Sensation and Perception

Question 1

absolute threshold

Answer 1

The lowest amount of stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

Question 2

accommodation (vision)

Answer 2

The process in which the lens of the eye changes shape in response to external conditions so that an object remains in focus.

Question 3

adaptation

Answer 3

The process by which the eye adjusts to varying levels of light or colors.

Question 4

amplitude (loudness)

Answer 4

The height of the sound waves generated by an auditory stimulus.

Question 5

binocular cue

Answer 5

A visual depth cue that requires the use of both eyes.

Question 6

blind spot

Answer 6

An area or direction in which a person’s vision is obscured because no receptor cells are located there.

Question 7

cochlea

Answer 7

The snail-shaped, fluid-filled organ in the inner ear that contains the basilar membrane.

Question 8

conduction deafness

Answer 8

Hearing loss related to problems with the ossicles, the bones of the middle ear.

Question 9

cones

Answer 9

The visual receptors in the retina that are responsible for color vision, but are less useful for seeing in low-light conditions.

Question 10

confabulation

Answer 10

An imagined but plausible memory that fills in gaps about what a person actually remembers.

Question 11

convergence

Answer 11

A binocular cue that perceives depth; the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

Question 12

cornea

Answer 12

The clear part of the eye that lies in front of the iris and is part of the eye’s protective covering.

Question 13

depth perception

Answer 13

The ability to visually perceive the world and to understand spatial relationships in order to gauge the distances between objects.

Question 14

eardrum

Answer 14

Another term for the tympanic membrane.

Question 15

feature detection cells

Answer 15

Cells in the visual cortex of the brain that respond to different characteristics, or features, of a visual stimulus.

Question 16

feature detection theory

Answer 16

An explanation for pattern recognition; the theory that we process images in terms of their constituent parts and then match the features of a pattern to those features stored in memory.

Question 17

figure and ground

Answer 17

An aspect of perception where the perceived is separated into at least two parts, each with different attributes, but influencing one another.

Question 18

fovea

Answer 18

A depression near the center of the retina that is densely packed with cones. The fovea is where vision is most acute.

Question 19

frequency theory

Answer 19

A theory that sound is heard when pulses travel up the auditory nerve and carry the information to the brain for processing, and that the rate of this pulse exactly matches the frequency of whatever tone is heard.

Question 20

gate control theory

Answer 20

The theory of pain perception that suggests there is a spinal “gate” that can be closed by signals from the brain. Closing the gate keeps pain signals from reaching the brain.

Question 21

gustation

Answer 21

The sense of taste.

Question 22

induced motion

Answer 22

An optical illusion in which a stationary object appears to move in one direction because of the movement of objects on either side of it in the opposite direction.

Question 23

iris

Answer 23

The colored portion of the eye that controls how much light enters the pupil.

Question 24

kinesthetic

Answer 24

The sense of body position. Also known as proprioception.

Question 25

law of effect

Answer 25

Proposed by Edward Thorndike, the law of effect states that a behavior is likely to be repeated when it maximizes pleasure and/or minimizes pain.

Question 26

lens

Answer 26

The portion of the eye that changes shape in order to focus the visual image onto the retina.

Question 27

light adaptation

Answer 27

The changes that occur in the eye to permit vision when moving from darkness to light.

Question 28

monocular cue

Answer 28

A visual depth cue that makes use of only one eye.

Question 29

olfaction

Answer 29

The sense of smell.

Question 30

opponent process theory

Answer 30

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, black-white, yellow-blue) make color vision possible.

Question 31

optic nerve

Answer 31

The cranial nerve that carries the visual impulse out of the back of the eye and into the brain for further processing.

Question 32

parallel processing

Answer 32

A feature of the visual system in which many different processes are taking place simultaneously.

Question 33

perception

Answer 33

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Question 34

photoreceptors

Answer 34

The sense receptors for the visual system.

Question 35

pitch (frequency)

Answer 35

The frequency of sound waves, which translates into the highness or lowness of a sound.

Question 36

proximity

Answer 36

A Gestalt principle of perception that states that all else being equal, things that are near one another tend to be perceived as a unit.

Question 37

pupil

Answer 37

The opening in the center of the eye that controls how much light is let into the eye.

Question 38

retina

Answer 38

The layer of cells at the back of the eye where transduction of light waves into nerve signals takes place. It contains photoreceptors and additional neurons.

Question 39

rods

Answer 39

Photoreceptors that respond to low levels of light.

Question 40

semicircular canals

Answer 40

The three fluid-filled channels in the inner ear that are responsible for the vestibular sense, or sense of balance. The semicircular canals respond to changes in the position of the head and the rate of movement.

Question 41

sensation

Answer 41

The raw, unelaborated awareness of stimulation.

Question 42

sensory integration

Answer 42

A process of synthesizing information from two or more sensory systems.

Question 43

subliminal

Answer 43

Sensory stimulation that is below the threshold of perception, but may still influence us in some way.

Question 44

tastebuds

Answer 44

Sense organs that contain the chemical receptors for taste.

Question 45

timbre (complexity)

Answer 45

The quality of sound that is the result of the mixture of wavelengths in the sound.

Question 45

threshold

Answer 45

The minimum sensory stimulation required for detection.

Question 46

transduction

Answer 46

The conversion of sensory stimuli, such as sound waves, into a form that can be processed by the sense receptors.

Question 47

trichromatic (Young-Helmholtz) theory

Answer 47

A theory of color vision in which three types of color receptors produce the three basic colors of red, green, and blue.

Question 48

vestibular sense

Answer 48

The sense of balance.

Question 49

visible spectrum

Answer 49

The part or range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye.

Question 50

Weber’s law

Answer 50

The rule that the just noticeable difference (JND) of a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus. For example, a dim light doesn’t need to brighten very much for us to notice it, but an already bright light must become much brighter for us to perceive the difference.