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AP Psychology > U5: Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

U5: Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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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
Q

lens

A
  • just under the cornea

- curvature of the lens accommodates for distance

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26
Q

accommodation

A

the changes of the lens curvature to accommodate for distance

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27
Q

retina

A
  • at the back of the eye
  • the screen which the proximal stimulus is projected
  • covered with receptors (rods and cones)
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28
Q

rods

A
  • located on the periphery of the retina

- sensitive in low light

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29
Q

cones

A
  • concentrated in the center of the retina (fovea)

- sensitive to bright light and color vision

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30
Q

fovea

A

center of the retina

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31
Q

bipolar and amacrine cells

A
  • after light stimulates the receptors, info passes through these horizontal cells
  • low level processing may occur
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32
Q

optic nerves

A
  • after retina and bipolar and amacrine cells, stimulation travels to optic nerve’s ganglion cells
  • optic nerves cross at the optic chiasm
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33
Q

optic chiasm

A

at optic chiasm, the information from each visual field is sent to the opposite side of the brain

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34
Q

serial processing

A

when the brain computes information step-by-step in a methodical and linear matter

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35
Q

parallel processing

A

when the brain computes multiple pieces of information simultaneously (what happens when visual info reaches the visual cortex)

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36
Q

feature detector neurons

A

see different parts of the patterns (i.e. lines set at a specific angle to the background)

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37
Q

convergence

A

process where as information moves forward, it becomes more complex and integrated (happens in all sensory systems)

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38
Q

young-helmholtz/trichromatic theory

A

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

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39
Q

opponent process theory

A

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

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40
Q

after image

A

when you stare at a red dot and then you turn away to a blank page and see a green dot

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41
Q

color blindness

A

happens mostly in males (sex linked)

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42
Q

dichromats

A

people who cannot distinguish along red/green or blue/yellow continuums

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43
Q

monochromats

A

see only in shade of black and white (rare)

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44
Q

Auditory Input

A

sound waves that enter the ear by passing through the outer ear and into ear canal

45
Q

Tympanic Membrane

A

abuts the ossicles and vibrates them

46
Q

ossicles

A

three tiny bones that comprise the middle ear

47
Q

stapes

A

last of 3 ossicles, vibrates against oval window

48
Q

oval window

A

beginning of inner ear

49
Q

cochlea

A

produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations

50
Q

vestibular sacs

A

balance, contains receptors sensitive to tilting

51
Q

place theory

A

asserts that sound waves generate activity at different places along the basilar membrane

52
Q

frequency theory

A

states that we can sense pitch because the rate of neural impulses is equal to the frequency of a particular sound

53
Q

deafness

A

damage to ear structure or the neural pathway

54
Q

conductive deafness

A

injury to the outer or middle ear structures (ex. the eardrum)

55
Q

sensorineural/nerve deafness

A

impairment of some structures from the cochlea to the auditory cortex.

56
Q

Olfaction

A

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
Q

gustation

A

taste, papillae contains taste buds (receptors)

58
Q

cutaneous & tactile receptors

A

provide info about pressure, pain and temp.

59
Q

c fibers

A

unmyelinated and responsible for throbbing sense of pain

60
Q

a delta fibers

A

myelinated, sent info about acute pain

61
Q

“pain gating”

A

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
Q

cold fibers

A

receptor cell for temp. that fires in response to cold stimuli

63
Q

warm fibers

A

receptor cell for temp. that are sensitive to warm stimuli

64
Q

vestibular sense

A

sensation of balance, located in semicircular canals of the inner ear

65
Q

kinesthesis

A

found in joints and ligaments, transmits info about the location and position of the limbs and body parts

66
Q

adaptation

A

unconscious, temporary change in response to environmental stimuli (ex. adjusting to darkness)

67
Q

habituation

A

process by which we become accustomed to a stimulus and notice it less and less over time

68
Q

dishabituation

A

occurs when a change in the stimulus causes us to notice it again

69
Q

attention

A

the processing through cognition of a select portion of the massive amount of information incoming from the senses and contained in our memory

70
Q

selective attention

A

when we try to attend to one thing while ignoring another

71
Q

“cocktail party phenomenon”

A

our ability to carry on and follow a conversation in a room full of conversations

72
Q

shadowing

A

the repetition of only one conversation

73
Q

filter theories

A

propose that stimuli must pass through some form of screen or filter to enter into attention

74
Q

attentional resource theories

A

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
Q

divided attention

A

trying to focus on more than one task at a time

76
Q

perceptual processes

A

how our mind interprets stimuli

77
Q

bottom up processing

A

achieves recognition of an object by breaking it down into its component parts, relying heavily on sensory receptors

78
Q

top down processing

A

occurs when the brain labels a particular stimulus or experience

79
Q

visual perception

A

the ability to interpret the surrounding environment using light in the visible spectrum reflected by the objects in the environment

80
Q

monocular depth cues

A

cues that we need only one eye to see (2D)

81
Q

relative size

A

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
Q

texture gradient

A

the distortion in size which closer objects have compared to objects farther away

83
Q

interposition

A

occurs when a near object partially blocks the view of an object behind it

84
Q

linear perspective

A

a monocular cue based on the perception that parallels lines seem to draw closer together as the lines recede into the distance

85
Q

vanishing point

A

point at which two lines become indistinguishable from a single line and then disappear

86
Q

aerial perspective

A

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
Q

relative clarity

A

less distinct, fuzzy images appear to be more distant

88
Q

motion parallax

A

difference in apparent movement of objects at different distances, when the observer is in motion

89
Q

Binocular depth cues

A

relying on both eyes viewing an image

90
Q

stereopsis

A

refers to the 3d image of the world resulting from binocular vision

91
Q

retinal convergence

A

depth cue that results from the fact that your eyes must turn inward slightly to focus on near objects

92
Q

binocular disparity

A

results from the fact that the closer an object is, the less similar the info arriving at each eye will be

93
Q

visual cliff

A

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
Q

Gestalt approach

A

based on top down theory, emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts

95
Q

top down theory

A

most perceptual stimuli can be broken down into figure ground relationships

96
Q

proximity

A

the tendency to see objects near each other as forming groups

97
Q

similarity

A

the tendency to prefer grouping like objects together

98
Q

symmetry

A

the tendency to perceive forms that make up mirror images

99
Q

continuity

A

the tendency to perceive fluid or continuous forms, rather than jagged or irregular ones

100
Q

closure

A

the tendency to see closed objects rather than those that are incomplete

101
Q

law of pragnanz

A

we tend to see objects in their simplest forms

102
Q

feature detector approach

A

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
Q

constancy

A

we know that a stimulus remains the same size, shape, brightness, weight or volume even though it does not appear to be

104
Q

motion detection

A

process through which humans and other animals orient themselves to their own or others’ physical movements

105
Q

apparent motion

A

an illusion of motion or change in size of a visual stimulus

106
Q

phi phenomenon

A

optical illusion in which stationary objects shown in rapid succession, transcending the threshold at which they can be perceived separately, appear to move

107
Q

stroboscopic effect

A

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
Q

autokinetic effect

A

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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