Sensation & Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

sensation

A

the process of detecting physical energy and transforming it into neural signals

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2
Q

perception

A

selecting, organizing, and interperting situations

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3
Q

bottom up processing

A

sensation to perception; details to big picture

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4
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimum amount of stimulation you can sense

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5
Q

priming

A

the brief effect subliminal messages have

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6
Q

do subliminal messages have a lasting outcome ?

A

no

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7
Q

difference threshold/just noticeable difference (jnd)

A

minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

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8
Q

Weber’s Law

A

to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

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9
Q

what matters if not the direct amount of stimuli ?

A

the percentage; ratio of the second stimulus to the first

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10
Q

sensory adaptation

A

diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation

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11
Q

habituation

A

type of adaptation that occurs when we stop having an interest in a stimulus or stop paying attention to it

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12
Q

phototransduction

A

conversion of light energy into neural signals the brain can understand

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13
Q

wavelength

A

the distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next

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14
Q

light can behave as..

A

a wave or a particle

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15
Q

hue (color)

A

dimension determined by the wavelength of light

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16
Q

intensity

A

amount of energy in a wave, determined by amplitude

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17
Q

cornea

A

outer covering

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18
Q

iris

A

muscle that controls the pupil

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19
Q

pupil

A

adjustable opening in center of eye

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20
Q

lens

A

transparent structure behind the iris that changes shape to focus images

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21
Q

retina

A

inner surface of the eye; contains receptor rods and cones, a bunch of other neurons

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22
Q

rods

A
  • peripheral retina
  • detect black, white, and gray
  • twilight or low light (more sensitive in the dark)
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23
Q

cones

A
  • near center of retina
  • fine detail and color vision
  • daylight or well-lit conditions
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24
Q

nearsightedness

A

nearby objects are seen more clearly

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25
Q

farsightedness

A

faraway objects are seen more clearly

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26
Q

optic nerve

A

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

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27
Q

fovea

A

central point in the retina, where the eye’s cones cluster

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28
Q

bipolar cells

A

one of the main retinal interneurons

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29
Q

ganglion cells

A

final output neurons of the vertebrate retinas

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30
Q

parallel processing

A

processing several visual aspets simultaneously

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31
Q

blindsight

A

seeing without seeing

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32
Q

Trichromatic Theory (Young-Helmholtz)

A

since any color can be created by combinations of red, blue, and green light, the eye must have three types of receptors for these three colors

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33
Q

what are the three different types of cones ?

A

red, green, and blue

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34
Q

what do cones respond to ?

A

the amount of light hitting them

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35
Q

how are color processing cells grouped together ?

A
  • red/green
  • blue/yellow
  • black/white
36
Q

who proposed the Opponent-Process-Theory ?

A

Ewald H. Hering

37
Q

Opponent Process Theory

A

we process four primary colors combined in pairs of red/green, blue/yellow, and black/white

38
Q

color constancy

A

color perception of familiar objects remains constant; color perceived depends on context

39
Q

what causes sound ?

A

when molecules bump into each other at different rates, causing small changes in air pressure; changes are converted to neural impulses that are known as sound

40
Q

tympanic membrane (eardrum)

A

sound passes through this part of the ear, causing it to vibrate

41
Q

auditory ossicles

A

to transmit and amplify sound and to convert sound waves into pressure waves in the perilymph and endolymph

42
Q

what are the three small bones in the middle ear ?

A

hammer, anvil, and stirrup

43
Q

basilar membrane

A

vibrates at different locations when the three bones of the ear vibrate

44
Q

cochlea

A

the fluid inside this will ripple due to vibrations

45
Q

hair cells

A

convert ripples into neural messages which are sent to the brain

46
Q

conduction hearing loss

A

issues with the hammer, anvil, and stirrup

47
Q

sensorineural hearing loss

A

problems with hair cells

48
Q

touch

A

mixture of pressure, warmth, cold, and pain

49
Q

what did Ian Waterman propose ?

A

there are no sense receptors for light, touch, body position, and movement

50
Q

pain

A

a product of the body and the brain

51
Q

Gate Control Theory

A

we can reduce pain by stimulating nerve fibers that override the pain stimulus (why does scratching an itch work)

52
Q

gustatory

A

concerned with tasting or the sense of taste

53
Q

super tasters

A

have the most taste buds; everything is intense

54
Q

what are the five taste sensations ?

A
  1. sweet
  2. sour
  3. salty
  4. bitter
  5. umami
55
Q

how can one’s sensitivity to taste decline ?

A
  • smoking heavily
  • consuming large amounts of alcohol
  • growing older
56
Q

synesthesia

A

when you hear music, but you see shapes

57
Q

olfaction

A

the sensation of smell that results from the detection of odorous substances aerosolized in the environment

58
Q

how does smell change over one’s lifetime ?

A

it peaks in early adulthood and then declines

59
Q

kinesthesis

A

sense of movement and location of body in space

60
Q

vestibular sense

A

balance

61
Q

selective attention

A
  • we focus on only a small amount of our experience at a time
  • but we can rapidly shift our attention, so it feels like we are able to focus on many things at once
62
Q

inattentional blindness

A

we miss things because our attention is directed elsewhere

63
Q

change blindness

A

when our vision is interrupted, we have a more difficult time noticing changes

64
Q

choice blindness

A

difficulty to detect differences between a choice and its outcome and a tendency to justify choices which were never made

65
Q

figure and ground

A

help you recognize that objects (ex: faces) are separate from their surroundings

66
Q

grouping

A
  • proximity
  • similarity
  • continuity
  • connectedness
  • closure
67
Q

depth perception

A

ability to see objects in three dimensions

68
Q

retinal disparity

A

each eye, and therefore each retina, receives a slightly different image

69
Q

binocular cues

A

two eyes

70
Q

relative size

A

object that casts the smaller retinal image is farther away (if similar in size)

71
Q

relative clarity

A

hazy objects look farther away

72
Q

relative height

A

objects higher in our field of view are perceived as farther away

73
Q

interposition

A

if one object blocks our view of another, we see it as closer

74
Q

texture gradiet

A

a change from distinct texture to indistrict texture implies distance

75
Q

motion parallax

A

objects closer to us appear to moving faster than those that are far away

76
Q

motion perception

A

relative motion

77
Q

stroboscopic movement

A

apparent motion of a series of separate stimuli occurring in close consecutive order, as in motion pictures

78
Q

phi phenomenon

A

illusion of movement that arises when stationary objects are placed side by side and illuminated rapidly one after another

79
Q

perceptual constancy

A
  • shape/size
  • size/distance
  • lightness
80
Q

perceptual set

A

readiness to detect a particular stimulus in a given situation

81
Q

extrasensory perception

A
  • telepathy
  • clairvoyance
  • precognition
  • psychokinesis
82
Q

telepathy

A

mind to mind communication

83
Q

clairvoyance

A

ability to sense distant events

84
Q

precognition

A

telling the future

85
Q

psychokinesis

A

ability to move objects with your mind

86
Q

parapsychology

A

study of mental phenomena which are excluded by orthodox scientifiec psychology