Sensation and Perception

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the sorting out, interpretation, analysis and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain

Question 3

stimuli

Answer 3

energy that produces a response in sense organs

Question 4

psychophysics

Answer 4

the study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Question 5

absolute threshold

Answer 5

the smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected

Question 6

difference threshold

Answer 6

the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation had occurred

Question 7

Weber’s law

Answer 7

a basic law of psychophysics stating that a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus (rather than a constant amount)

Question 8

adaptation

Answer 8

an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli

Question 9

retina

Answer 9

the part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light to electrical impulses for transmission to the brain

Question 10

rods

Answer 10

thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light

Question 11

cones

Answer 11

cone-shaped, light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light

Question 12

optic nerve

Answer 12

a bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information to the brain

Question 13

feature detection

Answer 13

the activation of neurons on the cortex by visual stimuli of specific shapes or patterns

Question 14

trichromatic theory of color vision

Answer 14

the theory that there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengths

Question 15

opponent-process theory of color vision

Answer 15

the theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other

Question 16

sound

Answer 16

the movement of air molecules brought about by a source of vibration

Question 17

eardrum

Answer 17

the part of the ear that vibrates when a sound waves hit it

Question 18

hair cells

Answer 18

tiny cells covering the basilar membrane that when bent by vibrations entering the cochlea, transmit neural messages to the brain

Question 19

place theory of hearing

Answer 19

the theory that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies

Question 20

frequent theory of hearing

Answer 20

the theory that the entire basilar membrane acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to a sound

Question 21

semicircular canals

Answer 21

three tubelike structures of the inner ear containing fluid that sloshes through them when the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the brain

Question 22

skin senses

Answer 22

the sense of touch, pressure, temperature and pain

Question 23

gate-control theory of pain

Answer 23

the theory that particular nerve receptors in the spinal cord lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain

Question 24

gestalt laws of organization

Answer 24

a series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Question 25

top-down processing

Answer 25

perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivation

Question 26

bottom- up processing

Answer 26

perception that consists of the progression of recognizing and processing information from individual components of a stimuli and moving to the perception of the whole

Question 27

depth perception

Answer 27

the ability to view the world in three dimensions and to perceive distance

Question 28

perceptual constancy

Answer 28

the phenomenon in which physical objects are perceived as unvarying and consistent despite changes in their appearance or in the physical environment

Question 29

visual illusions

Answer 29

physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception