Unit 4-6

Question 1

the sensory homunculus

Answer 1

a figurine model that represents how the human body would look if equivalent physical areas were dedicated to their sensory processing requirements (a human body with enlarged sensory areas such as hands)

Question 2

visual sensation

Answer 2

the reception of stimulation from the environment and encoding that stimulation into the nervous system. This is more of a biological process. The senses receive stimuli from a source.

Question 3

visual perception

Answer 3

the process of interpreting and understanding that sensory information:
1. how the eye gathers information from the environment
2. How our memory system registers that information (visual sensory memory)
3. Pattern recognition
4. Object recognition

The brain receives information about the sensation. Perception is a more psychological process.

Question 4

bottom-up processing

Answer 4

refers to processing sensory information as it is coming in, stimuli driven.

Question 5

Top-Down processing

Answer 5

refers to processes that are involved in identifying a stimulus by using the knowledge we already process about the situation. Influenced by expectations, existing knowledge and current goals. It is goal driven. Influenced by our previous knowledge and experiences, and what we expect to see.

Question 6

Perceptual illusions

Answer 6

occur when sensory stimuli are misinterpreted; demonstrates how we typically interpret sensations

Question 7

Pareidolia

Answer 7

a psychological phenomenon that causes people to see patterns in a random stimulus. This often leads to people assigning human characteristics to objects, for example seeing faces. It is important in detecting predators, facilitating social interactions.

Question 8

sense

Answer 8

a system that translates outside information into activity in the nervous system

Question 9

sensations

Answer 9

raw information from the senses

Question 10

perception

Answer 10

the process through which people take raw sensations from the environment and give them meaning using knowledge, experience, and understanding of the world

Question 11

accessory structures

Answer 11

structures such as the outer part of the ear, that modify a stimulus. The lens of the eye is an accessory structure that changes incoming light by focusing it.

Question 12

ransduction

Answer 12

the process of converting incoming physical energy into neural activity

Question 13

neural receptors

Answer 13

cells that are specialized to detect certain types of energy and convert it into neural activity

Question 14

sensory adaptation

Answer 14

decreasing responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus

Question 15

absolute threshold

Answer 15

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be detected 50 percent of the time. ex. a candle flame seen 30 miles on a clear nite is the human absolute vision threshold. The human absolute threshold for taste is one teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water. Basically the smallest amount of energy that can be detected 50 percent of the time.

Question 16

noise (in sensory perception)

Answer 16

the spontaneous random firing of nerve cells that occurs because the nervous system is always active

Question 17

response bias (response criterion)

Answer 17

the internal rule a person uses to decide whether or not to report a stimulus

Question 18

signal detection theory

Answer 18

a mathematical model of what determines a person’s report of a near-threshold stimulus

Question 19

sensitivity

Answer 19

the ability to detect a stimulus

Question 20

Weber’s law

Answer 20

a law stating that the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy (just-noticeable difference) is a constant fraction of the intensity of the stimulus

Question 21

just-noticeable difference (JND)

Answer 21

The smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy. Also called the difference threshold.

Question 22

wavelength

Answer 22

the distance between peaks in a wave of light or sound

Question 23

encoding

Answer 23

The process of putting information into a form that the memory system can accept and use

Question 24

auditory memory (acoustic memory)

Answer 24

Mental representations of stimuli as pictures

Question 25

semantic memory

Answer 25

Memory for generalized knowledge about the world

Question 26

storage (in memory)

Answer 26

the process of maintaining information in the memory system over time

Question 27

retrieval

Answer 27

the process of finding information stored in memory

Question 28

recall

Answer 28

Retrieving information stored in memory without much help from retrieval clues

Question 29

recognition

Answer 29

retrieving information stored in memory with the help of retrieval clues

Question 30

episodic memory

Answer 30

memory for events in one’s own past

Question 31

procedural memory (procedural knowledge)

Answer 31

a type of memory containing information about how to do things

Question 32

explicit memory

Answer 32

the unintentional recollection and influence of prior experiences

Question 33

levels-of-processing model of memory

Answer 33

a model that suggests that memory depends on the degree or depth to which we mentally process information

Question 34

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 34

a memorization method that involves repeating information over and over to keep it in memory

Question 35

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 35

a memorization method that relates new information to information already stored in memory

Question 36

transfer-appropriate processing model of memory

Answer 36

A model that suggests that memory depends on how the encoding process matches up with what is later retrieved

Question 37

neural network models of memory

Answer 37

memory models in which new experiences are seen as changing one’s overall knowledge base

Question 38

multiple memory systems model

Answer 38

a model that suggests the existence of specialized and separated memory systems in the brain

Question 39

information-processing model of memory

Answer 39

A model that suggests that information must pass through sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory in order to become firmly embedded in memory

Question 40

sensory memory

Answer 40

a type of memory that is very brief but lasts long enough to connect one impression to the next

Question 41

sensory registers

Answer 41

memory systems that briefly hold incoming information

Question 42

iconic memory

Answer 42

the sensory register for visual information

Question 43

selective attention

Answer 43

the process of focusing mental resources on only part of the stimulus field