Modules 16-21 Flashcards
Perception
The process of organizing And interpreting sensory information,enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Bottom- up processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information
Top down processing
Information processing guided by higher level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing out experience and expectations
Selective attention
The focusing of conscious awarness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
Failing to notice changes in the environment
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another in sensation the transforming of stimulus energies such as sights sounds and smells into nueral impulses our brain can interpret
Pyschophysics
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli such as their intensity and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a persons experience expectations motivation and alertness
Subliminal
Helped ones absolute threshold for conscious awarness
Priming
The activation often unconsciously of certain associations this predisposing ones perception memory or response
Difference threshold
The minimum diffenence between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference
Webers law
The principle that to be perceived as different two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant simulation
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to percieved one thing and not another
Hue
The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light what we know as the color name blue green and so forth
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we percieve as brightness or loudness as determined by the waves amplitude
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black white and gray necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don’t respond
Cones
Retinal receptor 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
Optic nerve
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Blind spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there
Fovea
The central focal point in the retina around which the eyes cones cluster
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus such as shape angle or movement
Parallel processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem stimultanosly the brains natural mode of information processing for Many functions including vision contrast with the step by step processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving
Young helmeholtz trichimatic theory
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
Opponent process theory
The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision
Gestalt
An organizing whole gestalt psychologist emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
Figure ground
To organza ruin of the visual field into objects that stands out from their surroundings
Depth perception
The ability to see objects in 3D although the images that strike the retina are 2d allows us to judge distance
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement crated when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick sucrssionn
Frequency theory
In hearing the theory that the rate of nevrve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch
Kinesthesia
The system for sending the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
The sense of body movement and portion including the sense of balance
Sensory interaction
The Príncipe that one sense may influence another as when the smell of food influences it’s taste
Embodied congintion
In psychological science the influence of bodily sensations gestures and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
