Sensation

Question 1

Distal Stimlulus

Answer 1

An object or even in the outside world

Question 2

Proximal Stimulus

Answer 2

The energies from the outside world that directly reach our sense organs.

Question 3

Psychophysics

Answer 3

an approach to perception that relates the characteristics of physical stimuli to the sensory experiences they produce.

Question 4

Absolute threshold

Answer 4

The smallest quantity of a stimulus that an individual can detect at least 50% of the time.

Question 5

Difference threshold

Answer 5

The smallest amount that a given stimulus must be increased or decreased so that individual can detect the difference.

Question 6

Just-noticeable difference(jnd)

Answer 6

The smallest difference that an organism can reliably detect between two stimuli.

Question 7

Weber’s Law

Answer 7

The observation that the size of the difference threshold is proportional to the intensity of the standard stimulus.

Question 8

Can we compare JND directly across modalities?

Answer 8

No, but with Weber’s law we can.

Question 9

What is the ranking of the Senses in terms of Weber Fraction

Answer 9

1. Vision (most sensitive
2. kinesthesia
3. Pain (thermal skin)
4. Hearing
5. Touch
6. Smell
7. Taste

Question 10

Perceptual sensitivity is

Answer 10

An organisms ability to detect a signal

Question 11

Decision criteria are?

Answer 11

An organism’s rule for how much evidence it needs before responding.

Question 12

What is signal detection theory?

Answer 12

The theory that perceiving ior not perceiving a stimulus is actually a judgment about whether a momentary sensory experience is due to background noise alone or to the background noise plus a signal.

Question 13

What is a hit:

Answer 13

Signal is present and the person records a yes

Question 14

What is a miss?

Answer 14

Person gives no signal, but signal is present.

Question 15

What is a false alarm

Answer 15

Person says yes, but no signal is present

Question 16

What is a correct negative.

Answer 16

Saying no, when their is no signal response

Question 17

What is the payoff matrix

Answer 17

The pattern of benefits and costs associated with certain types of responses.

Question 18

What have people used signal detection theory for?

Answer 18

Memory effects of hypnosis, decisions made by college admissions, medical diagnosis.

Question 19

Why is signal detection theory important?

Answer 19

Because we often make decisions with imperfect information.

Question 20

Sensory coding is

Answer 20

The process through which the nervous system represents the qualities of the incoming stimulus–whether auditory or visual, for example or whether a red light or a green light or a sweet tasted.

Question 21

What is transduction?

Answer 21

The process through which a physical stimulus is converted int a signal within the nervous system.

Question 22

Ringing in the ears in the absence of environmental sound is an example of what?

Answer 22

Stimulation of the auditory nerve secondary to a lack of sound vibrations, or at least the pattern of sound waves differeing.

Question 23

What is specificity theory

Answer 23

The proposal that different sensory qualities are signaled by different quality–specific neurons. (the theory is only true in a few cases). Origins: Descartes

Question 24

Pattern theory

Answer 24

The proposal that different sensory qualities are encoded by specific patterns of firing among the relevant neurons.

Question 25

Sensory adaptation

Answer 25

The process by which the sensitivity to a stimulus declines if the stimulus is presented for an extended period of time.

Question 26

Kinesthesis

Answer 26

Sensations generated by receptors in the muscles, tendons, bones and joints.

Question 27

The sensations generated by receptors in the semicircular canals of the inner ear that inform us about the head's orientation and movements.

Answer 27

The vestibular sense

Question 28

Why do we spin due to alcohol

Answer 28

Because diffuses into the semicircular canals and effects the density and viscosity of the fluid.

Question 29

Nociceptors are:

Answer 29

``` A delta fibers C fibers (dull ache, unmyelinated) ```

Question 30

Emotion and Pain can be teased apart true or false

Answer 30

true.

Question 31

Pain involves more of...

Answer 31

the somatosensory cortex

Question 32

Emotion involves...

Answer 32

the anterior cingulate cortex

Question 33

Olfactory epithelium

Answer 33

Is a mucous membrane at the top of the nasal cavity; cntains the olfactory recptor neurons that respond to airborne molecules called odorants.

Question 34

Glomeruli are

Answer 34

Sites in the brain's olfactor bulb where signals from smell reception converge.

Question 35

How many different types of receptors are there in the nose?

Answer 35

About 1000

Question 36

How many different odors can we detect?

Answer 36

10,0000

Question 37

Does smell rely on one glomulus per scent coding?

Answer 37

No. Smells produce a unique pattern of activation in the glomeruli

Question 38

It is often the case without smell we cannot taste the difference between, onion, chocolate, garlic, coffee etc

Answer 38

True

Question 39

What are pheromones?

Answer 39

Biologically produced odorants that convey information to other members of the species

Question 40

Are phermones significant for humans?

Answer 40

Much debate, infants can tell the smell of there mother at one week. Some aspects of human reproductive behavior are influenced by scent. i.e. menstrual synchrony.

Question 41

Papillae are..

Answer 41

The structures on the tonge that contain the taste buds, which in turn contain taste receptors.

Question 42

How many taste buds are on each papilla

Answer 42

Hundreds.

Question 43

Old vs young in # of taste receptors

Answer 43

A young child may have twice as many taste receptors.

Question 44

What are the five tastes?

Answer 44

Sweet, sourt, salty, bitter, umami

Question 45

Does each receptor respond to at least some degree to all tastants?

Answer 45

Yes, the ones the respond to the most are the preferential flavors.

Question 46

Is it possible to experience sweet without triggering ostensibly sweet taste buds.

Answer 46

Yes.

Question 47

What is conditioned taste aversion?

Answer 47

Is when an organism due to a specific experience comes to associate a particular taste with illness--and then find the flavor repulsive.

Question 48

What are supertasters and how are they identified?

Answer 48

People that have a strong ability to taste and thus are overwhelmed by very strong tastes. They are tested by putting a chemical compound called Propylthiuracil (PROP) on the tounge. Normal people do not respond. Strong tasters can.

Question 49

Sound waves are

Answer 49

Pressure varriations in the air that vary in amplitude and wavelength.

Question 50

Amplitude is

Answer 50

The height of a wave crest, used (in the case of sound waves) as a measure of sound intensity.

Question 51

Frequency is

Answer 51

The number of wave peaks per second. In sound, frequency governs the perceived pitch of the sound.

Question 52

Amplitude and frequency respond to what dimensions of human subjective experince?

Answer 52

Loudness and pitch