Sensation and Perception Flashcards
Reception
Occurs when receptors for a particular sense detect a stimulus
Receptive Field
Part of the world that triggers a particular neuron
Sensory Transduction
Process in which physical sensation is changed into electrical messages
Nativist Theory
Perception and cognition are largely innate
Structuralist Theory
Perception is the sum total of sensory input.
Gestalt Psychology
People tend to see the world as organized wholes; understood through top-down processing
Cornea
Clear protective coating on outside of eye
Lens
Behind the cornea; bends in order to focus an image on the retina
Retina
Recieves light images from lens
Receptor Cells
Rods and cones; responsible for sensory transduction
Rods
Sensitive to dim light, used for night vision
Cones
Concentrated in center of retina; sensitive to color and daylight vision
Opponent-color Theory
Two types of color-sensitive cells exist: blue/yellow and red/green. When one color of the pair is stimulated, the other is inhibited
Tri-color theory
Three types of receptors in retina: cones for red, blue, green
Lateral Inhibition
Allows eye to see contrast and prevents repetitive info from being sent. Once one receptor cell is stimulated, nearby ones are inhibited
Binocular Disparity
Our eyes view objects from 2 slightly different angles, allowing us to create a 3D picture
Apparent size
Gives clues about how far away an object is if we know how big it should be
Interposition
Overlap of objects; shows which are closer
Linear Perspective
Gained by features we are familiar with, such as two seemingly parallel lines converging
Texture Gradient
How we see texture/detail differently from different distances
Motion Parallax
How movement is percieved through displacement of objects over time
Dark Adaptation
Result of regeneration of retinal pigment
Pragnanz
Gestalt idea that experience will be organized as meaningful, symmetrical, and simple whenever possible
Autokinetic Effect
A single point of light viewed in darkness will appear to shake
Purkinje Shift
Perceived color brightness changes with level of illumination in room
Prosopagnosia
Inability to recognize faces
Absolute Threshold
Minimum amount of stimuli that can be detected 50% of time
Differential Threshold
Just noticable difference; minimum difference that must occur between to stimuli for them to be perceived as having different intensities
Terminal threshold
Upper limit above which the stimuli can no longer be perceived
Theory of Signal Detection
Subjects detect stimuli not only because they can but also because they want to
Response Bias
Individuals are partly motivated by rewards and costs in detections
Place-resonance theory
Different parts of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies
Sound Localization
Degree to which one ear hears a sound prior to and more intensely than the other can give info about the origin of the sound
Free nerve endings
Detect pain and temperature changes
Physiological zero
Temperature that is detected as neither warm nor cold
Control Theory of Pain
Looks at pain as process rather than sensation governed in one part of brain
Orienting Reflex
Tendency to turn toward an object that has touched you
Simulations
Use perceptual cues to make artificial situations seem real
Kinesthetic sense
Info from receptors in joints and muscles that tells us about the positioning of our own body
Osmoreceptors
deal with thirst
