Sensing and Perceiving

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

awareness resulting from the stimulation of a sense organ

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the organization and interpretation of sensations

Question 3

transduction

Answer 3

the conversion of stimuli detected by receptor cells to electrical impulses that are then transported to the brain

Question 4

Psychophysics

Answer 4

branch of psychology that studies the effects of physical stimuli on sensory perceptions and mental states.

Gustav Fechner

Question 5

absolute threshold of a sensation

Answer 5

the intensity of a stimulus that allows an organism to just barely detect it.

Question 6

Signal detection analysis

Answer 6

a technique used to determine the ability of the perceiver to separate true signals from background noise

Question 7

sensitivity

Answer 7

measure of subjects true ability to detect presence or absence of signals in psychophysics experiment

Question 8

response bias

Answer 8

behavioral tendency to respond yes to the trials in in psychophysics experiment

Question 9

difference threshold (or just noticeable difference [JND])

Answer 9

the change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected by the organism.

Question 10

Weber’s Law

Answer 10

Ernst Weber law in psychophysics

just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original intensity of the stimulus

if you have a cup of coffee that has only a very little bit of sugar in it (say 1 teaspoon), adding another teaspoon of sugar will make a big difference in taste. But if you added that same teaspoon to a cup of coffee that already had 5 teaspoons of sugar in it, then you probably wouldn’t taste the difference as much

Question 11

subliminal stimuli

Answer 11

events that occur below the absolute threshold and of which we are not conscious

can still have an impact on our behavior if if below threshold and not conscious

Question 12

blindsight

Answer 12

a condition in which people are unable to consciously report on visual stimuli but nevertheless are able to accurately answer questions about what they are seeing

Question 13

cornea

Answer 13

a clear covering that protects the eye and begins to focus the incoming light

Question 14

pupil

Answer 14

a small opening in the center of the eye

Question 15

iris

Answer 15

the colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil by constricting or dilating in response to light intensity.

Question 16

lens

Answer 16

a structure that focuses the incoming light on the retina

Question 17

retina

Answer 17

the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells

Question 18

Visual accommodation

Answer 18

the process of changing the curvature of the lens to keep the light entering the eye focused on the retina

Question 19

optic nerve

Answer 19

a collection of millions of ganglion neurons that sends vast amounts of visual information, via the thalamus, to the brain

light passes through retina, it activates rods and cones, then spreads to bipolar cells then to the ganglion cells/optic nerve

Question 20

Rods

Answer 20

visual neurons that specialize in detecting black, white, and gray colors.

particularly active in peripheral vision

help in dim light

Question 21

Cones

Answer 21

visual neurons that are specialized in detecting fine detail and colors

best in bright light

Question 22

fovea

Answer 22

the central point of the retina, where rods and cones are located

Question 23

pathway of vision

Answer 23

sensory information received by the retina is relayed through the thalamus to corresponding areas in the visual cortex, which is located in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain

the left and right eyes each send information to both the left and the right hemisphere, and the visual cortex processes each of the cues separately and in parallel

Question 24

feature detector neurons

Answer 24

specialized neurons, located in the visual cortex, that respond to the strength, angles, shapes, edges, and movements of a visual stimulus

help to create perception by activating specific feature detectors then comparing with other memories of feature to create recognition

Question 25

color perception

Answer 25

human visual system can detect and discriminate among 7 million color variations

all created by the combinations of the three primary colors: red, green, and blue

visual cortex then detects and compares the strength of the signals from each of the three types of cones, creating the experience of color

Question 26

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic color theory

Answer 26

what color we see depends on the mix of the signals from the three types of cones (one for blue red and green)

Question 27

opponent-process color theory

Answer 27

proposes that we analyze sensory information not in terms of three colors but rather in three sets of “opponent colors”: red-green, yellow-blue, and white-black

e.g., afterimage

Question 28

gestalt

Answer 28

a meaningfully organized whole

we recognize form by trying to create a whole from component parts

Question 29

Figure and ground

Answer 29

We structure input such that we always see a figure (image) against a ground (background).

Question 30

Similarity

Answer 30

Stimuli that are similar to each other tend to be grouped together.

Question 31

Proximity

Answer 31

We tend to group nearby figures together.

Question 32

Continuity

Answer 32

We tend to perceive stimuli in smooth, continuous ways rather than in more discontinuous ways.

Question 33

Closure

Answer 33

We tend to fill in gaps in an incomplete image to create a complete, whole object.

Question 34

Depth perception

Answer 34

ability to perceive three-dimensional space and to accurately judge distance

partially innate, partially learned

Question 35

depth cues

Answer 35

messages from our bodies and the external environment that supply us with information about space and distance

Question 36

Binocular depth cues

Answer 36

depth cues that are created by retinal image disparity—that is, the space between our eyes, and thus which require the coordination of both eyes

Question 37

convergence

Answer 37

binocular depth cue ; the inward turning of our eyes that is required to focus on objects that are less than about 50 feet away from us

Question 38

Monocular depth cues

Answer 38

depth cues that help us perceive depth using only one eye

Position
Relative size
Linear perspective
Light and shadow
Interposition
Aerial perspective

Question 39

phi phenomenon

Answer 39

we perceive a sensation of motion caused by the appearance and disappearance of objects that are near each other

Question 40

perceiving motion

Answer 40

The brain detects motion partly from the changing size of an image on the retina (objects that look bigger are usually closer to us) and in part from the relative brightness of objects.

Question 41

pinna

Answer 41

the external and visible part of the ear, which is shaped like a funnel to draw in sound waves and guide them into the auditory canal

Question 42

tympanic membrane (or eardrum)

Answer 42

At the end of the canal, the sound waves strike the tightly stretched, highly sensitive membrane

vibrates with the waves

Question 43

ossicles

Answer 43

three tiny bones, the hammer (or malleus), anvil (or incus), and stirrup (or stapes), through which the vibrations are relayed into the middle ear to the cochlea

Question 44

cochlea

Answer 44

a snail-shaped liquid-filled tube in the inner ear, covered by the oval window

the vibrations disturb the liquid inside the cochlea

the movement of the liquid bend the cilia/hair cells of the inner ear, which trigger nerve impulses in the attached neurons

Question 45

oval window

Answer 45

the membrane covering the opening of the cochlea

Question 46

loudness

Answer 46

degree of sound volume

determined by the number of hair cells vibrating

Question 47

pitch

Answer 47

the perceived frequency of a sound

detected by two different mechanisms

frequency theory and place theory

Question 48

frequency theory of hearing

Answer 48

whatever the pitch of a sound wave, nerve impulses of a corresponding frequency will be sent to the auditory nerve

Question 49

place theory of hearing

Answer 49

different areas of the cochlea respond to different frequencies

Lower tones excite areas near the narrow tip of the cochlea, at the opposite end.

Question 50

Conductive hearing loss

Answer 50

caused by physical damage to the ear (such as to the eardrums or ossicles) that reduce the ability of the ear to transfer vibrations from the outer ear to the inner ear.

Question 51

Sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 51

caused by damage to the cilia or to the auditory nerve, is less common overall but frequently occurs with age

Question 52

six different tastes

Answer 52

sweet, salty, sour, bitter, piquancy (spicy), and umami (savory)

Question 53

tongue

Answer 53

covered with 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds, each bud contains between 50 and 100 taste receptor cells

Question 54

smelling

Answer 54

airborne chemical molecules, re detected by the 10 million to 20 million receptor cells embedded in the olfactory membrane of the upper nasal passage.

Question 55

olfactory receptor cells

Answer 55

topped with tentacle-like protrusions that contain receptor proteins.

When an odor receptor is stimulated, the membrane sends neural messages up the olfactory nerve to the brain

1,000 types of odor receptor cells

receptors come in many different shapes and respond selectively to different smells.

Question 56

skin

Answer 56

nerve endings in the skin respond to four basic sensations: Pressure, hot, cold, and pain

only the sensation of pressure has its own specialized receptors. Other sensations are created by a combination of the other four

Question 57

proprioception

Answer 57

the ability to sense the position and movement of our body parts

accomplished by specialized neurons located in the skin, joints, bones, ears, and tendons, which send messages about the compression and the contraction of muscles throughout the body.

Question 58

vestibular system

Answer 58

a set of liquid-filled areas in the inner ear that monitors the head’s position and movement, maintaining the body’s balance

also helps keep track of where the body is moving

Question 59

gate control theory of pain

Answer 59

proposes that pain is determined by the operation of two types of nerve fibers in the spinal cord

One set of smaller nerve fibers carries pain from the body to the brain, whereas a second set of larger fibers is designed to stop or start (as a gate would) the flow of pain

Question 60

sensory interaction

Answer 60

the working together of different senses to create experience

taste, smell, and texture combine to create the flavor we experience in food

Question 61

synesthesia

Answer 61

an experience in which one sensation (e.g., hearing a sound) creates experiences in another (e.g., vision)

Question 62

selective attention

Answer 62

the ability to focus on some sensory inputs while tuning out others

Question 63

sensory adaptation

Answer 63

a decreased sensitivity to a stimulus after prolonged and constant exposure.

e.g., cold water in a pool

eyes are constantly moving that is why we can see an image continuously, rather than adapting to that light and no longer seeing it

Question 64

perceptual constancy

Answer 64

The ability to perceive a stimulus as constant despite changes in sensation

e.g., a door opening, with its shape changing

Question 65

Human factors

Answer 65

field of psychology that uses psychological knowledge, including the principles of sensation and perception, to improve the development of technology