Chap 4

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

activation of sense organs by a source of physical energy

Front 2

perception

Back 2

the sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain

Front 3

stimulus

Back 3

energy that produces a response in a sense organ

Front 4

pyschophysics

Back 4

that study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Front 5

absolute thresold

Back 5

the smallest stimulus intensity of a stimulus that must be present to be detected

Front 6

difference threshold (just noticeable threshold)

Back 6

the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a changes in stimulation has occurred

Front 7

weber's law

Back 7

a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the intensity of an initial stimulus

Front 8

how light travels through the eye

Back 8

cornea---pupil---lens---retina---optic nerve

Front 9

retina

Back 9

part of the eye that converts the eletromagnetic energy of light to electrical impulses for transmission to the brain

Front 10

rods

Back 10

thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light

Front 11

cones

Back 11

cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light.

Front 12

optic nerve

Back 12

a bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information to the brain

Front 13

trichomatic theory of color vision

Back 13

there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengths

Front 14

opponent-process theory of color vision

Back 14

the theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other

Front 15

eardrum

Back 15

part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it

Front 16

cochlea

Back 16

a coiled tube in the ear filled with fluid that vibrates in response to sound

Front 17

frequency

Back 17

the number of wave cycles that occur in a second

Front 18

place theory of hearing

Back 18

states that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies

Front 19

frequent theory of hearing

Back 19

acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to as ound

Front 20

semicircular canals

Back 20

three tube-like structures of the inner ear containing fluid that sloshes through them when the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the brain.

Front 21

smell

Back 21

olfaction

Front 22

taste

Back 22

gustation

Front 23

gate-control theory of pain

Back 23

the theory that particular nerve receptors int he spinal cord lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain

Front 24

gestalt laws of organization

Back 24

a series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Front 25

top-down processing

Back 25

perception that is guided by-higher level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations.

Front 26

bottom-up processing

Back 26

consists of the progression of recognizing and processing information from individual components of a stimuli and moving to the perception of the whole.

Front 27

depth perception

Back 27

the ability of view the world in three dimensions and to perceive distance

Front 28

binocular disparity

Back 28

the difference in the images seen by the left eye and right eye.

Front 29

perceptual constancy

Back 29

the phenomenon in which physical objects perceived as unvarying and consistent despite changes in their appearance or in the physical environment.