Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AP Psych > Unit 4 vocab > Flashcards

Unit 4 vocab Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
0
Q

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

A

perception

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

A

sensation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory info

A

bottom-up processing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

info processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

A

top-down processing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

A

selective attention

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

A

inattentional blindness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

failing to notice changes in the environment

A

change blindness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

A

psychophysics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

A

absolute threshold

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence 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

A

signal detection theory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

A

subliminal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory or response

A

priming

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

A

difference threshold

we experience this as a just noticeable difference (jnd)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount)

A

Weber’s Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

A

sensory adaptation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

conversion of one form of energy into another

the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

A

transduction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

the distance from the peak of one light or sounds wave to the peak of the next. electromagnetic __________ vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

A

wavelength

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the colors blue, green, etc.

A

hue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the waves amplitude

A

intensity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

A

pupil

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

A

iris

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

A

lens

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual info

A

retina

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

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

A

accomodation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

retinal receptors that detect black, white and gray;

necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

A

rods

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or well-lit conditions
detect detail, and give rise to color sensations

A

cones

26
Q

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

A

optic nerve

27
Q

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a _________ there because no receptor cells are located there

A

blind spot

28
Q

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

A

fovea

29
Q

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

A

feature detectors

30
Q

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously;
the brain’s natural mode of info processing for many functions, including vision
contrasts step by step (serial) processing of computers and of conscious problem solving

A

parallel processing

31
Q

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors-red, blue, green- which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

A

Yound-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

32
Q

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision
for ex: some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red
others stimulated by red and inhibited by green

A

opponent-process theory

33
Q

the sense or act of hearing

A

audition

34
Q

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for ex. per second)

A

frequency

35
Q

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

A

pitch

36
Q

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlead containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

A

middle ear

37
Q

a coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

A

cochlea

38
Q

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

A

inner ear

39
Q

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated

A

place theory

40
Q

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

A

frequency theory

41
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

A

conduction hearing loss

42
Q

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

A

sensorineural hearing loss

aka nerve deafness

43
Q

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

A

cochlear implant

44
Q

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

A

kinesthesis

45
Q

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

A

vestibular sense

46
Q

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 an dis closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

A

gate-control theory

47
Q

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

A

sensory interaction

48
Q

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

A

gestalt

49
Q

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

A

figure-ground

objects: figure
surroundings: ground

50
Q

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

A

grouping

51
Q

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional
allows us to judge distance

A

depth perception

52
Q

a lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

A

visual cliff

53
Q

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

A

binocular cues

54
Q

a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity (distance) between the two images, the closer the object

A

retinal disparity

disparity = distance

55
Q

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

A

monocular cues

56
Q

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

A

phi phenomenon

57
Q

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

A

perceptual constancy

58
Q

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

A

color constancy

59
Q

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

A

perceptual adaptation

60
Q

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

A

perceptual set

61
Q

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

A

extrasensory perception (ESP)

62
Q

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychoinesis

A

parapsychology

AP Psych (18 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions