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Vocab V
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Psychophysics | The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them |
Absolute Threshold | The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time |
Signal Detection Theory | A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation |
Subliminal | Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
Difference Threshold | The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time |
Weber’s Law | The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage |
Wavelength | The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next |
Hue | The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, etc |
Pupil | The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |
Iris | A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening |
Lens | The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |
Accommodation | The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina |
Retina | The light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information |
Acuity | The sharpness of vision |
Nearsightedness | A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina |
Farsightedness | A condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina |
Rods | Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond |
Cones | Receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in will lit conditions |
Optic Nerve | The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
Blind Spot | The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind spot” because no receptor cells are located there |
Fovea | The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster |
Feature Detectors | Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement |