Psy 101 -- Chapter 5

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

the process 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 brain's integration of sensory information

Front 4

top-down processing

Back 4

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes

Front 5

psychophysics

Back 5

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Front 6

absolute threshold

Back 6

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

Front 7

signal detection theory

Back 7

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation

Front 8

subliminal

Back 8

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Front 9

priming

Back 9

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

Front 10

difference threshold

Back 10

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

Front 11

Weber's law

Back 11

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Front 12

sensory adaptation

Back 12

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Front 13

transduction

Back 13

conversion of one form of energy into another

Front 14

wavelength

Back 14

the distance from the peak of one light or sound way to the peak of the next

Front 15

hue

Back 15

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

Front 16

intensity

Back 16

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness of loudness

Front 17

pupil

Back 17

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

Front 18

iris

Back 18

a ring of muscle tissues that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Front 19

lens

Back 19

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

Front 20

accommodation

Back 20

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

Front 21

retina

Back 21

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 22

acuity

Back 22

the sharpness of vision

Front 23

nearsightedness

Back 23

nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because the image of near objects if focused behind the retina

Front 24

farsightedness

Back 24

faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina

Front 25

rods

Back 25

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray (necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond)

Front 26

cones

Back 26

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

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 optic nerve leaves 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

Front 30

parallel processing

Back 30

the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously

Front 31

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three color) theory

Back 31

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

Front 32

opponent-process theory

Back 32

the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

Front 33

color constancy

Back 33

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Front 34

audition

Back 34

the sense or act of hearing

Front 35

frequency

Back 35

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Front 36

pitch

Back 36

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Front 37

middle ear

Back 37

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Front 38

cochlea

Back 38

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Front 39

inner ear

Back 39

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

Front 40

place theory

Back 40

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulate

Front 41

frequency theory

Back 41

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

Front 42

conduction hearing loss

Back 42

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

Front 43

sensorineural hearing loss

Back 43

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

Front 44

cochlear implant

Back 44

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

Front 45

gate-control theory

Back 45

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

Front 46

sensory interaction

Back 46

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

Front 47

vestibular sense

Back 47

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance