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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
the process that detects stimuli from our bodies and our environment
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sensation
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the process that organizes sensations into meaningful objects and events
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perception
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the study of how physical stimuli are translated into psychological experience
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psychophysics
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the lowest level of intensity of a given stimulus that a person can detect half the time
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absolute threshold
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the theory that explains how detection of a stimulus is influenced by observers' expectations
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signatl-detection theory
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the smallest difference in the amount of stimulation that a specific sense can detect
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just-noticeable difference (JND)
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the principle that a weak or small stimulus does not require much change before a person notices that the stimulus has changed, but a strong or large stimulus requires a proportionately greater change before the change is noticed
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Weber's law
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the principle that a weak or small stimulus does not require much change before a person notices that the stimulus has changed, but a strong or large stimulus requires a proportionately greater change before the change is noticed
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Weber's law
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the tendency for our sensory receptors to have decreasig responsiveness to stimuli that continue without change
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sensory adaptation
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the distance between two peaks of adjacent waves
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wavelength
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a clear membrane covering th front of the eyeball that aids in visual acuity by bending light that falls on its surface
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cornea
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a ring of muscles that range in color from light blue to dark brown
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iris
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a hole in the center of the iris that regulates how much light enters the eye
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pupil
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an elastic, disc-shaped structure that focuses light
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lens
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a light-sensitive surface at the back of the eye
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retina
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receptor neurons in the eye located at the edges of the retina that are sensitive to the brightness of light
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rods
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receptor neurons in the eye located near the center of the retina that mediate color vision
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cones
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receptor neurons in the eye located near the center of the retina that mediate color vision
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cones
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the retina's area of central focus
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fovea
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the bundle of nerve cells that carries information from the retina to the brain
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optic nerve
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the bundle of nerve cells that carries information from the retina to the brain
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optic nerve
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the area on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye and that contains no receptor cells
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blind spot
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cells in the visual cortex that respond only to a highly specific feature of a visula stimulus,such as a straight edge, and angle, movement of a spot, or brightness
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feature detectors
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a theory of color perception that proposes that there are three types of color receptors in the retina that produce the primary color sensations of red, green, and blue
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trichromatic theory
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a deficiency in the ability to distinguish among colors
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color blindness
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a visual image that persists after a stimulus has been removed
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afterimage
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a theory proposing that color perception depends on receptors that make opposing responses to three pairs of colors
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opponent-process theory
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perceiving objects as having consistent color under different conditions of illumination
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color constancy
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the sense of hearing
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audition
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pressure changes in a medium (air, water, solids) caused by the vibrations of molecules
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sound waves
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the number of sound waves that pass a given point in one second; corresponds to the psychological experience of pitch
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frequency
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the height of a sound wave; corresponds to the psychological experience of loudness
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amplitude
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the extent to which a sound is composed of waves of different frequencies; corresponds to the psychological experience of timbre
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complexity
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the coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that contains the hairlike auditory receptors
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cochlea
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a thin, flexible membrane at the end of the auditory canal that vibrates in sequence with sound waves
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eardrum
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a thin, flexible membrane at the end of the auditory canal that vibrates in sequence with sound waves
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eardrum
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a membrne that runs down the middle of the cochlea that contains the auditory receptor
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basilar membrane
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the ability to lacate objects in space solely on the basis of the sounds they make
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sound localization
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a theory that pitch is determined by which place along the cochlea's basilar membrane is most activated
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place theory
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a theory that pitch is determined by the frequency with which the basilar membrane vibrates
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frequency theory
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a theory of pitch that neurons work in groups and alternate firing, thus achieving a combined frequency corresponding to the frequency of the sound wave
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volley theory
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the sense fo smell
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olfaction
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the thin layer of tissue at the top of the nasal cavity that contains the olfactory receptor cells
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olfactory epithelium
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the sense of taste
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gustation
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taste receptors on the tongue
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papillae
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the thin layer of tissue at the top of the nasal cavity that contains the olfactory receptor cells
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olfactory epithelium
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a theory of pain perception that proposes that small and large nerve fibers open and close "gateways" for pain in the spinal cord.
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gate-control theory
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a type of proprioceptive sense that provides information about the movement and location of body parts with respect to one another
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kinesthetic sense
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a type of proprioceptive sense that provides information on the position of the body - especially the head - in space
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vestibular sense (or equilibrium)
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an organized and coherent whole
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gestalt
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the process by which sensations are organized into meaningful shapes and patterns
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form perception
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the gestalt principle that when peple focus on an object in their perceptual field, they automatically distinguish it from its surroundings
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figure-ground relationships
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the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally
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depth perception
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depth cues that require information from both eyes
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binocular cues
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depth cues that require information from only one eye
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monocular cues
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the tendency to perceive objects as relatively stable despite continually changing sensory information
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perceptual constancy
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the form of perceptual constancy in which there is a tendency to perceive objects as stable in size despite changes in the size of their retinal images when they are viewed from different distances
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size constancy
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the form of perceptual constancy in which there is a tendency to perceive an object as the same shape no matter from what angle it is viewed
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shape constancy
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expectations that create a tendency to interpret sensory information in a particular way
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perceptual sets
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a misperception of physical reality often due to the misapplication of perceptual principles
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perceptual illusion
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the illusory movement of a stationary object caused by the movement of another nearby object
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induced movement
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the illusion of movement produced by a rapid pattern of stimulation on different parts of the retina
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stroboscopic movement
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a perceptual illusion in which the moon appears larger when near the horizon thatn when high in the sky
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moon illusion
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the ability to perceive events without using normal sensory receptors
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extrasensory perception (ESP)
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the field that studies ESP and other paranormal phenomena
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parapsychology
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a situation where people experience some change or improvement from an empty, e, or ineffectual treatment
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placebo effect
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a situation where people experience some change or improvement from an empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment
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placebo effect
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stimulation just below the absolute threshold for conoscious awareness
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subliminal stimulation
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a perceptual illusion in which the perceived lengths of horizonotal lines are influenced by their being placed between vertical converging lines that serve as distance cues
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ponzo illusion
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a perceptual illusion in which the perceived length of a line is influenced by placing inward or outward facing wings on the ends of lines
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Mueller-Lyer illusion
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