Terms : Hide Images
| 8030192311 | sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment | 0 | |
| 8030192312 | perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events | 1 | |
| 8030192313 | bottom up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information | 2 | |
| 8030192314 | top down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations | 3 | |
| 8030192316 | absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time; illustrated by our awareness of faint stimuli such as seeing a candle flame atop another mountain 30 miles away or smelling a single drop of perfume in a three-room apartment | 4 | |
| 8030192317 | 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 | 5 | |
| 8030192318 | subliminal | below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness | 6 | |
| 8030192319 | priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response | 7 | |
| 8030192320 | difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; we experience this as a *just noticeable difference* | 8 | |
| 8030192321 | Weber's law | the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) For example, you are more likely to notice the cost of a cheeseburger going from $5 to $6 rather than the price of a car going from $20,000 to $20,001 because the cost of the cheeseburger has a lower difference threshold. | 9 | |
| 8030192322 | sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation Ex. Enter a cold pool. Five minutes later you're "used to" the water. | 10 | |
| 8030192323 | 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 | 11 | |
| 8030192325 | hue | the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, etc. | 12 | |
| 8030192327 | pupil | the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |  | 13 |
| 8030192328 | 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 |  | 14 |
| 8030192329 | lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |  | 15 |
| 8030192330 | accommodation | the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina | 16 | |
| 8030192331 | 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 |  | 17 |
| 8030192333 | nearsightedness | a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina | 18 | |
| 8030192334 | farsightedness | a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina | 19 | |
| 8030192335 | rods | receptors in the retina that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and night vision, when cones don't respond | 20 | |
| 8030192336 | cones | receptors in the retina that are concentrated near the center of the retina in the fovea, and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; the cones detect fine detail and COLOR | 21 | |
| 8030192337 | optic nerve | the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain | 22 | |
| 8030192338 | blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there | 23 | |
| 8030192339 | fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster |  | 24 |
| 8030192340 | feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement | 25 | |
| 8030192341 | parallel processing | the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions including vision | 26 | |
| 8030192342 | Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory | 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 | 27 | |
| 8030192343 | 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 (and vice versa) | 28 | |
| 8030192344 | color constancy | perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object | 29 | |
| 8030192345 | audition | the sense or act of hearing | 30 | |
| 8030192347 | pitch | a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency | 31 | |
| 8030192348 | decibel | the measuring unit for sound energy | 32 | |
| 8030192349 | outer ear/Pinna | the visible part of the ear that channels the sound waves through the auditory canal to the eardrum |  | 33 |
| 8030192350 | eardrum | a tight membrane in the inner ear that vibrates with the sound waves |  | 34 |
| 8030192351 | middle ear | the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window |  | 35 |
| 8030192352 | cochlea | a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses |  | 36 |
| 8030192353 | inner ear | the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs |  | 37 |
| 8030192354 | basilar membrane | a structure separating two liquid-filled tubes that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells | 38 | |
| 8030192355 | hair cells | the hairlike sensory receptors for sound, which are embedded in the basilar membrane of the cochlea damage to these accounts for most hearing loss | 39 | |
| 8030192359 | conduction hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea If the eardrum is punctured of if the tiny bones of the middle ear lose their ability to vibrate, the ear's ability to conduct vibrations diminishes. | 40 | |
| 8030192360 | sensorineural hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness causes include: disease, heredity, aging, prolonged exposure, to ear-splitting noise or music | 41 | |
| 8030192361 | cochlear implant | a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea | 42 | |
| 8030192365 | vestibular sense | the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance | 43 | |
| 8030192371 | Gestalt | an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate parts of information into meaningful wholes. Our brain wants to complete images. | 44 | |
| 8036824125 | gate control theory | theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to brain. | 45 |
