Discovering Psychology: Chapter 5

Front 1

absolute threshold

Back 1

The smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected

Front 2

audition

Back 2

The sense of hearing

Front 3

auditory nerve

Back 3

Nerve carrying sound information from the cochlea to the brain

Front 4

basilar membrane

Back 4

Membrane in the cochlea on which the organ of Corti is located

Front 5

binocular cue

Back 5

A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes

Front 6

bottom-up processing

Back 6

Perception based on building simple input into more complex perceptions

Front 7

cochlea

Back 7

The structure in the middle ear that contains auditory receptors

Front 8

cone

Back 8

A photoreceptor in the retina that processes color

Front 9

cornea

Back 9

The clear surface at the front of the eye that begins the process of directing light to the retina

Front 10

depth perception

Back 10

The ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the retina to perceive three dimensions

Front 11

difference threshold

Back 11

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

Front 12

feature detector

Back 12

A hypothetical cell that responds to only one specific visual stimulus

Front 13

fovea

Back 13

An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision

Front 14

gate theory

Back 14

The theory that suggests that input from touch fibers competes with input from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages from reaching the brain

Front 15

gustation

Back 15

The sense of taste

Front 16

iris

Back 16

The brightly colored circular muscle surrounding the pupil of the eye

Front 17

lens

Back 17

The clear structure behind the pupil that bends light toward the retina

Front 18

monocular cue

Back 18

A depth cue that requires the use of only one eye

Front 19

olfaction

Back 19

The sense of smell

Front 20

olfactory bulb

Back 20

One of two structures below the frontal lobes of the brain that receive input from the olfactory receptors in the nose

Front 21

olfactory nerve

Back 21

A nerve carrying olfactory information from the olfactory receptors to the olfactory bulbs

Front 22

opponent process theory

Back 22

A theory of color vision that suggests we have a red- green color channel and a blue-yellow color channel in which activation of one color in each pair inhibits the other

Front 23

optic nerve

Back 23

The nerve exiting the retina of the eye

Front 24

optic tracts

Back 24

Nerve pathways traveling from the optic chiasm to the thalamus, hypothalamus, and midbrain

Front 25

organ of Corti

Back 25

A structure located on the basilar membrane that contains auditory receptors

Front 26

papillae

Back 26

Small bumps on the tongue that contain taste buds

Front 27

perception

Back 27

The process of interpreting sensory information

Front 28

psychophysics

Back 28

The study of relationships between the physical qualities of stimuli and the subjective responses they produce

Front 29

pupil

Back 29

An opening formed by the iris

Front 30

retina

Back 30

Layers of visual processing cells in the back of the eye

Front 31

retinal disparity

Back 31

The difference between the images projected onto each eye

Front 32

rod

Back 32

A photoreceptor specialized to detect dim light

Front 33

sensation

Back 33

The process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from the body

Front 34

sensory adaptation

Back 34

The tendency to pay less attention to a nonchanging source of stimulation

Front 35

signal detection

Back 35

The analysis of sensory and decision making processes in the detection of faint, uncertain stimuli

Front 36

somatosensation

Back 36

The body senses, including body position, touch, skin temperature, and pain

Front 37

taste bud

Back 37

A structure found in papillae that contains taste receptor cells

Front 38

top-down processing

Back 38

A perceptual process in which memory and other cognitive processes are required for interpreting incoming sensory information

Front 39

transduction

Back 39

The translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals

Front 40

trichromacy theory

Back 40

A theory of color vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short, medium, and long wavelengths

Front 41

vestibular system

Back 41

The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement

Front 42

vision

Back 42

The sense that allows us to process reflected light