Chapter 6 Sensation and Perception recall

Question 1

Sensation

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

Question 3

Bottom-up processing

Answer 3

analysis that begins with sensory receptors and works up to brain’s integration of sensory information

Question 4

Top-down processing

Answer 4

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Question 5

transduction

Answer 5

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret.

Question 6

psychophysics

Answer 6

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, our psychological experience of them.

Question 7

absolute threshold

Answer 7

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

Question 8

signal detection theory

Answer 8

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Question 9

subliminal

Answer 9

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Question 10

priming

Answer 10

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.

Question 11

difference threshold

Answer 11

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time, we experience the difference threshold as just a noticeable difference.

Question 12

Weber’s law

Answer 12

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).

Question 13

sensory adaptation

Answer 13

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Question 14

perceptual set

Answer 14

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Question 15

wavelength

Answer 15

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to long pulses of radio transmission.

Question 16

hue

Answer 16

the dimension of color that is determined by wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, an so forth.

Question 17

intensity

Answer 17

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the waves’ amplitude.

Question 18

feature detectors

Answer 18

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

Question 19

parallel processing

Answer 19

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers, and of conscious problem solving.

Question 20

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Opponent-processing theory

Answer 21

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulate by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

Question 22

gestalt

Answer 22

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Question 23

Figure-ground

Answer 23

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Question 24

grouping

Answer 24

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Question 25

depth perception

Answer 25

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

Question 26

visual cliff

Answer 26

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Question 27

binocular cues

Answer 27

depth cues, such s retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.

Question 28

retinal disparity

Answer 28

a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance – the grater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Question 29

monocular cues

Answer 29

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

Question 30

phi phenomenon

Answer 30

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Question 31

perceptual constancy

Answer 31

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images.

Question 32

color constancy

Answer 32

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

Question 33

cochlear implant

Answer 33

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

Question 34

place theory

Answer 34

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.

Question 35

frequency theory

Answer 35

in hearing 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.

Question 36

Gate-control theory

Answer 36

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Question 37

sensory interaction

Answer 37

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Question 38

embodied cognition

Answer 38

the psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

Question 39

perceptual adaptation

Answer 39

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Question 40

audition

Answer 40

the sensor act of hearing.

Question 41

frequency

Answer 41

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time.

Question 42

pitch

Answer 42

a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 43

middle ear

Answer 43

the camber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.

Question 44

cochlea

Answer 44

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

Question 45

inner ear

Answer 45

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 46

sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 46

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

Question 47

conduction hearing loss

Answer 47

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

Question 48

pupil

Answer 48

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which the light enters

Question 49

iris

Answer 49

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the color portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.

Question 50

lens

Answer 50

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

Question 51

retina

Answer 51

the light-sensitive inner surface of the ye , containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

Question 52

accommodation

Answer 52

the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Question 53

rods

Answer 53

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.

Question 54

cones

Answer 54

retinal receptors cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Question 55

optic nerve

Answer 55

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Question 56

blind spot

Answer 56

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.

Question 57

fovea

Answer 57

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.

Question 58

masking stimulus

Answer 58

Stimulus that interrupts the brain’s processing before conscious perception.

Question 59

kinesthesis

Answer 59

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Question 60

vestibular sense

Answer 60

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

Question 61

ESP (extrasensory perception)

Answer 61

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

Question 62

parapsychology

Answer 62

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.