Chapter 5 Flashcards
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling use to reconginize meaningful objects and events
Sensation
Sensory receptors and nervous system that receives and represents stimulus energies from our environment
Bottom-up Processing
Analysis that begins with sensory receptors and works up to the brain integration of sensory info, just taking it in
Top-down Processing
Info processing guided down by higher level mental processes, “learning from experiences” for example, I burnt my hand with a sparkler so now I don’t use sparklers
Prosopagnosia
The failure of perception, complete sensation incomplete perception, related to recognizing faces, the inability to top-down process when related to faces
Psychophysics
Study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli, the intensity, and our psychological experience of them
Absolute Threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus, 50% of the time
Signal Detection Theory
A prediction theory how/when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus “signal” assumes that detection depends on partly on a person’s experience, if they’re “trained” to be sensitive to certain things
Subliminal
Below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Priming
The activation of certain association areas, predisposing ones perception, memory, or response, often unconscious
Difference threshold
Minimum difference between two stimulus required to detect them as different for 50% of the time
Weber’s Law
Principle that to be perceived as different, two stimulus must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Sensory Adaption
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another; sights, sounds, smells, into neural impulses our brain can understand
Wavelength
The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next
Hue
The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light, short wavelength=dark colors
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, determined by the waves amplitude, how bright or dull it will be
Pupil
The adjustable opening in the center of 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 pupils opening
Lens
Transparent structure behind the pupil that chances shape to help focus images on the retina
Accommodation
Process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Retina
Soft sensitive inner surface of the the eyes contains receptor rods plus cones, and neurons that begin the processing visual info
Acuity
The sharpness of vision
Nearsightedness
A condition in whoch nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects
Farsightedness
Far away objects are seen more clearly than near objects
Rods
Retinal receptors, detect black, white and gray; needed for peripheral and twilight vision
Cones
Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina, detect fine detail, give rise to color sensations
Optic Nerve
A nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Blind Spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, no receptor cells are located there
Fovea
The central focal point in the retina, where the eyes cones cluster
Feature Detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus such as shape, angle, or movement
Parallel processing
Processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously, natural mode for info processing for many functions including vision
Blindsight
Experiencing blindness in part of their field of vision, causes perception to be incomplete
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
Retina contains three receptors, one sensitive to red, one blue, one green, combined we can see any color
Opponent-process theory
Opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enables color vision
Color constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color
Audition
The sense or act of hearing
Frequency
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time
Pitch
A tone’s experiences highness or lowness, depends on frequency
Middle Ear
Chamber between the ear drum an cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup), that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochleas oval window
Cochlea
A coiled bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through who he sound waves trigger nerve impulses
Cilia
Still working
Inner Ear
The innermost part of the ears containing the cochlea semicircular canals and vestibular sacs
Place theory
theory linking pitch we hear with place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated, high pitch sounds
Frequency Theory
In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch, for low pitch sounds
Conduction hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound wages to the cochlea
Sensorineural hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptors cells or to the auditory nerves
Cochlear Implant
A device that converts electrical signals and stimulates auditory nerves through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
Gate-Control Theory
Theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals/allows them to pass on to the brain
Sensory Interaction
Principle that one sense may influence another
McGurk Effect
The body’s compensation for seeing and hearing two different things
Olfaction
The sense of smell
Synaethesia
When one sort of sensation produces another
Kinesthesia
System for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular Sense
The sense of body movement and position, in lauding the sense of balance
Retinas Reaction Order
1) Biopolar 2) Ganglion 3) Optic Nerve 4) Thalamus 5) Visual Cortex
