Sensations and Percpetions Flashcards
minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be
detected 50% of the time
Absolute Threshold
height of a wave
Amplitude
continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus
Afterimage
thin strip of tissue within the cochlea that contains the hair cells which serve as the
sensory receptors for the auditory system
Basilar membrane
two-eared cue to localize sound
Binaural cue
cue that relies on the use of both eyes
Binocular cue
slightly different view of the world that each eye receive
Binocular disparity
point where we cannot respond to visual information in that portion of the visual field
Blind spot
system in which perceptions are built from sensory input
Button-up processing
organizing our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts
Closure
fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells of the auditory system
Cochlea
electronic device that consists of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode
array to directly stimulate the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain
Cochlea implant
failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles
Conductive hearing loss
specialized photoreceptor that works best in bright light conditions and detects color
Cone
deafness from birth
Congenital deafness
genetic disorder that results in the inability to
experience pain
congenital insensitivity to pain (congenital analgesia)
transparent covering over the eye
Cornea
partial or complete inability to hear
Deafness
logarithmic unit of sound intensity
Decibels
ability to perceive depth
Perception
all the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment
Electromagnetic spectrum
segmenting our visual world into figure and ground
Figure ground relationship
small indentation in the retina that contains cones
Fovea
number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period
Frequency
field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its
parts
Gestalt psychology
(also, continuity) we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines
rather than jagged, broken lines
Good continuation
auditory receptor cell of the inner ear
Hair cell
cycles per second; measure of frequency
Hertz
failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of
attention
Inattentional blindness
middle ear ossicle; also known as the anvil
Incus
signal that some type of tissue damage has occurred
Inflammatory pain
sound coming from one side of the body is more intense at the closest ear
because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through the head
Interaural level difference
small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear
Interaural timing difference
colored portion of the eye
Iris
difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the stimuli
Just noticeable difference
perception of the body’s movement through space
Kinesthesia
curved, transparent structure that provides additional focus for light entering the eye
Lens
perceive depth in an image when two parallel lines seem to converge
Linear perspective
middle ear ossicle; also known as the hammer
Malleus
touch receptor that responds to pressure and lower frequency vibrations
Meissner’s corpuscle
touch receptor that responds to light touch
Merkel’s disk
one-eared cue to localize sound
Monoaural cue
cue that requires only one eye
Monocular cue
results in a degeneration of inner ear structures that can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus,
vertigo, and an increase in pressure within the inner ear
Meniere’s disease
pain from damage to neurons of either the peripheral or central nervous system
Neuropathic pain
sensory cell for the olfactory system
Olfactory receptors
sensory signal indicating potential harm and maybe pain
Nociception
bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe, where the olfactory nerves begin
Olfactory bulb
color is coded in opponent pairs: black-white, yellow-blue,
and red-green
opponent-process theory of color perception
x-shaped structure that sits just below the brain’s ventral surface; represents the merging of
the optic nerves from the two eyes and the separation of information from the two sides of the visual field
to the opposite side of the brain
Optic chiasm
carries visual information from the retina to the brain
Optic nerves
touch receptor that detects transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations
Pacinian corpuscle
way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced
Perception
ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes
Pattern perception
(also, crest) highest point of a wave
Peak
educated guess used to interpret sensory information
Perceptual hypothesis
chemical message sent by another individual
Pheromone
light-detecting cell
Photoreceptor
visible part of the ear that protrudes from the head
Pinna
perception of a sound’s frequency
Pitch
different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of
different frequencies
place theory of pitch perception
organize perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts
Principle of closure
perception of body position
Proprioception
things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together
Proximity
small opening in the eye through which light passes
Pupil
light-sensitive lining of the eye
Retina
specialized photoreceptor that works well in low light condition
Rod
touch receptor that detects stretch
Ruffini Corpuscle
what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor
Sensation
failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain
Sensorineural Hearing loss
not perceiving stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time
sensory adaptation
things that are alike tend to be grouped together
Similarity
change in stimulus detection as a function of current mental state
Signal detection theory
middle ear ossicle; also known as the stirrup
Stapes
message presented below the threshold of conscious awareness
Subliminal message
grouping of taste receptor cells with hair-like extensions that protrude into the central pore of the taste bud
taste bud
sound’s frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron
Temporal theory of pitch perception
temperature perception
Thermoception
sound’s purity
Timbre
interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and
thoughts
Top-down processing
conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential
Transduction
color vision is mediated by the activity across the three groups
of cones
Trichromatic theory of color perception
Another word for eardrum
Tympanic membrane
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see
Visible spectrum
lowest point of a wave
Trough
taste for monosodium glutamate
Umami
contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture
Vestibular sense
length of a wave from one peak to the next peak
Wavelength
spinning sensation
Vertigo
