Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Psyc 100A > Chapter 6 Module > Flashcards

Chapter 6 Module Flashcards

1
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

Smallest amount of sensory stimulation that can be reliably detectected 50% of the time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation.

Assumes that there is no absolute threshold and that detection depends on context.

Hit Stimulus: Present and detected

Miss Stimulus: Present and missed

False Alarm: Absent and detected

Correct Detection: Absent and missed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Difference Threshold

A

Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

Weber’s Law.

More stimulus: less detection in difference changes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Weber’s Law

A

For a difference to be perceptible, two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion rather than amount.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

The Influence of Stimuli Below Absolute Threshold

A

Stimuli below the absolute threshold still may influence perception, even if it is undetected.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Subliminal Persuasion

A

May produce a fleeting & subtle effect on behaviour.

Discounts effectiveness of subliminal advertising & self-improvement.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Subliminal Stimuli

A

Too weak to detect 50% of the time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Subliminal Sensations

A

Too fleeting to enable exploitation with subliminal messages.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Sensation

A

Process by which sensory receptors & nervous system receive & represents stimulus energies from our environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Perception

A

Process of organizing & interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects & events.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Transduction

A

Conversion of one form of energy into another.

Transforming sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses that our brain can interpret.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Psychophysics

A

A study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience with them.

Ex. Physical world: light. Psychological world: Brightness.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Bottom-Up Processing

A

Analysis begins with sensory receptors relaying information to the brain and then works up to higher levels of processing.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Top-Down Processing

A

Constructs perceptions from sensory input by drawing on past experiences and expectations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Perceptual Constancy

A

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Colour and brightness constancy

Shape and size constancies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Shape and Size Constancies

A

We perceive the form of familiar objects as constant even while our retinal images of it changes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Size Distance Constancies

A

Knowing that things are the same size, eventhough they adjust size based on distance.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Relative Luminance

A

The relative brightness of any point in a colorspace.

Can lead to optical illusions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Vision

A

Transforms light energy into neural signals.

Represents objects in the environment in terms of shape, size, colour, and location

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Parts of the Eye

A

Iris
Pupil
Lens
Cornea
Retina
Fovea (Point of central focus)
Blind Spot
Optic Nerve to brain’s Visual Cortex

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Retina

A

Contains receptor rods, cones, and layers of neurons (bipolar and ganglion cells).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Rods

A

Function in dim light
Detect black & white vision, but not colours
Necessary for peripheral and twighlight vision

Owls

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Cones

A

Near center of retina (fovea)
Function in bright or day light
Detect fine deatil
Enable colour perception

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (3-Colour) Theory

A

3 types of colour receptor cones: red, green and blue

All colours we perceive are created by combinations of these cones.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Opponent-Process Theory
Neural processing of things based on 3 sets of opponent colours: Red vs. green Yellow vs. Blue White vs. Black
26
Dual Process Theory of Colour Processing
1. Retina's red, green, blue cones respond in varying degrees 2. The cones' responses are then processed by opponent-process cells The two theories are complementary
27
Colour-Deficient Vision
People missing red or green cones have trouble differentiating red from green.
28
Feature Detection
Ganglion cells in the eye send signals directly to visual cortex in response to certian features. Edges, lines, angles, and movements. Supercells integrate these feature signals to recognize more complex forms.
29
Taste Sensations
1.Sweet 2.Sour 3.Umami 4.Bitter 5.Salty
30
Supertasters
Twice as many taste buds as regular tasters. Tend to dislike taste of alcohol and bitter tastes. Identified with PTC.
31
Categories of Tasters
Non-tasters Regular tasters Supertasters
32
Sensory Interaction
When one sense affects another sense. Ex. the taste of strawberry interacts with its smell and texture on the tongue to produce flavour.
33
McGurk Effect
Visual information received from mouth movement does not correspond to auditory information received from spoken sounds. The brain makes a best guess by perceiving a third sound.
34
Sensory Adaptation
Diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus. We perceive the world not as it acutally is, but as it is useful for us to perceive it. Freedom to focus on informative changes.
35
Four Components of Touch
Warmth Pressure Cold Pain
36
Gate Control Theory
Dorsal horns of the spinal column act like a gate. Intense stimulation "opens the gate" and pain information is transmitted. Thoughts, emotions, beliefs influence our experience of pain.
37
Phantom Limb Sensations
Brain can also create pain. Experience sensations after a limb has been amputated. Mirror Box Therapy
38
Biological Influences to Pain
Activity in spinal cord's large and small fibers. Genetic differences in endorphin production The brain's interpretations of CNS activity.
39
Psychological Influences to Pain
Attention to pain Learning based on experience Expectations
40
Social-Cultural Influences On Pain
Presence of others Empathy for others' pain Cultural expectations
41
Sensory Receptors
Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli.
42
Subliminal
Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
43
Perceptual Set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. Involves top-down processing.
44
Light Wavelength
The distance from one wave peak to the next. Determine hue.
45
Hue
The color we experience
46
Light Intensity
Determined by light wave's amplitude (height). Influences brightness.
47
Accommodation
The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
48
Gestalt
An organized whole. Filling in the gaps to create an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
49
Figure-Ground
The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.
50
Depth Perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retinaare two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
51
Visual Cliff
A lab device for testing dpeth perception in infants and young animales.
52
Binocular Cues
A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes.
53
Retinal Disparity
Binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from teh two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity between the two images, the closer the object.
54
Monocular Cues
A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective available to either eye alone.
55
Phi Phenomenon
Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
56
Perceptual Adaptation
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
57
Audition
The sense or act of hearing.
58
Auditory Frequency
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time. Determines pitch.
59
Decibels
How we measure sound intensity. 0 decibels is the absolute threshold for heaing.
60
Outer Ear
Auditory canal.
61
Middle Ear/Inner Ear
Hammer Anvil Eardrum Stirrup (staples) Oval Window Cochlea Basilar Membrane Protruding Hair Cells Nerve Fibers to Auditory Nerve Auditory Nerve
62
Inner Ear
Semicircular Canals Bone Auditory Nerve Cochlea
63
Piston
Hammer Anvil Stirrup
64
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Most common form of hearing loss. Caused by damage to the cohclea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve. Nerve deafness
65
Conduction Hearing Loss
A less common form of hearing loss. Caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
66
Cochlear Implant
A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
67
Place Theory
The theory that links the pitch we hear with the places where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
68
Frequency Theory
The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. Low pitch sounds. Temporal Coding.
69
Social Influence Theory
Contends that hypnosis is a by-product of normal social and mental processes.
70
Dissociation Theory
Proposes that hypnosis is a special dual-processing state of dissociation.
71
Dissociation
A split between different levels of consciousness.
72
Posthypnotic Suggestion
A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized. Used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.
73
Gustation
Our sense of taste
74
Survival Functions of Basic Tastes
Sweet - Energy Source Salty - Sodium essential to physiological processes Sour - Potentially toxic acid Bitter - Potential Poisons Umami - Proteins to grow and repair tissue
75
Olfaction
Our sense of smell
76
Kinesthesia
Our movement sense. Our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
77
Vestibular Sense
Our balance sense. Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.
78
Embodied Cognition
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preference and judgments.
79
Synesthesia
Where the stimulation of one sense triggers an experience of another.
80
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
The contraversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. Includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
81
Telepathy
Mind-to-mind communication.
82
Clairvoyance
Perceiving remote events, such as a house on fire across the country.
83
Precognition
Perceiving future events, such as an unexpected death in the next month.
84
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena.

Psyc 100A (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions