Psych Vocab Chapter 5 Sensation/perception

Front 1

psychophysics

Back 1

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

Front 2

gustav fechner

Back 2

psychophysics pioneer

Front 3

sensation

Back 3

detection of physical energy from the enviornment; encoded

Front 4

perception

Back 4

selection, organization and interpretation of sensations

Front 5

bottom-up processing

Back 5

analysis beginning with sensory receptors

Front 6

top-down processing

Back 6

perceptions beginning and constructed by experiences/expectations

Front 7

absolute threshold

Back 7

minimum stimulation necessary for detection; v. sensitive

Front 8

signal detection theory

Back 8

theory prediction when a faint stimulus is detected; explains why diff people have diff reactions to the same stimuli

Front 9

hit

Back 9

stimulus is present, respond "present"

Front 10

miss (false positive)

Back 10

stimulus is present; respond "absent"

Front 11

false positive

Back 11

stimulus is absent, respond "present"

Front 12

subliminal

Back 12

below the threshold of conscious awareness

Front 13

priming

Back 13

activation of associations predisposing perceptions through memories and the responses of those memories

Front 14

difference threshold (JND)

Back 14

just noticable difference; min. difference a person can detect between 2 stimuli 50%+ of the time

Front 15

weber's law

Back 15

minimum percentage (instead of an amounT) that 2 stimuli must differ by

Front 16

sensory adaptation

Back 16

diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

Front 17

transduction

Back 17

conversion of one form of energy into another (example- sensory stimuli => neural impulses read by the brain)

Front 18

wavelength

Back 18

in terms of light energy: the distance from one peak to the next

Front 19

hue

Back 19

color we experience

Front 20

intensity

Back 20

amount of energy in light waves; determined by amplitude and influences brightness

Front 21

pupil

Back 21

small adjustable opening

Front 22

cornea

Back 22

protects the eye and bends the light for focus

Front 23

iris

Back 23

forms the colored part of the eye, controls the pupil opening

Front 24

lens

Back 24

trasnparent, behind the pupil; changes hsape to focus images on teh retina

Front 25

accommodation

Back 25

the changing of shape of the eye's lens in order to focus images on the retina

Front 26

retina

Back 26

light sensitive inner surface; where the rays focus

Front 27

acuity

Back 27

sharpness of vision

Front 28

nearsightedness

Back 28

see near things; far away: blurry; distnat objects focus in front of retina

Front 29

farsightedness

Back 29

images formed behind the retina; close images- blurry

Front 30

rods

Back 30

retinal receptors;detect black/white/gray -peripheral &twilight vision

Front 31

cones

Back 31

retinal receptors; concentred near center; function in daylight/good lighting; find details and color senations

Front 32

bipolar cells

Back 32

first recieve messages from rods and cones

Front 33

ganglion cells

Back 33

send messages to brain; make up the optic nerves

Front 34

optic nerve

Back 34

nerve carrying neural impulses of sight to the brain

Front 35

optic chiasm

Back 35

optic nerve crossover

Front 36

lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

Back 36

vision area in the thalamus

Front 37

blind spot

Back 37

point at which the optic nerve leaces the eye, creating a _______ where there are no receptor cells

Front 38

fovea

Back 38

central focal point in teh retina

Front 39

feature detectors

Back 39

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific stimuli like shape/angles/movements; gaze distance headangle posture

Front 40

david hubel and torsten wiesel

Back 40

feature detector scientists

Front 41

parallel processing

Back 41

several aspects of the problem solving process happenign simulatenously

Front 42

young-helmholtz trichromatic theory

Back 42

theory stating that the retina has 3 types of color recepts red/green/blue

Front 43

opponet-process theory

Back 43

theory stating that opposing retinal processes enable color vision= stim. red, inhibit green

Front 44

color constancy

Back 44

percieving familiar things as a consistent color even if changing illuminations alters wavelengths reflected

Front 45

audition

Back 45

sense/act of hearing

Front 46

frequency

Back 46

# of complete wavelengths per time; pitch

Front 47

decibels

Back 47

meausre sound energy

Front 48

pitch

Back 48

tones high/low

Front 49

middle ear

Back 49

trainsmits vibrations through three tiny bones: hammer, anvil, stirrup

Front 50

cochlea

Back 50

snail shaped tube with fluid inside vibrates

Front 51

inner ear

Back 51

area of the ear including the cochlea and auditory nerves

Front 52

organ of corti

Back 52

spiral structure within the cochlea containing hair cells sensitive to vibrations

Front 53

place theory

Back 53

theory stating that different pitches => different areas of the cochlea

Front 54

frequency theory

Back 54

theory stating that nerve impulses come at a different rate up the auditory nerve producing different tones

Front 55

sound localization

Back 55

ability to locate the origins of a sound

Front 56

conduction hearing loss

Back 56

caused by mechanical damage i.e. cochlea

Front 57

sensorineural hearing loss

Back 57

nerve deafness; damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or ad autiory nerves (usually due to biolo)

Front 58

cochlear implant

Back 58

device converting sounds into electrical impulses that stimulate the auditory nerve

Front 59

gate-control theory

Back 59

spinal cord contains neurological "gate" that blocks/allows pain signals

Front 60

cutaneous receptors

Back 60

receptors of touch in the skin

Front 61

sensory interaction

Back 61

how one sense influences another (example- smell -> taste)

Front 62

olfaction

Back 62

smell

Front 63

gustation

Back 63

taste sensation

Front 64

umami

Back 64

meaty, savory taste

Front 65

papillae

Back 65

taste buds

Front 66

kinesthesis

Back 66

system for sensing position/movement of individual parts

Front 67

vestibular sense

Back 67

in the ear, contians fluid, helps with balance

Front 68

synthesthesia

Back 68

one sensation causing another (like tasting words, seeing colors, etc)