Unit 4 Flashcards
Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Sensation
The process by which are sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus
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
- we construct perceptions from our experiences and expectations
Psychophysics
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time
- noticeable difference
Webers law
The principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another
-sight, smell & sound ➡️ into neural impulses towards the brain
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black white and gray
necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond
Cones
- Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well lit conditions
- they detect fine detail
Parallel processing
The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors (Red green and blue which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color)
Opponent process theory
The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision
-For example some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red others are stimulated by red inhibited by green
Place theory
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we here with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
Frequency theory
In hearing the theory that the rate of the nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch
Kinesthesis
The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
The sense of body movement and position including the sense of balance
Selective attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus as in the cocktail party effect
Visual capture
The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses
Gestalt
An organized whole
Monocular cues
Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
Binocular cues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes
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 even as illumination and retinal images change
Perceptual adaptation
In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Circadian rhythms
The biological clock
24 hour cycle
REM sleep
Rapid eye movement
Vivid dreams
Alpha waves
Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed awake state
Delta waves
The large slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
Manifest content
According to Freud, the remembered storyline of a dream
Latent content
According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream
Psychoactive drug
A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods
Depressants
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
-for example alcohol
Barbiturates
- depress activity of the central nervous system
- reduce anxiety but impairs memory and judgment
Opiates
Morphine &heroin
-lessen pain and anxiety
Simulants
Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
-CAFFEINE COCAINE
Dualism
The presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact
Monism
Mind and body=same
