Sensation and Perception Flashcards
Sensation
any concrete, conscious experience resulting from stimulation of a specific sense organ, sensory nerve, or sensory area in the brain
Perception
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Sense receptors
specialized neurons or nerve endings that respond to changes in the environment by converting energy from a specific stimulus into an action potential
Transduction
stimulus-alerting events wherein a physical stimulus is converted into an action potential,
Synesthesia
neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses
Absolute threshold
the minimum stimulus energy that is needed to activate the sensory system
Difference threshold
the minimum level of stimulation that a person can detect 50 percent of the time
Sensory adaptation
a reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it
Sensory deprivation
partial or complete loss of sensory stimulation, usually under involuntary circumstances
Selective attention
the process of focusing on a particular object in the environment for a certain period of time
Inattentional blindness
he failure to notice a fully-visible, but unexpected object because attention was engaged on another task
Blind spot
Your blind spots cause you to fail to recognize that emotions, such as fear and distrust, change how you and others interpret and talk about reality
Dark adaptation
Your blind spots cause you to fail to recognize that emotions, such as fear and distrust, change how you and others interpret and talk about reality
Cocktail party effect
the ability of people to focus on a single talker or conversation in a noisy environment
Critical period
a maturational stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli
Need
feature that arouses an organism to action toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to behavior.
Emotions
a complex state of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes that influence thought and behavior
Expectation
personal beliefs about occurrences that may take place in the future
Proximity
states that people tend to organize objects close to each other into a perceptual group and interpret them as a single entity
Closure
the illusion of seeing an incomplete stimulus as though it were whole
Similarity
states that things that share visual characteristics like shape, size, color, texture, value or orientation will be grouped together.
Continuity
tendency to create continuous patterns and perceive connected objects as uninterrupted
Binocular
compares the input from both eyes to create the perception of depth, or stereopsis
Monocular cues
Cues of depth that can be detected by one eye instead of two
Retinal Disparity
the difference between the visual images that each eye perceives because of the different angles in which each eye views the world
Shape
have emotional connotations and can trigger different images and memories in people’s minds
Location size
the tendency for a resting object and its setting to appear to have the same position even if the relationship between setting and observer is altered as the observer shifts position
Brightness
an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to emit a given amount of light
Color
warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.
Convergence
deals with the closeness of an object
Gate control theory
the hypothesis that the subjective experience of pain is modulated by large nerve fibers in the spinal cord that act as gates
Phantom pain
is pain that feels like it’s coming from a body part that’s no longer there
Kinesthesia
the perception of body movements
Equilibrium
a state of balance between an individual’s mental schemata and his environment
Semicircular canals
a set of three looped tubular channels in the inner ear that detect movements of the head and provide the sense of dynamic equilibrium that is essential for maintaining balance.
Vestibular sense
senses involved with balance and equilibrium, awareness of the orientation of the head and body, and awareness of movement.
Subliminal perception
the registration of stimuli below the level of awareness
E.S.P.
perception that occurs independently of the known sensory processes
Parapsychology
a field of study concerned with the investigation of evidence for paranormal psychological phenomena
