click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Sensations
Term | Definition |
---|---|
sensation | A physical feeling or perception. |
bottom-up processing | When the brain processes sensory information and uses clues to understand stimuli. |
perception | The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. |
top-down processing | Perceiving things based on your prior knowledge and experience. |
absolute threshold | The intensity of stimuli required to correctly identify that stimuli. |
difference threshold | The smallest distinguishable difference between two stimuli. |
signal detection theory | Perception is based on the intensity of the stimuli, psychological, and physical condition of the person. |
sensory adaptation | The way our senses adjust to stimuli. |
selective attention | Reacting to one particular stimuli while multiple are overlapping. |
cornea | The transparent layer at the front of the eye. |
iris | A membrane in the eye that adjust the size of the pupil. |
pupil | The opening in the iris that light passes through. |
lens | A curved structure in the eye that bends light, so that it is perceivable by the retina. |
retina | A layer at the back of the eye with light sensitive cells that can transmit signals to the brain. |
receptor cells | A cell or group of cells that receive stimuli. |
rods | Work well in dark spaces; not great for spatial perception. |
cones | Work well in bright spaces; great at spatial perception. |
optic nerve | Transmit signals from the retina to the brain. |
blind spot | Where the optic nerve connects to the retina; not sensitive to light. |
trichromatic theory | The theory that the human eyes only perceive the colors red, blue, and green; all colors are made by mixing these three. |
opponent-process theory | The theory that one member of a color pair suppresses the other. |
pitch | The highness or lowness of a tone. |
cochlea | The spiral cavity in the inner ear that processes sound. |
hair cells | The sensory cells of the auditory and vestibular systems. |
auditory nerve | The nerve connecting the cochlea to the brain. |
kinesthetic sense | The sense of the position and movement of the body. |
vestibular sense | Creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation. |