Chapter 6

Question 1

sensatioon

Answer 1

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

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the process by which our brains organizes and interprets sensory information enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful

Question 3

bottom-up processing

Answer 3

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

Question 4

top-down processing

Answer 4

information precessing guided by the higher-level mental processes. constructing perceptions drawing on our previous experience and expectations.

Question 5

psychophysics

Answer 5

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (ex intensity) and our psychological experience of them

Question 6

absolute threshold

Answer 6

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

Question 7

signal detection theory

Answer 7

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, motivations, and alertness

Question 8

subliminal

Answer 8

below ones threshold for conscious awareness

Question 9

difference threshold:

Answer 9

the minimum distance between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. we experience a just notable difference (jnd)

Question 10

webber’s law

Answer 10

the principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Question 11

sensory adaptation

Answer 11

the mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other

Question 12

perceptual set

Answer 12

the mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other

Question 13

vision

Answer 13

sensory + perceptual processing

Question 14

wavelength

Answer 14

distance from one peak or trough of one wave to the other (peak to peak, trough to trough)

Question 15

heu (light)

Answer 15

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light. what we know as “colors”

Question 16

intensity (light)

Answer 16

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. intensity is determined by wave’s amplitude.

Question 17

retina

Answer 17

light-sensitive inner surface of the eye. contains rods and cones + a layer of neurons which begin the processing of visual information

Question 18

rods

Answer 18

photoreceptors that detect black, white, and grey and are movement sensitive. necessary for peripheral and twilight vision (when cones dont respond)

Question 19

cones

Answer 19

photoreceptors concentrated in the center of the retina (fovia) that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. detects fine detail and gives rise to color sensations

Question 20

optic nerve

Answer 20

nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Question 21

blind spot

Answer 21

point at which the optic nerve connects to the retina. no photoreceptors here meaning we cannot see there causing a “blind spot”

Question 22

fovia

Answer 22

central focal point of the retina around which the cones cluster

Question 23

young-helmholtz trichromatic (3-color) theory

Answer 23

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

Question 24

opponent-process theory

Answer 24

theory that opposing retinal processes (red/green, blue/yellow, black/white) enable color vision.

“we cant see red + green at the same time but can see red + blue at the same time because they travel on separate “tracks”/have separate receptors

Question 25

feature detectors

Answer 25

nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of a stimulus such as a shape, angle, or movement.

Question 26

parallel processing

Answer 26

processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

Question 27

gestalt

Answer 27

an organized whole. gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes (conscious perception is a continuous, integrated whole)

Question 28

figure-ground

Answer 28

the organization of visual fields into objects (figure) that stands out from the background (ground)

Question 29

grouping

Answer 29

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Question 30

depth perception

Answer 30

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retinal are two-dimensional. allows us to judge distance.

Question 31

visual cliff

Answer 31

laboratory devise used for testing depth perception in babies and young animals

Question 32

binocular cue

Answer 32

a depth cue (such as retinal display) that depends on the use of both eyes

Question 33

monocular cue

Answer 33

a depth cue (such as interposition or linear perspective) available to either eye alone

Question 34

phi phenomenon

Answer 34

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession (arrows on an electronic road sign)

Question 35

perceptual consistancy

Answer 35

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change (seeing someone from the side but still recognizing them)

Question 36

perceptual adaptation

Answer 36

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverse visual field

Question 37

audition

Answer 37

the sense or act of hearing

Question 38

frequency

Answer 38

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point at any given time (usually per second)

Question 39

pitch

Answer 39

a tone's experienced highness or lowness (high frequency = high pitch)

Question 40

middle ear

Answer 40

chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones: hammer, anvil, and stirrup which concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Question 41

cochlia

Answer 41

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear. sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses (later perceived as sound)

Question 42

inner ear

Answer 42

the innermost part of the ear. contains cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacks

Question 43

sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 43

most common type of hearing loss. caused by damage to the cochleas receptor cells or to the auditory nerve. aka nerve deafness

Question 44

conduction hearing loss

Answer 44

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

Question 45

cochlear implant

Answer 45

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

Question 46

place theory (hearing)

Answer 46

theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochleas membrane is stimulated aka place coding

Question 47

frequency theory (hearing)

Answer 47

theory that the role of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone thus enabling us to sense its pitch. aka temporal coding

Question 48

touch

Answer 48

pressure + warmth + cold + pain

Question 49

gate control theory

Answer 49

theory that the spinal chord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks the pain signals or allows them to pass to the brain. the "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up nerve fibers, and is closed by activity in a larger fibers or by info coming from the brain

Question 50

hypnosis

Answer 50

social interaction in which the hypnotist suggests to another person (the subject) that certain perceptions, thoughts, behaviors or feelings will spontaneously occur

Question 51

dissasociation

Answer 51

a split in consciousness which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Question 52

posthypnotic suggestion

Answer 52

a suggestion made during a hypnosis session to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized. used by any clinitions to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Question 53

gustation

Answer 53

our sense of taste

Question 54

olfaction

Answer 54

sense of smell

Question 55

kinesthesia

Answer 55

our movement sense. system for sending the position and movement of individual body parts

Question 56

vestibular sense

Answer 56

our balance sense. our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance

Question 57

sensory interaction

Answer 57

principle that one sense can influence another as when the smell of food affects its taste

Question 58

embodied cognition

Answer 58

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive performance and judgements

Question 59

extrasensory perception (ESP)

Answer 59

controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Question 60

parapsychology

Answer 60

study of paranormal phenomena including ESP and telekinesis