Ch3

Front 1

afterimages

Back 1

occurs when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed. ex. american flag

Front 2

aqueous humor

Back 2

clear layer under cornea, watery fluid

Front 3

auditory canal

Back 3

(or ear canal), the short tunnel that runs down to the tympanic membrane, or eardrum.

Front 4

binocular disparity

Back 4

a scientific way of saying that because the eyes are a few inches apart, they don’t see exactly the same image.

Front 5

closure

Back 5

the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete.

Front 6

cochlea

Back 6

snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that is filled with fluid.

Front 7

conduction hearing impairment

Back 7

problems with the mechanics of the outer or middle ear and means that sound vibrations cannot be passed from the eardrum

Front 8

cones

Back 8

“see” colors; work best in bright light

Front 9

contiguity

Back 9

the tendency to perceive two things that happen close together in time as being related.

Front 10

convergence

Back 10

refers to the rotation of the two eyes in their sockets to focus on a single object.

Front 11

cornea

Back 11

clear membrane on the surface of the eye; the structure that focuses most of the light coming into the eye

Front 12

corti

Back 12

an organ on the basilar membrane that contains the auditory receptors, which send signals to the brain about sound qualities as they vibrate.

Front 13

dark adaptation

Back 13

occurs as the eye recovers its ability to see when going from a brightly lit state to a dark state.

Front 14

depth perception

Back 14

the capability to see the world in three dimensions

Front 15

free nerve endings

Back 15

just beneath the uppermost layer of the skin that respond to changes in temperature, pressure, and pain.

Front 16

frequency theory

Back 16

can explain pitch below 1000 hz.

Front 17

gate-control theory

Back 17

the pain signals must pass through a “gate” located in the spinal cord. the activity of the gate can be closed by nonpain signals coming into the spinal cord from the body and by signals coming from the brain.

Front 18

gustation

Back 18

sensation of taste

Front 19

iris

Back 19

can change the size of the pupil, letting more or less light into the eye

Front 20

kinesthetic sense

Back 20

allow the brain to know the position and movement of the body

Front 21

lens

Back 21

behind the iris, suspended by muscles; finishes focusing process begun by the cornea

Front 22

light adaptation

Back 22

the cones have to adapt to the increased level of light

Front 23

nerve hearing impairment

Back 23

the problem lies either in the inner ear or in the auditory pathways and cortical areas of the brain.

Front 24

olfaction

Back 24

ability to smell odor

Front 25

otolith organs

Back 25

telling the person that he or she is moving forward, backward, sideways, or up and down.

Front 26

pacinian corpuscles

Back 26

just beneath the skin and respond to changes in pressure.

Front 27

perceptual set

Back 27

people’s tendency to perceive things a certain way because their previous experiences or expectations influence them ex. young or old woman

Front 28

pinna

Back 28

the visible, external part of the ear that serves as a kind of concentrator, funneling the sound waves from the outside into the structure of the ear

Front 29

pitch

Back 29

how high or low a sound is ex. bass

Front 30

place theory

Back 30

can explain pitch above 1000 hz.

Front 31

rods

Back 31

see shades of gray; work well in low light; detect changes in brightness

Front 32

rods and cones

Back 32

the part that actually receives the photons of light and turns them into neural signals for the brain

Front 33

semicircular canals

Back 33

x-, y-, and z-axes

Front 34

sensory conflict theory

Back 34

explanation of motion sickness

Front 35

skin senses

Back 35

having to do with touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

Front 36

somatic pain

Back 36

pain sensations in the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints

Front 37

somesthetic

Back 37

body senses

Front 38

top-down processing

Back 38

the use of preexisting knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole. ex. puzzle seen on box

Front 39

trichromatic (“three colors”) theory

Back 39

this theory proposed three types of cones; red cones, blue cones, and green cones, one for each of the three primary colors of light

Front 40

vestibular sense

Back 40

the sense of balance.

Front 41

vestibular senses

Back 41

having to do with movement and body position

Front 42

visceral pain

Back 42

pain and pressure in the organs

Front 43

visual accommodation

Back 43

changes its shape from thick to thin, enabling it to focus on objects that are close or far away.

Front 44

vitreous humor

Back 44

past the lens, light passes through a large, open space filled with a clear, jellylike fluid