Exam 2

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

It is the physical effect of an environmental stimulus on a sensory organ receptor. Unprocessed, unorganized

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

the brain’s organization & interpretation of that physical effect. The brain will “fill in” information. Usually adaptive, but perception may not match reality

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

the process through which sensory organs transform mechanical, chemical, or light energy into neural impulses

Question 4

What is an absolute threshold, and how is it different from a “just noticeable difference”?

Answer 4

Absolute threshold: lowest level (minimum physical intensity) of a stimulus we can detect (50% of the time. Just Noticeable Difference (JND): Smallest amount of change in a stimulus we can detect

Question 5

What two psychophysicists were known for groundbreaking research in this area? (absolute threshold, JND)

Answer 5

Ernst Weber & Gustav Fechner

Question 6

Weber’s law

Answer 6

Stronger the stimulus, the larger the JND

Question 7

What is “sensory adaptation”?

Answer 7

Sensory receptors are most active when a stimuli is first detected; reduced response to continual exposure

Question 8

What is the point of the “Monkey Business Illusion”?

Answer 8

Failure to detect stimuli that are in plain sight when our attention is focused elsewhere

Question 9

What are the five types of senses that we examined in lecture and in the textbook?

Answer 9

hearing, taste, smell, vision, and touch

Question 10

What role does the thalamus play in sensation and perception?

Answer 10

The thalamus relays sensory impulses from receptors in various parts of the body to the cerebral cortex.

Question 11

What sense is not relayed through the thalamus to the cortex?

Answer 11

information related to smell

Question 12

What are the three properties of light that we studied?

Answer 12

Brightness, saturation, and hue

Question 13

Brightness

Answer 13

intensity, as in number of photons

Question 14

Saturation

Answer 14

how colorful the light is, as in proportion of colored to non-colored light

Question 15

Hue

Answer 15

the color of light, as in wavelength

Question 16

Major structures of the eye

Answer 16

pupil, iris, cornea & lens, retina, fovea

Question 17

two types of light receptors and where in the eye they are located

Answer 17

Cones and rods. Located in the retina.

Question 18

Where does transduction of light occur?

Answer 18

The cones and rods

Question 19

What are the three properties of sound that we studied?

Answer 19

Pitch, loudness, and timbre

Question 20

Pitch

Answer 20

wave frequency

Question 21

Loudness

Answer 21

amplitude of the soundwaves

Question 22

Timbre

Answer 22

quality or complexity

Question 23

What are the major structures of: the outer ear?

Answer 23

pinna and ear canal

Question 24

What are the major structures of: the middle ear?

Answer 24

Ossicles: Three bones—hammer, anvil, stirrup

Question 25

What are the major structures of: the inner ear?

Answer 25

Cochlea. Hair cells- Organ of Corti & Basilar Membrane, Contain cilia

Question 26

Where exactly does transduction of sound occur?

Answer 26

in the mechanoreceptive hair cells anchored in the organ of Corti

Question 27

What are the two chemical senses?

Answer 27

taste and smell

Question 28

What are considered to be the five basic tastes?

Answer 28

Salty, Sweet, Umami, Bitter, Sour

Question 29

Which three basic tastes are understood to have evolved because they promoted fitness ancestrally, and why?

Answer 29

salty, sweet, umami

Question 30

Which two tastes are understood to have evolved because they helped identify fitness threats ancestrally?

Answer 30

bitter and sour

Question 31

What fitness threats correspond to which tastes?

Answer 31

bitter- plant toxins sour- bacteria/pathogens/micro-organisms

Question 32

What do we know about sex differences in gustation?

Answer 32

women have more taste buds than men

Question 33

Why do psychologists argue that there is no single “skin sense?”

Answer 33

The skin contains receptors for multiple sensations

Question 34

What kinds of different receptors are found in the skin?

Answer 34

Merkel’s Disks (touch)Meissner’s Corpuscle (touch)Ruffini Endings (temperature)Pacinian corpuscle (pressure)Free nerve endings AKA nociceptors (pain)

Question 35

What are the body senses and how do they differ from one another?

Answer 35

Kinesthesis and Equilibrium