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Sensation7
Vocabulary and Other Stuff
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Signal Detection Theory | Predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience |
| Sensory Interaction | The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste |
| Subliminal | Below one's absolute threshold for concious awareness |
| Sensation | The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| Perception | The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
| Difference Threshold | The minimum difference that a person can detect between two stimuli. (Also called just noticeable difference or jnd) |
| Absolute Threshold | The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time |
| Weber's Law | The principle that, to perceive their difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than by a constant amount) |
| Transduction | Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses |
| Sensory Adaptation | Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation |
| Optic Nerve | The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
| Frequency Theory | In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch |
| Place Theory | In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated |
| Opponent-process Theory | The theory that opposing retinal processes, (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision |
| Gate-control Theory | Theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers. |
| Parallel Processing | The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step processing of most computers and of concious problems solving |
| Pupil | The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |
| Lens | The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images 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 |
| Fovea | The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster |
| Blind Spot | The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| 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 well-lit conditions. Detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
| 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. |
| Kinesthesis | The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. |
| Vestibular Sense | The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance. |
| Cochlea | A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses. |
| Selective Tension | The focusing of concious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect |
| Retinal Disparity | A binocular cue for perceiving depth: The greater the disparity(difference) between the two images the retina receives of an object, the closer the object is to the viewer. |
| Phi Phenomenon | An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession |
| Visual Capture | The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses |
| Perceptual Set | A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another |
| Convergence | A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object |
| Gestalt | An organized whole. These psychologists emphasize our tendency to intergrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. |
| 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. |
| Ganglion Cells | A type of neuron located near the inner surface of the retina of the eye. Receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and amacrine cells |
| Bipolar Cells | Type of neuron which has two extensions. Specialized sensory neurons for the transmission of special senses. They are a part of the sensory pathways for smell, sight, taste, hearing, and vestibular functions. |
| Olfactory System | The sensory system used for the sense of smell. |
| Gustatory System | The sensory system that deals with the sense of taste. |
| Proprioceptors | Sensors that provide information about joint angle, muscle length, and tension, which is integrated to give information about position of the limb in space. |
| Semicircular Canals | Three half-circular, interconnected tubes located inside each ear that deal with the vestibular sense. |
| Hair Cells | Located in the cochlea that determine pitch and frequency of noise. |
| Hammer, Anvil, and Stirrup | Three tiny bones in the middle ear amplify the vibrations representing sound from the ear drum and transmit it across the eustacian tube to the cochlea |
| Ear Drum | A thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. |
| Pinna | The outer part of the ear |
| Afterimage | An optical illusion that refers to an image continuing to appear in one's vision after the exposure to the original image has ceased. |
| Substance P | A neurotransmitter related to the sensation of pain. |
| Oval Window | A membrane-covered opening which leads from the middle ear to the vestibule of the inner ear. |
| Basilar Membrane | A supporting membrane, esp. the membrane that supports the organ of Corti in the ear and aids in translating sound vibrations into electrical signals. |
| Size Constancy | The tendency to perceive the veridical size of a familiar object despite differences in their distance (and consequent differences in the size of the pattern projected on the retina of the eye) |
| Interposition | The partial blocking of a more distant object by a nearer object |
| Stroboscopic Movement | Experienced when the object appears to undergo a change in its location |
| Texture Gradient | As the surface gets farther away from us this texture gets finer and appears smoother |
| Linear Perspective | Parallel lines that recede into the distance appear to get closer together or converge |
| Relative Height | An object close to your, the viewer's, feet will be at the bottom of the painting and a object off in the distance is near the middle of the painting. |
| Relative Size | The more distant an object, say a person, is the smaller the image of that object will be on your retina, the back of the eye where we really begin to "see". |
| Relative Clarity | We perceive hazy objects as farther away than sharp, clear objects. |
| Context Effects | The aspect of cognitive psychology that describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus. |
Created by:
clarefitz
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