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AP Psychology Unit 4 Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology
Enterprise High School, Redding, CA
All terms from Myers Psychology for AP (BFW Worth, 2011)

Terms : Hide Images
7893105016sensationthe process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.0
7893105017perceptionthe process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.1
7893105018bottom-up processinganalysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.2
7893105019top-down processinginformation processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.3
7893105020selective attentionthe focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.4
7893105021inattentional blindnessfailing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.5
7893105022change blindnessfailing to notice changes in the environment.6
7893105023psychophysicsthe study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.7
7893105024absolute thresholdthe minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.8
7893105025signal detection theorya 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 alertness.9
7893105026subliminalbelow one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness10
7893105027primingthe activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.11
7893105028difference thresholdthe minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. Also called the just noticeable difference (jnd).12
7893105029Weber's lawthe principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount).13
7893105030sensory adaptationdiminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.14
7893105031transductionconversion 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
7893105032wavelengththe distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic versions of this vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.16
7893105033huethe dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.17
7893105034intensitythe amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.18
7893105035pupilthe adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.19
7893105036irisa ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.20
7893105037lensthe transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.21
7893105038retinathe light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.22
7893105039accomodationthe process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.23
7893105040rodsretinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.24
7893105041conesretinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. These detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.25
7893105042optic nervethe nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.26
7893105043blind spotthe point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye and no receptor cells are located there.27
7893105044foveathe central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.28
7893105045feature detectorsnerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.29
7893105046parallel processingthe 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.30
7893105047Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theorythe 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.31
7893105048opponent-process theorythe 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.32

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