Psychology - Terms (Ch 6)

Front 1

bottom-up processing

Back 1

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory info.

Front 2

Top-down processing

Back 2

Info processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectations.

Front 3

Transaction

Back 3

conversation of one form of energy into another. Sights, smells, and sounds transducted into neural impulses our brain can interpret.

Front 4

psychophysics

Back 4

study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli, and psychological experience of them.

Front 5

Signal detection theory

Back 5

predicts when we will detect weak signals (register as hits and false alarms).

Front 6

absolute thresholds

Back 6

the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular light, sound, pressure, taste, or odor 50 percent of the time.

Front 7

Subliminal

Back 7

below the 50 percent threshold.

Front 8

difference threshold

Back 8

the minimum difference b/w two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time.

"Just noticeable difference" ("JND")

Front 9

Weber's law

Back 9

principal that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, rather than a constant amount.

Front 10

perceptual set

Back 10

mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Top-down processing

Front 11

sensory adaptation

Back 11

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Front 12

hue

intensity

wavelength

Back 12

hue - dimension of color that is determined by wavelength of light.

intensity - amount of energy in a light/sound wave, which influenced what we perceive as bright/loud.

wavelength - distance from peak of wave to peak of the next.

Front 13

parts of the eyes

Back 13

Cornea –transparent tissue where light enters eye.

Iris –muscle that expands and contracts to change size of opening (pupil) for light

Lens –focuses light rays on retina. Changes shape (accommodation) to focus.

Retina –contains sensory receptors that process visual info and sends them to thebrain. Light sensitive surface of the eye. Contains rods and cones(photoreceptors).

In addition to layers of other neurons (bipolar, ganglioncells). Considered part of central nervous system.

Front 14

rods

cones

optic nerve

blind spot

fovea

Back 14

rods - black, white, and grey (peripheral and twilight vision)

cones - color vision. Cells clustered near center of retina. (fine detail and well-light conditions)

optic nerve - nerve that carries neural impulses from eye to brain.

blind spot - spot where optic nerve leaves eye. No receptor cells here.

fovea - central focal point in retina around which eye's cones cluster

Front 15

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

helmholtz place theory

Back 15

retina contains three different color receptors (green, blue, and red) which can produce perception of any color.

links pitch we hear to places where cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

Front 16

opponent-process theory

Back 16

idea that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

Front 17

feature detectors

Back 17

nerve cells in brain that respond to specific features of stimulus (like shape).

Front 18

parallel processing

Back 18

processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously. Brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

Front 19

gestalt

Back 19

organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate into info meaningful wholes.

Front 20

binocular cues

monocular cues

Back 20

bin - depth cues, like retinal disparity, that depend on use of two eyes.

mono - depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

Front 21

figure ground

Back 21

organization of the vide dual field into objects that stand out from heir surroundings

Front 22

visual cliff

Back 22

lab device used to test depth perception in infants and young animals

Front 23

retinal disparity

Back 23

a binocular cue for perceiving depth. The greater the difference between two images, the closer the object.

Front 24

phi phenomenon

Back 24

illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Front 25

ganglion cells

Back 25

cell types that contribute axons to the optic nerve

Front 26

optic chasm

Back 26

where optic nerves cross

Front 27

decibels

Back 27

amplitude of sound wave determined loudness. For each 10 decibel increase, the loudness increases tenfold.

Front 28

oval window

conduction deafness

nerve deafness (sensorineural hearing loss)

Back 28

vibrations from eardrum go through OW before reaching the cochlea

damage to middle ear. Suffer from a blow to head or infection. Or injury to outer/middle ear. (fix: hearing aids)

damage to hair cells of inner ear or auditory nerve. Birth complications. Tumors, stroke, toxic substances, etc. (fix: cochlear implant)

Front 29

middle ear

Back 29

space between eardrum and cochlea, where tiny bones concentrate vibrations of eardrum on cochlea's oval window.

Front 30

Anything her than 85 decibels at regular exposure can result in

Back 30

hearing loss

Front 31

frequency theory

Back 31

(or temporal theory) suggests the brain reads pitch by monitoring frequency of neural impulses traveling up auditory nerve.

Argues against the Helmholtz place theory.

Front 32

nociceptors

Back 32

pain receptors that respond to potential harm.

Front 33

gate controll theory

Back 33

theory that spinal cord regulates neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals, or allows them through.

Front 34

vestibular sense

Back 34

monitors head's position and movement.

Front 35

McGurk effect

Back 35

hearing one syllable, seeing another, results in a third, garbled version.