Perception Flashcards
Accommodation
Monocular depth cue that involves the automatic adjustment of the shape of the lens to focus an object in response to changes in how far away the object is. Information about how much the lens bulges or elongates is used by the brain to determine the depth and distance of the object in focus.
Cones
photoreceptors that allow someone to see colour and fine details in well-lit conditions p. 308
Cranial nerves
the nerves which extend from the tongue to the brain, along which gustatory information is transmitted p. 320
Depth cues
visual clues that allow someone to judge the distance or depth of stimuli in their environment p. 312
Eye
the sensory organ for vision p. 308
Fallibility
the quality of being prone to error or experiencing difficulties in judgement p. 327
Gestalt principles
guiding rules of perception that allow us to organise independent visual signals into meaningful wholes p. 310
Gustatory receptors
the sensory receptors which detect chemical molecules in food p. 320
Interpretation
the process of understanding and assigning meaning to sensory information p. 303
Neuronal reception
the process in which a neuron accepts (receives) a message p. 99
Optic nerve
the two nerves which extend from the back of the eye to the brain, along which visual information is transmitted to the brain p. 308
Organisation
the process of regrouping features of sensory stimuli together in order to form cohesive and meaningful information p. 302
Perception
the process of selecting, organising, and interpreting sensory information to be able to understand it (giving sensory information MEANING) p. 302
Perceptual distortion
an error in the judgement or interpretation of sensory stimuli p. 327
Perceptual set
a predisposition to perceive stimuli in a certain way due to a range of factors including a perceiver’s mood, motivations, context, culture and past experiences p. 314, 323
Photoreceptors
the sensory receptors of the eye which receive light and are responsible for the process of transduction p. 308
Reception
when a sensory stimulus is first detected by a sensory organ p. 299
Receptive field
the space in which a sensory stimulus can be detected by a sensory receptor p. 300
Rods
photoreceptors that allow someone to see in low levels of light. Exist mainly around the outsides/edges of the retina. p. 308
Selection
the process of attending to certain features of sensory stimuli to the exclusion of others p. 302
Sensation
the process of receiving and detecting raw sensory information via our sensory organs and sending it to the brain p. 299
Synaesthesia
a perceptual phenomenon characterised by the experience of unusual perceptions in one sensory system after another sensory system has been activated p. 331
Synaesthete
a person who experiences synaesthesia p. 331
Taste
the sensation and perception of flavour p. 319
Taste buds
clusters of gustatory receptors on the tongue p. 320
Tongue
the primary sensory organ involved in taste p. 320
Transduction
the conversion of raw sensory information detected by sensory receptors into a form that can be sent to the brain p. 300
Transmission
the process of sending sensory information as a neural impulse to the part of the brain responsible for processing sensory information p. 301
Vision
the sensory system which allows us to see our internal and external environment p. 307
Visual constancy
our ability to perceive visual objects as staying the same even though the sensation of the objects may change p. 312
Visual illusion
the perception of a visual stimulus in a way that conflicts with how it is in physical reality p. 327
Visual perception principles
guiding rules that apply to visual signals and determine how they are organised and interpreted p. 310
Figure-Ground
Gestalt Principle. When we use figure–ground, we organise visual information by perceptually dividing a visual scene into a ‘figure’, which stands out from the ‘ground’, which is its surroundings. We use the contour (boundary line) to separate the two features.
Closure
Gestalt principle. the perceptual tendency to mentally ‘close up’, fill in or ignore gaps in a visual image and to
perceive incomplete objects as complete (‘whole’).
Similarity
Gestalt principle. the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image that have similar features — such as size, shape, texture or colour — as belonging together in a unit, group or ‘whole’.
Proximity
Gestalt principle. (also called nearness) is the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image which are positioned close together as belonging together in a group.
Linear perspective
Pictorial depth cue (monocular).
Linear perspective is the apparent
convergence of parallel lines as they recede (‘go back’)
into the distance- creating the impression of increasing distance/depth in an image or scene.
Interposition
Pictorial depth cue (monocular)
also called overlap, occurs when one object partially blocks or covers another, and the partially blocked object is perceived as further away than the object that
obscures it (and vice versa).
Texture gradient
Pictorial depth cue (monocular)
refers to the gradual reduction of detail that occurs in a surface as it recedes into the distance, compared with a surface that is close and perceived in fine detail. We perceive objects for which fine detail is clear as being closer and those that lack detail, as being further away.
Relative size
Pictorial depth cue (monocular)
refers to the tendency to visually perceive the object that produces the largest image on the retina as being closer, and the object that produces the smallest image on the retina as being further away. However, the objects being perceived must be expected to be about the same size in real life.
Height in the visual field
Pictorial depth cue (monocular)
refers to the location of objects in our field of vision, whereby objects that are located closer to the horizon are perceived as being more distant than objects located further from the horizon.
Size constancy
involves recognising that an object’s actual size remains the same, even though the size of the image it casts on each retina changes.
Shape constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its shape despite any change in shape of the image of the object on the retina.
Brightness constancy
the tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its level of brightness in relation to its surroundings, despite changes in the amount of light being reflected from the object to the retina.
Papillae
On the tongue, the taste buds are located within
the thousands of small bumps called papillae that
you can see and feel on the surface. An individual
papilla may hold one or more taste buds.
Tastant
the dissolved chemical molecules that can be tasted (combination of chemical molecules and saliva).
