Psychology Chapter 5

Question 1

top-down processing

Answer 1

interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts

Question 2

Bottom-Up processing

Answer 2

system in which perceptions are built from sensory input

Question 3

Perception

Answer 3

way that sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced.
Perception involves both bottom-up and top-down processing.

Question 4

Sensation

Answer 4

occurs when sensory receptors detect sensory stimuli
This is known as sensory adaptation
light that enters the eye causes chemical changes in cells that line the back of the eye. These cells relay messages, in the form of action potentials (as you learned when studying biopsychology), to the central nervous system.

Question 5

Transduction

Answer 5

These cells relay messages, in the form of action potentials (as you learned when studying biopsychology), to the central nervous system. The conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential is known as transduction.

Question 6

Absolute threshold

Answer 6

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.
Another way to think about this is by asking how dim can a light be or how soft can a sound be and still be detected half of the time.

Question 7

difference threshold

Answer 7

the difference threshold changes depending on the stimulus intensity. As an example, imagine yourself in a very dark movie theater.
If an audience member were to receive a text message on her cell phone which caused her screen to light up, chances are that many people would notice the change in illumination in the theater.

Question 8

sensory adaptation

Answer 8

Although our perceptions are built from sensations, not all sensations result in perception. In fact, we often don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time.

Imagine entering a classroom with an old analog clock. Upon first entering the room, you can hear the ticking of the clock; as you begin to engage in conversation with classmates or listen to your professor greet the class, you are no longer aware of the ticking. The clock is still ticking, and that information is still affecting sensory receptors of the auditory system. The fact that you no longer perceive the sound demonstrates sensory adaptation and shows that while closely associated, sensation and perception are different.

Question 9

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 9

The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background

Question 10

Attention Relationship

Answer 10

Attention plays a significant role in determining what is sensed versus what is perceived.

Question 11

Inattentional Blindness

Answer 11

Failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention

Question 12

Amplitude

Answer 12

The amplitude of a wave is the distance from the center line to the top point of the crest or the bottom point of the trough.

Question 13

Wavelength

Answer 13

the length of a wave from one peak to the next

Question 14

Frequency

Answer 14

The number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period and is often expressed in terms of hertz (Hz), or cycles per second. Longer wavelengths will have lower frequencies, and shorter wavelengths will have higher frequencies

Question 15

Afterimage

Answer 15

An afterimage describes the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus.
For example, when you stare briefly at the sun and then look away from it, you may still perceive a spot of light although the stimulus (the sun) has been removed. When color is involved in the stimulus, the color pairings identified in the opponent-process theory lead to a negative afterimage.

Question 16

Vestibular

Answer 16

The vestibular sense contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture.

the major sensory organs (utricle, saccule, and the three semicircular canals) of this system are located next to the cochlea in the inner ear.

The vestibular organs are fluid-filled and have hair cells, similar to the ones found in the auditory system, which respond to movement of the head and gravitational forces. When these hair cells are stimulated, they send signals to the brain via the vestibular nerve.

Although we may not be consciously aware of our vestibular system’s sensory information under normal circumstances, its importance is apparent when we experience motion sickness and/or dizziness related to infections of the inner ear

Question 17

proprioception

Answer 17

perception of body position

Question 18

Gestalt Psychology

Answer 18

Max Wertheimer and his assistants Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka, who later became his partners, believed that perception involved more than simply combining sensory stimuli

field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts
The word gestalt literally means form or pattern, but its use reflects the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts.
In other words, the brain creates a perception that is more than simply the sum of available sensory inputs, and it does so in predictable ways.
Gestalt psychologists translated these predictable ways into principles by which we organize sensory information. As a result, Gestalt psychology has been extremely influential in the area of sensation and perception

Question 19

Figure-Ground Relationship

Answer 19

segmenting our visual world into figure and ground. Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the ground is the background.

Question 20

Similarity

Answer 20

Things that are alike tend to be grouped together.

For example, when watching a football game, we tend to group individuals based on the colors of their uniforms. When watching an offensive drive, we can get a sense of the two teams simply by grouping along this dimension.

Question 21

Closure

Answer 21

organizing our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts.
The principle of closure states that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts