Terms : Hide Images
| 6079545265 | Sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. | 0 | |
| 6079545266 | Perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. | 1 | |
| 6079545267 | Bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. | 2 | |
| 6079545268 | Top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations | 3 | |
| 6079545269 | Selective attention | the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus | 4 | |
| 6079545270 | Inattentional blindness | failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere | 5 | |
| 6079545271 | Change blindness | failing to notice changes in the environment | 6 | |
| 6079545272 | Psychophysics | the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them | 7 | |
| 6079545273 | Absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time | 8 | |
| 6079545274 | Signal detection theory | a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue | 9 | |
| 6079545275 | Subliminal | below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness | 10 | |
| 6079545276 | Priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory | 11 | |
| 6079545277 | Difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time | 12 | |
| 6079545278 | Weber's Law | the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage | 13 | |
| 6079545279 | Sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation | 14 | |
| 6079545280 | 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 brains can interpret | 15 | |
| 6079545281 | Wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission | 16 | |
| 6079545282 | Hue | the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth | 17 | |
| 6079545283 | Intensity | the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude | 18 | |
| 6079545284 | Pupil | the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters | 19 | |
| 6079545285 | 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 | 20 | |
| 6079545286 | Lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina | 21 | |
| 6079545287 | Feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement | 22 | |
| 6079545288 | Parallel processing | the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving | 23 | |
| 6079545289 | 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 | 24 | |
| 6079545290 | Accommodation | the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina | 25 | |
| 6079545291 | Rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond | 26 | |
| 6079545292 | 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 | 27 | |
| 6079545293 | Optic nerve | the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain | 28 | |
| 6079545294 | Blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there | 29 | |
| 6079545295 | Fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster | 30 | |
| 6079545296 | Opponent process theory | the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green | 31 | |
| 6079545297 | Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory (three color) | the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color | 32 | |
| 6079545298 | Audition | the sense or act of hearing | 33 | |
| 6079545299 | Frequency | 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 | 34 | |
| 6079545300 | Pitch | a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency | 35 | |
| 6079545301 | Middle ear | the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window | 36 | |
| 6079545302 | Cochlea | a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses | 37 | |
| 6079545303 | Inner ear | the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs | 38 | |
| 6079545304 | Place theory | in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated | 39 | |
| 6079545305 | 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 | 40 | |
| 6079545306 | Conduction hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea | 41 | |
| 6079545307 | Cochlear implant | a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea | 42 | |
| 6079545308 | Kinesthesis | the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts | 43 | |
| 6079545309 | Vestibular sense | the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance | 44 | |
| 6079545310 | 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 by information coming from the brain | 45 | |
| 6079545311 | Sensory interaction | the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste | 46 | |
| 6079545312 | Consciousness | our awareness of ourselves and our environment | 47 | |
| 6079545313 | Circadian rhythm | the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle | 48 | |
| 6079545314 | REM sleep | rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active | 49 | |
| 6079545315 | Alpha waves | the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state | 50 | |
| 6079545316 | Delta waves | the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep | 51 | |
| 6079545317 | NREM sleep | non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep | 52 | |
| 6079545318 | Insomnia | recurring problems in falling or staying asleep | 53 | |
| 6079545319 | Narcolepsy | a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times | 54 | |
| 6079545320 | Sleep apnea | a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings | 55 | |
| 6079545321 | Night terrors | a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered | 56 | |
| 6079545322 | Dream | a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it | 57 | |
| 6079545323 | Manifest content | according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content) | 58 | |
| 6079545324 | Latent content | according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream | 59 | |
| 6079545325 | REM rebound | the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep) | 60 | |
| 6079545326 | Psychoactive drugs | a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods | 61 | |
| 6079545327 | Barbiturates | drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment | 62 | |
| 6079545328 | Opiates | opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety | 63 | |
| 6079545329 | Stimulants | drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions | 64 | |
| 6079545330 | Amphetamines | drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes | 65 | |
| 6079545331 | Methamphetamine | a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels | 66 | |
| 6079545332 | Ecstasy (MDMA) | a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition | 67 | |
| 6079545333 | LSD | a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid | 68 | |
| 6079545334 | THC | the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations | 69 | |
| 6079545335 | Hallucinogens | psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input | 70 |
