UNIT 3 (CH 4) Flashcards
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
sensation
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
perception
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
bottom-up processing
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectatinos
top-down processing
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particual stimulus
selective attention
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
signal detection theory
below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
subliminal
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response
priming
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd).
difference threshold
the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Weber’s Law
diminished sensivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
sensory adaptation
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
parallel processing
links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
place theory
the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
frequency theory
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
kinesthesis
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance
vestibular sense
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
gate-control theory
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
sensory interaction
an organized whole, Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
gestalt
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
figure-ground
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
grouping
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
depth perception
a laboratory device for retinal depth perception in infants and young animals
visual cliff
depth cues, suc as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of 2 eyes
binocular cues
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
retinal disparity
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blinks on and off in quick succession
phi phenomenon