sensation and perception (modules 20-25) Flashcards
sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
sensory receptors
sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
bottom up processing
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to higher levels of processing
top down processing
constructs perceptions from this sensory input by drawing your experience and expectations
selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
cocktail party effect
ability to attend to one voice among a sea of voices
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment
transduction
conversion of one form of energy to another
psychophysics
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli such as their intensity and our psychological experience of them
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent o the time
signal detection theory
theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation
subliminal
below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
difference threshold
the minimum difference between two stimulus required for detection 50 percent of the time
priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response
weber’s law
the idea that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentagee
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other
schemas
concepts that organize and interpret unfamiliar information
motivations can bias…
our interpretations of neutral stimuli
t or f: emotions can shove our perceptions in one way or another
true
extrasensory perception (ESP)
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input
-includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
telepathy
mind to mind communicationcla
clairvoyance
perceiving remote events such as a house on fire in another state
precognition
perceiving future events, such as an unexpected death i the next month
psychokinesis
mind moving matter
wavelength
the distance from the peak of one light/soundwave to the peak of the next
short wavelength corresponds to
high frequency
longer wavelength corresponds to
low frequency
hue
the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light
short wavelengths have a ______ hue
blueish, cooler toned
long wave lengths have a ________ hue
reddish, warmed toned
amplitude
the height of a wave
intensity
the amount of energy in a light/sound wave which influences brightness/loudness and is determined by amplitude of a wave
great amplitude has ___________ intensity
a brighter or louder
small amplitude has ____________ intensity
a duller or quieter
cornea
the eye’s clear protective outer layer covering the pupil and iris
pupil
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
iris
a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that behind the processing of visual information
accommodation
the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
rods
-retinal receptors that detect black white and gray and are sensitive to movement
-necessary for peripheral vision and twilight vision when cones don’t respond
cones
retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or well-lit conditions
-detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
bipolar cells
cells near cones and rods that have their neural signals sparked by chemical reactions which allows them to activate ganglion cells
ganglion cells
cells whose axons twist together to form the optic nerve
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind spot” because there’s no receptor cells there
fovea
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster
young-helmholtz trichromatic theory
theory that the retina has 3 different color receptors; red, blue, green that when stimulated in combination can produce any color
opponent process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brains visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus such as shape, angle, or movement
parallel processing
processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously
grandmother cells
supercells that do appear to respond selectively to 1 or 2 faces in 100
gestalt
-an organized whole
-our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (figure) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)
grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
law of proximity
we group nearby figures together
law of continuity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
law of closure
we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
depth perception
-the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional
-allows us to judge distance
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perceptions in infants and young animals
binocular cue
a depth cure, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance as the greater the disparity between the two images the closer the object
monocular cue
a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone
phi phenomenon
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
stroboscopic phenomenon
our brain perceives a rapid series of slightly varying images as continuous movement (stop-motion)
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.
-includes having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size
color constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
brightness constancy
we perceive an object a having a constant brightness even as its illumination varies
relative luminance
the amount of light an objects reflects relative to its surroundings
size constancy
we perceive an object as having an unchanging size even while our distance from it varies
perceptual adaption
the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
frequency
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time
pitch
a tone’s experienced highness or lowness
-depends of frequency
decibels
-the unit we measure sound in
-0 decibels is the absolute threshold for hearing
middle ear
the chamber containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup)/(malleus, incus, stapes) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window
cochlea
-a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner
-nerve impulse are triggered y sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid
inner ear
the innermost part of the ear containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
basilar membrane
membrane within the cochlea that contains hair cells which are auditory receptors when stimulated
sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or the auditory nerves
conduction hearing loss
a less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
cochlear implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
place theory
the theory that links the pitch heard with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
frequency theory
the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
gate-control theory
the theory that the spinal cord contains neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on into the brain
survival functions of sweet
indicates energy source
survival function of salty
indicates sodium essential to physiological processes
survival function of sour
indicates potentially toxic acid
survival function of bitter
indicates potential poisons
survival function of umami
indicates proteins to grow and repair tissue
olfaction
the sense of smell
gustation
the sense of taste
vestibular sense
our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance
-semicircular canals and vestibular sacs
kinesthesia
-our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body arts
-kinesthetic censors in joints, tendons, and muscles
sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
embodied cognition
the influence of bodily sensations, gestures and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments
senses associated with cerebellum
body-position kinesthesia
body movement vestibular sense
smell is associated with what part of the brain?
olfactory bulb
touch goes to what part of the brain?
somatosensory cortex
taste is associated with what part of the brain?
frontal temporal lobe border
hearing is with what part of the brain?
temporal lobes
vision is with what part of the brain?
occipital lobes
