Psy Chapter 3

Front 1

the minimum amount of energy in a sensory stimulus detected 50% of the time

Back 1

absolute threshold

Front 2

a theory that assumes that the detection of faint sensory stimuli depends not only upon a person's physiological sensitivity to a stimulus but also upon his decision criterion for detection, which is based on nonsensory factors

Back 2

signal detection theory

Front 3

the minimum difference between two sensory stimuli detected 50% of the time(also called the just noticeable difference)

Back 3

difference threshold

Front 4

For each type of sensory judgment that we can make, the measured difference threshold is a constant fraction of the standard stimulus value used to measure it. This constant fraction is different for each type of sensory judgment

Back 4

Weber's Law

Front 5

the percieved magnitude of a stimulus is equal to its actual physical intensity raised to some constant power. The constant power is different for each type of sensory judgment

Back 5

Steven's power law

Front 6

our sensitivity to unchanging and repetitious stimuli disappears over time

Back 6

sensory adaptation

Front 7

the distance in one cycle of a wave, from one crest to the next

Back 7

wavelength

Front 8

the amount of energy in a wave, its intensity, which is the height of the wave at its crest

Back 8

amplitude

Front 9

the number of times a wave cycles in 1 second

Back 9

frequency

Front 10

the conversion of physical energy into neural signals that the brain can understand

Back 10

transduction

Front 11

the focusing of light waves from objects of different distances directly on the retina

Back 11

accomodation

Front 12

a visual problem in which the light waves from distant objects come into focus in front of the retina, blurring the images of these objects

Back 12

nearsightedness

Front 13

a visual problem in which the light waves from nearby objects come into focus behind the retina, blurring the images of these objects

Back 13

farsightedness

Front 14

the light-sensitive layer of the eye which is composed of three layers of cells-ganglion, bipolar, and receptor(rods and cones)

Back 14

retina

Front 15

receptor cells in the retina that are principally responsible for dim light and peripheral vision

Back 15

rods

Front 16

receptor cells in the retina that are principally responsible for bright light and color vision

Back 16

cones

Front 17

a tiny pit in the center of the retina filled with cones

Back 17

fovea

Front 18

the process bgy which the rods and cones through internal chemical changes become more and more sensitive to light in dim light conditions

Back 18

dark adaptation

Front 19

a theory of color vision which assumes that there are three types of cones, each only activated by wavelength ranges of light corresponding roughly to blue, green, and red. It further assumes that all of the various colors that we can see are mixtures of various levels of activation of the three types of cones

Back 19

trichromatic theory

Front 20

direct mixtures of different wavelengths of light in which all of the wavelengths reach the retina and are added together

Back 20

additive mixtures

Front 21

mixtures of wavelengths of light in which some wavelengths are absorbed and so do not get reflected from the mixtures to the retina

Back 21

subtractive mixtures

Front 22

wavelengths of light that when added together produce white

Back 22

complementary colors

Front 23

a theory of color vision which assumes that there are three opponent-process cell systems(red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white) which process color information after it has been processed by the cones

Back 23

opponent-process theory

Front 24

the receptor cells for hearing. They line the basilar membrane inside the cochlea

Back 24

hair cells

Front 25

hearing loss created by damage to the hair cells or the auditory nerve fibers in the inner ear

Back 25

nerve deafness

Front 26

hearing loss created by damage to one of the structures in the ear responsible for mechanically conducting the auditory information to the inner ear

Back 26

conduction deafness

Front 27

a theory of pitch perception which assumes that there is a specific location along the basilar membrane which will maximally respond to a particular frequency, thereby indicating the pitch to the brain

Back 27

place theory

Front 28

a theory of pitch perception which assumes that the frequency of the sound wave is mimicked by the firing rate of the entire basilar membrane

Back 28

frequency theory

Front 29

cells taking turns firing will increase the maximum firing rate for a group of cells

Back 29

volley principle

Front 30

the initial information gathering and recoding by the sensory structures

Back 30

sensation

Front 31

the interpretation by the brain of sensory information

Back 31

perception

Front 32

the processing of incoming sensory information as it travels up from the sensory structures to the brain

Back 32

bottom-up processing

Front 33

the brain's use of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations to interpret sensory information

Back 33

top-down processing

Front 34

the interpretation of ambiguous sensory information in terms of how our past experiences have set us to perceive it

Back 34

perceptual set

Front 35

the use of the present context of sensory information to determine its meaning

Back 35

contextual effect

Front 36

the Gesthalt perceptual organizational principle that the brain organizes sensory information into a figure or figures(the center of attention) and ground (the less distinct background)

Back 36

figure-and-ground principle

Front 37

the Gestalt perceptual organizational principle that the brain completes(closes) incomplete figures to form meaningful objects

Back 37

closure

Front 38

a line or shape that is perceived to be present but does not really exist. The brain creates it during perception

Back 38

subjective contour

Front 39

the perceptual stability of the size, shape, brightness, and color for familiar objects seen at varying distances, different angles, and under different lighting conditions

Back 39

perceptual constancy

Front 40

our ability to perceive the distance of objects from us

Back 40

depth perception

Front 41

a binocular depth cue referring to the fact that as the disparity(difference) between the two retinal images of an object increases, the distance of the object from us decreases

Back 41

retinal disparity

Front 42

a monocular depth cue referring to the fact that as parallel lines recede away from us, they appear to converge--the greater the distance, the more they seem to converge

Back 42

linear perspective

Front 43

a monocular depth cue referring to the fact that if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer to us

Back 43

interposition