Modules 19-21

Question 1

audition

Answer 1

The sense or act of hearing.

Question 2

binocular cues

Answer 2

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.

Question 3

cochlea

Answer 3

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

Question 4

cochlear implant

Answer 4

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Question 5

color constancy

Answer 5

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

Question 6

conduction hearing loss

Answer 6

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Question 7

depth perception

Answer 7

The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

Question 8

embodied cognition

Answer 8

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements

Question 9

figure-ground

Answer 9

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

Question 10

frequency

Answer 10

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

Question 11

frequency theory

Answer 11

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

Question 12

gate-control theory

Answer 12

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Question 13

gestalt

Answer 13

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

Question 14

grouping

Answer 14

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Question 15

inner ear

Answer 15

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 16

kinesthesis

Answer 16

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Question 17

middle ear

Answer 17

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.

Question 18

monocular cues

Answer 18

Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

Question 19

olfaction

Answer 19

sense of smell

Question 20

perceptual adaptation

Answer 20

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Question 21

perceptual constancy

Answer 21

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.

Question 22

phi phenomenon

Answer 22

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Question 23

pitch

Answer 23

A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 24

place theory

Answer 24

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.

Question 25

retinal disparity

Answer 25

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 two images, the closer the object.

Question 26

sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 26

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

Question 27

sensory interaction

Answer 27

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Question 28

vestibular sense

Answer 28

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

Question 29

visual cliff

Answer 29

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.