Sensation Flashcards
Pessimistic Explanatory style
tendency to have a negative outlook on life
Sensation
Process of receiving and representing stimulus energies
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info
Bottom up Processing
Analysis that starts with the sense of receptors and works up the brain ( react the same)
Top Down processing
Using Prior Knowledge to interpret stimuli
Selective Attention
Focusing on one stimulus while ignoring others ( can’t focus on all)
Multi-tasking
Consciously paying attention to multiple tasks
Cocktail Party Phenomenon
selective attention to one voice in a crowd
Inattentional Blindness
Failing to see objects when attention is focused elsewhere
Change Blindness
Not noticing changes in an object after attention is briefly diverted
Peripheral Vision
To see objects as they come into the outer edges of the visual field
Psychophysics
Study of the relationship between physical characteristics or stimuli and human perception
Absolute Threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Signal Detection Theory
Predicts how and when we detect faint stimuli based on experience,expectations and motivation( other may not notice)
Subliminal
Brief audio/visual messages presented below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Difference Threshold
Minimum difference between two stimuli that is noticeable( can detect 50% of the time)
Weber’s Law
Perception of difference between two stimuli they must differ by a constant proportion
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished sensitivity to constant stimulation ( getting used to it)
Stroop Effect
Difficulty processing info where there are competing stimuli
Wavelength
Distance between wave peaks
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy to another
(everyone sees color differently)
Hue
Color determined by wavelength
Intensity
Amount of energy in a wave, determines brightness or loudness
Cornea
transparent Tissue covering the front eye
Pupil
Adjustable opening in the center of the eye
Iris
Colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil
Lens
Transparent structure behind the pupil that focuses light onto the retina
Retina
inner surface of the eye that contains rods and cones
Acuity
Sharpness of vision
Nearsightedness
Ability to see nearby objects more clearly than distant objects
Farsightedness
Ability to see distant objects more clearly than nearby objects
Cones
Retinal receptors detect color/detail in daylight or well-lit conditions
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray in peripheral and low light conditions
Fovea
Central focal point in the retina where cones are concentrated
Optic nerve
nerve the carries visual info from the eye to brain
Blind spot
Point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye
Feature Detectors
Nerve cell in brain that responds to specific features of a stimulus ( shape, angles, movement)
Visual stabilization
Putting all visual responds pieces together
Parallel processing
Simultaneous processing of several dimensions, through multiple pathways ( colors, motion, depth)
Color
Energy (reflection of energy)
Trichromatic Theory
Theory of color vision the proposes there types of cones: red, blue and green
Colorblindness
Happens when all or some cones do not function properly
Color constancy
Familiar object having consistent color, but due to shadows it looks like a different color
Audition
Sense/act of hearing
Sound waves
pattern of disturbance caused by, movement of energy traveling through a medium
Frequency
Number of complete wavelengths
Pitch
Tones highness or lowness
Decibels
Measurement of sounds energy ( how loud)
Auditory canal( outer ear)
Where sound waves pass through to reach eardrum by vibrations
Eardrum (outer ear)
Marks stat of middle ear
Middle ear
Air-filled cavity( as a piston) pushes/vibrates against cochlea (3 bones, Hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Conductive hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by problem of outer or middle ear
Cochlea( inner ear)
Bony Tube that contains fluids/neurons ( moves around)
Hair cell receptors (inner ear)
Specialized cells that respond when distorted by movement, sent to brain
Sensorineural hearing loss ( inner ear)
hearing loss caused by the damage of cochlea’s receptor cell or audio cells
Place Theory
Theory links pitch we hear with the place where cochlea’s membrane is simulated ( which place are stimuli that make the sounds )
Frequency theory
Theory that rate of nerve impulse traveling up the auditory nerve matches frequency of tone( Sense pf pitch)
Semicircular canals
Filled with fluid, hair cells, bent when movement happens
Vestibular sense
Balance
Locating sound
Sources of sounds are located when ears work together( stereo)
Four Distinct skin senses
Pressure, warmth, cold, pain
Good news(pain)
Body is telling you something is wrong
Phantom Limb
Feeling a limb that isn’t there
Pain and memory
We remember events more clearly when pain was involved
Gate Control Theory
Spinal cord contains a neurological ‘gate’ blocks pain signals/ allows them to pass on to the brain
Four basic taste senses
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter
Sensory interaction
Principle that one sense effect another ( sight+ sound)
Synesthesia
Production pf sense impression relating to one sense/part of body by stimulation of another sense (sense’s don’t stay in lane)
Olfaction
Chemical sense of smell ( blue jello smell)
Memory
Linked to smell( often stronger/ more vivid early memories)
Pheromones
Chemical signals sent out by animals that allows them to communicate( bees pollinate)
Kinesthesis
Sense of body movement and position from receptors ( control 200 muscles)
