Ap Psych Ch. 5 & 6 Sensation And Perception

Front 1

Parallel Processing

Back 1

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step processing of most computers and conscious problem solving.

Front 2

Blind Spot

Back 2

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind spot" because no receptor cells are located there.

Front 3

Optic Nerve

Back 3

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Front 4

Fovea

Back 4

The central focus point in the retina, around which the eye's cone clusters.

Front 5

Feature Detectors

Back 5

nerve cells in the brain that respond to the specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

Front 6

Cones

Back 6

receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensation.

Front 7

Rods

Back 7

The light-sensitive receptors in the retina that provide vision in dim light in black, white and shades of grey

Front 8

Sensation

Back 8

The process through which the senses pick up visual, auditory and other stimuli and transmit them to the brain; sensory information that has registered in the brain but has not been interpreted

Front 9

Perception

Back 9

The minimum amount of sensory stimulation that can be detected 50 % of the time

Front 10

Absolute Threshold

Back 10

The minimum amount of sensory stimulation that can be detected 50 % of the time

Front 11

The Difference Threshold

Back 11

The smallest increase or decrease in physical stimulus required to produce a difference in sensation that is noticeable 50% of the time

Front 12

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

Back 12

The smallest change in sensation that we can detect 50% of the time

Front 13

Weber's Law

Back 13

The law stating that the just noticeable difference(JND) for all our senses depends on apportion or percentage of change in a stimulus rather than on a fixed amount of change

Front 14

Signal Detection Theory

Back 14

The view that detection of a sensory stimulus involves both discriminating a stimulus from background noise and deciding whether the stimulus is actually present

Front 15

Sensory Receptors

Back 15

specialized cells in sense organs that detect and respond to sensory stimuli (alight, sound, odors,etc.)and convert the stimuli to neural impulse

Front 16

Transduction

Back 16

The process by which sensory receptors convert sensory stimulation into neural impulses

Front 17

Sensory Adaptation

Back 17

The process of becoming less sensitive to an unchanging sensory stimulus over time

Front 18

Cornea

Back 18

The transparent covering of the coloured part of the eye that bends light rays inward through the pupil

Front 19

Lens

Back 19

The transparent structure behind the iris that changes in shape as it focuses images on the retina

Front 20

Retina

Back 20

The tissue at the back of the eye that contains the rods and cones and onto which the retinal image is projected

Front 21

Accommodation

Back 21

The changing in shape of the lens as it focuses on the retina; it becomes more spherical for near objects and flatter for far objects

Front 22

ADAPTATION

Back 22

process by which our senses adjust to different levels of stimulation -when you go from bright light to dim can see little-with time (10 min)cones become more sensitive-rods continue adapting for about 30 minutes

Front 23

Dark Adaptation

Back 23

The eye's increasing ability to see in dim light; results partly from dilation of the pupil

Front 24

Hue

Back 24

The property of light commonly referred to as colour (red,blue,green,etc.) determined primarily by the wavelength of light reflected from a surface

Front 25

Saturation

Back 25

The degree to which light waves producing a colour are the same wavelength; the purity of the colour

Front 26

Brightness

Back 26

The dimension of visual sensation that is dependent on the intensity of light reflected from the surface and that corresponds to the amplitude of the light wave

Front 27

Trichromatic Theory

Back 27

Theory of colour vision suggests that three are primarily 3 types of cones which are maximally sensitive to red green, or blue and that the varying levels of activity in these receptors can produce all of the colours

Front 28

Opponent-process theory

Back 28

The theory that certain cells in the visual system increase their firing rate to signal one colour and decrease their firing rate to signal the opposing colour (red/green,yellow/blue,whit/black)

Front 29

Afterimage

Back 29

the visual sensation that remains after a stimulus is withdrawn

Front 30

Frequency

Back 30

Measured in the unit hertz, the number of sound waves or cycles per second, determining the pitch of sound

Front 31

Amplitude

Back 31

measured in decibels, the magnitude or intensity of a sound wave, determining the loudness of the sound; in vision the amplitude of a light wave affects the brightness

Front 32

Audition

Back 32

The sensation of hearing, the process of hearing

Front 33

Outer ear

Back 33

The visible part of the ear, consisting of the pinna and the auditory canal

Front 34

Middle Ear

Back 34

The portion of the ear containing ossicles which connect the eardrum to the oval window and amplify the vibrations as they travel to the inner ear

Front 35

Inner Ear

Back 35

The innermost portion of the ear containing the cochlea, vestibular sacs, and the semicircular canals

Front 36

Cochlea

Back 36

The snail-shaped fluid-filled organ in the inner ear that contains the hair cells (sound receptors)

Front 37

Hair Cells

Back 37

Sensory receptors for hearing, found in cochlea

Front 38

Place Theory

Back 38

The theory that sound of different frequencies or pitch cause maximum activation of hair cells at certain locations along the basilar membrane

Front 39

Frequency Theory

Back 39

Theory that hair cell receptors vibrate the same number of times as the sounds that reach them, accounting for the way variations in pitch are transmitted to the brain

Front 40

Gate Control Theory

Back 40

The theory that the pain signals transmitted by slow firing nerve fibres can be blocked at the spinal gate if fast firing fibres get their message to the spinal cord first, or if the brain itself inhibits the transmission of the pain message

Front 41

Farsightedness

Back 41

A condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly then near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina.

Front 42

Nearsightedness

Back 42

A condition where near objects are seen more clearly than disant objects because the lens focuses the images of distant objects in front of the retina

Front 43

Acuity

Back 43

The sharpness of vision.

Front 44

Iris

Back 44

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.

Front 45

Psychophysics

Back 45

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.

Front 46

top-down processing

Back 46

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

Front 47

bottom-up processing

Back 47

analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information.