Sensation & Perception

Question 1

The process by which information is detected by the sensory receptors and transmitted to the brain

Answer 1

sensation

Question 2

The interpretation of sensory input.

Answer 2

perception

Question 3

The position taken by Piaget and others that humans actively create their own understandings of the world from their experiences, as opposed to being born with innate ideas or being programmed by the environment.

Answer 3

constructivism

Question 4

An individual whose approach to human development emphasizes the contribution of genetic factors; infants enter the world equipped with knowledge that allows them to perceive a meaningful world from the start.

Answer 4

nativist

Question 5

A simple form of learning that involves learning not to respond to a repeated stimulus; learning to be bored by the familiar.

Answer 5

habituation

Question 6

The ability to perceive detail in a visual stimulus.

Answer 6

visual acuity

Question 7

The ability of the lens of the eye to change shape to bring objects at different distances into focus.

Answer 7

visual accommodation

Question 8

The amount of light-dark transition or boundary area in a visual stimulus.

Answer 8

contour

Question 9

The tendency to perceive an object as the same size despite changes in its distance from the eyes.

Answer 9

size constancy

Question 10

An elevated glass platform that creates an illusion of depth and is used to test the depth perception of infants.

Answer 10

visual cliff

Question 11

Organized systems of knowledge, believed to be innate, that allow children to make sense of the world in areas such as physics and psychology.

Answer 11

intuitive theories

Question 12

A surgically implanted amplification device that stimulates the auditory nerve to provide the sensation of hearing to a deaf individual.

Answer 12

cochlear implant

Question 13

One of the basic units of sound used in a particular spoken language. The “b” in “bat”.

Answer 13

phoneme

Question 14

The sense of smell, made possible by sensory receptors in the nasal passage that react to chemical molecules in the air.

Answer 14

olfaction

Question 15

The ability to use one sensory modality to identify a stimulus or a pattern of stimuli already familiar through another modality.

Answer 15

cross-modal perception

Question 16

A period of life during which the developing
individual is especially susceptible to the
effects of experience or has an especially high
level of plasticity.

Answer 16

sensitive period

Question 17

A pathologic condition of the eye involving opacification (clouding) of the lens that can impair vision or cause blindness.

Answer 17

cataracts

Question 18

Focusing perception and cognition on something in particular.

Answer 18

attention

Question 19

An attentional system that that reacts to events in the environment; contrast with a focusing system that deliberately seeks out and maintains attention to events.

Answer 19

orienting system

Question 20

Deliberately concentrating on one thing and ignoring something else.

Answer 20

selective attention

Question 21

A disorder characterized by attention
difficulties, impulsive behavior, and
overactive or fidgety behavior.

Answer 21

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

ADHD

Question 22

Condition caused by exposure to high noise levels that involves ringing sounds in one or both ears and that can last for days, weeks, or indefinitely.

Answer 22

tinnitus

Question 23

A taste sensation that roughly equates to “brothy” or “savory.”

Answer 23

umami

Question 24

The point at which low levels of stimulation can be detected.

Answer 24

sensory threshold

Question 25

The process by which the eyes become more sensitive to light over time as they remain in the dark.

Answer 25

dark adaptation

Question 26

Problems of the aging eye, especially loss of near vision related to a decreased ability of the lens to accommodate to objects close to the eye.

Answer 26

presbyopia

Question 27

Damage to cells in the retina responsible for central vision.

Answer 27

age-related macular degeneration

Question 28

A group of hereditary disorders that involve gradual deterioration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina.

Answer 28

retinitis pigmentosa (RP)

Question 29

A condition in which increased fluid pressure in the eye damages the optic nerve and causes progressive loss of peripheral vision and ultimately blindness.

Answer 29

glaucoma

Question 30

Problems of the aging ear, which commonly involve loss of sensitivity to high frequency or high-pitched sounds.

Answer 30

presbycusis