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AP Psychology > U5: Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

U5: Sensation and Perception Flashcards

1
Q

sensation

A

relationship between physical stimulation and its psychological effect

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2
Q

perception

A

the way we recognize, interpret, and organize our sensations

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3
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimal amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus and cause the neuron to fire 50% of the time

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4
Q

signal detection theory (SDT)

A

the signal (stimulus) is either present or it is not, and the participants respond that they can detect a signal or they cannot. There are the following four possibilities: hit, miss, false alarm, and correct rejection

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5
Q

hit

A

the signal was present, and the participant reported sensing it

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6
Q

miss

A

the signal was present, but the participant did not sense it

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7
Q

false alarm

A

the signal was absent, but the participant reported sensing it

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8
Q

correct rejection

A

the signal was absent, and the participant did not report sensing it

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9
Q

weber’s law

A

the greater the magnitude of the stimulus the larger the differences must be to be noticed

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10
Q

discrimination threshold

A

the point at which one can distinguish the difference between two stimuli

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11
Q

just noticeable difference (JND)

A

the minimum about of distance between two stimuli that can be detected as distinct

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12
Q

subliminal perception

A

form of preconscious processing that occurs when we are presented with stimuli so rapidly that we are not consciously aware of them

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13
Q

priming

A

preconscious processing

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14
Q

tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

A

preconscious information processing, where we try to recall something that we already know is available but is not easily available for conscious awareness

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15
Q

receptor cells

A

specialized cells in sensory organs, designed to detect specific types of energy

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16
Q

receptive field

A

area in which our receptor cells receive input

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17
Q

transduction

A

the process where the receptors convert the input, or stimulus, into neural impulses that are sent to the brain

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18
Q

contralateral shift

A

happens at the thalamus, where much of the sensory input from one side of the body travels to the opposite side of the brain

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19
Q

sensory coding

A

process which receptors convey such a range of information to the brain

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20
Q

qualitative and quantitative dimensions

A

every stimulus has two dimensions: qualitative and quantitative
qualitative dimensions: what it is
quantitative dimensions: how much of it there is

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21
Q

visual sensation

A

occurs when the eye receives light input from the outside world

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22
Q

distal stimulus

A

the object as it exists in the environment

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23
Q

proximal stimulus

A

the image of the object on the retina

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24
Q

cornea

A

light first passes through the cornea

cornea: the protective layer on the outside of the eye

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25
lens
- just under the cornea | - curvature of the lens accommodates for distance
26
accommodation
the changes of the lens curvature to accommodate for distance
27
retina
- at the back of the eye - the screen which the proximal stimulus is projected - covered with receptors (rods and cones)
28
rods
- located on the periphery of the retina | - sensitive in low light
29
cones
- concentrated in the center of the retina (fovea) | - sensitive to bright light and color vision
30
fovea
center of the retina
31
bipolar and amacrine cells
- after light stimulates the receptors, info passes through these horizontal cells - low level processing may occur
32
optic nerves
- after retina and bipolar and amacrine cells, stimulation travels to optic nerve's ganglion cells - optic nerves cross at the optic chiasm
33
optic chiasm
at optic chiasm, the information from each visual field is sent to the opposite side of the brain
34
serial processing
when the brain computes information step-by-step in a methodical and linear matter
35
parallel processing
when the brain computes multiple pieces of information simultaneously (what happens when visual info reaches the visual cortex)
36
feature detector neurons
see different parts of the patterns (i.e. lines set at a specific angle to the background)
37
convergence
process where as information moves forward, it becomes more complex and integrated (happens in all sensory systems)
38
young-helmholtz/trichromatic theory
the cones in the retina of eyes are activated by light waves associated wit blue, red, and green; we see all colors by mixing the three
39
opponent process theory
cells within the thalamus respond to opponent parts of receptor sets (black/white, red/green, and blue/yellow); if one color is activated, the other is turned off
40
after image
when you stare at a red dot and then you turn away to a blank page and see a green dot
41
color blindness
happens mostly in males (sex linked)
42
dichromats
people who cannot distinguish along red/green or blue/yellow continuums
43
monochromats
see only in shade of black and white (rare)
44
Auditory Input
sound waves that enter the ear by passing through the outer ear and into ear canal
45
Tympanic Membrane
abuts the ossicles and vibrates them
46
ossicles
three tiny bones that comprise the middle ear
47
stapes
last of 3 ossicles, vibrates against oval window
48
oval window
beginning of inner ear
49
cochlea
produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations
50
vestibular sacs
balance, contains receptors sensitive to tilting
51
place theory
asserts that sound waves generate activity at different places along the basilar membrane
52
frequency theory
states that we can sense pitch because the rate of neural impulses is equal to the frequency of a particular sound
53
deafness
damage to ear structure or the neural pathway
54
conductive deafness
injury to the outer or middle ear structures (ex. the eardrum)
55
sensorineural/nerve deafness
impairment of some structures from the cochlea to the auditory cortex.
56
Olfaction
smell, scent molecules contact receptor cells at olfactory epithelium. axons from these receptors go to olfactory bulbs in brain. then info travels to olfactory cortex and limbic system.
57
gustation
taste, papillae contains taste buds (receptors)
58
cutaneous & tactile receptors
provide info about pressure, pain and temp.
59
c fibers
unmyelinated and responsible for throbbing sense of pain
60
a delta fibers
myelinated, sent info about acute pain
61
"pain gating"
process that reduces the intensity of pain signals. a signal is sent from the brain to opiate receptors in the spinal cord, reducing the sensation of pain
62
cold fibers
receptor cell for temp. that fires in response to cold stimuli
63
warm fibers
receptor cell for temp. that are sensitive to warm stimuli
64
vestibular sense
sensation of balance, located in semicircular canals of the inner ear
65
kinesthesis
found in joints and ligaments, transmits info about the location and position of the limbs and body parts
66
adaptation
unconscious, temporary change in response to environmental stimuli (ex. adjusting to darkness)
67
habituation
process by which we become accustomed to a stimulus and notice it less and less over time
68
dishabituation
occurs when a change in the stimulus causes us to notice it again
69
attention
the processing through cognition of a select portion of the massive amount of information incoming from the senses and contained in our memory
70
selective attention
when we try to attend to one thing while ignoring another
71
"cocktail party phenomenon"
our ability to carry on and follow a conversation in a room full of conversations
72
shadowing
the repetition of only one conversation
73
filter theories
propose that stimuli must pass through some form of screen or filter to enter into attention
74
attentional resource theories
propose that we have only a fixed amount of attention and this resource can be divided up as is required in a given situation
75
divided attention
trying to focus on more than one task at a time
76
perceptual processes
how our mind interprets stimuli
77
bottom up processing
achieves recognition of an object by breaking it down into its component parts, relying heavily on sensory receptors
78
top down processing
occurs when the brain labels a particular stimulus or experience
79
visual perception
the ability to interpret the surrounding environment using light in the visible spectrum reflected by the objects in the environment
80
monocular depth cues
cues that we need only one eye to see (2D)
81
relative size
the fact that images that are farther from us project a smaller image on the retina than do those that are closer to us
82
texture gradient
the distortion in size which closer objects have compared to objects farther away
83
interposition
occurs when a near object partially blocks the view of an object behind it
84
linear perspective
a monocular cue based on the perception that parallels lines seem to draw closer together as the lines recede into the distance
85
vanishing point
point at which two lines become indistinguishable from a single line and then disappear
86
aerial perspective
observation that atmospheric moisture and dust tend to obscure objects in the distance more than they do nearby objects (driving in fog and building is clearer and clearer as you drive closer)
87
relative clarity
less distinct, fuzzy images appear to be more distant
88
motion parallax
difference in apparent movement of objects at different distances, when the observer is in motion
89
Binocular depth cues
relying on both eyes viewing an image
90
stereopsis
refers to the 3d image of the world resulting from binocular vision
91
retinal convergence
depth cue that results from the fact that your eyes must turn inward slightly to focus on near objects
92
binocular disparity
results from the fact that the closer an object is, the less similar the info arriving at each eye will be
93
visual cliff
Eleanor Gibson and Richard walk developed it. Involved glass tabletop that infants were scared to cross which implies that depth perception is partially innate
94
Gestalt approach
based on top down theory, emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts
95
top down theory
most perceptual stimuli can be broken down into figure ground relationships
96
proximity
the tendency to see objects near each other as forming groups
97
similarity
the tendency to prefer grouping like objects together
98
symmetry
the tendency to perceive forms that make up mirror images
99
continuity
the tendency to perceive fluid or continuous forms, rather than jagged or irregular ones
100
closure
the tendency to see closed objects rather than those that are incomplete
101
law of pragnanz
we tend to see objects in their simplest forms
102
feature detector approach
a process by which the nervous system sorts or filters complex natural stimuli in order to extract behaviorally relevant cues that have a high probability of being associated with important objects or organisms in their environment, as opposed to irrelevant background or noise
103
constancy
we know that a stimulus remains the same size, shape, brightness, weight or volume even though it does not appear to be
104
motion detection
process through which humans and other animals orient themselves to their own or others' physical movements
105
apparent motion
an illusion of motion or change in size of a visual stimulus
106
phi phenomenon
optical illusion in which stationary objects shown in rapid succession, transcending the threshold at which they can be perceived separately, appear to move
107
stroboscopic effect
a perceptual phenomenon in which an appearance of motion or lack of motion occurs when the stimulus is not viewed continuously but in distinct separate stages
108
autokinetic effect
visual perception in which a stationary, small point of light in an otherwise dark or featureless environment appears to move

AP Psychology (13 decks)

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