Modules 18 & 19

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Wavelength

Question 2

: the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so fourth

Answer 2

Hue

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Intensity

Question 4

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

Answer 4

Pupil

Question 5

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

Answer 5

Iris

Question 6

: the transport structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Answer 6

Lens

Question 7

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

Answer 7

Retina

Question 8

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

Answer 8

Accommodation

Question 9

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

Answer 9

Rods

Question 10

: rental receptors cells that are concentration 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

Answer 10

Cones

Question 11

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

Answer 11

Optic nerve

Question 12

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

Answer 12

Blind spot

Question 13

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

Answer 13

Fovea

Question 14

: nerve cells in which the brain that respond to specific fractures of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

Answer 14

Feature detectors

Question 15

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

Answer 15

Parallel processing

Question 16

: 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

Answer 16

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (three-color) theory

Question 17

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

Answer 17

Opponent-processing theory

Question 18

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

Answer 18

Gestalt

Question 19

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

Answer 19

Figure-ground

Question 20

: the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Answer 20

Grouping

Question 21

: the ability to see objects up three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allow us to judge distance

Answer 21

Depth perception

Question 22

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

Answer 22

Visual cliff

Question 23

: depth cues, such as retrial disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Answer 23

Binocular cues

Question 24

: a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity (difference) between the to images, the closer the object

Answer 24

Retinal disparity

Question 25

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

Answer 25

Monocular cues

Question 26

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

Answer 26

Phi phenomenon

Question 27

: perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even an illusion and retinal images change

Answer 27

Perceptual constancy

Question 28

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

Answer 28

Color constancy

Question 29

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

Answer 29

Perceptual adaptation