Sensation And Perception

Question 0

Perception

Answer 0

The process by which the brain selects, organises and interprets sensations

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The process by which the sense organs gather information about the environment

Question 2

Transduction

Answer 2

The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses

Question 3

Psychophysics

Answer 3

Branch of psychology that studies the relationship between attributes of the physical world and the psychological experience of them

Question 4

Sensory Receptors

Answer 4

Specialised cells in the nervous system that transform energy in the environment into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain

Question 5

Absolute Threshold

Answer 5

The minimum amount of physical energy (stimulation) needed for an observer to notice a stimulus

Question 6

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 6

The theory that experiencing a sensation means making a judgement about whether a stimulus is present or absent

Question 7

Response Bias

Answer 7

In signal detection theory, the participants readiness to report detecting a signal when uncertain; also called decision criterion

Question 8

Difference Threshold

Answer 8

The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect

Question 9

Just Noticeable Difference (jnd)

Answer 9

The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect

Question 10

Weber’s Law

Answer 10

The perceptual law proposedby Ernst Weber that states that for two stimuli to be perceived as differing in intensity, the second must differ from the first by a constant proportion

Question 11

Fechner’s Law

Answer 11

The law of psychophysics proposed by Gustav Fechner, that the subjective magnitude of a sensation grows as a proportion of the logarithm of the stimulus

Question 12

Steven’s Power Law

Answer 12

A law of sensation proposed by S. S. Stevens, which states that the subjective intensity of a stimulus grows as a proportion of the actual intensity raised to some power

Question 13

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 13

The tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that continue without change

Question 14

Phantom Limbs

Answer 14

Misleading ‘sensations’ from missing limbs

Question 15

Gate-control Theory

Answer 15

Theory that emphasises the role of the central nervous system in regulating pain

Question 16

Kinaesthesia

Answer 16

That sense that provides information about the movement and position of the limbs and other parts of the body; receptors in joints transduce information about the position of the bones, and receptors in the tendons and muscles transmit messages about muscular tension

Question 17

Proprioceptive Senses

Answer 17

Senses that provide information about body position and movement; the two proprioceptive senses are kinaesthesia and vestibular sense

Question 18

Vestibular Sense

Answer 18

The sense that provides information about the position of the body in space by sending gravity and movement

Question 19

Perceptual Organisation

Answer 19

The process of integrating sensations into meaningful perceptual units

Question 20

Percepts

Answer 20

Meaningful perceptual units, such as images of particular objects

Question 21

Form Perception

Answer 21

The organisation of sensations into meaningful shapes and patterns

Question 22

Figure-ground Perception

Answer 22

A fundamental rule of perception described by Gestalt Psychology that states that people inherently differentiate between figure (the object they are viewing/sound they are listening) and ground (background).

Question 23

Similarity

Answer 23

A Gestalt rule of perception which states that the brain tends to group similar elements within a perceptual field

Question 24

Proximity

Answer 24

A Gestalt rule of perception which states that, other things being equal, the brain groups objects together that are close to each other

Question 25

Good continuation

Answer 25

A Gestalt rule of perception which states that, if possible, the brain organises stimuli into continuous lines or patterns rather than discontinuous elements

Question 26

Simplicity

Answer 26

A Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive the simplest pattern possible

Question 27

Closure

Answer 27

A Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete

Question 28

Recognition by Components

Answer 28

The theory that asserts that we perceive and categorise objects in our own environment by breaking them down into component parts and then matching the components and the way they are arranged against similar ‘sketches’ stored in memory

Question 29

Perceptual Illusions

Answer 29

Perceptual misinterpretations produced in the course of normal perceptual processes

Question 30

Depth Perception

Answer 30

The organisation of perception in three dimensions; also called distance perception

Question 31

Binocular Cues

Answer 31

Visual input integrated from two eyes that provides perception of depth

Question 32

Monocular Cues

Answer 32

Visual input from a single eye alone that contributes to depth perception

Question 33

Binocular Cells

Answer 33

Neurons that receive information from both eyes

Question 34

Motion Parallax

Answer 34

A monocular depth cue involving the relative movements of retinal images of objects; nearby objects appear to speed across the field of vision, whereas distant objects barely seem to move

Question 35

Motion Perception

Answer 35

The perception of movement in objects

Question 36

Motion Detectors

Answer 36

Ganglion cells that are particularly sensitive to movement

Question 37

Perceptual Constancy

Answer 37

The organisation of changing sensations into precepts that are relatively stable in size, shape and colour

Question 38

Size Constancy

Answer 38

The perception that the shape of objects remains unchanged in spite of the fact that different impressions are made on the retina each time the object is encountered

Question 39

Colour Constancy

Answer 39

The tendency to perceive the colour of objects as stable despite changing illumination

Question 40

Shape Constancy

Answer 40

The perception that an objects shape remains constant despite the changing shape of the retinal image as the object is viewed from varying perspectives

Question 41

Muller-Lyer Illusion

Answer 41

A perceptual illusion in which two lines of equal length appear different in size

Question 42

Direct Perception

Answer 42

A theory which states that sensory information intrinsically carries meaning

Question 43

Visual Cliff

Answer 43

A clear table with a checkerboard directly beneath it on one side and another checkerboard that appears to drop off like a cliff on the other, used especially with human infants in depth perception studies

Question 44

Bottom-up Processing

Answer 44

Perceptual processing that begins with raw sensory data that feed ‘up’ to the brain; what is perceived is determined largely by the features of the stimuli reaching the sense organs

Question 45

Top-down Processing

Answer 45

Perceptual processing that starts with the observers expectations and knowledge

Question 46

Perceptual Interpretation

Answer 46

The process of generating meaning from sensory experience

Question 47

Shemas

Answer 47

Integrated pattern of knowledge stored in memory that organises information and guides the acquisition of new information