Chapter 5 Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

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

A

sensation

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2
Q

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

A

perception

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3
Q

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

A

bottom-up processing

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4
Q

information processing guided by the higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our own experiences and expectations

A

top-down processing

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5
Q

have complete sensation, but incomplete perception;Sense visual info, but can’t recognize it; cannot process top-down (cannot relate stored knowledge to sensory input)

A

prosopagnosia

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6
Q

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

A

psychophysics

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7
Q

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

A

absolute threshold

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8
Q

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation ; assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

A

signal detection theory

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9
Q

faint stimulus

A

signal

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10
Q

background stimulation

A

noise

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11
Q

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

A

subliminal

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12
Q

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

A

priming

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13
Q

the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time; we experience it as a just noticeable difference

A

difference threshold

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14
Q

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

A

Weber’s Law

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15
Q

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

A

sensory adaptation

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16
Q

conversion of one form to another; in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret

A

transduction

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17
Q

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next; vary from short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

A

wavelength

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18
Q

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, etc

A

hue

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19
Q

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

A

intensity

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20
Q

height of wave

A

amplitude

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21
Q

light enters the eye through it, protects the eye and bends light to provide focus

A

cornea

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22
Q

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

A

pupil

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23
Q

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

A

iris

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24
Q

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

A

lens

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25
Q

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

A

accommodation

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26
Q

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

A

retina

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27
Q

sharpness of vision (affected by small distortions in the eye’s shape)

A

acuity

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28
Q

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

A

nearsightedness

29
Q

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

A

farsightedness

30
Q

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

A

rods

31
Q

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; they detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

A

cones

32
Q

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

A

optic nerve

33
Q

point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, no receptor cells are located there

A

blind spot

34
Q

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

A

fovea

35
Q

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

A

feature detectors

36
Q

step by step processing computers do

A

serial processing

37
Q

the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision; contrasts with step by step serial processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

A

parallel processing

38
Q

blindness in part of their field of vision, there’s a parallel processing system operating unseen

A

blindsight

39
Q

theory that the retina contains 3 different color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue - which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

A

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

40
Q

subtracts wavelengths from the reflected light

A

Subtractive color mixing

41
Q

adds wavelengths and increases the light

A

Additive color mixing

42
Q

when you stare at one color for a long time and then look at a white paper, you will see its opponent color

A

afterimages

43
Q

theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

A

opponent-process theory

44
Q

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

A

color constancy

45
Q

the sense or act of hearing (highly adaptive)

A

audition

46
Q

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

A

frequency

47
Q

a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depend on the frequency

A

pitch

48
Q

measuring unit for sound energy

A

decibels

49
Q

channels sound waves through the auditory canal

A

outer ear

50
Q

tight membrane that vibrates with the waves

A

eardrum

51
Q

chamber b/w the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

A

middle ear

52
Q

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

A

cochlea

53
Q

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

A

inner ear

54
Q

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

A

place theory

55
Q

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 its pitch

A

frequency theory

56
Q

neural cells can alternate firing

A

volley principle

57
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea (Ability to conduct vibrations diminishes)

A

conduction hearing loss

58
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

A

Sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)

59
Q

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

A

Cochlear implant

60
Q

extreme sensitivity to pain, makes life miserable

A

Hyperalgesia

61
Q

perceive sensations in nonexisting limbs; misinterpret CNS activity

A

phantom sensations

62
Q

phantom sounds, ringing in the ears, for people with hearing loss

A

tinnitus

63
Q

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

A

Gate-control theory

64
Q

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

A

sensory interaction

65
Q

seeing a speaker say one syllable and hearing another, we may perceive a third syllable that blends both inputs

A

McGurk effect

66
Q

one sort of sensation produces another

A

Synaesthesia

67
Q

system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

A

kinesthesis

68
Q

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

A

vestibular sense