Sensation & Perception Flashcards
International Blindness
is the event in which an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight
Change Blindness
a phenomenon in visual perception where apparently large changes within a visual scene are undetected by the viewer
Transduction
The process of converting one form of energy into another; translation of incoming stimuli into neural signals
Psychophysics
This area of psychology was started by Gustav Fechner; addresses the relationship between psychological experiences and physical energy
Signal Detection Theory
Investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while perceiving the world
Difference Threshold
Sometimes called the just-noticeable difference threshold, is the smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before one can detect a change
Sensory Adaptation
Decreasing responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation
Extrasensory Perception
ESP, also called sixth sense, includes reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind.
Parapsychology
refers to the study of paranormal phenomenon; believe that people who experience paranormal phenomenon are not always mentally ill or delusional
Blind Spot
The spot where the optic nerve leaves the retina has no rods or cones
Parallel Processing
the ability of the brain to do many things (processes) at once.
Opponent Process Theory
States that the sensory receptors arranged in the retina come in pairs: red/green, yellow/blue, black/white
Visual Cliff
Experiment by Eleanor Gibson that was used to determine when human infants can perceive depth
Binocular Cues
Depth cues that depend on having two eyes
Retinal Disparity
The way that your left eye and your right eye view slightly different images when the other eye is closed
Monocular Cues
Depth cues that do not depend on having two eyes
Perceptual Adaptation
Our perception of sensations is partially due to how we focused we are on them
Frequency
Length of waves that determine pitch
Pitch
refers to the sound quality; highness or lowness (frequency) of a sound or musical tone; sounds or pitch refers to a sound’s place on the frequency scale
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Occurs when the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged, usually by loud noise
Conduction Hearing Loss
Occurs when something goes wrong with the system of conducting the sound to the cochlea (in the eardrum, ear canal, hammer/anvil/stirrup, or oval window)
Place Theory
Holds that the hair cells i the co chela respond to different frequencies of sound based on where they are located in the cochlea
Frequency Theory
theory of how we hear sounds; states that there are pulses that travel up the auditory nerve, carrying the information about sound to the brain for processing, and that the rate of this pulse matched the frequency of whatever tone you are hearing exactly.
Gate-Control Theory
Explains how we experience pain the way we do; explains that some messages have higher priority than others
