Unit 7: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The process in which we receive information from our environment (taste, touch, sight, sound, smell)

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

Question 3

Bottom-Up Processing

Answer 3

Building up our understanding by combining sensory information (part to a whole)

Question 4

Top-Down Processing

Answer 4

We build perceptions based on expectations and experiences (schemas) then check the details to see if we are correct.

Question 5

Selective Attention

Answer 5

we can only pay attention to a limited number of stimuli (we miss things)

Question 6

Inattentional Blindness

Answer 6

we can only pay attention to a limited number of stimuli we miss things on accident by paying attention to other stimuli

Question 7

Priming

Answer 7

when we are exposed to certain stimuli, it affects our perception (can create a perceptual set)

Question 8

Opponent Process Theory

Answer 8

opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) work like switcher

Question 9

Sensory Interaction

Answer 9

When one sense influences another

Ex. smell influences taste, sight influences touch, etc.

Question 10

Kinesthesis

Answer 10

Sensation of movement

Question 11

Vestibular Sense

Answer 11

sense of balance, controlled by the semicircular canals in the inner-ear

Question 12

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 12

When you stop sensing something after constant exposure

ex- Jumping in a cold swimming pool, cold sensation goes away

Question 13

Trichromatic Theory (Young-Helmholtz)

Answer 13

Our retinas contain 3 colors of cones (red, green, blue) which mix to allow us to see any color

Question 14

Conduction hearing loss

Answer 14

Hearing loss caused by damage to the middle ear structures (ear drum, tympanic bones, etc)

Question 15

Sensorineural Hearing loss

Answer 15

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea (can be treated with a cochlear implant)

Question 16

Cocktail-Party Phenomenon

Answer 16

we can pay attention to a conversation even in a crowded room (also allows us to hear our name across a room)

Question 17

Depth Perception

Answer 17

we see the distance of objects (how far or how close something is)

Question 18

Retinal Disparity

Answer 18

binocular cue (two eyes) that compares the images we see with each eye to judge distance

Question 19

Habituation

Answer 19

We get used to recurring stimuli over time

Ex. sounds that bothered us in a new house no longer distract or bother us.

Question 20

Similarity (Gestalt)

Answer 20

we group similar objects together

Question 21

Proximity (Gestalt)

Answer 21

we group information that is close together

Question 22

Closure (Gestalt)

Answer 22

we mentally fill gaps to complete objects

Question 23

Continuity (Gestalt)

Answer 23

we perceive smooth continuous patterns rather then broken up ones

Question 24

Linear Perspective

Answer 24

parallel lines converge in the distance

Question 25

Relative Size/height

Answer 25

smaller objects are further away, larger objects are closer

Question 26

Motion Parallax

Answer 26

stationary object move as we move (objects closer move faster, objects further away move slower)

Question 27

Interposition

Answer 27

if one object blocks the view of another, it is perceived as closer

Question 28

Perceptual set

Answer 28

mental predispositions to perceive one thing (based on expectations or suggestions)

Question 29

absolute threshold

Answer 29

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus (50 percent of the time)

Question 30

difference threshold/ Just-noticeable difference

Answer 30

the minimum difference between 2 stimuli in order to detect the difference (follows Weber’s Law)

Question 31

pupil

Answer 31

allows light to enter the eye (black center of eye)

Question 32

iris

Answer 32

Muscle that controls the size of the pupil (colored part of the eye)

Question 33

lens

Answer 33

behind the pupil, focuses the image onto the retina

Question 34

retina

Answer 34

inner coating of the eye, contains rods and cones that processes visual information

Question 35

Rods

Answer 35

receptors that detect low light images (black/white)- mostly in our peripheral vision

Question 36

cones

Answer 36

receptors that allow us to see color- mostly in our fovea vision

Question 37

Optic nerve

Answer 37

transmits information from our eye to our brain

Question 38

Fovea

Answer 38

centerpoint of the retina where our vision is the sharpest (best)

Question 39

Cochlea

Answer 39

part of the inner ear that transmits sound into nerve impulses that can be interpreted by the brain

Question 40

Weber’s Law

Answer 40

A perceptible difference must differ by PROPORTION, not amount
Ex. You notice a volume change of 2 at 40, you would need a volume change of 4 at 80 to notice the difference