Terms from unit on Sensation and Perception in AP Psychology. (Myers for AP 2e)
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| 66904459 | sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. | 0 | |
| 66904460 | perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information; enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. | 1 | |
| 66904461 | bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. | 2 | |
| 66904462 | top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental process, as when we construct perceptions drawing out our experience and expectation. | 3 | |
| 66904463 | psychophysics | the study of relationship between the physical characteristic of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them. | 4 | |
| 66904464 | absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. | 5 | |
| 66904465 | signal detection theory | a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimuli ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assume that there is no single absolute threshold and that focuses more on the processing of briefly stored information. (e.g. what determines a "hit", "miss," "false alarm" or "correct rejection") | 6 | |
| 66904466 | difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; also referred to as just noticeable difference (JND) | 7 | |
| 66904467 | subliminal sensation | detection of stimuli below absolute threshold | 8 | |
| 66904468 | 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). | 9 | |
| 66904469 | sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. | 10 | |
| 66904470 | transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses. | 11 | |
| 66904471 | wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. | 12 | |
| 66904472 | amplitude | height of a wave; influences brightness in visual perception and volume in audition | 13 | |
| 66904473 | hue | the dimension of color that is determine by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth. | 14 | |
| 66904474 | pupil | the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters. | 15 | |
| 66904475 | iris | a ring of muscle tissue that forms the color portions of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. | 16 | |
| 66904476 | lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina. | 17 | |
| 66904477 | accommodation | the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. | 18 | |
| 66904478 | 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. | 19 | |
| 66904482 | rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond. | 20 | |
| 66904483 | cones | receptors cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine details and give rise to color sensation. | 21 | |
| 66904484 | optic nerve | the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. | 22 | |
| 66904485 | blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye; no receptors cells are located there. Creates a gap in our vision that is "filled" by the brain. | 23 | |
| 66904486 | fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster. | 24 | |
| 66904487 | feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimuli, such as shape, angle, or movement. | 25 | |
| 66904488 | parallel processing | the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrast with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving. | 26 | |
| 66904489 | Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic theory | the theory that the retina contains three different colors 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 | |
| 66904490 | Opponent-Process theory | the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; useful for explaining the phenomenon of "after-images" | 28 | |
| 66904491 | color constancy | perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the objects. | 29 | |
| 66904492 | audition | the sense of hearing | 30 | |
| 66904493 | frequency | the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time; determines perception of hue in light and of pitch in sound | 31 | |
| 66904494 | pitch | sound information that depends on frequency (or wavelength) of sound waves | 32 | |
| 66904495 | 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. | 33 | |
| 66904496 | inner ear | the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. | 34 | |
| 66904498 | Place Theory | in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated. | 35 | |
| 66904499 | 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. | 36 | |
| 66904500 | conduction hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. | 37 | |
| 66904501 | sensorineural hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptors cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness. | 38 | |
| 66904502 | gate-control theory | the theory that the spinal cord contains neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is open by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming form the brain. | 39 | |
| 66904504 | kinesthesia | the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts; enabled by feedback from proprioceptors (which provide info about the movement of muscles, tendons, joints); also called "proprioception" | 40 | |
| 66904505 | vestibular sense | the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance; enabled by feedback from semicircular canals in inner ear | 41 | |
| 66904710 | hair cells | finger-like projections on the basilar membrane that stimulate activity of the auditory nerve | 42 | |
| 66904711 | cochlea | snail-shaped tube in the inner ear that contains fluid that moves in response to vibrations, stimulating activity on the basilar membrane | 43 | |
| 66904712 | basilar membrane | area within the cochlea where hair cells are located | 44 | |
| 104422397 | semicircular canals | fluid filled tubes in inner ear that provide information about movement of the head | 45 | |
| 104422398 | Ernst Weber | early psychologist who established that the proportion of difference (rather than absolute difference) between two stimuli that is required for distinguishing between them is constant for particular types of sensation (e.g. weight, brightness, etc). | 46 | |
| 104422399 | Gustav Fechner | often credited with founding "psychophysics" as a subfield of psychology; studied afterimages | 47 | |
| 104422400 | David Hubel & Torsten Wiesel | Nobel-prize-winning researchers who discovered "feature detectors" within the brain | 48 | |
| 104422401 | cochlear implant | a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea | 49 | |
| 104422402 | sensory interaction | the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences taste | 50 | |
| 104422403 | synaesthesia | when one sort of sensation (such as hearing a sound) produces another (such as seeing color) | 51 | |
| 104422404 | olfaction | sense of smell | 52 | |
| 104422405 | prosopagnosia | inability to recognize or perceive faces | 53 | |
| 104422406 | gestalt | a perceptual whole; derived from German word meaning "form" or "whole" | 54 | |
| 104422407 | subliminal | literally, "below threshold"; stimuli too weak to be consistently detected | 55 | |
| 104422408 | selective attention | ability to attend to only a limited amount of sensory information at one time | 56 | |
| 104422409 | cocktail party effect | ability to selectively attend to one voice among many | 57 | |
| 104424237 | figure-ground | A gestalt perceptual phenomenon; the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings | 58 | |
| 104424238 | grouping | the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups | 59 | |
| 104424239 | proximity | Gestalt grouping principle; we group nearby figures together | 60 | |
| 104435178 | similarity | Gestalt grouping principle; we group similar figures together | 61 | |
| 104435179 | continuity | Gestalt grouping principle; our tendency to perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones | 62 | |
| 104435180 | connectedness | Gestalt grouping principle; when objects uniform (in color or texture) are linked (no space exists between them) we perceive them as a single unit | 63 | |
| 104435181 | closure | Gestalt grouping principle; we fill in "gaps" to create a full, complete object | 64 | |
| 104435182 | illusory contours | imagined "boundaries" between one object and other; often created by the perception of "lines" that divide areas of color or texture | 65 | |
| 104435183 | depth perception | the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance | 66 | |
| 104435184 | visual cliff | laboratory device for testing depth perception among infants and young animals; its use demonstrated that, among most species, animals have the ability to perceive depth by the time they are mobile | 67 | |
| 104435185 | binocular cues | depth cues that require the combined input of both eyes | 68 | |
| 104435186 | monocular cues | depth cues that only require input from one eye; often used in 2D art to create illusion of depth | 69 | |
| 104435187 | retinal disparity | a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing the images of the retinas of the two eyes, the brain computes distance. The greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object | 70 | |
| 104435188 | convergence | a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the more the eyes strain to turn inwards to view an object, the closer the object is (note: only a factor at close ranges) | 71 | |
| 105298752 | Wolfgang Kohler | credited with founding Gestalt Psychology | 72 | |
| 105298753 | relative height | monocular cue for depth perception; we perceive objects higher in our visual field to be farther away. Explanation for why the "bottom" of a figure-ground illusion usually is interpreted as the "figure" | 73 | |
| 105298754 | relative size | monocular cue for depth perception; if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image to be farther away | 74 | |
| 105298755 | interposition | monocular cue for depth perception; if one object partially blocks our view of another object, we perceive it as closer | 75 | |
| 105298756 | linear perspective | monocular cue for depth perception; parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance. The more they converge, the greater the perceived distance | 76 | |
| 105298757 | light and shadow | monocular cue for depth perception; nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes...thus, given two identical objects, the dimmer one seems farther away. Also, shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from above. | 77 | |
| 105298758 | relative motion | monocular cue for depth perception; as we move, stationary objects seem to "move" as well. Objects above a fixation point move "with" us, objects below the fixation point move "past" us. | 78 | |
| 105298759 | relative clarity | monocular cue for depth perception; objects that seem "fuzzier" or less clear are perceived to be farther away. | 79 | |
| 105298760 | texture gradient | monocular cue for depth perception; a gradual change from course, distinct texture to fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance | 80 | |
| 105298761 | phi phenomenon | an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in rapid succession | 81 | |
| 105298762 | stroboscopic movement | the brain's perception of continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images; this is how we perceive motion in film and animation | 82 | |
| 105298763 | perceptual constancy | perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change | 83 | |
| 105298764 | perceptual adaptation | the ability to adjust to an altered perceptual reality; in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field (as when wearing visual displacement goggles). | 84 | |
| 105298765 | perceptual set | mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (for example, due to suggestion or expectations based on prior learning) | 85 | |
| 105298767 | extrasensory perception (ESP) | the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition | 86 | |
| 105298768 | parapsychology | the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis | 87 | |
| 105298769 | telepathy | mind-to-mind communication; a person sending thoughts to another or perceiving another's thoughts | 88 | |
| 105298770 | clairvoyance | perceiving remote events, such as sensing that a friend's house is on fire | 89 | |
| 105298771 | precognition | perceiving future events, such as a political leader's death or a sporting event's outcome | 90 | |
| 105298772 | psychokinesis | ability to move objects with one's mind | 91 | |
| 105298773 | Ganzfeld procedure | laboratory procedure used to test powers of extrasensory perception by reducing the distractions of other sensory information (e.g. noise cancelling headphones, ping-pong balls over the eyes, etc.) | 92 | |
| 106699269 | visual capture | the phenomenon that occurs when vision overtakes some other, conflicting sensory input | 93 | |
| 106699270 | change blindness | when paying attention to a specific aspect of a visual scene, we may fail to notice other fairly obvious changes or presentations of stimuli; demonstrated by the door study and the gorilla illusion | 94 | |
| 253407070 | McGurk effect | the same sound (e.g. "ba") can be perceived differently (e.g. "pa" or "fa") when the visual image of the mouth pronouncing it is changed; a classic example of "visual capture" | 95 | |
| 543135297 | bipolar cells | second layer of neurons in the retina that transmit impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells; rods share these, but cones do not | 96 | |
| 543135298 | retinal ganglion cells | the third layer of retinal neurons whose axons leave the eyeball and form the optic nerve. | 97 | |
| 1105494907 | gustation | sense of taste | 98 | |
| 1583835419 | embodied cognition | in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments | 99 | |
| 1583835420 | priming | Activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response | 100 | |
| 1912815248 | nociceptors | Nerve endings that signal the sensation of pain. | 101 |
