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Psych Ch 3 Vocab
Sensation and Perception
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| sensation | the experience of sensory stimulation |
| perception | the process of creating meaningful patterns from raw sensory information |
| receptor cell | a specialized cell that responds to a particular type of energy |
| absolute threshold | the least amount of energy that can be detected as a stimulation 50 percent of the time |
| adaptation | an adjustment of the senses to the level of stimulation they are receiving |
| difference threshold (just noticeable difference - jnd) | the smallest change in stimulation that can be detected 50 percent of the time |
| Weber's law | the principle that the jnd for any given sense is a constant fraction or proportion of the stimulation being judged |
| cornea | the transparent protective coating over the front part of the eye |
| pupil | a small opening in the iris through which light enters the eye |
| iris | the colored part of the eye |
| lens | the transparent part of the eye inside the pupil that focuses light onto the retina |
| retina | the lining of the eye containing receptor cells that are sensitive to light |
| blind spot | the place on the retina where the axons of all the ganglion cells leave the eye and where there are no receptors |
| fovea | the area of the retina that is the center of the visual field |
| light | the small segment of the electromagnetic spectrum to which our eyes are sensitive |
| rods | receptor cells in the retina responsible for night vision and perception of brightness |
| cones | receptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision |
| bipolar cells | neurons that have only one axon and one dendrite; in the eye, these neurons connect the receptors on the retina to the ganglion cells |
| visual acuity | the ability to distinguish fine details visually |
| dark adaptation | increased sensitivity of rods and cones in darkness |
| light adaptation | decreased sensitivity of rods and cones in bright light |
| afterimage | sense experience that occurs after a visual stimulus has been removed |
| ganglion cells | neurons that connect the bipolar cells in the eyes to the brain |
| optic nerve | the bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries neural messages from each eye to the brain |
| optic chiasm | the point near the base of the brain where some fibers in the optic nerve from each eye cross to the other side of the brain |
| feature detectors | specialized brain cells that only respond to particular elements in the visual field such as movement or lines of specific orientation |
| hue | the aspect of color that corresponds to names such as red, green, and blue |
| saturation | the vivdness of richness of a hue |
| brightness | the nearness of a color to white as opposed to black |
| subtractive color mixing | the process of mixing pigments, each of which absorbs some wavelengths of light and reflects others |
| additive color mixing | the process of mixing light of different wavelengths to create new hues |
| trichromatic theory | the theory of color vision that holds that all color perception derives from three different color receptors in the retina (usually red, green, and blue receptors) |
| trichromats | people who have normal color vision |
| color blindness | partial or total inability to perceive hues |
| dichromats | people who are blind to either red-green or yellow-blue |
| monochromats | people who are totally color-blind |
| opponent-process theory | theory of color vision that holds that three sets of color receptors (yellow-blue, red-green, black-white) respond to determine the color you experience |
| sound | a psychological experience created by the brain in response to changes in air pressure that are received by the auditory system |
| sound waves | changes in pressure caused when molecules of air or fluid collide with one another and then move apart again |
| frequency | the number of cycles per second in a wave; in sound, the primary determinant of pitch |
| hertz (Hz) | cycles per second; unit of measurement for the frequency of sound waves |
| pitch | auditory experience corresponding primarily to frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or lower tone |
| amplitude | the magnitude of a wave; in sound, the primary determinant of loudness |
| decibel | unit of measurement for the loudness of sounds |
| overtones | tones that result from sound waves that are multiples of the basic tone; primary determinant of timbre |
| timbre | the quality or texture of sound; caused by overtones |
| hammer, anvil, stirrup | the three small bones in the middle ear that relay vibrations of the eardrum to the inner ear |
| oval window | membrane across the opening between the middle ear and inner ear that conducts vibrations to the cochlea |
| basilar membrane | vibrating membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear; it contains sense receptors for sounds |
| organ of Corti | structure on the surface of the basilar membrane that contains that receptor cells for hearing |
| place theory | theory that pitch is determined by the location of greatest vibration on the basilar membrane |
| frequency theory | theory that pitch is determined by the frequency with which hair cells in the cochlea fire |
| volley principle | refinement of the frequency theory; it suggests that receptors in the ear fire in sequence, with one group responding, that a second, third, and co on, so that the complete pattern of firing corresponds to the frequency of the sound wave |
| olfactory epithelium | nasal membranes containing receptor cells sensitive to odors |
| olfactory bulb | the smell center in the brain |
| pheromones | chemical molecules that communicate information to other members of a species, and influence their behavior |
| vomeronasal organ (VNO) | location of receptors for pheromones in the roof of the nasal cavity |
| taste buds | structures on the tongue that contain the receptor cells for taste |
| papillae | small bumps on the tongue that contain the taste buds |
| kinesthetic senses | senses of muscle movement, posture, and strain on muscles and joint |
| stretch receptors | receptors that sense muscle stretch and contraction |
| golgi tendon organs | receptors that sense movement of the tendons, which connect muscle to bone |
| vestibular senses | the sense of equilibrium and body position in space |
| vestibular sacs | sacs in the inner ear that sense gravitation and forward, backward, and vertical movement |
| gate control theory | the theory that a "neurological gate" in the spinal cord controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain |
| biopsychosocial theory | the theory that the interaction of biological, psychological, and cultural factors influence the intensity and duration of pain |
| placebo effect | pain relief that occurs when a person believe a pill or procedure will reduce pain; the actual cause of relief seems to come from endorphins |
| figure | entity perceived to stand apart from the background |
| ground | background against which a figure appears |
| perceptual constancy | a tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory stimulation |
| size constancy | the perception of an object as the the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed |
| shape constancy | a tendency to see an object as the same shape no matter what angle it is viewed from |
| color constancy | an inclination to perceive familiar objects as retaining their color despite changes in sensory information |
| monocular cues | visual cues requiring the use of one eye |
| binocular cues | visual cues requiring the use of both eyes |
| aerial perspective | monocular cue to distance and depth based on teh fact that more distant objects are likely to appear hazy and blurred |
| texture gradient | monocular cue to distance and depth based on the fact that objects seen at greater distances appear to be smoother and less textured |
| linear perspective | monocular cue to distance and depth based on the fact that two parallel lines seem to come together at the horizon |
| motion parallax | monocular distance cue in which objects closer that the point of visual focus seem to move in the direction opposite to the viwer's moving head, and objects beyond the focus point appear to move in the same direction as the viewer's head |
| stereoscopic vision | combination of two retinal images to give a three-dimensional perceptual experience |
| retinal disparity | binocular distance cue based on the difference between the imagegs cast on the two retinas when both eyes are focused on the same object |
| convergence | a visual depth cue that comes from muscles controlling eye movement as the eyes turn inward to view a nearby stimulus |
| monaural cue | cue to sound location that requires just one ear |
| binaural cue | cue to sound location that involves both ears working together |
| autokinetic illusion | the perception that a stationary object is actually moving |
| stroboscopic motion | apparent movement that results from flashing a series of still pictures in rapid succession, as in a motion picture |
| phi phenomenon | apparent movement caused by flashing lights in sequence, as on theater marquees |
| perceptual illusion | illusion due to misleading cues in stimuli that give rise to inaccurate or impossible perceptions |
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