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Psychology 101 Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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938523033sensationsimple stimulation of a sense organ0
938523034perceptionthe organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representaion1
938523035transductionwhat takes place when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the CNS2
938523036psychophysicsmethods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer's sensitivity to that stimulus3
938523037absolute thresholdthe minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus4
938523038just noticeable differencethe minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected5
938523039Weber's lawthe just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite the variations in intensity6
938523040signal detection theoryan observation that the response to a stimulus depends both on the person's sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person's response criterion7
938523041sensory adaptationsensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions8
938523042retinalight-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball9
938523043accommodationthe process by which the eye maintains a clear image on the retina10
938523044conesvisual receptor cell sensitive to color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail11
938523045rodsphotoreceptors that become active under low-light conditions for night vision12
938523046foveaan area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no rods at all13
938523047blind spota location on the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina because the corresponding area of the retina contains neither rods nor cones and therefore has no mechanism to sense light14
938523048receptive fieldthe region of the sensory surface that, when stimulated, causes a change in the firing rate of that neuron15
938523049binding problema phenomenon that concerns how features are linked together so that we see unified objects in our visual world rather than free-floating or miscombined features16
938523050illusory conjunctiona perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined17
938523051feature integration theorythe idea that focused attention is not required to detect the individual features that comprise a stimulus but is required to bind hose individual features18
938523052perceptual constancya perceptual principle stating that even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains consistant19
938523053monocular depth cuesaspects of a scene that yield info about depth when viewed with only one eye20
938523054binocular disparitythe difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides info about depth21
938523055apparent motionthe perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations22
938523056change blindnessa phenomenon that occurs when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene23
938523057inattentional blindnessa failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention24
938523058pitchhow high or low a sound is25
938523059loudnessa sound's intensity26
938523060timbrea listener's experience of sound quality or resonance27
938523061cochleaa fluid-filled tube that is the organ of auditory transduction28
938523062basilar membranea structure in the inner ear that undulates when vibrations from the ossicles reach the cochlear fluid29
938523063hair cellsspecialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane30
938523064area A1a portion of the temporal lobe that contains the primary auditory cortex31
938523065place codethe mechanisms by which the cochlea encodes different frequencies at different locations along the basilar membrane32
938523066temporal codethe mechanism by which the cochlea registers low frequencies via the firing rate of action potentials entering the auditory nerve33
938523067haptic perceptionthe active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands34
938523068referred painfeeling pain when sensory info from internal and external areas converges on the same nerve cells in the spinal cord35
938523069gate-control theorya theory of pain perception based on the idea that signals arriving from pain receptors in the body can be stopped, or gated, by interneurons in the spinal cord via feedback from two directions36
938523070vestibular systemthe three fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear37
938523071olfactory receptor neuronsreceptor cells that initiate the sense of smell38
938523072olfactory bulba brain structure located above the nasal cavity beneath the frontal lobes39
938523073phereomonesbiochemical odorants emitted by other members on its species that can affect an animals behavior of physiology40
938523074taste budsthe organ of taste transduction41

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