Chapter 5 Flashcards
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enabling us to reorganize meaningful objects and events
Sensation
Process in which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Bottom up processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information
Top down processing
Information processing guided by higher level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectation
Psychophysics
Study if relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Signal detection theory
Predicting hoe and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) and background stimulation (noise) assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a persons experience, expectation, motivation, and level of fatigue
Subliminal
Below ones absolute threshold of conscious awareness
Priming
Activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing ones perception, memory,nor response
Difference threshold
Minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (aka jnd or noticeable difference)
Webers law
To be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret
Wavelength
Distance from peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission
Hue
Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light, what we know as the color names blue, green
Intensity
Amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the waves amplitude
Pupil
Adjustable opening in the center if the eye through which light enters
Iris
Ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
Lens
Transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on retina
Accommodation
Process by which the eye lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on retins
Retina
Light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rids and vines plus layers of neurons that begun the processing if visual information
Acuity
Sharpness of vision
Nearsightedness
Condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina
Farsightedness
Condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than nearby objects because the image of nearby objects is focused behind the retina
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond
Cones
Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in day light or in well lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
Bipolar cells
Type of nerve cells that combine the impulses from many of the visual receptor cells in the retina and then transmits those impulses to the ganglion cells
Ganglion cells
Received information from the bipolar cells and transmits it to the optic nerve
Optic nerve
Nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Blind spot
Point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there
Fovea
Central focus point in the retina, around which the eyes cones cluster
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
Parallel processing
Processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously. The brains natural mode of information processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving
Blindsight
Lost portion of their brains visual cortex to stroke or surgery. Blindness in part of their field of vision
Young helmholtz trichromatic (3 color) theory
Theory that the retina contains 3 different color receptors. Red, green, and blue. When stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color
Opponent process theory
Theory that opposing retinal processes (red/green, yellow/blue, white/black) enable color vision for example some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
Color constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
Audition
The sense or act of hearing
Frequency
Number of complete wave lengths that pass a point in a given amount of time
Pitch
Tones experienced highness or lowness-depends on frequency
Middle ear
Chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlear oval window
Cochlea
A coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger neural impulses
Cilia
On top of hair cells
Inner ear
Innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular Cana,s, and vestibular sacs
Place theory
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea membrane is stimulated
Frequency theory
In hearing,the theory that the rate of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch
Conduction hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
Sensorineural hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlear receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. Also called nerve deafness
Cochlear implant
Device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
Gate control theory
Theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The gate is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain
Sensory interaction
Principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences taste
McGurk Effect
Sensory interaction can influence what we hear. If we see a speaker say one syllable while hearing another, we may perceive a third syllable that blends both inputs; seeing the mouth movements for -ga while haring -ba we may perceive -da
Olfaction
Sense of smell
Synesthesia
Production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body
Kinesthesis
System for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
Sense of body movement and position, including sense of balance
