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AP Psychology > Chapter 5 > Flashcards

Chapter 5 Flashcards

0
Q

Perception

A

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

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1
Q

Sensation

A

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

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2
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

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3
Q

Top-down processing

A

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

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4
Q

Prosopagnosia

A

Complete sensation but incomplete perception

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5
Q

Psychophysics

A

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such ad their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

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6
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

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7
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (“signal”) amid background stimulation (“noise”). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

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8
Q

Subliminal

A

Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

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9
Q

Priming

A

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

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10
Q

Difference Threshold

A

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (JND).

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11
Q

Weber’s Law

A

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

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12
Q

Sensory Adaption

A

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

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13
Q

Transduction

A

Conversion of one form of energy into another. I sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret

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14
Q

Wavelength

A

The distance from the 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

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15
Q

Hue

A

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

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16
Q

Intensity

A

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

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17
Q

Pupil

A

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

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18
Q

Iris

A

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

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19
Q

Lens

A

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

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20
Q

Accommodation

A

The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

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21
Q

Retina

A

The light-sensitive inner surface if the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

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22
Q

Acuity

A

The sharpness of vision

23
Q

Nearsightedness

A

A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina

24
Q

Farsightedness

A

A condition in which far away objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina

25
Q

Rods

A

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

26
Q

Cones

A

Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

27
Q

Bipolar Cells

A

Light energy strikes the rods and cones and produces chemical changes that generate neural signals. These signals activate the neighboring bipolar cells which activate neighboring ganglion cells.

28
Q

Ganglion Cells

A

Activated by the bipolar cells. The axons from the network of ganglion cells converge like the strands of a rope to form an optic nerve

29
Q

Optic Nerve

A

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

30
Q

Blind Spot

A

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

31
Q

Fovea

A

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

32
Q

Feature Detectors

A

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

33
Q

Parallel Processing

A

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing or most computers and of conscious problem solving

34
Q

Blindsight

A

Others who have lost a portion of their brain’s visual cortex to stroke or surgery have experienced blindness in part of their field of vision

35
Q

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (three-color) Theory

A

The theory that the retina controls three different color receptors – one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue – which when simulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

36
Q

Opponent-Process Theory

A

The 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

37
Q

Color Constancy

A

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

38
Q

Audition

A

The sense or act of hearing

39
Q

Frequency

A

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)

40
Q

Pitch

A

A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

41
Q

Middle Ear

A

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oral window

42
Q

Cochlea

A

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

43
Q

Cilia

A

Hair cells

44
Q

Inner Ear

A

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

45
Q

Place Theory

A

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated

46
Q

Frequency Theory

A

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency if a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch

47
Q

Conduction Hearing Loss

A

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

48
Q

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

A

(Nerve deafness) - hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

49
Q

Cochlear Implant

A

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

50
Q

Gate-Control Theory

A

The 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 large fibers or by information coming from the brain

51
Q

Sensory Interaction

A

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences it’s taste

52
Q

McGurk Effect

A

If we see a speaker saying one syllable while hearing another, we may perceive a third syllable that blends both inputs

53
Q

Olfaction

A

Experiences of smell

54
Q

Synesthesia

A

One sort of sensation (such as hearing sound) produces another (such as seeing color)

55
Q

Kinesthesis

A

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

56
Q

Vestibular Sense

A

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

AP Psychology (22 decks)

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