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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

Stimulus detection process by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into nerve impulses that are sent to the brain

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2
Q

Perception

A

Making “sense” of what our senses tell us; it is the active process of organizing the stimulus and giving it meaning

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3
Q

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

A

Page 160

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4
Q

Sensory transduction

A

The process where the characteristics of a stimulus are converted into nerve impulses

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5
Q

Psychophysics

A

Studies the relationship between the physical characteristics of stimuli and sensory capabilities (f.eks how low a sound can the human ear perceive)

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6
Q

Absolute threshold

A

The lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be perceived by a human 50 percent of the time

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7
Q

Decision criterion

A

A standard of how certain someone must be that a stimulus is present before they will say they can detect it

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8
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Concerned with the factors that influence sensory judgements

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9
Q

Difference threshold

A

Defined as the smallest difference between two stimuli that people can perceive 50 percent of the time

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10
Q

Weber’s law

A

States that the difference threshold (or JND) is directly proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus with which the comparison is being made

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11
Q

Sensory adaption

A

The diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

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12
Q

Lens (eye)

A

Elastic structure that becomes thinner to focus on distant objects, and thicker to focus on nearby objects

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13
Q

Retina

A

Multilayered light-sensitive tissue at the rear of the fluid-filled eyeball

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14
Q

Myopia

A

Nearsightedness

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15
Q

Hyperopia

A

Farsightedness

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16
Q

Rods (eye)

A
  • primarily black and white brightness receptors

- function best in dim light

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17
Q

Cones (eye)

A
  • color receptors

- function best in bright illumination

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18
Q

Fovea

A

Small area in the center of the retina that contains no rods, but mainly densely packed cones

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19
Q

Optic nerve

A

Ganglion cells, whose axons are collected into a bundle to form the optic nerve

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20
Q

Visual acuity

A

Ability to see fine detail

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21
Q

Photo-pigments

A

Rods and cones translate light waves into nerve impulses through the action of protein molecules called photo-pigments

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22
Q

Dark adaptation

A

The progressive improvement in brightness sensitivity that occurs over time under conditions of low illumination

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23
Q

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

A

States that there are three types of color receptor in the retina

24
Q

Hearing’s opponent-process theory

A

States that each of the three cone types responds to two different wavelengths

25
Q

Dual-process theory

A

Combines the trichromatic and opponent-process theory to account for the color transduction process

26
Q

Feature detectors (cells in retina)

A

Fire selectively in response to visual stimuli that has specific characteristics

27
Q

Two principal characteristics of sound waves

A

1: frequency (number of sound waves or cycles per second)
hertz (Hz, the measure of cycles per second, 1Hz=1 cycles per sec)

2: amplitude (vertical size of the sound waves, depth between peaks and troughs)
Decibels (dB, measure of the physical pressures that occur at the eardrum)

28
Q

Cochlea (ear)

A

Coiled, snail-shaped tube

Contains basilar membrane

29
Q

Basilar membrane

A

Sheet of tissue that runs the length of cochlea

30
Q

Organ of corti

A

Rests on basilar membrane

Contains thousands of tiny hair cells that are the actual sound receptors

31
Q

Frequency theory of pitch perception

A

Nerve impulses sent to the brain match the frequency of the sound wave

32
Q

Place theory of pitch perception

A

The specific point in the cochlea where the fluid wave peaks and most strongly bends the hair cells serves as a frequency coding cue

33
Q

Gustation

A

The sense of taste

34
Q

Olfaction

A

Sense of smell

35
Q

Taste buds

A

Small bodies containing taste receptor cells concentrated along the tip, edges and back surface of the tongue

36
Q

Olfactory system processing

A

Olfactory receptors that fire send their input to the olfactory bulb, which codes the signals in part via the area of the olfactory bulb which is excited

(Olfactory processing involves organizing olfactory neurons into groups representing the kinds of chemicals that have simulated them)

37
Q

Pheromones

A

Chemical signals found in natural body scents

38
Q

Orthonasal olfaction

A

Smelling something from outside your mouth

39
Q

Retronasal olfaction

A

Smelling something from the inside of your mouth (heavily involved with our perception of flavor)

40
Q

Cutaneous touch

A

The sense of touch arising from events on the skin surface (temperature and pressure)

41
Q

Proprioception

A

Sensory input that provides info on the layout and movements of our limbs

42
Q

Interoceptive touch

A

The sense of touch arising from receptors inside the body, usually blood vessels and organs

43
Q

Haptics

A

The active use of touch and movement to explore objects and surfaces within reach

44
Q

Sensory prosthetic devices

A

Provide sensory input that can, to some extent, substitute for what cannot be supplied by the persons sensory receptors

45
Q

Synaesthesia

A

Mixing of the senses

46
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Individual elements of a stimulus are analysed and then combined to form a unified perception

47
Q

Top-down processing

A

Sensory information is interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts, ideas and expectations

48
Q

Figure-ground relations

A

Our tendency to organize stimuli into a central or foreground figure and a background

49
Q

Gestalt laws of perceptual organization

A

Similarity, proximity, closure and continuity

50
Q

Perceptual schema

A

A mental representation or image containing the critical and distinctive features of a person, object, event or other perceptual phenomenon

51
Q

Perceptual Constantine

A

Allow us to recognize familiar stimuli under varying conditions

52
Q

Monocular depth cues

A

Patterns of light and shadow, linear perspective, relative size

53
Q

Binocular depth cues

A 
Binocular disparity (each eye sees a slightly different image)
Convergence (produced by feedback from the muscles that move your eyes inward to view a close object)
54
Q

Stroboscopic movement

A

Illusory movement produced when a light is briefly flashed in darkness and then, a few milliseconds later, another light is flashed nearby

55
Q

Illusions

A

Compelling, yet incorrect perceptions

56
Q

Critical periods

A

Periods during which certain kinds of experiences must occur if perceptual abilities and the brain mechanisms that underlie them are to develop normally

Psychology (7 decks)

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