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| The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment | ||
| The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events | ||
| Analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to te brain's integration of sensory information | ||
| Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes | ||
| The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them | ||
| The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time | ||
| A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise | ||
| Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness | ||
| The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time | ||
| The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage | ||
| Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation | ||
| Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses | ||
| The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next | ||
| The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light (blue, green, red, etc.) | ||
| The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude | ||
| The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters | ||
| A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening | ||
| The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina | ||
| The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the 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 | ||
| The sharpness of vision | ||
| A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina | ||
| A condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina | ||
| Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond | ||
| Receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations | ||
| The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eyes to the brain | ||
| The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there | ||
| The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster | ||
| Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement | ||
| The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously | ||
| The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors (red, green, blue) which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color | ||
| The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision | ||
| Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object | ||
| The sense of hearing | ||
| The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time | ||
| A tone's highness or lowness; depends on frequency | ||
| The chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea containing three tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window | ||
| The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs | ||
| A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses | ||
| In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated | ||
| 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 | ||
| Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea | ||
| Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves | ||
| 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 | ||
| The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste | ||
| The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts | ||
| The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance |
