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Sensation and perception Flashcards

1
Q

Perception

A

Process of selecting and interpretation of info from the environment

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2
Q

Top Down Processing

A

Using experiences and expectations to interpret the outside world

-seeing a chair for the 1st time vs seeing a chair and knowing its a chair (understanding what a chair is from experience)

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3
Q

Bottom Up Processing

A

Receiving info from our senses

-cow example
-trying to make sense of what they see if they have not seen it before

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4
Q

Absolute Thresholds

A

The point at which a stimulus can be detected 50 percent of the time

(knowing a stimulus occurred)
-when you first detect something like a sound

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5
Q

Difference Threshold

A

The Minimal change in stimulation that can be reliably detected 50 percent of the time
-Noticing a difference/change in a stimulus

-When you know a change in sound happened
-fan turned off and then you notice it

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6
Q

Weber’s law

A

The ability to tell the difference between 2 objects, must be of an constant percentage not a constant amount

-May be a 10 percent difference
-you can tell the difference between 5 and 10 pounds but not 105 and 110 pounds

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7
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

When we are constantly exposed to the same stimulus that does not change, we become less aware of it because nerves fire less frequently

-if you get used to wearing a watch, you become less aware that you are wearing it

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8
Q

Sensory/SIgnal Detection Theory

A

Our expectations and experiences determine the sensitivity of when we perceive a stimulus

-When you are expecting a message, you are more likely to feel your phone buzzing bc you expect a message to come but if you did not expect a message, you might miss the buzz

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9
Q

Retina

A

contains sensory receptors that process visual information and sends it to the brain

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10
Q

Rods

A

Visual receptors cells located in the retina
-can only detect black and white
-respond to less light than cones do

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11
Q

Cones

A

Visual receptor cells located in the retina
-can detect sharp images and color
-need more light than rods
-many cones are clustered in the fovea at the center of the retina

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12
Q

Bipolar cells

A

Transmit signals from the photoreceptors to the ganglion cells

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13
Q

Ganglion cells

A

nerves that gather information and send their output to bipolar cells and into the brain through the optic nerve

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14
Q

Optic nerve

A

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain, creates a blindspot in our eye

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15
Q

Blindspot

A

Point where the optic nerve leaves the eye because there are no receptor cells located there

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16
Q

Feature Detectors

A

The ability to detect certain types of stimuli, like movements, shape, and angles, requires specialized cells in the brain called feature detectors. Without these, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to detect a round object, like a baseball, hurdling toward you at 90 miles per hour.

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17
Q

Parallel Processing

A

The brain processes hundred of buts of visual information a second, sorting out color, shapes, movements, brightness, combined with higher level connections like recognition, importances and uniqueness (all at the same time)

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18
Q

Dif wavelengths equal

A

different color

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19
Q

Amplitude/intensity

A

height

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20
Q

Amplitude determines..

A

brightness of color

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21
Q

What are the 3 types of cones

A

Red
Green
Blue

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22
Q

Additive color mixing

A

combinations of wavelengths by mixing lights
-addings lights together to get white

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23
Q

Subtractive color mixing

A

Mixing colors/paint to get black

Removing wavelengths by mixing paint

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24
Q

The Process of changing stimuli into neural impulses is known as….

A

Transduction

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25
What allows you to see black and white?
Rods
26
What allows you to see color?
Cones cones=color
27
Where does vision end up in the brain?
Association Areas
28
If Alice lives near a cattle plant, she probably doesn’t notice the neighborhood smell that visitors to her house complain about. What idea explains this phenomenon?
Sensory Adaptation
29
According to the opponent-process theory, ganglion cells that are stimulated by exposure to ________ light are inhibited by exposure to ________ light.
yellow; blue
30
In additive color mixing, the combination of red, green, and blue light creates
white
31
in subtractive color mixing, the combination of red, yellow, and blue paints creates ________.
black
32
Accommodation refers to the:
The process by which the lens changes its curvature
33
The negative afterimage created by looking at a white sheet of paper after staring at the green, black, and yellow flag occurs because
the ganglion cells excited by green, black and yellow are fatigued but the white light is sufficient to stimulate their opponent cells.
34
Put the visual transduction process in order
Retina Ganglion cells LGN of the thalamus Primary visual cortex of the occipital lobe Association Areas
35
The fovea is the:
the focus point of the eye, responsible for acuity.
36
The Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory explains vision at what level?
Cells in the Retina
37
Ganglion cells are organized into 3 opposing pairs which are...
blue/yellow red/green black/white
38
Frequency
length of sound wave/ rate of vibration lower wave, lower frequency = low pitch shorter wave, higher frequency =high pitch
39
Hearing transduction steps
Eardrum, piston, inner ear/cochlea
40
Place theory
we hear pitch depending on where it hits the cochlear membrane -each sound wave hits a specific place on the cochlear membrane
41
Frequency theory
The basilar membrane vibrates at the same rate as the sound wave
42
Volley principle
Neighboring neurons fire in rapid succession so when neurons fire they go into a refractory period so the neighboring neurons fire during that period so you can still hear sounds
43
Conduction deafness and can it be fixed?
damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves. (eardrum, and/or tiny bones in the middle ear) -improved by hearing aid
44
Sensorineural/Nerve deafness and can it be fixed?
Damage to the cochlea, basilar membrane, and hair cells in the inner ear -improved by cochlear implant
45
Mix of 4 skin senses:
Pressure, warmth, cold, pain
46
Pain threshold
amount of stimulation required to feel pain
47
Pain tolerance:
amount of pain with which one can cope
48
gate control theory
the theory that a "neurological gate" in the spinal cord controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain
49
biopsychosocial theory
the theory that the interaction of biological, psychological, and cultural factors influences the intensity and duration of pain
50
proprioception
the ability of your central nervous system to communicate and coordinate parts of your body with each other. -gives us sense of body orientation and movement
51
vestibular sense
body's system of balance, located in the inner ear -sense of equilibrium and body position -overstimulation can cause dizziness or motion sickness
52
Binocular cues
perception that requires both eyes
53
convergence
eyes turn inward or converge to see close objects -apart of binocular cues
54
retinal disparity
the greater distance between 2 objects from our face, the less we need to move our eyes to see both objects -apart of binocular cues
55
Inattentional blindness
when a person fails to perceive a unexpected stimulus in plain sight due to lack of attention
56
Change blindness
Observers fail to notice large changes to objects or scenes when the change coincides with a brief visual disruption
57
Cocktail party effect
ability to focus only on one voice in a huge crowd while unconsciously searching for important stimuli like your name
58
Stroboscopic movements
motion perception -images in rapid succession creates the illusion of movement
59
Context effects
Use of present context of sensory information to determine its meaning
60
Perceptual adaptation
ability to adjust to our senses
61
Human factors pyschology
Field in psychology that looks at how the human brain organizes and use information to develop technologies that work with natural human processes
62
Multiple ________ send combined messages to a bipolar cell, known as summation, whereas a single ________ may link directly to a single bipolar cell, where there is NO summation.
rods; cone
63
sensory compensation
it is believed that sensory loss is followed by increased other senses ex: Blind musicians are more likely than sighted ones to develop perfect pitch
64
The feature detectors identified by Hubel and Weisel respond to specific aspects of ________ stimulation.
visual
65
A cochlear implant would be most helpful for those who suffer:
sensorineural hearing loss
66
A hearing aid would be most helpful for those who suffer:
conduction hearing loss
67
Transduction
The process by which our sensory systems encode stimulus energy as neural messages
68
Stimuli that is below one’s conscious awareness (such as sounds that exist that we cannot hear) is known as:
Subliminal
69
What is sensory interaction?
One sense may influence another sense
70
Kinesthesis
describes the sense of the position and movements of individual body parts
71
Proprioception
ability of your CNS to communicate and coordinate parts of your body with each other -sense of body orientation and movement
72
Rods and Cones give their information to bipolar cells and bipolar cells then give their information to:
Ganglion Cells
73
opponent-process theory
explains why we have after-images after looking at something -God, American flag ex -ganglion cells
74
Receptor cells in the nose send messages to what part of the brain first?
The temporal lobe
75
visual capture
The concept that vision is our dominant sense and can influence other sensory experiences
76
phi phenomenon
a type of perceptual illusion that tricks your eyes into thinking that still images are actually moving.
77
Subliminal stimuli is:
Below a person’s absolute threshold
78
Ganglion cells merge together to form:
Optic nerve
79
young helmholtz trichromatic theory
human eyes only perceive three colors of light: red, blue, and green.
80
Ganglion cells won’t fire if:
light hits the surrounding area
81
What part of your inner ear contributes to your sense of balance?
Semicircular canals
82
If you can accurately touch your nose when your eyes are closed, you are demonstrating the ability of:
Kinesthesis
83
Studies that show how expectations can influence the experience of pain illustrates the importance of:
Top-down processing
84
Phantom limb’s tell us that:
Pain involves the brain's interpretation of neural activity
85
What sense is a chemical sense
Smell
86
The brain ability to finish an incomplete picture is the principle of:
Closure
87
Movies create the illusion of fluid motion by using
Stroboscopic motion
88
The perception of the letter “t” as two intersecting lines rather than as four separate lines illustrates the principle of:
continuity
89
When we stare at an object, each eye receives a slightly different image, providing a depth cue known as:
retinal disparity
90
perceptual constancies
door examples the tendency of animals and humans to see familiar objects as having standard shape, size, color, or location regardless of changes in
91
perceptual set
we perceive things in different ways

AP psychology (15 decks)

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