Unit 4 Sensation and Perception

Question 1

sensation:

Perception:

Answer 1

sensation: process of sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
input

Perception: process of organizing and interpreting sensory information allowing recognition of meaningful objects and events
processing

Question 2

Bottom-up processing:

top-down processing:

parallel processing:

Answer 2

Bottom-up processing: assembling sensory information and integrating it (new info and lense)(what am i seeing)

top-down processing: using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information (using old info and SCHEMA or whatever) (have i seen this before)

parallel processing: the processing of
many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the stepby-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

Question 3

psychophysics

Answer 3

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as intensity, and our psychological experience with them.
what stimulus can we detect?
at what intensity?
how sensitive are we to changing stimulation?

Question 4

Thresholds

absolute threshold:

Subliminal messaging:

Signal detection theory:

Sensory adaptation:

difference threshold:

Answer 4

absolute threshold: the minimum stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Subliminal messaging: stimulus below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Signal detection theory: assumes there is no absolute threshold and believes that detection of stimulus depends on personal experience, expectations, motivations, and level of fatigue

Sensory adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation **(desalinization) de-sens-a-tize-ation **

difference threshold:minimum difference between stmuli required to detect 50% of the time (ex. adding 10grams to a 100gram weight you’ll notice but 10grams to 1kg would go noticed)

Question 5

priming

Answer 5

being manipulated or influenced to hear something or see certain things (ex. Do you hear [insert phrase]?
distorting memory’s, perception, and response

Question 6

webster’s law

Answer 6

to be perceived as different two stimuli must different by a constant minimum percentage (slight different texture, or colour)

Question 7

transduction

Answer 7

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 brains can interpret.

Question 8

wavelength:

hue:

intensity:

Answer 8

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 cosmic 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 or sound wave, which we perceive
as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude.

Question 9

pupil:

iris:

lens:

retina:

Answer 9

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

Question 10

accommodation

Answer 10

the process by
which the eye’s lens changes shape to
focus near or far objects on the retina

Question 11

rods:

Cones:

Answer 11

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. The cones detect fine
detail and give rise to color sensations

Question 12

optic nerve;

blind spot:

fovea:

feature detectors:

Answer 12

optic nerve: the nerve that carries
neural impulses from the eye to the
brain.

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

fovea: the central focal point in the
retina, around which the eye’s cones
cluster

feature detectors: nerve cells in the
brain that respond to specific features of
the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or
movement.

Question 13

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic
(three-color) theory:

opponent-process theory:

Answer 13

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic
(three-color) theory: the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when
stimulated in combination, can produce
the perception of any color

opponent-process theory: the theory
that opposing retinal processes (redgreen, yellow-blue, 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

Question 14

frequency:

pitch:

Answer 14

frequency: the number of complete
wavelengths that pass a point in a given
time (for example, per second).

pitch: a tone’s experienced highness or
lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 15

middle ear:

cochlea:

cochlear implant:

inner ear:

Answer 15

middle ear: the chamber between the
eardrum and cochlea containing three
tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and 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 through
which sound waves trigger nerve
impulses

cochlear implant: a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and
stimulating the auditory nerve through
electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

inner ear: the innermost part of the
ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular
canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 16

place theory:

frequency theory:

Answer 16

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 its pitch.

Question 17

conduction hearing loss:

sensorineural hearing loss:

Answer 17

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 nerves;
also called nerve deafness

Question 18

kinesthesis:

vestibular sense:

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

gate-control theory

Answer 19

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks 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 activity in larger fibers or by
information coming from the brain.

Question 20

sensory interaction

Answer 20

the principle that
one sense may influence another, as
when the smell of food influences its
taste.

Question 21

gestalt

Answer 21

an organized whole. Gestalt
psychologists emphasized our tendency
to integrate pieces of information into
meaningful wholes.

Question 22

figure-ground:

grouping:

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

depth perception:

visual cliff:

Answer 23

depth perception: the ability to see
objects in three dimensions although the
images that strike the retina are twodimensional; allows us to judge distance.

visual cliff: a laboratory device for
testing depth perception in infants and
young animals.

Question 24

binocular cues:

retinal disparity:

monocular cues:

Answer 24

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 retinas in the two eyes, the
brain computes distance—the greater
the disparity (difference) between the
two images, the closer the object.

monocular cues: depth cues, such as
interposition and linear perspective,
available to either eye alone.

Question 25

phi phenomenon:

perceptual constancy:

Answer 25

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
shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as
illumination and retinal images change.

Question 26

color constancy:

Answer 26

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

Question 27

perceptual adaptation:

perceptual set:

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

human factors psychology

Answer 28

a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how
machines and physical environments
can be made safe and easy to use.

Question 29

extrasensory perception (ESP)

Answer 29

the controversial claim that perception can
occur apart from sensory input; includes
telepathy, clairvoyance, and
precognition

Question 30

parapsychology

Answer 30

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.