Psychology Chapter Four

Front 1

synesthesia

Back 1

the perceptual experience of one sense that is evoked by another sense

Front 2

sensation

Back 2

simple awareness due to the stimulation of a sense organ

Front 3

perception

Back 3

the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation.

Front 4

transduction

Back 4

when any sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into neural signals sent to the central nervous system.

Front 5

psychophysics

Back 5

methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observers sensitivity to that stimulus

Front 6

absolute threshold

Back 6

the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus

Front 7

threshold

Back 7

boundary

Front 8

Just noticeable difference (JND)

Back 8

the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

Front 9

weber's law

Back 9

the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity.

Front 10

signal detection theory

Back 10

the response to a stimulus depends both on a persons sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a persons response criterion.

Front 11

perceptual senstivity

Back 11

how effectively the perceptual system represents sensory events separatly fromt he observer's decision-making strategy.

Front 12

sensory adaptation

Back 12

sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions

Front 13

visual acuity

Back 13

the ability to see fine detail

Front 14

length of wavelength

Back 14

determines the hue

Front 15

amplitude of wavelength

Back 15

determines what we perceive as the brightness of light

Front 16

synesthesia

Back 16

the perceptual experience of one sense that is evoked by another sense

Front 17

sensation

Back 17

simple awareness due to the stimulation of a sense organ

Front 18

perception

Back 18

the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation.

Front 19

transduction

Back 19

when any sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into neural signals sent to the central nervous system.

Front 20

psychophysics

Back 20

methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observers sensitivity to that stimulus

Front 21

absolute threshold

Back 21

the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus

Front 22

threshold

Back 22

boundary

Front 23

Just noticeable difference (JND)

Back 23

the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

Front 24

weber's law

Back 24

the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity.

Front 25

signal detection theory

Back 25

the response to a stimulus depends both on a persons sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a persons response criterion.

Front 26

perceptual senstivity

Back 26

how effectively the perceptual system represents sensory events separatly fromt he observer's decision-making strategy.

Front 27

sensory adaptation

Back 27

sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions

Front 28

visual acuity

Back 28

the ability to see fine detail

Front 29

length of wavelength

Back 29

determines the hue

Front 30

amplitude of wavelength

Back 30

determines what we perceive as the brightness of light

Front 31

purity of wavelength

Back 31

number of wavelengths that make up the light, richness of color

Front 32

cornea

Back 32

first step of eyes, clear smooth outer tissue bends lightwave

Front 33

pupil

Back 33

hole in the colored part of the eye

Front 34

iris

Back 34

colored part of the eye translucent muscle controls the size of the pupil

Front 35

light adaptation

Back 35

lightsenstive cells adapt to the brighter light level

Front 36

retina

Back 36

light senstive tissue lining the back of the eyeball

Front 37

accomodation

Back 37

the process by which the eye maintains a clear image on the retina

Front 38

cones

Back 38

photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail

Front 39

rods

Back 39

photoreceptors that become active only under low-light conditions for night vision, shades of gray mostly seen

Front 40

fovea

Back 40

an area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no rods at all

Front 41

dark adaptation

Back 41

pupils enlarge to let in more light

Front 42

inner layer of the retina

Back 42

photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)

Front 43

Middle layer of retina

Back 43

bipolar cells which collect neural signals from the rods and cones and transmit them to the outermost layer of the retina

Front 44

outermost layer of retina

Back 44

RGC's organize the signals and send them to the brain.

Front 45

blind spot

Back 45

contains neither rods nor cones and therefore has no mechanism to sense light

Front 46

purity of wavelength

Back 46

number of wavelengths that make up the light, richness of color

Front 47

cornea

Back 47

first step of eyes, clear smooth outer tissue bends lightwave

Front 48

pupil

Back 48

hole in the colored part of the eye

Front 49

iris

Back 49

colored part of the eye translucent muscle controls the size of the pupil

Front 50

light adaptation

Back 50

lightsenstive cells adapt to the brighter light level

Front 51

retina

Back 51

light senstive tissue lining the back of the eyeball

Front 52

accomodation

Back 52

the process by which the eye maintains a clear image on the retina

Front 53

cones

Back 53

photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail

Front 54

rods

Back 54

photoreceptors that become active only under low-light conditions for night vision, shades of gray mostly seen

Front 55

fovea

Back 55

an area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no rods at all

Front 56

dark adaptation

Back 56

pupils enlarge to let in more light

Front 57

inner layer of the retina

Back 57

photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)

Front 58

Middle layer of retina

Back 58

bipolar cells which collect neural signals from the rods and cones and transmit them to the outermost layer of the retina

Front 59

outermost layer of retina

Back 59

RGC's organize the signals and send them to the brain.

Front 60

blind spot

Back 60

contains neither rods nor cones and therefore has no mechanism to sense light

Front 61

receptive field

Back 61

the region of the sensory surface that, when stimulated, causes a change in the firing rate of that neuron.

Front 62

on-center cell

Back 62

excitatory zone surrounded by inhibitory zone

Front 63

off-center cell

Back 63

central inhibitory zone surrounded by excitatory zone

Front 64

additive color mixing

Back 64

increasing light to create color

Front 65

subtractive color mixing

Back 65

removing light form the mix

Front 66

three cone types

Back 66

one responds best to short wavelengths, one responds best to medium waelength third responds best to long wavelength

Front 67

trichromatic color representation

Back 67

pattern of responding across the three types of cones that provides a unique code for each color.

Front 68

sensory adaptation

Back 68

occurs because our sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time

Front 69

color-opponent system

Back 69

pairs of visual neurons work in opposition

Front 70

receptive field

Back 70

the region of the sensory surface that, when stimulated, causes a change in the firing rate of that neuron.

Front 71

on-center cell

Back 71

excitatory zone surrounded by inhibitory zone

Front 72

off-center cell

Back 72

central inhibitory zone surrounded by excitatory zone

Front 73

additive color mixing

Back 73

increasing light to create color

Front 74

subtractive color mixing

Back 74

removing light form the mix

Front 75

three cone types

Back 75

one responds best to short wavelengths, one responds best to medium waelength third responds best to long wavelength

Front 76

trichromatic color representation

Back 76

pattern of responding across the three types of cones that provides a unique code for each color.

Front 77

sensory adaptation

Back 77

occurs because our sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time

Front 78

color-opponent system

Back 78

pairs of visual neurons work in opposition

Front 79

area V1

Back 79

the part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex

Front 80

the ventral stream

Back 80

travels into the lower level of teh temporal lobes and includes brain areas that represents an objects shape and identity

Front 81

the dorsal stream

Back 81

goes from the occipital to the parietal lobes connecting with the brain areas that identify the location and motion of an object

Front 82

visual-form agnosia

Back 82

the inability to recognize objects by sight

Front 83

modular view

Back 83

that specialized brain areas, or modules, detect nd represent faces or house or even body parts

Front 84

distributed representation

Back 84

object of categories challenge the modular view

Front 85

fMRI

Back 85

investigate whether specialized neurons like these operate in the human brain

Front 86

perceptual constancy

Back 86

even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains consistent

Front 87

simplicity

Back 87

basic rule in science that the simplest explanation is usually the best

Front 88

closure

Back 88

tedn to fill in missing elements of a visual scene

Front 89

continuity

Back 89

edges or contours that have the same orientaton have what the gestaltist called "good continuation"

Front 90

similarity

Back 90

regions that are similar in color, lightness, shape, or texture aer perceived as belonging to the same object

Front 91

proximity

Back 91

objects that are close togther tend to be grouped together

Front 92

common fate

Back 92

elements of a visual image that mve together are precieved as parts of a single moving object

Front 93

template

Back 93

mental representation that can be directly compared to a veiwed shape in the retinal image

Front 94

parts based object recognition

Back 94

theories propose instead that the brain deconstructs viewed objects into a collection of parts

Front 95

monocular depth cues

Back 95

aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only one eye

Front 96

linear perspective

Back 96

phenomenon that parallel lines seem to converge that they recede into the distance

Front 97

texture gradient

Back 97

view a more or less uniformly patterned surface becasue te size of the pattern elements

Front 98

interposition

Back 98

occurs when one object partly blocks another

Front 99

relative height in the image

Back 99

depends on your field of vision

Front 100

binocular disparity

Back 100

the difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provide information about depth

Front 101

motion parallax

Back 101

a depth cue based on the movement of the head over time

Front 102

optic flow

Back 102

the pattern of motion that accompanies on observers forward movement through a scene, is a form of motion parallax

Front 103

apparent motion

Back 103

the perecption fo movement as a result of alternating siganls appearing in rapid succession in different locations

Front 104

pitch

Back 104

how high or low a sound is

Front 105

loudness

Back 105

a sound's intensity

Front 106

timbre

Back 106

a listener's experience of sound quality or resonance

Front 107

cochlea

Back 107

a fluid-filled tube that is the organ of auditory transduction

Front 108

basilar membrane

Back 108

a structure in the inner ear that undulates when vibrations from the ossicles reach the cochlear fluid

Front 109

hair cells

Back 109

specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane

Front 110

area A1

Back 110

a portion of the temporal lobe that contains the primary auditory cortex

Front 111

place code

Back 111

the cochlea encodes different frequencies at different locations along the basilar membrane

Front 112

temporal code

Back 112

the cochlea registers low frequencies via the firing rate of action potentials entering the auditory nerve