Exam 2 Flashcards
The process of detecting a physical stimulus, such as light, sound, heat, or pressure
sensation
The process of integrating, organizing, and interpreting sensations
perception
The process by which a form of physical energy is converted into a coded neural signal that can be processed by the nervous system
transduction
Which path does visual information take on its way to the optic nerve?
photoreceptors, bipolar cells, ganglion cells
Lara believes that the size of the just noticeable difference varies depending on its relation to the strength of the original stimulus. Her views are consistent with:
Weber’s Law
The ability to see fine details is called:
visual acuity
When stepping backwards, Carmine feels a slight lump under his shoe and hears a high-pitched yowling noise. The process by which his brain determines that he has stepped on a cat’s tail would BEST be described as:
perception
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters is called the:
pupil
Morton is attending a dinner party with some friends. He notices as he sits at the dinner table that the chair is uncomfortable. However, after a few minutes he no longer notices the discomfort. This phenomenon is called _____.
sensory adaptation
As a result of the absence of _____ in the optic disk, we have a tiny hole, known as a blind spot, in our field of vision.
photoreceptors
Giulio’s bag of marbles is twice as heavy as Lynn’s. If it takes 5 extra marbles to make Lynn’s bag feel heavier, it will take 10 extra marbles to make Giulio’s bag feel heavier. This best illustrates:
Weber’s Law
Where are feature detectors located?
in the visual cortex
While strolling through the garden, Jamal suddenly notices the beautiful scent of roses. Jamal is using his _____ sense, and the process by which the odor is converted into neural signals that his brain understands is called _____.
olfactory, transduction
Bill wakes up early in the morning, and his room is fairly dark. He can see his shirt hanging on a hook. He knows it’s a red shirt because he hung it up there before bed, but in the dark it looks dark gray. Why is that?
In the dim light, the cones in your eyes are ineffectual.
During a hearing test, many sounds were presented at such a low level of intensity that Madeline could not detect them. These sounds were below Madeline’s _____.
absolute threshold
Jasvir suffers from myopia. Carmen suffers from hyperopia. Both disorders involve abnormally shaped eyeballs that do not focus incoming light on the retina. For Jasvir, the light from a distant object is focused _____. For Carmen, the light is focused _____.
in front of / behind
Two dimmer lights are being turned on, but one isn’t as strong as the other. The point at which Rudy can tell that one light is brighter than the other would be described as the _____.
just noticeable difference
A researcher subliminally presents a visual image to study participants, which increases the likelihood that they will later recognize the same briefly presented image. This best illustrates:
that information can be processed outside of one’s conscious awareness.
Michael opens his eyes in the morning to see the alarm clock on his dresser. At that point, his eyes are receiving light energy, which they change into neural messages for the brain. This conversion of one form of energy into another is called _____.
transduction
Jay is 48 years old. He recently had his sight restored after 45 years of blindness. He could associate people with a feature like their hair color but could not recognize their faces. This suggests that vision:
is partially based on experience.
When Tony was painting a landscape, he used many different colors. The technical term for the wavelengths of light that produce the perception of different colors in Tony’s painting is:
hue
According to Weber’s law, one would be MORE likely to detect the difference between:
a 1 oz. envelope and a 2 oz. envelope.
As a physical stimulus, sound is:
the vibration of air or some other medium.
When one experiences pain, the information is carried from the terminals of sensory neurons, which are known as:
free nerve endings.
Sound wave vibrations are transmitted by three tiny bones located in the:
middle ear.
Research has shown that when repeatedly exposed to a specialized class of odors, a person becomes more sensitive to and able to discriminate among these odors. There is evidence that this is due to increased activity in the _____ cortex.
olfactory
Loudness is measured in ______
decibels
Pitch is measured in _____
hertz
The outer ear includes the
pinna, the ear canal, and the eardrum
3 bones in the middle ear
the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup
