Chapter 5 Sensation and Perception

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the detection of external stimuli

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

processing organizing and interpretation of sensory signals in the brain resulting in internal represention of external information

Question 3

psychophysics

Answer 3

study of external stimuli and the interactions with sensory systems

Question 4

signal detection theory

Answer 4

detection of stimulus depends on the intensity and stimulus and state of the person

Question 5

absolute threshold

Answer 5

minimun intensity that must occur in order for a signal to be detected 50 percent of the time

Question 6

difference threshold

Answer 6

minimum difference between two stimuli that can be noticed

Question 7

sensory adaptation

Answer 7

reduction of sensitivity to a stimulus after constantly being exposed to it

Question 8

audition

Answer 8

ability the interpret sound

Question 9

agnosia

Answer 9

unable to name objects due to injury

Question 10

binocular cue

Answer 10

depth cues that require the use of both eyes

Question 11

bottom-up processing

Answer 11

info sent from lower to high level thinking areas of the brain

Question 12

top bottom processing

Answer 12

info sent from the higher levels of the brain to earlier levels of info processing

Question 13

cochlea

Answer 13

tiny coiled structure in the inner ear involved sound waves coming into the ear into perceived sound

Question 14

cone job? which type of light do they work better in?

Answer 14

receptor cells that help us see fine details of things and tend to help us see in situations where there is light or daylight

Question 15

cornea

Answer 15

transparent covering over the eye that begins process of directing light to the retina

Question 16

depth perception

Answer 16

ability to see objects in 3 dimension such as how far they are away from you

Question 17

fovea

Answer 17

spot of highest visual acuity important during activities where visual acuity is of high importance such as driving

Question 18

somatosensory homunculus

Answer 18

a map along the cerebral cortex of where each part of the body is processed.

Question 19

mechanoreceptors

Answer 19

receptors that detect stimulus form the external environment

Question 20

nociceptors

Answer 20

alert us to potentially damaging stimuli at the skin

by detecting extremes in temperature and pressure and injury-related chemicals, and transducing these stimuli into long-ranging electrical signals that are relayed to higher brain centers

Question 21

gestalt principle

Answer 21

being able to perceive info in a meaningful pattern automatically organizing info in a unified whole

Question 22

gustation

Answer 22

taste

Question 22

gate control theory

Answer 22

when pain signals are sent up the spinal cord to the brain so the pain sensation can be experienced. The “gate” is the tool in the body where pain signals can go through or be restricted.

Question 23

what are the gestalt principles? PSCCC

Answer 23

proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure

Question 24

what is the proximity gestalt principle?

Answer 24

we tend to see things that are close to one another as a cohesive unit

Question 25

what is the similarity gestalt principle?

Answer 25

we tend to see things sharing the same visual characteristics as relating to one another

Question 26

what is the continuation gestalt principle?

Answer 26

assuming that lines and things continue without drastically changing direction

Question 27

what is the figure-ground relationship?

Answer 27

what is not focused in our vision automatically becomes assigned to the background

Question 28

what is llusionary contour?

Answer 28

perceive contour edges even when they do not exist, cue suggest contour should be present

Question 29

iris job

Answer 29

controls how much light the pupils let in

Question 30

lens

Answer 30

focus incoming light wave info

Question 31

monocular cue

Answer 31

not relying on two eyes

Question 32

what does a monocular cue include and what is the job of each? ORFTP

Answer 32

occlusive (Objects partially blocking other parts of the scene are perceived to be closer to an observer than the blocked objects), relative size (when two objects are the same zie, the one that is smaller will take up less space in your eye), familiar size (depth cue of how far something is based on your knowledge of the sizes of objects), texture gradient ( seeing the texture clearly is a cue that it is closer), and position relative to the horizontal line (closer it is to the horizontal line the closer it is to you) ORFTP

Question 33

motion parallax

Answer 33

objects moving at a constant speed across the frame will appear to move a greater amount if they are closer to an observer (or camera) than they would if they were at a greater distance

Question 34

olfaction

Answer 34

Smell

Question 35

olfactory bulb job

Answer 35

Receives input about odours

Question 36

olfactory nerve job

Answer 36

allows sense of smell

Question 37

where is the pupil located? job?

Answer 37

Hole in center of the iris that allows light to strike the retina

Question 38

what is the retina? what is its job?

Answer 38

Most light sensitive layer of tissue in the eye captures the light that enters your eye and helps translate it into the images you see

Question 39

retinal disparity

Answer 39

the fact that the left and right fields of vision provide slightly different visual images when focusing on a single object

Question 40

what are rods? where are they located? which types of light do they function better in?

Answer 40

are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in lower light better than the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells

Question 41

taste bud

Answer 41

Nerve endings on the tongue responsible for the sensation of taste

Question 42

transduction

Answer 42

changing physical energy into neural signals

Question 43

trichromatic theory

Answer 43

theory of colour vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short medium and long waves

Question 44

vestibular system

Answer 44

ability to maintain balance and body posture

Question 45

vision benefit

Answer 45

tool used to allow us to successfully navigate through physical space

Question 46

synesthesia

Answer 46

when you can hear music but see shapes

Question 47

temporal pathway (ventral stream)

Answer 47

specialized pathway used to help us identify what things are

Question 48

parietal pathway (dorsal stream)

Answer 48

specialized pathway used for letting us know where things are

Question 49

split brain

Answer 49

type of brain where neuron connections between the two forebrain cerebral cortices have been cut

Question 50

contralateral organization

Answer 50

arrangement whereby the motor cortex of each cerebral hemisphere is mainly responsible for control of movements of the opposite side of the body. e.g information from the left eye is processed in the right hemisphere