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PSYC King Chapter 5
Sensation and Perception
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Sensation | The process of receiving stimulus energy from the environment |
Transduction | The process of transforming physical energy into electrochemical energy. |
Perception | The brain's process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning |
Bottom-Up Processing | Processing that begins with sensory receptors registering environmental information and sending it to the brain for analysis and interpretation |
Top-Down Processing | Processing of perceptual information that starts out with cognitive processing at the higher levels of the brain |
Sensory Receptors | specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain |
Psychophyics | The field that studies links between the psychical properties of stimuli and a person's experience of them |
Absolute Threshold | The minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect |
Noise | Irrelevant and completing stimuli |
Subliminal Perception | The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness |
Difference Threshold | The smallest difference in stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus from another 50% of the time; aka JND |
Weber's Law | The principle that two stimulus must differ by a constant minimum percentage to be perceived as different |
Signal Detection Theory | the theory about perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty; detection depends on a variety of factors besides the physical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer |
Selective attention | Focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others |
Perceptual Set | A predisposition to perceive something in a particular way |
Sensory Adaptation | A change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation |
Retina | The light sensitive surface in the back of the eye that records what we see and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain |
Rods | The receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light but are not very useful for color vision |
Cones | The receptors in the retina that process information about color |
Feature Detectors | Neurons in the brains visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus |
Parallel Processing | The simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways |
Binding | The bringing together and integration of what is processed through different pathways or cells |
Trichromatic Theory | Theory stating that color perception is produced by three types of receptors that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths |
Opponent-Process Theory | Theory stating that cells in the visual system respond to red-green ans blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green and vice versa |
Figure-Ground Relationship | Principle by which individuals organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out (figure) and those that are left over (ground) |
Gestalt Psychology | School of psychology emphasizing that people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns |
Depth Perception | The ability to perceive objects in 3D |
Binocular Cues | Depth cues that are based on the combination of the imagines on the left and right eye and on the way the two eye work together |
Monocular Cues | Depth cues that are available from the imagine in either eye |
Apparent Movement | The perception that stationary object is moving |
Perceptual Constancy | Recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing |
Visual Illusion | A discrepancy between reality and the perceptual representation of it. |
Outer Ear | Includes the pinna and external canal |
Middle Ear | Includes the eardrum, hammer and anvil and stirrup |
Inner Ear | Includes the oval window, cochlea, and basilar membrane |
Place Theory | The theory of hearing that states that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane |
Frequency Theory | Theory stating that perception of a sound's frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fire |
Volley Principle | Modification of frequency theory stating that a cluster of cells can fire neural impulses in rapid succession, producing a volley of impulses. |
Auditory Never | Nerves that carries neural impulses to the brain's auditory areas |
Thermoreceptor | Sensory receptors, located under the skin, that respond to changes in temperature at or near the skin and provide input to keep the body's temperature at 98.6 |
Pain | The sensation that warns us that damage to our bodies is occurring |
Gate-Control Theory of Pain | Theory stating that the spinal column contains a neural gate that can be opened (allowing the perception of pain) or closed (blocking it) |
Papillae | Bumps on the tongue that contain taste buds |
Olfactory | A sheet of receptor cells for smell that lines the roof of the nasal cavity |
Kinesthetic Senses | Senses that provide information about movement, posture, and orientation |
Vestibular Sense | Sense that provides information about balance and movement |
Semicircular Canals | Structure in the inner ear containing the sensory receptors that detect head motion |