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AP Psych - Unit 5 Sensation > Sensation > Flashcards

Sensation Flashcards

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1
Q

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

A

Sensation

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2
Q

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

A

Perception

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3
Q

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

A

Bottom-up processing

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4
Q

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

A

Top-down processing

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5
Q

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

A

Psychophysics

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6
Q

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

A

Absolute threshold

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7
Q

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

A

Signal detection theory

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8
Q

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

A

Subliminal

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9
Q

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

A

Priming

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10
Q

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

A

Difference threshold

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11
Q

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

A

Weber’s law

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12
Q

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

A

Sensory Adaptation

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13
Q

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

A

transduction

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14
Q

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

A

wavelength

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15
Q

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

A

hue

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16
Q

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

A

intensity

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17
Q

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

A

pupil

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18
Q

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

A

iris

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19
Q

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

A

lens

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20
Q

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

A

accommodation

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21
Q

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

A

retina

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22
Q

the sharpness of vision

A

acuity

23
Q

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

A

nearsightedness

24
Q

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

A

farsightedness

25
Q

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

A

rods

26
Q

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

A

cones

27
Q

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

A

optic nerve

28
Q

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

A

blind spot

29
Q

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

A

fovea

30
Q

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

A

feature detectors

31
Q

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

A

parallel processing

32
Q

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

A

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

33
Q

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)

A

opponent process theory

34
Q

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

A

color constancy

35
Q

the sense or act of hearing

A

audition

36
Q

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

A

frequency

37
Q

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

A

pitch

38
Q

the measuring unit for sound energy

A

decibel

39
Q

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

A

outer ear

40
Q

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

A

eardrum

41
Q

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

A

middle ear

42
Q

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

A

cochlea

43
Q

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

A

inner ear

44
Q

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

A

basilar membrane

45
Q

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

A

hair cells

46
Q

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

A

place theory

47
Q

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

A

frequency theory

48
Q

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

A

conduction hearing loss

49
Q

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

A

sensorineural hearing loss

50
Q

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

A

cochlear implant

51
Q

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

A

gate control theory

52
Q

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

A

sensory interaction

53
Q

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

A

kinesthesis

54
Q

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

A

vestibular sense

AP Psych - Unit 5 Sensation (1 decks)

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