Sensation |
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system take in stimulus energies from our environment |
Perception |
the process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, transforming it into meaningful objects and events |
Transduction |
changing one form of energy into another |
Absolute Threshold |
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time |
Difference Threshold |
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time |
Weber’s Law |
the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion (rather than a constant amount) |
Sensory Adaptation |
reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation |
Perceptual Set |
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other |
The process by which we organize and interpret sensory information is called |
perception |
Subliminal stimuli are |
below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness. |
Another term for difference threshold is |
just noticeable difference. |
Weber’s Law states that for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by |
a constant minimum proportion |
Sensory adaptation helps us focus on |
important changes in the environment. |
Our perceptual set influences what we perceive. This mental tendency reflects our |
experiences, assumptions, and expectations |
What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception? |
Sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system take in stimulus energies from our environment. Perception is the mental process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, transforming it into meaningful objects and events. |
Wavelength |
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the pack of the next |
Hue |
The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; blue, free, etc |
Intensity |
the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the waves ampltiude |
Iris |
adjusts the size of the pupil |
Pupil |
controls the amount of light entering your eye |
Cornea |
eyeballs protective covering |
Retina |
eyeballs inner surface |
Rods |
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for twilight and peripheral vision, when cones don’t respond |
Cones |
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina; in daylight or well-lit conditions, cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
Optic Nerve |
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
Blind Spot |
the point ay which the optic nerve leaves the eye; this part of the retina is "blind" because it has no receptor cells |
Feature Detectors |
nerve cell in the brain that responds to specific features of a stimulus, such as edges, lines, and angles |
Parallel Processing |
the processing of many aspects of a problem or scene at the same time; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision |
The characteristic of light that determines the color we experience, such as blue or green, is |
wavelength |
The blind spot in your retina is located where |
the optic nerve leaves the eye. |
Rods and cones are the eyes receptor cells. Cones are especially sensitive to ____ light and are responsible for our ____ vision. |
bright; color |
The cells in the visual cortex that respond to certain lines, edges, and angles are called |
feature detectors |
The brain is capable of processing many aspects of an object or problem at the same time. We call this ability |
parallel processing |
What is the rapid sequence of events that occurs when you see and recognize someone that you know? |
Light waves reflect off the person and travel into your eye, where the rods and cones convert the light waves’ energy into neural impulses sent to your brain. Your brain processes the sub dimensions of this visual input- including color, depth, movement, and form- separately but simultaneously. It integrates this information (along with previously stored information) into a conscious perception of the person you know. |
Gestalt |
an organized whole |
Figure-Ground |
the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings |
Grouping |
perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into meaningful groups |
Proximity |
we group nearby figures together |
Continuity |
we perceive smooth continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones |
Closure |
we fill in gaps to create a whole, complete object |
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 |
a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of the two eyes |
Retinal Disparity |
a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object |
Monocular Cue |
a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone |
Perceptual Constancy |
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change |
Color Constancy |
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object |
Perceptual Adaptation |
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field |
Gestalt psychologists identified principles by which we organize our perceptions. Our minds bring order and form to stimuli by following certain rules for |
grouping |
In listening to a concert, you attend to the solo instrument and perceive the orchestra as accompaniment. This illustrates the organizing principle |
figure-ground. |
The visual-cliff experiments suggest that |
crawling human infants and very young animals perceive depth. |
Depth perception is our ability to |
judge distances |
Two examples of monocular cues are interposition and |
linear perspective |
Perceiving a tomato as consistently red, despite lighting shifts, is an example of |
color constancy |
In some cases, surgeons have restored vision to patients who have been blind from birth. The newly sighted individuals were able to sense colors but had difficulty |
recognizing objects by sight |
In experiments, people have worn glasses that turned their visual fields up side down. After a period of adjustment, they learned to function quite well. This ability is called |
perceptual adaptation |
What do we mean when we say that, in perception, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? |
Gestalt psychologists used this saying to describe our perceptual tendency to organize clusters of sensations into meaningful forms or groups |
Audition |
the sense or act of hearing |
Frequency |
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time |
Pitch |
a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency |
Cochlea |
a coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling the cochlea fluid trigger nerve impulses |
Hypnosis |
: a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur |
Sensory Interaction |
: the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste |
Kinesthesis |
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts |
Vestibular Sense |
the sense of body movement and position, including sense of balance |
The amplitude of a light wave determines our perception of brightness. The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of |
loudness |
The frequency of sound waves determines their pitch. The longer the waves, the lower their frequency, and the _____ their pitch. |
lower |
The snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are converted into neural activity, is called the |
cochlea |
Of the four skin senses that make up our sense of touch, only _____ has its own identifiable receptor cells. |
pressure |
Which of the following has NOT been proven to reduce pain? |
Phantom Limb Sensations |
The taste of the food we ear is greatly enhanced by its smell or aroma. This influence of one sense on another is an example of |
sensory interaction |
The receptors for the vestibular sense are located in the |
inner ear |
There is some evidence to suggest that the following ESP phenomenon may have a scientific base of support. |
None |
What are the basic steps in transforming sound waves into perceived sound? |
A simple figure offers a synopsis |
How does our system for sensing smell differ from our sensory systems for vision, touch, and taste? |
We have two types of retinal receptors, four basic touch sense, and five taste sensations. But we have no basic smell receptors. Instead, different combinations of odor receptors send messages to the brain, enabling us to recognize some 10,000 different smells. |
What three steps are basic to all our sensory systems? |
Receiving sensory input, transforming that input into neural impulses (transduction), delivering neural information to our brain |
Can Subliminal Stimuli persuade us? |
We do sense stimuli subliminally -less than 50% of the time – but those sensations do not have lasting behavioral effects. |
What function does sensory adaptation serve? |
We grow less sensible to constant sensory input. Sensory adaptation makes us aware of changes in our environment. |
What are the four basic touch sensations, and which of them has identifiable receptors? |
Pressure, warmth, cold, and pain. Only pressure has identifiable receptors |
Both taste and smell are |
chemical senses |
ESP |
Extrasensory Perception |
Psych-Chapter 5
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