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Psychology Chapter 5

Stack #49850

QuestionAnswer
The elememtary components, or building blocks, of an experience (such as pattern of light and dark, a bitter taste, or a change in temprerature). sensations
The collection of processes used to arrive at a meaningful interpretation of sensations. perceptions
A small part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is processed by the visual system. light
The dimension of light that produces color; is typically determined by the wavelength of light reflecting from an object. hue
The aspect of the visual experience that changes with light intensity; in general, as the intensity of light increases, so does its percieved -. brightness
The three main physical properties of light. Wavelength, intensity, and purity
The process by which external messages are translated into the internal language of the brain. transduction
The transparent and protective outer covering of the eye. The cornea
The flexible piece of tissue that helps focus light toward the back of the eye. The lens
The hole in the center of the eye that allows light to enter. The pupil
The ring of colored tissue surrounding the pupil. The iris
The process through which the lens changes its shape temporarily to help focus light on the retina. accommodation
The thin layer of tissue that covers the back of the eye and contains the light-sensitive receptor cells for vision. The retina
Receptor cells in the retina, located mainly around the sides, that transduce light energy into neural messages; these visual receptors are highly sensitive and are active in dim light. rods
Receptor cells in the central portion of the retina that transduce light evergy into neural messages; they operate best when light levels are high, and they are primarily responsible for the ability to sense color. cones
The "central pit" area in the retina where the cone receptors are located. The fovea
The ability to process fine detail in vision. Visual acuity
The portion of the retina that, when stimulated, causes the activity of higher order neurons to change. receptive field
The point where the optic nerve leaves the back of the eye. Blind spot
The process through which the eyes adjust to dim light. dark adaption
Cells in the visual cortex that respond to very specific visual events, soch as bars of light at a particular orientation. feature detectors
A theory of color vision proposing that color information is extracted by comparing the relative activations of three different types of cone receptors. Trichromatic theory
A theory of color vision proposing that cells in the visual pathway increase their activation levels to one color and decrease their activation levels to another color - for example, increasing to red and decreasing to green. Opponent-process theory
The men who proposed the trichromatic theory. Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz
The man who proposed the opponent-process theory. Ewald Hering
Processing that is controlled by the physical message delivered to the senses. Bottom-up processing
Processing that is controlled by one's beliefs and expectations about how the world is organized. Top-down processing
The organizing principles of perception proposed by the Gestalt psychologists. Gestalt principles of organization
The Gestalt principles of organization include the laws of -. proximity, similarity, closure, continuation, and common fate.
The idea that people recognize objects perceptually via smaller components called geons. recognition by components
The man who proposed "recognition by components." Irving Biederman
Cues for depth that require input from only one eye. Monocular depth cues
Cues for depth that depend on comparisons between the two eyes. Binocular depth cues
A binocular cue for depth that is based on location differences between images in each eye. Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for depth that is based on the extent to which the two eyes move inward, or converge, when looking at an object. Convergence
The illusion of movement that occurs when stationary lights are flashed in succession. phi phenomenon
Percieving the properties of an object to remain the same even though the physical properties of the sensory message are changing. Perceptual constancy
Innappropriate interpretations of physical reality. Perceptual illusions
The physical message delivered to the auditory system; a mechanical evergy that requires a medium such as air or water in order to move. Sound
The psychological experience that results from the auditory processing of a particular frequency of sound. Pitch
The external flap of tissue normally referred to as the "ear"; it helps capture sounds. The pinna
The eardrum, which responds to incoming sound waves by vibrating. The tympanic membrane
The protion between the eardrum and the cochlea containing three small bones (the malleus, incus, and stapes) that help to intensify and prepare the sound vibrations for passage into the inner ear. Middle ear
The bony, snail-shaped sound processor in the inner ear where sound is translated into nerve impulses. The cochlea
A flexible membrane running through the cochlea that, through its movement, displaces the auditory cells, or hair cells. The basilar membrane
The idea that the location of auditory receptor cells activated by movement of the basilar membrane underlies the perception of pitch. Place theory
The idea that pitch perception is determined partly by the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory pathway. Frequency theory
Neurons that respond to a cooling of the skin by increasing the production of neural impulses. Cold fibers
Neurons that respond vigorously when the temperature of the skin increases. Warm fibers
An adaptive response by the body to any stimulus that is intense enough to cause tissue damage. Pain
The idea that neural impulses generated by pain receptors can be blocked, or gated, in the spinal cord by signals produced in the brain. Gate-control theory
The ability to sense the position and movement of one's body parts. Kinesthesia
A receptor system attached to the inner ear that responds to movement and acceleration and to changes in upright posture. Semicircular canals
Organs of the inner ear that contain receptors thought to be primarily responsible for balance. Vestibular sacs
Receptor cells that react to invisible molecules scattered about in the air or dissolved in liquids, leading to the senses of smell and taste. chemoreceptors
The sense of smell. olfaction
The sense of taste. gustation
A psychological term used to describe the gustatory experience. flavor
Ther receptor cells on the tongue. taste buds
A field of psychology in which researchers search for ways to describe the transition from the physical stimulus to the psychological experience of that stimulus. psychophysics
The level of intensity that lifts a stimulus over the threshold of conscious awareness; it's usually defined as the intensity level at which people can detect the presence of the stimulus 50% of the time. absolute threshold
A technique used to determine the ability of someone to detect the presence of a stimulus. signal detection
The smallest detectable difference in teh magnitude of two stimuli. difference threshold
The principle stating that the more intense a stimulus is to begin with, the more intense it will need to become for one to notice the change. Weber's law
The tendency of sensory systems to reduce sensitivity to a stimulus source that remains constant. sensory adaption
Created by: melodious88
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