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MCAT Psychology and Sociology > Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the main difference between sensation and perception?

A

Sensation is the transduction of external stimuli into to the internal environment, while perception is making sense of such stimuli.

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2
Q

Making AI robots is a task that has still not been done. Do robots lack the ability to sense or perceive?

A

perceive

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3
Q

Describe the pathway a peripheral sensory neuron takes to transmit information to the brain.

A

peripheral sensory neuron -> sensory ganglion -> postganglionic neuron in the spinal cord -> thalamus -> specific part of the brain

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4
Q

List off a few examples of sensory receptors?

A

osmoreceptors, nocireceptors, photoreceptors, hair cells, taste receptors, olfactory receptors, thermoreceptors

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5
Q

A thermoreceptor would likely eventually send its signal to what part of the cerebral cortex?

A

parietal lobe

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6
Q

Why is perception usually more interesting to study for psychologists than sensation?

A

it largely depends on experience– two people can sense the same thing and perceive it entirely differently

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7
Q

Define what a threshold is in terms of perception.

A

the minimum amount of a stimulus that renders a difference in perception

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8
Q

What are the three main types of thresholds? What is another name for a threshold?

A
  • the absolute threshold, the threshold of conscious perception, and the main difference threshold
  • limen
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9
Q

Explain what an absolute threshold is.

A

the minimum amount of a stimulus that is required to activate a sensory neuron, not necessarily perception

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10
Q

Explain what a threshold of conscious perception is.

A

the minimum amount of a stimulus that is required to be perceived

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11
Q

Is it possible to the have a threshold of conscious perception that is lower than the absolute threshold? Explain.

A

No. Sensation always precedes perception. Therefore, the stimulus must always first reach the absolute threshold before the threshold of conscious perception.

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12
Q

Does a stimulus that exceeds the absolute threshold but not the threshold of conscious perception still reach the brain?

A

Yes- it just does not go to higher order brain structures. It would stop at the thalamus.

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13
Q

What is the difference threshold? What is another name for it?

A
  • the minimum change in intensity of a signal required to perceive
  • just noticeable difference (jnd)
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14
Q

Weber’s law provides more insight into what type of threshold?

A

the difference threshold

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15
Q

To hear a change in pitch of a voice, patient A has a jnd of 0.75%… what would the change need to be if he is listening to sound at 500 Hz?

A

500 + 0.0075(500) = 3.75, thus 503.75

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16
Q

What is signal detection theory used for? What is the main difference between using this theory to study subjects rather than just using external stimuli?

A
  • used to predict when and how a signal will be recognized amidst other sensory information (nosensory information), which affect the ability to perceive
  • in signal detection theory, psychological differences, not just external ones, are studied
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17
Q

What is a response bias? Can it be studied by signal detection theory?

A
  • tendency for a subject to respond a certain way due to psychological context (nosensory factors) rather than objective external stimuli
  • yes
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18
Q

If a researcher was studying a subject and produced a signal that was failed to be picked up, would this be a catch or miss trial? Hit or miss? False alarm or correct negative?

A
  • catch trial

- miss

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19
Q

Define what adaptation in terms of perception thresholds?

A

the change (and generally an increase) in a threshold in order to focus on the most relevant stimuli (e.g. getting an apartment near a train can eventually stopping noticing the sounds).

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20
Q

What is the outer most area of the eye called?

A

sclera

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21
Q

What is the inner most area of the eye called?

A

retina

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22
Q

What is the job of the retina?

A

convert incoming photons into electrical signals using photoreceptors

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23
Q

What is the front of the eye called?

A

cornea

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24
Q

Describe what accommodation is in terms of the eye?

A

the contraction/relaxation of the ciliary muscle to change the shape of the lens, allowing for focus on light onto the retina

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25
Q

What is the function of the canal of Schlemm?

A

to drain aqueous humor from the eye

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26
Q

What are the layers of the eye from inner to outer?

A

retina, choroid, sclera

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27
Q

True or False.

The retina is considered to be part of the central nervous system.

A

true

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28
Q

Describe the basic idea of the duplexity theory of vision.

A

that there are two types of photoreceptors in the eye: some for light/dark detection and some for color detection

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29
Q

What photoreceptors sense color in the eye?

A

cone cells

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30
Q

What photoreceptors sense light/dark in the eye?

A

rod cells

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31
Q

The cones in the eye most strongly detect what three colors?

A

blue, green, red

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32
Q

A high concentration of rhodopsin would be found in which receptor in the retina?

A

rod cells

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33
Q

What part of the retina would have the highest visual acuity? Why?

A
  • fovea

- it has exclusively cone cells, which detect fine differences

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34
Q

True or False.

The rod and cone cells in the retina connect directly with the optic nerve.

A

false

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35
Q

Rods and cones connect with which type of cell:

a) amacrine cells
b) horizontal cells
c) ganglion cells
d) bipolar cells

A

d

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36
Q

What cells makes up the optic nerve?

a) amacrine cells
b) horizontal cells
c) ganglion cells
d) bipolar cells

A

c

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37
Q

When light is detected by rhodopsin in rod cells, what happens to the membrane potential?

A

hyperpolarization

38
Q

The light information travels from the optic nerves in both eyes in what?

A

optic tracts

39
Q

The temporal visual fields of the eyes on both sides cross at the…

A

optic chiasm

40
Q

The right visual field goes to what side of the brain?

A

the left

41
Q

Where do the optic tracts ultimately lead to?

A

the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus

42
Q

Once sensing of light and color is done, what process do we use to perceive it?

A

parallel processing

43
Q

What is parallel processing?

A

the ability to perceive incoming visual signals as color, shape, and motion

44
Q

In neuroscience, parallel processing is called what?

A

feature detection

45
Q

What cells detect color according to feature detection?

A

cones

46
Q

What cells detect shape according to feature detection?

A

parvocellular cells

47
Q

What cells detect motion according to feature detection?

A

magnocellular cells

48
Q

What is the difference between spatial and temporal resolution?

A

spatial resolution refers to the size of the pixel (high resolution = small pixel sizes), while temporal resolution refers to how often the pixels are updated (high resolution = updated often)

49
Q

What are the three main divisions of the ear?

A

the inner, middle, and outer ear

50
Q

What are the three main parts of the outer ear?

A

the pinna (auricle), external auditory canal, and the tympanic membrane

51
Q

True or False.

The tympanic membrane vibrates more frequently as the intensity of the noise increases.

A

false

52
Q

What are the bones of the middle ear called?

A

the ossicles

53
Q

What are the three ossicles?

A

malleus, incus, stapes

54
Q

Which ossicle is in contact with the tympanic membrane?

A

malleus

55
Q

What structure of the inner ear is the stapes in contact with?

A

the oval window

56
Q

What is the function of the Eustachian tube? Where is it located?

A
  • equilibrate pressure differences between the ear and nasal cavity
  • middle ear
57
Q

What are the two matrices of the inner ear?

A

the bony matrix and the membraneous matrix

58
Q

What substance sits within the bony matrix and bathes the membraneous maxtrix?

A

perilymph

59
Q

Would you expect there to be more free ions in the perilymph or endolymph?

A

the endolymph

60
Q

What are the three structures that make up the membraneous matrix?

A

-cochlea, vestibule, semicircular canals

61
Q

What is the function of the cochlea? What is the main organ that does this?

A
  • convert auditory physical stimuli into electrical stimuli

- organ of Corti

62
Q

The endolymph is a liquid and is essentially incompressible. If this statement is true, how are vibrations sent through the matrix to the organ of Corti?

A

the round window in the inner ear is flexible and can move in response to vibrations

63
Q

What is the nerve connected to the cochlea called?

A

vestibulocochlear nerve (or simply the auditory nerve)

64
Q

True or False.

The auditory signals are sent directly to higher cerebral cortex structures and do not first pass through the thalamus.

A

false

65
Q

Explain what it means for the cochlea to be tonotopically organized.

A

The hairs in the organ or Corti that run continuously throughout the cochlear tail are specific for certain pitches; for instance, ones that are closer to the round window vibrate more quickly and thus correspond to higher pitch sounds

66
Q

What is a kinesthetic sense?

A

also known as proprioception, it is the ability to sense where your body is and where/how it is moving

67
Q

What does the vestibule do?

A

senses linear acceleration by using hairs specialized with otoliths

68
Q

What do the semicircular structures do?

A

sense rotational acceleration by using ampulla

69
Q

How are hairs in the ear different than hairs on your head?

A

they have sterocilia, specialized for hearing

70
Q

Where does the auditory tract lead signals to after being produced by the organ of Corti?

A

medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (MGN)

71
Q

What are two possible locations where the MGN would send auditory signals to?

A
  • the temporal lobe

- inferior colliculus

72
Q

What is unique about the signals corresponding to the sense of smell compared to other senses?

A

they do not go to the thalamus

73
Q

While the thalamus organizes incoming sight and hearing signals, the analogous structure for smell is known as the _____ _____.

A

olfactory bulb

74
Q

What is a pheremone?

A

any olfactant that causes a change in behavior, used for communication

75
Q

What type of receptors are used for taste?

A

chemoreceptors

76
Q

The sense of touch is often oversimplified to mean being able to feel an object… what other modalities are there?

A

temperature, pressure, pain, vibration

77
Q

What are the five main types of somatosensory receptors?

A
  • free nerve endings
  • Meissner corpuscle
  • Ruffini endings
  • Pacinian corpuscle
  • Merkle discs
78
Q

What are the functions of the five main somatosensory receptors?

A
  • free nerve endings (detect temp/pain)
  • Meissner corpuscle (detect light touch)
  • Ruffini endings (detect strech)
  • Pacinian corpuscle (detect pressure/vibrations)
  • Merkle discs (detect pressure/texture)
79
Q

In regard to somatosensation, what is the two-point threshold?

A

the minimum difference between two points of touch to be felt as two distinct stimuli

80
Q

In regard to somatosensation, what is the gate theory of pain?

A

the theory that pain produced by nociceptors can be masked by converting it to other types of receptors (explains why rubbing an injury makes it feel better)

81
Q

In regard to somatosensation, what does physiological zero mean?

A

it means all temps are considered cold/hot relative to normal skin temp

82
Q

What is bottom-up (data driven) processing?

A

using parallel processing to identify an object

83
Q

What is town-down (conceptually driven processing)?

A

using memory to quickly identify an object

84
Q

When opening up her math textbook to read for the first time, Sally was overwhelmed by the complex equations. However, after a few weeks, when she opened up the book and reread the equations, she found they were easier to grasp. What type of processing is this?

A

top-down processing

85
Q

Suppose Sally ran into two equations in her math book that looked alike. She initially thought there was a printing error that resulted in the equation being written twice, but after examination, she realized they were slightly different. What type of processing is this?

A

bottom-up processing

86
Q

What is the ability to use bottom-up and town-down processing simulataneously?

A

perceptual organization

87
Q

Why is perceptual organization useful?

A

it allows the individual to understand an idea more clearly

88
Q

What are Gestalt principles?

A

ways in which the brain fills in gaps to make sense of an object

89
Q

What are some Gestalt principles?

A

law of proximity, law of similarity, law of subjective contours, law of good continuation, law of closure

90
Q

What law governs all Gestalt principles?

A

law of Pragnanz

91
Q

What does the law of Pragnanz state?

A

that all Gestalt principles are simple, regular, and symmetrical

MCAT Psychology and Sociology (8 decks)

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