Chapter 6 Flashcards
Sensation
activation of sensory receptors, physical process
transduction
sensory system encodes stimulus energy as neural messages
perception
organizing and interpreting sensory info to recognize objects and events, psychological process
prosopagnotia
faceblindness
bottom-up processing
data driven, begins with sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory info
top-down processing
“conceptually driven,” guided by higher level mental processes, knowledge and expectations influence perception
absolute threshold
smallest amount of physical energy that can be reliablly detected 50% of the time
signal detection theory
predicts when we will detect a weak stimulus
subliminal stimulation
below absolute threshold, no powerful enduring effect on behavior
difference threshold
smallest difference between 2 stimuli that can be reliably detected 50% of the time
JND
just noticeable difference, depends on intensity of stimuli
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity given constant stimulation, need change and contrast, eyes move slightly to avoid vision adaptation
light waves
physical input of vision, small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
wavelength
frequence, distance between peaks, influences hue-color, short= blue, long= red
amplitude
intensity- height of the wave, how bright
cornea
eyeball’s protective cover
pupil
controls the amount of light
iris
muscle controlling the pupil size
lens
changes shape to cocus light on retnia
retnia
inner surface that contains visual receptors
rods
low levels of light, non-color vision, peripheral
cones
color vision, need light, concentrated at fovea
dark adaptation
recovery of the eye’s sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after exposure to bright light
optic nerve
carries neural impulese from eye to brain
