Unit 4 Flashcards
Pupil
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
Iris
The ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
Retina
The light-sensitive version inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor to rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Cornea
The eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris
Lens
The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey and are sensitive to movement, necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don’t respond
Cones
Retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the body retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions, cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
Blind spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three color theory)
The theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue - which when stimulation in combination, can produce the perception of any color
Opponent-process theory
The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
Psychophysics
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and own psychological experience of them
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Accomodation
The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Optic nerve
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Fovea
The central focal point in the retina around which the eye’s cones cluster
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the same stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
Parallel processing
Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously, the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision
Gestalt
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate piecing of information into meaningful wholes.
Figure-ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
Grouping
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Depth Perception
The ability to see objects in 3D although the images that strike the retina are 2D, allows us to judge distance
Visual Cliff
A lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Binocular cue
A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object
Monocular cue
A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
Color constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the objects
Perceptual Adaptation
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Audition
The sense or act of hearing
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses our brain can interpret
Frequency
The number of complete wavelength that pass a point in a given time (per second)
Pitch
A tone’s experienced highness or lowness, depends on frequency
Middle ear
The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, & stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window
Cochlea
A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear, sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses
Inner ear
The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semi circular canals, and vestibular sacs
Sensorineural hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves, the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness
Embodied Cognition
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements
Conduction hearing loss
A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that inducts sound waves to the cochlea
Cochlear implant
A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
Place theory
In hearing the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
Frequency theory
In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch (AKA temporal theory)
Gate-control theory
The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that allows pain signals or 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 the activity in larger fibers or by info coming from the brain
Olfaction
The sense of smell
Kinesthetic sense
Our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance
Sensory interaction
The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Sensory receptors
Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli
Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Bottom-up processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Top-down processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Selective attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
Failing to notice changes in the environment, a form of inattentional blindness
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the prescience of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise) assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness
Subliminal
Below one is absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimulus required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd)
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response
Weber’s law
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Extrasensory perception (ESP)
The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
Wavelength
The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of gamma rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Hue
The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue & green and so forth
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. Intensity is determined by the wave’s amplitude (height)
synethesia
brain circuits for 2+ senses become joined: stimulation of one sense triggers the experience of another (ex. hear music as colors)
pain circuit
nociceptors respond to potentially damaging stimuli by sending an impulse to the spinal cord, which passes the message to the brain, which interprets the signal as pain
nociceptors
sensory receptors that detect hurtful temps, pressure, or chemicals
volley-principle
by firing in rapid succession, neurons go back and forth for a higher frequency
auditory canal
the channel located in the outer ear that funnels sound waves from the pinnacle to the tympanic membrane
ear drum (tympanic membrane)
a thin layer of tissue that vibrates in response to sound waves
ossicles
transfer the sound wave vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window of the cochlea
oval window
membrane-covered opening of the cochlea, vibrates when it receives the sound waves and causes the fluid inside the cochlea to move
transduction
changes energy (sound) to neural impulses. Occurs as the motion of the sound vibration against he oval window of the cochlea causes ripples in the basilar membrane, bending the hair cells lining its surface
Stroboscopic movement
the brain perceives apparent movement when a series of images that change slightly are presented in rapid succession
