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91 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
sensation |
the process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
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perception |
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
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bottom-up processing top-up processing |
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors & works up to the brain's integration of sensory information info processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. |
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transduction |
conversion of one form of energy into another. in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret. |
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psychophysics |
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them. |
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absolute threshold |
the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time. |
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signal detection theory |
predicting how & when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). assumes there is no single absolute threshold & that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness. |
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subliminal |
below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness. |
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priming |
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response. |
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difference threshold |
the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd). |
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Weber's law |
the principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum %. |
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sensory adaptation |
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant exposure. |
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perceptual set |
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. |
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wavelength |
the distance from the peak of 1 light or sound wave to the peak of the next. electromagnetic wavelengths from the short blips of cosmic ways to the long pulses of radio transmission. |
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hue |
the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light. |
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intensity |
the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness and is determined by the wave's amplitude (height). |
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pupil |
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters. |
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iris |
a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. |
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lens |
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina. |
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retina |
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information. |
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accommodation |
the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. |
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rods |
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond. |
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cones |
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. the cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations. |
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optic nerve |
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. |
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blind spot |
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind spot" because no receptor cells are located there. |
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fovea |
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster. |
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trichromatic theory |
the theory that the retina contains 3 different receptors -- one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue -- which, when stimulated in combo, can produce the perception of any color. |
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opponent-processing theory |
the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision. |
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feature detectors |
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement. |
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parallel processing |
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of info processing for many functions, including vision. |
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gestalt |
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into a meaningful whole. |
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figure-ground |
the organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground) |
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grouping |
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups. |
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depth perception |
the ability to see objects in 3d although images that strike the retina are 2d; allows us to judge distance. |
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visual cliff |
a lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals. |
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binocular cues |
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of 2 eyes. |
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retinal disparity |
by comparing images from the retinas in 2 eyes, the brain computes distance -- the greater the disparity (difference) between the 2 images, the closer the object. |
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monocular cues |
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone. |
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phi phenomenon |
an illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession. |
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perceptual constancy |
perceiving objects as unchanging even as lighting and retinal images change. |
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color constancy |
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing lighting alters wavelengths reflected by the objects. |
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audition |
the sense or act of hearing |
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frequency |
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time |
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pitch |
a tone's experienced highness or lowness and depends on frequency. |
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middle ear |
chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window. |
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cochlea |
a coiled, bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses. |
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inner ear |
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. |
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sensorineural hearing loss |
the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness; caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. |
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conduction hearing loss |
less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. |
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cochlear implant |
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea. |
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place theory |
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated. |
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frequency theory |
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. |
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nociceptors |
sensory receptors that enable the perception of pain in response to potentially harmful stimuli. |
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gate-control theory |
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or info coming from the brain. |
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kinesthesia |
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. |
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vestibular sense |
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance. |
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sensory interaction |
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste. |
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embodied cognition |
in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments. |
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language |
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine to communicate meaning. |
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phoneme |
the smallest distinctive sound unit. |
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morpheme |
the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word. |
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grammar |
a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. |
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semantics |
the set of rules deriving meaning from sounds. |
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syntax |
the set of rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences. |
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babbling stage |
beginning ~4 months of age, the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language. |
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one-word stage |
age 1-2, a child speaks mostly in single words. |
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two-word stage |
~age 2, a child speaks mostly in two word sentences. |
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telegraphic speech |
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs. |
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linguistic determinism |
Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think. |
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intelligence |
the mental potential to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. |
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general intelligence (G) |
a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. |
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savant syndrome |
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental abilities has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing. |
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emotional intelligence |
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. |
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intelligence test |
a method for assessing a person's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores. |
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achievement test |
a test designed to assess what a person has learned. |
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aptitude test |
a test designed to predict a person's future performance |
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aptitude |
capacity to learn. |
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mental age |
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. thus, a child who does as an average 8 year old is said to have a mental age of 8. |
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Stanford-Binet |
the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test. |
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intelligence quotient (IQ) |
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100. |
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Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) |
the WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; contain verbal and performance subtests. |
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standardization |
defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. |
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normal curve |
the bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes, with most scores falling near the average, with a few extreme scores. |
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reliability |
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting. |
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validity |
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. |
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content validity |
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest. |
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predictive validity |
the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict. |
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intellectual disability |
a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of below 70 and difficulty adapting to the demands of life. |
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Down syndrome |
a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. |
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heritability |
the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. |
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stereotype threat |
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. |