitive to smell

A

females

77
Q

individual differences within the chemical senses

A
  • supertasters have unusually high papillae (lots more taste buds)
  • PTSD could be initiated by relevant smells

PSY A01 (8 decks)

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