UNIT 3 (CH 4) Flashcards

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1
Q

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

A

sensation

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2
Q

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

A

perception

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3
Q

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

A

bottom-up processing

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4
Q

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectatinos

A

top-down processing

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5
Q

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particual stimulus

A

selective attention

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6
Q

predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute thershold and the detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

A

signal detection theory

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7
Q

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

A

subliminal

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8
Q

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

A

priming

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9
Q

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd).

A

difference threshold

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10
Q

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount)

A

Weber’s Law

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11
Q

diminished sensivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

A

sensory adaptation

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12
Q

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

A

parallel processing

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13
Q

links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated

A

place theory

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14
Q

the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

A

frequency theory

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15
Q

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

A

kinesthesis

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16
Q

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

A

vestibular sense

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17
Q

spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks painsignals aor allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

A

gate-control theory

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18
Q

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

A

sensory interaction

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19
Q

an organized whole, Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

A

gestalt

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20
Q

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

A

figure-ground

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21
Q

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

A

grouping

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22
Q

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

A

depth perception

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23
Q

a laboratory device for retinal depth perception in infants and young animals

A

visual cliff

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24
Q

depth cues, suc as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of 2 eyes

A

binocular cues

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25
Q

a binocular for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (differnce) between the two images, the closer the object

A

retinal disparity

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26
Q

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blinks on and off in quick succession

A

phi phenomenon

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27
Q

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

A

perceptual constancy

28
Q

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wave-lengths reflected by the object

A

color constancy

29
Q

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

A

perceptual adaption

30
Q

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

A

perceptual set

31
Q

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

A

extrasensory perception (ESP)

32
Q

the studt of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

A

parapsychology

33
Q

the theory that the retina conatina three different color receptors - one most sensitive to red, gree, and blue - which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

A

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

34
Q

opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

A

opponent-process theory

35
Q

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

A

inattentional blindness

36
Q

failing to notice changes in the environment

A

change blindness

37
Q

the study of relationships between the physical characterists of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

A

psychophysics

38
Q

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

A

absolute threshold

39
Q

conversion of one form of energy into another - transfering stimulus energies into neural impulses our brains can interpret

A

transduction

40
Q

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the paek of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic to the long pulses of radio thansmission

A

wavelength

41
Q

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

A

hue

42
Q

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

A

intensity

43
Q

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

A

pupil

44
Q

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

A

iris

45
Q

the transparents structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

A

lens

46
Q

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

A

retina

47
Q

the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near the far objects on the retina

A

accommodation

48
Q

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary of peripheral vision and twilight vision

A

rods

49
Q

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight ot in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

A

cones

50
Q

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

A

optic nerve

51
Q

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

A

blind spot

52
Q

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

A

fovea

53
Q

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

A

feature detectors

54
Q

the act of hearing

A

audition

55
Q

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

A

frequency

56
Q

a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

A

pitch

57
Q

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

A

middle ear

58
Q

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

A

cochlea

59
Q

the innremost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

A

inner ear

60
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

A

conduction hearing loss

61
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

A

sensorineural hearing loss

62
Q

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

A

cochlear implant

63
Q

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

A

monocular cues

64
Q

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

A

sensory receptors

65
Q

the eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris

A

cornea

66
Q

sense of smell

A

olfaction

67
Q

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements

A

embodied cognition