Unit 4 Sensation And Perception Flashcards
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
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 brains integration of sensory information.
Top-down processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions of things
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
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time (ex. How loud a noise has to be for u to hear it)
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting how, and when we detect the presence of the faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise).
Subliminal
It is below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.
Webers Law
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction
The conversion of one form of energy into another
Wavelength
The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.
Hue
The dimension of color, determined by wavelength
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude
Pupil
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye, through which light enters
Iris
A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
Lens
The transparent structure behind the pupil, that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
Retina
The light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Accommodation
The process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Rods
Retinal receptors, that detect black, white, and gray; 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. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
Optic nerve
The nerve that Carrie’s neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Fovea
The central focal point in the retina around which the eyes cones cluster
Blind spot
The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
Parallel processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three color) theory
The cones do their color magic in teams of three. The retina has three types of color receptors, and each is especially sensitive to one of the three colors, red, green, or blue.
Opponent-process theory
The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.
Audition
The sense or act of hearing
Frequency
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time. The frequency determines the pitch
Middle ear
Transmits the eardrums vibrations through a piston made of three tiny bones to the cochlea
Cochlea
A snail shaped tube in the inner ear. The incoming vibrations, cause the cochlea’s membrane to vibrate, jostling the fluid that fills the two. This motion causes ripples in the basilar membrane, bending the hair cells lining its surface. The hair movement leads to the sending of neural messages to the temporal lobes auditory complex.
Inner ear
The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
Place theory
I’m hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membranes is simulated.
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 its pitch.
What is the volley principle?
Like soldiers who alternate firing so that some can shoot while other ms reload, neural cells can alternate firing.
Conduction hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
Sensorineural hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells, or to the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
Cochlear implant
A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
What are the four basic touch receptors?
Pressure, warmth, cold, and pain
Kinesthesis
The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Vestibular sense
The sense of body movement and position, including a sense of balance. Located in the inner ear.
What are nociceptors?
Sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals
Gate-control theory
The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass onto the brain.
Sensory interaction
The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Gestalt
An organized whole
Figure-ground
The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings
Grouping
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Proximity
We group nearby figures together
Similarity
We group similar figures together
Continuity
We perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
Connectedness
Because they are uniform and linked, we perceive each set of two dots and the line between them as a single unit
Depth perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Visual cliff
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Binocular cues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retina’s in the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity between the two images the closer the object.
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual adaptation
In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
Extra sensory 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.
