Unit 3 Vocab - Sensation

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

the faculty through which the external world is apprehended
occurs when the sensory nerves are activated by a stimuli

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

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

Question 3

bottom-up processing

Answer 3

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

Question 4

top-down processing

Answer 4

info processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectations

Question 5

psychophysics

Answer 5

the physical relationship between the physical characteristics of stimuli (intensity), and our physcal experience of them

Question 6

absolute threshold

Answer 6

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

Question 7

signal detection theory

Answer 7

theory predicting how and when we detect the prescence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation
assumes no single absolute threshold and detection depends on the person

Question 8

subliminal

Answer 8

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Question 9

priming

Answer 9

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations - predisposes perception, memory, and response

Question 10

difference threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)

Answer 10

the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

Question 11

Weber’s Law

Answer 11

the principle that, for 2 stimuli to be perceived as different they must differ by a constant minimum percentage, not a constant amount

Question 12

sensory adaptation

Answer 12

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Question 13

transduction

Answer 13

conversion of one form of energy into another
the transforming of stimuli into neural impulses

Question 14

wavelength

Answer 14

the distance between crests of waves

Question 15

hue

Answer 15

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

Question 16

intensity

Answer 16

the amount of energy in a light/sound wave
determines brightness/loudness as determined by the amplitude of a wave

Question 17

pupil

Answer 17

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

Question 18

iris

Answer 18

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

Question 19

lens

Answer 19

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

Question 20

accommodation

Answer 20

adapting our current understandings to incorporate new info

Question 21

retina

Answer 21

light sensitive inner surface of he eye
contains receptor rods and cones + layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual info

Question 22

acuity

Answer 22

sharpness or keenness of vision/hearing/etc.

Question 23

nearsightedness

Answer 23

nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because the eye is elongated

Question 24

farsightedness

Answer 24

faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the eye is shortened

Question 25

rods

Answer 25

retinal receptors that detect white/black/gray necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don't respond

Question 26

cones

Answer 26

retinal receptor cells that are connected near the center of the retina function in daylight/well-lit conditions detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Question 27

optic nerve

Answer 27

nerve at the back of the eye that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Question 28

blind spot

Answer 28

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

Question 29

fovea

Answer 29

the central focal point in the retina where the cones of the eye cluster

Question 30

feature detectors

Answer 30

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus (shape, angle, movement)

Question 31

parallel processing

Answer 31

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously it is the brain's natural mode of info processing for many functions

Question 32

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

Answer 32

retina contains 3 different color receptors - blue, green, red

Question 33

opponent process theory

Answer 33

theory opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision ex. some cells are stimulated by green and inhibit red, and others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Question 34

color constancy

Answer 34

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

Question 35

audition

Answer 35

the sense or act of hearing

Question 36

frequency

Answer 36

the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time

Question 37

pitch

Answer 37

a tone's highness/lowness depends on frequency

Question 38

middle ear

Answer 38

the chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea contains 3 bones - hammer, anvil, and stirrup, that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Question 39

cochlea

Answer 39

the fluid-filled, coiled tunnel in the inner ear that contains the receptors for hearing

Question 40

inner ear

Answer 40

structures and liquids that relay sound waves to the auditory nerve fibers on a path to the brain for interpretation of sound

Question 41

place theory

Answer 41

the theory that the pitch we hear is linked with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Question 42

frequency theory

Answer 42

the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of tone which enables us to sense its pitch

Question 43

conduction hearing loss

Answer 43

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

Question 44

sensorieneural hearing loss

Answer 44

hearing impairment caused by lesions or dysfunction of the cochlea or auditory nerve

Question 45

cochlear implant

Answer 45

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

Question 46

gate-control theory

Answer 46

theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass gate opened by activity of pain going up small nerve fibers, closed by large fibers/info coming from brain

Question 47

sensory interaction

Answer 47

principle that one sense may influence another ex. when smell influences taste of food

Question 48

kinesthesis

Answer 48

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

Question 49

vestibular sense

Answer 49

sensoery structure located in structures of the inner ear that registers the orientation of the head