sensation and perception Flashcards

1
Q

sense

A

a system that translates data from outside the nervous system into neural activity

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2
Q

sensations

A

raw information from the senses

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3
Q

perception

A

the process through which people take raw sensations from the environment and give them meaning using knowledge, experience, and understanding of the world

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4
Q

accessory structures

A

structures, such as the outer part of the earr, that modify a stimulus

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5
Q

transduction

A

the process of converting incoming physical energy into neural activity

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6
Q

neural receptors

A

cells that are specialized to detect certain types of energy and convert it into neural activity

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7
Q

sensory adaptation

A

decreasing responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus

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8
Q

encoding

A

translation of the physical properties of a stimulus into a specific pattern of neural activity

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9
Q

specific energy doctrine

A

the discovery that stimulation of a particular sensory nerve provides codes for that sense, no matter how the stimulation takes place

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10
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimuum amount of stimulus energy that can be detectted 50 percent of the time

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11
Q

noise

A

the spontaneous random firing of nerve cells that occurs because the nervouse system is always active

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12
Q

response bias

A

the internal rule a person uses to decide whether or not to report a stimulus

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13
Q

signal detection theory

A

a mathematical model of what determies a person’s report of a near-threshold stimulus

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14
Q

sensitivity

A

the ability to detect a stimulus

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15
Q

Weber’s law

A

a law stating that the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy is a constant fraction of the intensity of the stimulus

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16
Q

just-noticeable difference

A

the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy

17
Q

wavelength

A

the distance between peaks in a wave of light or sound

18
Q

frequency

A

the number of complete waves, or cycles that pass a given point per unit of time

19
Q

amplitude

A

the distance between the peak and the baseline of a wave

20
Q

figure

A

the part of the visual field that has meaning

21
Q

ground

A

the contourless part of the visual field

22
Q

figure ground discrimination

A

the ability to organize a visual scene so that it contains meaningful figures set against a less relevant ground

23
Q

depth perception

A

perception of distance, allowing us to experience the world in three dimensions

24
Q

motion parallax

A

a depth cue whereby a difference in the apparent rate of movement of different objects provides information about the relative distance of those objects

25
eye convergence
a depth cue that results when the eyes rotate to project the image of an object on each retina
26
retina desparity
a depth cue based on the difference between the retinal images by each eye
27
looming
a motion cue whereby rapid expansion in the size of an image fills the available space on the retina
28
stroboscopic illusion
an illusion of motion that is created when we see slightly different images or slightly displaced lights flashed in rapid succession
29
perceptual constancy
the perception that objects retain the same size, shape, color and other properties despite changes in their retinal image
30
top-down processing
aspects of recognition guided by higher-level cognitive processes and by psychological factors such as expectations
31
bottom-up processing
aspects of recognition that depend first on information about stimuli that come up to the brain from the sensory system
32
schemas
mental representations of what we know and expect about the world