Chapter4 Flashcards
additive color mixing
A way to produce a given spectral pattern in which different wavelengths of lights are mixed. The percept is determined by the interaction of these wavelengths with receptors in the eye and is a psychological process.
audition
The sense of sound perception.
binocular depth cues
Cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes.
binocular disparity (or retinal disparity)
A cue of depth perception that is caused by the distance between a person’s eyes, which provides each eye with a slightly different image.
bottom-up processing
A hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which data are relayed from one processing level to the next, always moving to a higher level of processing.
cones
Retinal cells that respond to higher levels of illumination and result in color perception.
cornea
The clear outer covering of the eye.
eardrum (tympanic membrane)
A thin membrane, which sound waves vibrate, that marks the beginning of the middle ear.
fovea
The center of the retina, where cones are densely packed.
gustation
The sense of taste.
haptic sense
The sense of touch.
iris
The colored muscular circle on the surface of the eye; it changes shape to let in more or less light.
kinesthetic sense
Perception of our limbs in space.
lateral inhibition
A visual process in which adjacent photoreceptors tend to inhibit one another.
monocular depth cues
Cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone.
olfaction
The sense of smell, which occurs when receptors in the nose respond to chemicals.
olfactory bulb
The brain center for smell, located below the frontal lobes.
olfactory epithelium
The thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that is embedded with smell receptors.
perception
The processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals; it results in an internal representation of the stimulus.
perceptual constancy
People correctly perceive objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception.
pupil
The small opening in the eye; it lets in light waves.
receptive field
The region of visual space to which neurons in the primary visual cortex are sensitive.
retina
The thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball. The retina contains the photoreceptors that transduce light into neural signals.
rods
Retinal cells that respond to low levels of illumination and result in black-and-white perception.
sensation
The sense organs’ responses to external stimuli and the transmission of these responses to the brain.
sensory adaptation
When an observer’s sensitivity to stimuli decreases over time.
signal detection theory (SDT)
A theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a faint stimulus requires a judgment-it is not an all-or-none process.
sound wave
The pattern of the changes in air pressure through time that results in the percept of a sound.
subtractive color mixing
A way to produce a given spectral pattern in which the mixture occurs within the stimulus itself and is actually a physical, not psychological, process.
taste buds
Sensory receptors that transduce taste information.
top-down processing
A hierarchical model of pattern recognition in which information at higher levels of processing can also influence lower, “earlier” levels in the processing hierarchy.
transduction
A process by which sensory receptors produce neural impulses when they receive physical or chemical stimulation.
vestibular sense
Perception of balance.
