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UNIT 3 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION Flashcards

1
Q

Stimulus

A

Anything that brings about a Reaction

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2
Q

Sensation

A

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

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3
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Analysis that begins with the the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

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4
Q

Top-down processing

A

Information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectation

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5
Q

Selective attention

A

The Focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
EXAMPLE cocktail party effect (hear one voice among many)

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6
Q

Inarrentional blindness

A

Failing to see visible objects when ones attention is directed else where
EXAMPLE gorilla in room

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7
Q

Change blindness

A

Failing to notice changes in environment

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8
Q

Transduction

A

Conversion of one energy to another

Transforming stimulus energies (sights &smells) into neural impulses our brains can interpret

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9
Q

Threshold

A

The level of stimulus required to trigger a a neural impulse
KICKING OFF POINT

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10
Q

Absolute threshold

A

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

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11
Q

What is absolute threshold used for?

A

To detect light, sound, pressure, taste or odor

MAY VARY WITH AGE

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12
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Predicts when we will detect weak signals

ASSUME DETECTION DEPENDS ON EXPERIENCE, EXPECTATIONS, MOTIVATION AND ALERTNESS

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13
Q

Subliminal stimulation.

A

Below one’s absolute threshold for conscience awareness

BELOW THRESHOLD

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14
Q

Priming

A

The activation of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perceptions, memory, or response

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15
Q

Difference threshold (noticeable difference)

A

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time
DETECTABLE DIFFERENCE INCREASE WITH THE SIZE OF THE STIMULUS

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16
Q

Weber’s law

A

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

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17
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

Diminished sensitivity as its consequences of constant stimulation

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18
Q

What does sensory adaptation do?

A

Gives the freedom to focus on information changes in our environment without being distracted by background chatter

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19
Q

Cornea

A

Light enters through it
Protects eye
Bends light to provide focus

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20
Q

Pupil

A

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

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21
Q

Iris

A

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

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22
Q

Lens

A

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes the chaos to help focus images on retina

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23
Q

Accommodation

A

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

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24
Q

Nearsightedness

A

When the lens focuses objects in Front of the retina

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25
Farsightedness
When the lens focuses objects behind the retina
26
Retina
Light sensitive inner surface of the eye
27
What is in a retina?
``` Receptor rods (NIGHT) more Cones (DAY) less ```
28
Fovea
Central focus point in the retina | The eyes cones cluster around it
29
Optic nerve
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
30
Blind spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye | No receptor cells are located there
31
Binocular fusion
Process of combining images received from the two eyes into 1 image
32
Why binocular fusion?
2 eyes the vision system gets two images but we only see one
33
Rental disparity
Difference between images stimulating each eye | DEPTH PERCEPTION
34
Difference between retinal disparity
Large disparity close to you | Small disparity far from you
35
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another
36
Wavelength
The distance from one wave peak to another | Determines color
37
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus SHAPE ANGLE OR MOVEMENT
38
Intensity
The amount of energy in light waves
39
What determines intensity?
Waves amplitude and height
40
Color (hue)
Hue is the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light
41
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
Theory that the retina contains 3 different color receptors-one most sensitive to red, one to green and one to blue, the combination of these colors produce every other color
42
Color blind people usually are lacking in what receptor colors ?
Red or green
43
Monochromatic
One color
44
Dichromatic
Two colors
45
Opponent-processing theory
Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black enable our vision Theses colors piggy back off of eachother
46
Audition
The sense or act of hearing
47
Ear canal
Channels the sound waves to ear drum
48
Ear drum
Tight membrane that vibrates with the waves
49
Middle ear
The chamber between the ear drum and the cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrates the vibrations of the ear drum and the cochlea 's oval Window
50
Cochlea
Snail shaped tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
51
Auditory nerve
Send neural messages by way of the Thalamus to the temporal lobe 's auditory cortex
52
Semicircular canal
3 loops of fluid tubes that are attached to the cochlea in the inner ear
53
What does the semicircular canal help with?
Maintain balance
54
Eustachian tube
Tube that connects the inner eat to the back of the nose
55
What does the Eustachian tube do?
Equalizes the pressure between the middle ear and the outside
56
Pitch
How high or low FAST VIBRATION = HIGH PITCH SLOW VIBRATION = LOW PITCH
57
Loudness
The volume of the sound
58
What is the strength of loudness measured in?
Decibels
59
Timbre
Complexity or unique sound pattern of each sound wave
60
Place theory
Presumes that we hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places along the cochlea's basilar membrane
61
How does place theory work?
The brain determines a sounds pitch by recognizing the specific place( on the membrane) that is generating the neural signal
62
Frequency theory
An alternative explanation of place theory that says the brain reads pitch by monitoring the the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve, this explains how we perceive low pitched sounds
63
Tone deafness aka AMUSIA
Lack of relative pitch of the inability to discriminate between musical notes MUSIC
64
Cochlear implants
Device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded Into the cochlea NERVE DEAFNESS
65
Conductive hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea this happens when the war drum is punctured or the tiny bones of the middle ear can't vibrate anymore
66
Sensorineural hearing loss aka NEVRE DEAFNESS
More common than conductive hearing loss | Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves
67
Why does sensorineural hearing loss occur?
Occasionally caused by disease But more commonly caused by biological changes linked to heredity, aging and prolonged exposure to ear splitting noise or music
68
Smell (olfaction)
Airborne molecules reach receptors at the top of the nose the receptor cells send messages to the brains olfactory bulb, and then to the temporal lobe's primary smell cortex and then to parts of the limbic system involved in memory and emotion
69
Sensory interception
The principle that one sense may influence another
70
What are thE 4 basic skin sensations
Pressure Warmth Cold Pain
71
Nociceptors
Sensory receptors that detect hurtful temp,pressure or chemicals
72
Gate control theory
Theory that says that the spinal cord contains neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass to the brain
73
Kinesthesis
The system of sensing the position and movement of body parts
74
What controls kinesthesis
Sensors in your joints , tendons, bones and ears
75
Vestibular sense
The sense of the body movement and position, including the sense of balance
76
Perception
Making sense out of sensation
77
Visual adaptation aka perceptual adaptation
The ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
78
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
79
Depth perception
Seeing objects in 3-D
80
Visual cliff
Miniature cliff with a glass covered drop off to determine whether crawling infants and newborn animals can perceive depth
81
Retinal disparity
BINOCULAR CUE by comparing images from two eyes, the Brain computes distance- the greater the disparity between the two Images, the closer the object
82
Convergence
BINOCULAR CUES | Process by which your eyes turn inward to look at a nearby object
83
Relative size
MONOCULAR CUE if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal images As farther away
84
Texture gradients
MONOCULAR CUE | the further removed the object is the less detail we can identify
85
Relative height
MONOCULAR CUE | We perceive objects higher in our field of vision as father away
86
Linear perspective
MONOCULAR CUE | parallel lines appear to converge with distance
87
Interposition
MONOCULAR CUES | overlapping of images
88
Light and shadow
MONOCULAR CUES | brightly lit objects appear closer, while objects in shadows appear father away
89
Motion parallax
MONOCULAR CUE | the apparent movement of stationary objects that occurs when you change positions
90
Fixation point
Object beyond this point appear to move with you Objects in front of this point appear to move backwards The farther those objects from the point, the faster they seem to move

AP Psych (3 decks)

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