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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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sensory system
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the part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information.
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sensation
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describes the process through which we detect physical energy from the environment and code that energy as neural signals.
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perception
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describes the way a person selects, organizes, and interprets sensory information.
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psychophysics
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the study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and the sensory experiences that accompany them.
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absolute threshold
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the smallest amount of energy needed for a person to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time.
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difference threshold or just noticeable difference (JND)
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the minimum difference between two stimuli needed to detect the difference 50 perecent of the time.
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weber's law
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states that regardless of size, two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for the difference to be noticeable.
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receptor cell
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a specialized cell that responds to a particular type of energy.
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sensory neuron
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a neuron that carries information from the sensory receptors to the brain as a coded signal
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transduction
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a process through which physical energy such as light or sound is converted into an electrical charge.
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sensory adaptation
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a process in which sensory receptor cells become less responsive to an unchanging stimulus.
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visual accommodation
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a process in which the lens adjusts in shape from thick to thin to enable a person to focus on objects that are close by or far away.
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retina
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is a multilayered tissue at the back of the eye that is responsible for visual transduction.
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rod
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a photoreceptor cell in the retina that responds to varying degrees of light and dark.
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fovea
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a depressed spot in the retina that occupies the center of a person’s visual field.
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cones
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photoreceptor cells in the retina that enable a person to see color.
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ganglion cell
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one of several neurons that connect the bipolar neurons in the eyes to the brain.
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optic nerve
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a bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries neural messages from each eye to the brain.
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optic chasm
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the point near the base of the brain where some fibers in the optic nerve from each eye cross to the opposite side of the brain.
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feature detector
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a specialized brain cell that only responds to particular elements in the visual field.
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fusiform face area
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an area of the visual cortex that specifically responds to and recognizes faces
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parallel processing
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describes the process of doing several things at the same time.
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color constancy
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the inclination to perceive familiar objects as retaining their color despite changes in sensory information.
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frequency (Hz)
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the number of cycles per second in an oscillating wave (e.g., perceived as the “pitch” of a sound).
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amplitude (dB)
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the height of an oscillating wave (e.g., perceived as the “loudness” of a sound).
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