Psych Ch. 8

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

the process by which sensory systems and the nervous system receive stimuli from the environment

Front 2

perception

Back 2

the process of organizing and interpreting incoming sensory information

Front 3

top-down processing

Back 3

information processing that draws on our experiences and expectations to interpret incoming sensations

Front 4

absolute threshold

Back 4

the minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus

Front 5

difference threshold

Back 5

the minimum difference to detect that two stimuli are not the same

Front 6

signal detection theory

Back 6

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

Front 7

signal detection's variables

Back 7

stimulus variables, environmental variables, organismic variables

Front 8

sensory adaptation

Back 8

diminished sensitivity to constant and unchanging stimulation

Front 9

selective attention

Back 9

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus to the exclusion of others

Front 10

cornea

Back 10

the clear, curved bulge on the front of the eye that bends light rays to begin focusing them

Front 11

iris

Back 11

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye and regulates the size of the pupil

Front 12

pupil

Back 12

the adjustable black opening in the center of the iris, controls the amount of light that enters the eye

Front 13

lens

Back 13

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

Front 14

retina

Back 14

the light-sensitive surface at the back of the eyeball

Front 15

receptor cells

Back 15

deepest layer of the retina, have the ability to change light energy into nerve impulses that the brain can interpret

Front 16

rods

Back 16

type of receptor cell that detect only black, white, and shades of gray

Front 17

cones

Back 17

type of receptor cell that detect sharp details and colors

Front 18

optic nerve

Back 18

where the axons of ganglion cells come together, carries information from your eyes to your brain's occipital lobes

Front 19

blind spot

Back 19

where the optic nerve exits the eye, no rods or cones can occupy that point on the retina

Front 20

trichromatic theory

Back 20

red, green, and blue combine too create millions of color combinations

Front 21

opponent-process theory

Back 21

color is processed to opponent pairs- light that stimulates one half of the pair inhibits the other half

Front 22

afterimage

Back 22

the image that develops, in the opponent color of its pair

Front 23

sound production

Back 23

sound waves reach ear and travel down auditory canal, reach eardrum that transfers sound vibration from the air to the ossciles that trasfer sound waves from the eardrum to the cochlea, where the sound waves are changed to neural impulses. Oval window begins to vibrate at same frequency as sound, sets up vibrations in the cochlea fluid, stimulates hair cells to generate neural impulses that brain can process.

Front 24

hair cells

Back 24

tiny projection in the cochlea that are the receptor cells for heaing

Front 25

cochlea

Back 25

main organ of hearing- fluid-filled, snail-shaped bony tube in the inner ear where sound waves are changed to neural impulses

Front 26

auditory nerve

Back 26

exits the cochlea and carries sound information to the temporal lobes of the brain, where auditory processing occurs

Front 27

kinesthetic sense

Back 27

the system that senses the position and movement of your individual body parts

Front 28

vestibular sense

Back 28

the system for sensing body orientation and balance

Front 29

chemical senses

Back 29

smell and taste

Front 30

supertasters

Back 30

people with an abundance of taste receptors that allow them to experience tastes more intensely than most of us do

Front 31

flavor

Back 31

salty, sweet, sour, bitter, umami

Front 32

olfactory cells

Back 32

cells that project from the brain that can process smells