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AP Psych 4A
Sensations
Term | Definition |
---|---|
sensation | process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system recieve and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information |
top-down processing | information processing guided by higher level mental processes |
absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation required to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time |
difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection |
jnd | just noticeable differences |
Weber's law | to be percieved as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage |
signal-detection theory | predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation |
subliminal | below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
priming | activation, of unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response |
sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation |
transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another |
wavelength | distance from peaks of waves |
hue | dimension of color determined by wavelength |
fast wavelength color | blue |
slow wavelength color | red |
intensity | amount of energy in a wave determined by amplitude |
cornea | membrane that protects the eye |
iris | ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye and controls the size of the pupil opening |
pupil | adjustable opening in the center of the eye where light enters |
lens | behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus the images on the retina |
accomidation | process where the eye's lens changes shape to focus on near of far objects |
retina | light-sensitive inner surface of the eye |
fovea | central focal point in the retina, where the cones cluster |
blind spot | where the optic nerve leaves the eye and has no receptor cells |
optic nerve | nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
rods | white, black, gray and activated by dim light |
cones | bright light and color |
feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the simulus |
parallel processing | processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously |
Young-helmholtz trichromatic theory | the retina contains three different color receptors (red, green, blue) that can produce the perception of any color |
opponent process theory | opposing retinal processes (red and green, blue and yellow, black and white) that enable color vision |
acuity | sharpness of vision |
color constancy | the color of an object remains the same under different illuminations |
audition | sense or act of hearing |
pitch | tone's experienced highness or lowness |
eardrum | tight membrane that vibrates when struck by sound waves |
middle ear | hammer, anvil, and stirrup that concentrate the vibrations |
outer eat | auditory canal and eardrum |
oval window | entrance to the cochlea |
inner ear | cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs |
cochlea | coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses |
basilar membrane | membrane on the cochlea with millions of hairs that vibrate fluid to create neural impulses |
auditory nerve | sends the auditory message to the brain via the thalamus |
place theory | links pitch with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated |
frequency theory | the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone |
conduction hearing loss | caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea (eardrum or three bones) |
sensorineural hearing loss | causes by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve |
cochlea implant | device for converting sound into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea |
types of touch (4) | pressure, warmth, cold, pain |
kinesthesis | senses the position and movement of individual body parts |
vestibular sense | sens of body movement and position and includes balance |
noiceptors | activated by signals of damage |
gate-control theory | spinal cord contains gates that block pain signals or allows them to pass to the brain |
phantom limb sensation | feeling limb after amputated |
rubber hand illusion | think you feel the rubber hand |
types of taste (5) | sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umammi |
word for taste | gustation |
sensory interaction | one sense may influence another |
word for smell | olfaction |