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Psychology > Chapter 5 - Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Chapter 5 - Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

sensation

A
  • when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor (specialized neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli)
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2
Q

transduction

A
  • conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential
  • cells detect surroundings, relay messages through action potential to nervous system
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3
Q

absolute threshold

A
  • the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time
  • ex. how dim a light can be and still be detected half the time
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4
Q

subliminal messages

A

getting messages that are presented below the threshold for conscious awareness

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5
Q

just noticeable difference/difference threshold

A

how much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them

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6
Q

perception

A

the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced

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7
Q

bottom-up processing

A
  • when we sense basic features of stimuli and then integrate them
  • comes from the environment
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8
Q

top-down processing

A
  • when previous experience and expectations are first used to recognize stimuli
  • typically slow, deliberate, and under your control
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9
Q

sensory adaptation

A

when we often don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time

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10
Q

inattentional blindness

A

the failure to notice something that is completely visible because the person was actively attending to something else and did not pay attention to other things

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11
Q

signal detection theory

A
  • the ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background because you’re looking for it
  • ex. showering and hearing your cell ring when expecting a phone call
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12
Q

attention

A

plays a significant role in determining what is sensed versus what is perceived

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13
Q

amplitude

A

the distance from crest (top) to the trough (bottom) of a wave

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14
Q

although perceptions are built from sensations…

A

not all sensations result in perception

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15
Q

wavelength

A

the length of a wave from one peak to the next

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16
Q

frequency

A

the number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period

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17
Q

hertz (Hz)

A
  • the unit that is often used to represent frequency
  • in cycles/sec
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18
Q

visible spectrum

A

the portion of the larger electromagnetic spectrum that we can see

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19
Q

electromagnetic spectrum

A

encompasses all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment and includes gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, microwaves, and radio waves

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20
Q

ROYGBIV

A
  • how to remember the light wavelength that is associated with colors
  • red is longer wavelengths, blues and violets are shorter
  • larger amplitudes appear as brighter colors
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21
Q

pitch

A
  • frequency of a sound wave is associated with our perception of pitch
  • high frequency waves are high pitched, low freq are low pitched
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22
Q

decibels (db)

A

a logarithmic unit of sound intensity

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23
Q

timbre

A

a sound’s purity, and it is affected by the complex interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves

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24
Q

cornea

A
  • the transparent covering over the eye
  • serves as a barrier between the inner eye and the outside world
  • involved in focusing light waves that enter the eye
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25
Q

pupil

A
  • the small opening in the eye through which light passes
  • size of the pupil can change as a function of light levels and emotional arousal
  • dilates to let light in in darker areas, vice versa
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26
Q

iris

A
  • the colored portion of the eye
  • what controls the pupil’s size
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27
Q

lens

A
  • a curved transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus
  • attached to muscles that can change its shape to aid in focusing light that is reflected from near or far objects
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28
Q

fovea

A
  • a small indentation in the back of the eye
  • where the lens focuses images its receiving
  • contains densely packed photoreceptor cells
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29
Q

retina

A
  • the light-sensitive lining of the eye
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30
Q

photoreceptor

A
  • light-detecting cells
  • these photoreceptor cells are known as cones
  • inside of the fovea
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31
Q

cones

A
  • specialized types of photoreceptors that work best in bright light conditions
  • very sensitive to acute detail and provide tremendous spatial resolution
  • involved in our ability to perceive color
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32
Q

rods

A
  • specialized photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions
  • involved in our vision in dimly lit environments, perception of movement, and peripheral
  • located in retina
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33
Q

optic nerve

A
  • nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain
  • formed by retinal ganglion cells that connect cones and rods
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34
Q

blind spot

A
  • even when light from a small object is focused on the blind spot, we do not see it
  • visual system fills blind spot so not aware it exists
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35
Q

optic chiasm

A
  • an X-shaped structure that sits just below the cerebral cortex at the front of the brain
  • info from right visual field is sent to LEFT side of the brain and vice versa
  • where optic nerve from each eye merges below brain
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36
Q

trichromatic theory of color vision

A
  • all colors in spectrum can be made by combining red, green, and blue - three types of cones are each receptive to one of the colors
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37
Q

opponent-process theory

A
  • another color theory, color is coded in opponent pairs: black-white, yellow-blue, and green-red
  • idea is that some cells of the visual system are excited by one of the opponent colors and inhibited by the other
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38
Q

afterimage

A
  • the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus
  • ex. seeing a sun spot after looking away
39
Q

depth perception

A

Our ability to perceive spatial relationships in 3D space

40
Q

binocular cues

A

rely on the use of both eyes to understand depth

41
Q

binocular disparity

A
  • the slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives
  • an ex. of a binocular cue
42
Q

monocular cues

A

cues that require only one eye

43
Q

linear perspective

A

the fact that we perceive depth when we see two parallel lines that seem to converge in an image (e.g. a painting of a road)

44
Q

____ and ___ stimuli both occur in the form of waves

A

visual, auditory

45
Q

relationship between wave amplitude/frequency and loudness

A
  • higher amplitudes are associated with louder sounds and vice versa
  • lower freq., harder to hear and vice versa
46
Q

pinna

A
  • the visible part of the ear that protrudes from our heads
  • part of the outer ear
47
Q

tympanic membrane

A
  • also known as the eardrum
  • part of the outer ear
48
Q

ossicles

A
  • the three tiny bones that are part of the middle ear
49
Q

malleus

A
  • one of the three tiny ossicles bones
  • also known as “hammer”
50
Q

incus

A
  • one of the three tiny ossicles bones
  • also known as “anvil”
51
Q

stapes

A
  • one of the three tiny ossicles bones
  • also known as “stirrup”
52
Q

cochlea

A
  • a fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells (hair cells) of the auditory system
  • part of the inner ear, which regulates balance and movement
53
Q

hair cells

A

auditory receptor cells of the inner ear embedded in the basilar membrane

54
Q

basilar membrane

A

a thin strip of tissue within the cochlea

55
Q

temporal theory

A
  • theory that frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron
  • means a given hair cell would fire action potentials related to the frequency of the sound wave
  • can’t account for entire range of frequencies though
56
Q

place theory

A
  • theory that different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies
  • so hair cells in base portion would be labeled as high-pitch receptors, and basilar membrane would be low-pitch receptors
57
Q

monaural

A
  • one eared cues to place where a sound is coming from
  • helpful in locating sounds that occur above or below and in front or behind us
58
Q

binaural

A
  • two eared cues to place where a sound is coming from
  • provide information on the location of a sound along a horizontal axis by relying on differences in patterns of vibration of the eardrum between our two ears
59
Q

interaural level difference

A
  • type of binaural cue
  • the difference in the intensity of a sound between the left and right ear
60
Q

interaural timing difference

A
  • type of binaural cue
  • the small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear
  • certain brain areas monitor these differences to construct where along a horizontal axis a sound originates
61
Q

deafness

A

the partial or complete inability to hear

62
Q

congenital deafness

A

people who are born deaf

63
Q

conductive hearing loss

A
  • condition due to a problem delivering sound energy to the cochlea
64
Q

sensorineural hearing loss

A

When the hearing problem is associated with a failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain

65
Q

Ménière’s disease

A

A disease that results in sensorineural hearing loss

66
Q

vertigo

A
  • a sense of spinning
67
Q

cochlear implants

A
  • are electronic devices that consist of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array
  • device receives incoming sound information and directly stimulates the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain
68
Q

umami

A
  • a Japanese word that roughly translates to yummy, and it is associated with a taste for monosodium glutamate
  • a grouping of our taste
69
Q

taste buds

A
  • formed by groupings of taste receptor cells with hair-like extensions that protrude into the central pore of the taste bud
70
Q

olfactory receptor

A
  • are located in a mucous membrane at the top of the nose
  • hair-like extensions from these receptors serve as sites for odor molecules dissolved in mucus to interact with chemical receptors located on extensions
71
Q

olfactory bulb

A

a bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe where the olfactory nerves begin

72
Q

pheromones

A
  • chemical messages sent by another individual
  • often involves providing information about the reproductive status of a potential mate
73
Q

Meissner’s corpuscles

A
  • respond to pressure and lower frequency vibrations
  • distributed throughout the skin to respond to various touch-related stimuli
74
Q

pacinian corpuscles

A
  • detect transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations
  • distributed throughout the skin to respond to various touch-related stimuli
75
Q

Merkel’s disks

A
  • respond to light pressure,
  • distributed throughout the skin to respond to various touch-related stimuli
76
Q

Ruffini corpuscles

A
  • detect stretch
  • distributed throughout the skin to respond to various touch-related stimuli
77
Q

thermoception

A
  • temperature perception
  • nerve endings respond to a variety of different types of touch-related stimuli and serve as sensory receptors
78
Q

nociception

A
  • a signal indicating potential harm and maybe pain
  • nerve endings respond to a variety of different types of touch-related stimuli and serve as sensory receptors
79
Q

inflammatory pain

A

Pain that signals some type of tissue damage

80
Q

neuropathic pain

A
  • some situations, pain results from damage to neurons of either the peripheral/central nervous system. - - - so pain signals that are sent to the brain get exaggerated.
81
Q

congenital insensitivity to pain/ congenital analgesia

A
  • when individuals are born without the ability to feel pain
82
Q

vestibular sense

A
  • contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture
  • the major sensory organs of this system are located next to the cochlea in the inner ear
83
Q

proprioception

A
  • perception of body position
  • interact with information provided by the vestibular system
84
Q

kinesthesia

A
  • perception of the body’s movement through space
  • interact with information provided by the vestibular system
85
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

school of thought that focuses on how the human brain perceives the world as a whole, rather than individual part

86
Q

figure-ground relationship

A
  • A Gestalt principle
  • we tend to segment our visual world into figure (object or person that’s focus of visual field) and ground (the background)
87
Q

proximity

A

asserts that things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together

88
Q

similarity

A

things that are alike tend to be grouped together

89
Q

continuity/good continuation

A

suggests that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines

90
Q

closure

A

we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

91
Q

principle of closure

A

we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

92
Q

pattern perception

A
  • our ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes
  • occurs because of principles of closure/continuity
93
Q

perceptual hypotheses

A
  • educated guesses that we make while interpreting sensory information
  • informed by a number of factors
94
Q

chemical senses

A
  • tase and smell are chemical sense because they both have sensory receptors

Psychology (15 decks)

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