Sensation

Question 1

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Answer 1

Sensation

Question 2

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Answer 2

Perception

Question 3

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.

Answer 3

Bottom-up processing

Question 4

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Answer 4

Top-down processing

Question 5

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

it can concern how sensitive we are to changing stimulation

Answer 5

Psychophysics

Question 6

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time; illustrated by our awareness of faint stimuli such as seeing a candle flame atop another mountain 30 miles away or smelling a single drop of perfume in a three-room apartment

Answer 6

Absolute threshold

Question 7

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (“signal”) amid background stimulation (“noise”); assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

Answer 7

Signal detection theory

Question 8

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Answer 8

Subliminal

Question 9

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Answer 9

Priming

Question 10

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; we experience this as a just noticeable difference

Answer 10

Difference threshold

Question 11

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Answer 11

Weber’s law

Question 12

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 12

Sensory Adaptation

Question 13

conversion of one form of energy into another; in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret

Answer 13

transduction

Question 14

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next; electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Answer 14

wavelength

Question 15

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, etc.

Answer 15

hue

Question 16

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

Answer 16

intensity

Question 17

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Answer 17

pupil

Question 18

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Answer 18

iris

Question 19

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Answer 19

lens

Question 20

the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Answer 20

accommodation

Question 21

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Answer 21

retina

Question 22

the sharpness of vision

Answer 22

acuity

Question 23

a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina

Answer 23

nearsightedness

Question 24

a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina

Answer 24

farsightedness

Question 25

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Answer 25

rods

Question 26

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; the cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Answer 26

cones

Question 27

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 27

optic nerve

Question 28

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

Answer 28

blind spot

Question 29

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

Answer 29

fovea

Question 30

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

Answer 30

feature detectors

Question 31

the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions including vision; contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

Answer 31

parallel processing

Question 32

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors-- one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue-- which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

Answer 32

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

Question 33

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; for example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red (and vice versa)

Answer 33

opponent process theory

Question 34

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

Answer 34

color constancy

Question 35

the sense or act of hearing

Answer 35

audition

Question 36

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

Answer 36

frequency

Question 37

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Answer 37

pitch

Question 38

the measuring unit for sound energy

Answer 38

decibel

Question 39

the visible part of the ear that channels the sound waves through the auditory canal to the eardrum

Answer 39

outer ear

Question 40

a tight membrane in the inner ear that vibrates with the sound waves

Answer 40

eardrum

Question 41

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

Answer 41

middle ear

Question 42

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

Answer 42

cochlea

Question 43

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

Answer 43

inner ear

Question 44

a structure separating two liquid-filled tubes that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells

Answer 44

basilar membrane

Question 45

the hairlike sensory receptors for sound, which are embedded in the basilar membrane of the cochlea

Answer 45

hair cells

Question 46

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Answer 46

place theory

Question 47

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

Answer 47

frequency theory

Question 48

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

Answer 48

conduction hearing loss

Question 49

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

Answer 49

sensorineural hearing loss

Question 50

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

Answer 50

cochlear implant

Question 51

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 gibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Answer 51

gate control theory

Question 52

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

Answer 52

sensory interaction

Question 53

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

Answer 53

kinesthesis

Question 54

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

Answer 54

vestibular sense