Vocab Ch 5

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The detection of external stimuli and the transmission of this information to the brain.

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

The processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals.

Question 3

Bottom-up processing

Answer 3

Perception based on the physical features of the stimulus

Question 4

Top-Down processing

Answer 4

How knowledge, expectations, or past experiences shape the interpretation of sensory information.

Question 5

Transduction

Answer 5

The process by which sensory stimuli are converted to signals the brain can interpret.

Question 6

Absolute threshold

Answer 6

The minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation.

Question 7

Difference threshold

Answer 7

The minimum amount of change required for a person to detect a difference between two stimuli.

Question 8

Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

Answer 8

A theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a stimulus requires a judgement - it is not an all-or-nothing process.

Question 9

Sensory adaption

Answer 9

A decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation.

Question 10

Rods

Answer 10

Retinal cells that respond to low levels of light and result in black-and-White perception.

Question 11

Cones

Answer 11

Retinal cells that respond to higher levels of light and result in color perception

Question 12

Fovea

Answer 12

The center of the retina, where cones are densely packed.

Question 13

Retina

Answer 13

The thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball; it contains the sensory receptors that transduce light into neural signals.

Question 14

Binocular depth cues

Answer 14

Cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes.

Question 15

Monocular depth cues

Answer 15

Cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone.

Question 16

Binocular disparity

Answer 16

A depth cue; because of the distance between the two eyes, each eye receives a slightly different retinal image.

Question 17

Convergence

Answer 17

A cue of binocular depth perception; when a person views a nearby object, the eye muscle turns the eyes inward

Question 18

Object constancy

Answer 18

Correctly perceiving objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception.

Question 19

Audition

Answer 19

Hearing; the sense of sound perception.

Question 20

Sound wave

Answer 20

A pattern of changes in air pressure during a period of time; it produces the percept of a sound.

Question 21

Eardrum

Answer 21

A thin membrane that marks the beginning of the middle war; sound waves cause it to vibrate.

Question 22

Vestibular sense

Answer 22

Perception of balance determined by receptors in the inner ear.

Question 23

Temporal coding

Answer 23

A mechanism for encoding low-frequency auditory stimuli in which the firing rate of cochlear hair cells match the frequency of the sound wave.

Question 24

Place coding

Answer 24

A mechanism for encoding high-frequency auditory stimuli in which the frequency of the sound wave is encoded by the location of the hair cells along the basilar membrane.

Question 25

Gustation

Answer 25

The sense of taste

Question 26

Taste buds

Answer 26

Sensory organs in the mouth that contain the receptors for taste.

Question 27

Olfaction

Answer 27

The sense of smell

Question 28

Olfactory epithelium

Answer 28

A thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that contains the receptors for smell.

Question 29

Olfactory bulb

Answer 29

The brain center for smell, located below the frontal lobes.

Question 30

Haptic sense

Answer 30

The sense of touch

Question 31

Kinisthetic sense

Answer 31

Perception of the positions in space and movements of our bodies and our limbs.

Question 32

Occlusion

Answer 32

A bear object occludes (blocks) an object that is farther away.

Question 33

Relative size

Answer 33

Far-off objects project a smaller retinal image than close objects do, if the far-off and close objects are the same physical size.

Question 34

Familiar size

Answer 34

Because we know how large familiar objects are, we can tell how far away they are by the size of their retinal images.

Question 35

Linear perspective

Answer 35

Seemingly parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.

Question 36

Texture gradient

Answer 36

As s uniformly textures surface recedes, its texture continuously becomes denser.

Question 37

Position relative to horizon

Answer 37

All else being equal, objects below the horizon that appear higher in visual field are perceived as being farther away. Objects above the horizon that appear lower in the visual field are perceived as being farther away.