Ap Psychology Unit 3 ( Pg. 115 - )

Front 1

Sensations

Back 1

the processes by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Front 2

Perception

Back 2

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Front 3

Bottom-Up Processing

Back 3

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

Front 4

Top-down Processing

Back 4

information processing guided by higher level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Front 5

Selective attention

Back 5

focusing on conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Front 6

Inattention Blindness

Back 6

when our attention is directed somewhere else we fail to miss visible objects

Front 7

Change Blindness

Back 7

failing to notice changes in the environment

Change deafness

Front 8

Psychophysics

Back 8

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Front 9

absolute threshold

Back 9

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Front 10

signal detection theory

Back 10

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation(noises)
assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a persons experience , expectations, motivations and alertness

Predicts when we will detect weak signals
Focuses on how some people respond differently to different stimulus

Front 11

subliminal

Back 11

below threshold for conscious awareness

Front 12

priming

Back 12

the activation often unconscious of certain association thus predisposing one perceptions memory or response

Front 13

Difference Thresholds

Back 13

the minimum difference between two stimuli required to detect 50 percent of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

Front 14

Weber's law

Back 14

the principle that to be perceived as different two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage rather than by an amount

Front 15

sensory adaption

Back 15

diminishing sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Front 16

transduction

Back 16

conversion of one form of energy in to another. in sensation the transforming of stimulus energy such as sights sounds and smells into neural impulses our brains can detect

Front 17

Wavelength

Back 17

the distance from peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next
electromagnetic wavelengths vary from short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmition

Front 18

Hue

Back 18

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light which we now as blue and green

Front 19

Intensity

Back 19

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness as determined by the waves aptitude
influences brightness

Front 20

Pupil

Back 20

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Front 21

iris

Back 21

a ring of muscles tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Front 22

Lens

Back 22

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes the shape to help focus images on the retina

Front 23

retina

Back 23

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

Front 24

accommodation

Back 24

the process by which the eye lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Front 25

rods

Back 25

retinal receptors that detect black,white,gray
necessary for peripheral vision and twilight vision which cones don't respond to
faint light

Front 26

cones

Back 26

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions.
Detail and color

Front 27

Optic nerve

Back 27

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Front 28

blind spot

Back 28

the point at which the optic nerve leave the eye creating a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there

Front 29

fovea

Back 29

the central focal point in the retina around which the eye cones cluster

Front 30

Cornea

Back 30

protects the eye and bends light into focus

Front 31

feature detector

Back 31

cells ability to respond to a scenes particular feature
edge,lines,angles, and movements

Front 32

Parallel Processing

Back 32

our brain does several things at once (unlike a computer) it processes many aspects of a problem simultaneously ( color, movement,form,depth)

Front 33

Blindsight

Back 33

a localized area of blindness in a part of their field of vision after damage to the brains visual cortex

Front 34

Young Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color theory)

Back 34

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors- green, red, blue which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of color

Has problems

Front 35

Opponent Process theory

Back 35

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green,yellow-blue,white-black) enable color vision. for example some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

Front 36

Audition

Back 36

the sense or act of hearing

Front 37

frequencey

Back 37

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (per second)

Front 38

pitch

Back 38

a tones experienced highness or lowness , depends on frequency

Low freq= low pitch

Front 39

Middle ear

Back 39

Chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containting 3 tiny bones (hammer anvil and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardurm on the cochleas oval window

Front 40

Cochlea

Back 40

a coiled bony tube in the inner ear through whcih sound waves trigger nerve impulses

hair cell movement triggers impulse which sends neural impulse ( via thalamus) to the temporal lobe

Front 41

inner ear

Back 41

the innermost part of the ear , containing cochlea semicircular canals and vestibular sacs

Front 42

Hair Cells

Back 42

important
if damages leads to hearing loss
the brain interprets loudness from the number of activated hair cells

Front 43

Place theory

Back 43

in hearing the theory that links the pitch we hear with its place in the cochlea membrane that is being stimulated

Front 44

Frequency Theory

Back 44

in hearing the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory verve matches the frequency of a tone thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Front 45

Conduction Hearing Loss

Back 45

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Front 46

sensorineural Hearing loss

Back 46

hearing loss caused by damaged to the cochleas receptor cells or to the auditory nerve called "nerve deafness"

Front 47

Cochlear Implant

Back 47

device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into cochlea

Front 48

Touch

Back 48

Pressure
Warmth
Pain
Cold

Front 49

Kinesthesis

Back 49

your sense of position and movement of your body parts

Front 50

Vestibular sense

Back 50

the sense of the body movement and position, including the sense of balance
in inner ear

Front 51

nociceptors

Back 51

sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures. pressures or chemicals

Front 52

Gate - Control Theory

Back 52

the 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 the small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Front 53

Taste

Back 53

Chemical Sense
sweet- energy source
salty- sodium essential to physiological processes
sour- potential toxic acid
bitter- potential poisons
umami - proteins to grow and repair tissue

Front 54

sensory interaction

Back 54

the principle that one sense may influence another as when the smell of food influences its taste

Front 55

Synaesthesia

Back 55

where one sort of sensation (hearing) produces another (seeing color)

Front 56

Smell

Back 56

Chemical Sense
peaks in early adulthood
smell is primitive