Test #2 Flashcards
minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time
absolute threshold
continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus
afterimage
height of a wave
amplitude
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
slightly different view of the world that each eye receives
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
bottom-up processing
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
cochlear 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
decibel (dB)
ability to perceive depth
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
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 (Hz)
failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention
inattentional blindness
middle ear ossicle
icus (anvil)
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
intramural level difference
small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear
intramural 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
malleus (hammer)
touch receptor that responds to pressure and lower frequency vibrations
Meissner’s corpuscle
touch receptor that responds to light touch
Merkel’s disk
one-earned cue to localize sound
monaural 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 signal indicating potential harm and maybe pain
nociception
bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal love, where the olfactory nerves begin
olfactory bulb
sensory cell for the olfactory system
olfactory receptor
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 nerve
touch receptor that detects transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations
Pacinian corpuscle
ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes
pattern perception
highest point of a wave
peak (also crest)
way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced
perception
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 conditions
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
change in stimulus detection as a function of current mental state
signal detection theory
things that are alike tend to be grouped together
similarity
middle ear ossicle
stapes (aka stirrup)
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
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 influences 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
lowest point of a wave
trough
eardrum
tympanic membrane
taste for monosodium glutamate
umami
spinning sensation
vertigo
contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture
vestibular sense
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see
visible spectrum
length of a wave from one peak to the next peak
wavelength
period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response
acquisition
form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment
associative learning (classical and operant conditioning)
learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then gets paired or associated with the behavior
classical conditioning
mental picture of the layout of the environment
cognitive map
response caused by the conditioned stimulus
conditioned response (CR)
stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus (CS)
rewarding a behavior every time it occurs
continuous reinforcement
decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus
extinction
behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time
fixed interval reinforcement schedule
set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded
fixed ration reinforcement schedule
when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change
habituation
