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Sens,Perc,and Pers
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sensation | The process of detecting information (stimuli) from the environment that meets a certain threshold and transducing that stimuli into neurochemical messages for the brain. |
| Threshold | The minimum intensity or magnitude a stimulus must possess to be detected by a sensory system. |
| Transduction | The process by which sensory organs convert physical, chemical, or electromagnetic stimuli into neurochemical messages (nerve impulses) that the brain can understand. |
| Neurochemical Messages | Chemical and electrical signals transmitted by neurons (neurotransmitters) that carry sensory and other information through the nervous system. |
| Absolute Threshold | The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (e.g., light, sound, pressure) at least 50% of the time. |
| Just-Noticeable Difference (JND) | The smallest amount by which two sensory stimuli must differ for an individual to perceive them as different; also known as the difference threshold. |
| Sensory Adaptation | Diminished sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus (e.g., getting used to a bad smell) due to continuous exposure. |
| Weber's Law | Describes the degree to which two stimuli need to be different for the difference to be detected; states that the JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus's intensity. |
| Sensory Systems | The specialized systems (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, etc.) responsible for detecting and processing specific types of environmental information. |
| Sensory Interaction | The principle that one sense may influence another, demonstrating that the sensory systems constantly work together (e.g., smell influencing taste). |
| Synesthesia | An experience of sensation where stimulation of one sensory system (e.g., hearing a sound) is simultaneously and involuntarily experienced through another system (e.g., seeing a color). |
| Visual Sensory System | The structures (eyes, retina, optic nerve, etc.) and processes responsible for detecting and interpreting light stimuli. |
| Retina | The photosensitive surface at the back of the eye that contains the photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) that capture visual information. |
| Photosensitive | Sensitive to light or other forms of radiant energy. The retina is photosensitive because it reacts to light waves. |
| Blind Spot | The point where the visual nerve (optic nerve) exits the eye; because there are no photoreceptor cells here, visual information cannot be captured. |
| Visual Nerve (Optic Nerve) | The nerve that transmits impulses from the retina to the brain. |
| Lens | The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape (accommodation) to focus visual stimuli onto the retina. |
| Accommodation | The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus images of objects at different distances onto the retina. |
| Nearsightedness (Myopia) | A condition resulting when the accommodation process is altered, causing objects up close to be seen clearly, but distant objects to be blurry. |
| Farsightedness (Hyperopia) | A condition resulting when the accommodation process is altered, causing distant objects to be seen clearly, but close objects to be blurry. |
| Rods | Photoreceptor cells lying in the periphery of the eye that detect shapes and movement, but not color. They are primarily activated in low-light environments. |
| Light and Dark Adaptation | The process by which the eyes adjust to changes in light intensity, primarily involving the activity of rods in low-light conditions. |
| Color Vision | The ability of the eye and brain to distinguish between light of different wavelengths. Explained by the trichromatic theory and opponent-process theory. |
| Trichromatic Theory | A theory of color vision stating that the retina contains three different color cones (red/long, green/medium, blue/short) that, when stimulated in combination, produce the perception of any color. |
| Opponent-Process Theory | A theory of color vision stating that certain ganglion cells in the retina are activated by opposing pairs of colors (red/green, blue/yellow, and black/white), which explains afterimages. |
| Photoreceptor Cells | The specialized nerve cells in the retina (rods and cones) that convert light energy into neural signals. |
| Fovea | The central focal point in the retina around which the eye's cones cluster; it provides the sharpest and most detailed visual images. |
| Cones | Photoreceptor cells located mainly in the fovea that process color and fine detail. They are classified as blue (short wavelengths), green (medium wavelengths), and red (long wavelengths). |
| Afterimages | Visual impressions that persist after the original stimulus has been removed, resulting when certain ganglion cells in the retina are activated while their opposing cells are fatigued. |
| Ganglion Cells | Specialized cells in the retina involved in the opponent process (red/green, blue/yellow, black/white) that transmit signals from the photoreceptors to the brain. |
| Color Vision Deficiency | A condition involving damage or irregularities to one or more cones or ganglion cells (red/green, blue/yellow). |
| Dichromatism | A form of color vision deficiency involving the inability to distinguish between colors due to damage or irregularity to two of the three cone types. |
| Monochromatism | A form of severe color vision deficiency involving the inability to distinguish any colors, often due to damage or irregularity to all three cone types. |
| Occipital Lobes | The primary visual processing centers located at the back of the brain; damage to these areas can cause visual disorders. |
| Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness) | A disorder resulting from damage to parts of the brain responsible for vision that results in the inability to recognize faces. |
| Blindsight | A disorder resulting from damage to parts of the brain responsible for vision (occipital lobes) in which a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing sight. |
| Auditory Sensory System | The structures (ears, cochlea, auditory nerve, etc.) and processes responsible for detecting and interpreting sound waves. |
| Wavelengths (Pitch) | The property of sound that describes the movement of air molecules; perceived as the highness or lowness of a tone (pitch). |
| Amplitudes (Loudness) | The property of sound that describes the intensity or force of the movement of air molecules; perceived as the volume or loudness of a sound. |
| Pitch Perception | The ability to determine the highness or lowness of a sound, explained by the place theory, volley theory, and frequency theory. |
| Place Theory | A theory of pitch perception suggesting that different frequencies (pitches) excite different hair cells (places) along the cochlea's basilar membrane. Best explains high pitch. |
| Volley Theory | A theory of pitch perception suggesting that groups of auditory neurons fire in fast succession ("volleying") to encode frequencies above 1,000 Hz. |
| Frequency Theory | A theory of pitch perception suggesting that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. Best explains low pitch. |
| Sound Localization | The process by which we identify where sounds in our environment are coming from, relying on timing and loudness differences detected by the two ears. |
| Hearing Difficulties | Problems with the auditory system that result in the impaired ability to hear, often resulting from aging or damage to auditory structures. |
| Hearing Loss | A general term for reduced ability to hear, categorized as conduction deafness or sensorineural deafness. |
| Conduction Deafness | A type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea (e.g., damage to the eardrum or ossicles). |
| Sensorineural Deafness | A type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness. |
| Chemical Sensory Systems | The sensory systems responsible for processing chemical stimuli: olfaction (smell) and gustation (taste). |
| Olfactory System | The sensory system responsible for the sense of smell; the only sense not processed first in the thalamus. |
| Thalamus Of the Brain | The brain's sensory control center (relay station) that directs most sensory messages to the cortex; smell (olfactory system) is the exception. |
| Pheromones | Chemical messages produced by an animal that are processed by the olfactory system and affect the behavior or physiology of other members of its species (e.g., sexual attractants). |
| Gustation | The sense of taste. |
| Sweet | The perception of taste typically associated with sugars and often signals a source of energy. |
| Sour | The perception of taste typically associated with acids (e.g., lemon, vinegar) and may signal spoilage. |
| Salty | The perception of taste typically associated with sodium chloride (salt) and often signals necessary minerals. |
| Bitter | The perception of taste typically associated with alkaloids and often serves as a warning sign for potentially poisonous or spoiled substances. |
| Umami | The perception of taste typically associated with savory, meaty flavors and is caused by the presence of glutamate (found in meat, cheese, mushrooms). |
| Oleogustus | The proposed perception of taste associated with the distinct flavor of fats (fatty acids). |
| Taste Receptors | Specialized cells located on the tongue and mouth structures that detect chemical taste stimuli. The number of these relates to taste sensitivity. |
| Supertasters, Medium Tasters, Or Nontasters | Classifications of individuals based on the number of taste receptors on their tongue, which determines their sensitivity to taste stimuli. |
| Touch Sensory System | The sensory system responsible for processing touch stimuli, including pressure, pain, temperature, and texture, using structures within the skin and brain. |
| Sensation Of "Hot" | The perception of warmth produced by the simultaneous activation of warm and cold receptors in the skin. |
| Warm and Cold Receptors In the Skin | Specialized nerve structures within the skin that respond to temperature changes and whose combined activation produces the sensation of "hot." |
| Pain Sensory System | The system responsible for processing pain, which involves structures in both the body and the brain. |
| Gate Control Theory | A theory describing the complexities of pain that suggests the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that either blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. |
| Phantom Limb Sensation | A phenomenon where people who have lost a limb report sensation or pain where the limb used to be, demonstrating that pain is processed in the brain. |
| Vestibular Sense | The sensory system that controls balance and head position, primarily detected by the semicircular canals and structures in the brain. |
| Kinesthetic Sense (Kinesthesis) | The sense of one's body movement and position, allowing the body to move in coordinated ways without having to look at the various moving parts. |
| Semicircular Canals | Fluid-filled canals in the inner ear that detect the movement of the head and are the primary structures responsible for the vestibular sense (balance). |
| Perception | The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting neurochemical messages (sensory information) into meaningful objects and events. |
| Bottom-Up Processing | Perception driven by external sensory information, starting with the raw data received by the sensory receptors and working up to the brain for analysis. |
| Top-Down Processing | Perception influenced by internal prior expectations, experiences, context, and schemas to construct interpretations of sensory information. |
| Schemas | Internal factors (mental frameworks or concepts) that organize and interpret information, filtering and influencing perception based on prior knowledge. |
| Perceptual Sets | Internal factors (a mental predisposition or readiness) to perceive one thing and not another, heavily influenced by expectations and context. |
| Gestalt Psychology | A school of psychology proposing that people tend to organize their perceptions into meaningful wholes, summarized by the principle "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." |
| Closure | A Gestalt principle that organizes perceptions by tending to fill in gaps to perceive a complete, whole object rather than incomplete parts. |
| Figure and Ground | A Gestalt principle that organizes stimuli into a main object of interest (the figure) and its less important, indistinct background (the ground). |
| Proximity | A Gestalt principle that organizes perceptions by tending to group nearby objects together. |
| Similarity | A Gestalt principle that organizes perceptions by tending to group objects that are similar to each other (e.g., color, size, shape) together. |
| Selective Attention | An interaction of sensation and perception where one focuses conscious awareness on a particular stimulus or a limited range of stimuli. |
| Cocktail Party Effect | An example of selective attention where people attend to mentions of their names or specific topics in a loud or distracting environment. |
| Inattentional "Blindness" | A failure to see visible objects or events when one's attention is directed elsewhere. |
| Change Blindness | A type of inattentional "blindness" where changes to the environment are not perceived due to lack of attention. |
| Visual Perceptual Processes | The methods the brain uses to correctly or incorrectly interpret visual stimuli, including depth perception and constancies. |
| Binocular Depth Cues | Depth cues that utilize images from each eye (retinal disparity and convergence) to provide the perception of depth. |
| Retinal Disparity | A binocular depth cue that measures the difference between the images projected onto the retina of the two eyes; the brain uses this difference to judge distance. |
| Convergence | A binocular depth cue based on the degree to which the eyes move inward to focus on an object, providing feedback about its distance. |
| Monocular Depth Cues | Depth cues that give the illusion of depth on flat or two-dimensional surfaces using the image from only one eye. |
| Relative Clarity | A monocular cue that causes hazy objects to be perceived as farther away than sharp, clear objects. |
| Relative Size | A monocular cue that perceives objects that cast smaller retinal images as farther away than those that cast larger images, assuming they are similar in size. |
| Texture Gradient | A monocular cue where a gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance. |
| Linear Perspective | A monocular cue in which parallel lines appear to converge (meet) in the distance, indicating depth. |
| Interposition | A monocular cue where one object partially blocking or overlapping another object is perceived as being closer than the obstructed object. |
| Visual Perceptual Constancies | The ability to maintain the consistent perception of an object (e.g., size, shape, brightness) even when the sensory images of the object in the visual field change. |
| Apparent Movement | The visual perception of movement even when objects are not actually moving (e.g., stroboscopic movement or the phi phenomenon). |
| Psychodynamic Theory Of Personality | A theory (primarily associated with Freud) concluding that unconscious processes drive personality, which is shaped by inner conflict among the id, ego, and superego. |
| Unconscious Processes (Unconscious Mind) | According to psychodynamic theory, the vast reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories that operates outside of conscious awareness but still drives personality. |
| Ego Defense Mechanisms | The ego's unconscious protective methods for reducing anxiety by unconsciously protecting the ego from threats. |
| Denial | The defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously protects itself by refusing to believe or perceive painful or threatening realities. |
| Displacement | The defense mechanism that shifts aggressive or sexual impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person. |
| Projection | The defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses or feelings by attributing them to others. |
| Rationalization | The defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. |
| Reaction Formation | The defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites (e.g., expressing hostility by being overly friendly). |
| Regression | The defense mechanism in which an individual retreats, when faced with anxiety, to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. |
| Repression | The basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness and into the unconscious mind. |
| Sublimation | The defense mechanism by which threatening sexual or aggressive unacceptable impulses are transformed into socially acceptable or valuable behaviors. |
| Projective Tests | Personality assessment tools designed to probe the preconscious and unconscious mind by presenting ambiguous stimuli and asking test-takers to interpret them. |
| Preconscious Mind | According to psychodynamic theory, the level of the mind containing information that is not currently conscious but can be easily recalled. |
| Humanistic Theory Of Personality | A theory focusing on human potential and emphasizing unconditional regard and the self-actualizing tendency as primary motivating factors for personality development. |
| Unconditional Regard | An attitude of total acceptance toward another person, central to humanistic theory as a factor required for healthy personality development. |
| Self-Actualizing Tendency | The primary motivating factor in humanistic theory; the constant striving to realize and fulfill one's inherent potential. |
| Social-Cognitive Theory Of Personality | A theory concluding that reciprocal determinism shapes personality through the interaction of a person's traits, environment, and behavior. |
| Reciprocal Determinism | The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition (thoughts/feelings), and environment that shape personality. |
| Self-Concept | An individual's sense of identity and self-perception, including how one views themselves and in relation to others. |
| Self-Efficacy | One's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task; contributes to self-concept. |
| Self-Esteem | One's overall feelings of self-worth and value; contributes to self-concept. |
| Trait Theories Of Personality | Theories concluding that personality involves a set of enduring characteristics (traits) that lead to typical responses to stimuli. |
| Big Five Theory Of Personality (OCEAN) | A prominent trait theory proposing that personality is made up of five core, broad dimensions. |
| Agreeableness | A personality trait characterized by an individual's tendency to be cooperative, kind, sympathetic, and trusting. |
| Openness to Experience | A personality trait characterized by an individual's tendency to be imaginative, curious, artistic, unconventional, and willing to try new things. |
| Extraversion | A personality trait characterized by an individual's tendency to be sociable, outgoing, assertive, and energetic. |
| Conscientiousness | A personality trait characterized by an individual's tendency to be organized, responsible, hardworking, disciplined, and dependable. |
| Emotional Stability | A personality trait that describes an individual's tendency toward calmness, security, and low emotional reactivity (the opposite of Neuroticism). |
| Personality Inventories | Specialized questionnaires designed to assess personality traits using factor analysis to organize and interpret item responses. |
| Factor Analysis | A statistical procedure used by trait theories to identify clusters of test items (factors) that tap into basic components of personality. |
| Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) | When tiny calcium carbonate crystals (otoconia or "ear rocks"), get loose in the semicircular canals, causing the fluid to move and resulting in brief, intense episodes of vertigo (a spinning sensation). |
Created by:
lcurty100