AP Psychology Chapter 5

43676372	sensation	the process by which our sensory receptors and nervious system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
43676373	perception	the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
43676374	bottom-up processing	analysis the begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
43676375	top-down processing	information processing guided by higher-level mental process, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
43676376	psychophysics	the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience on them
43676377	absolute threshold	the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
43676378	signal detection theory	a theory predicting how and when we predict the presence of a faint stimulus aid background stimulation assumes that their is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations
43676379	subliminal	below one's bsolute threshold for consious awereness
43676380	sensory adaptation	diminish sensitivity as a consequence of a constant stimulation
43676381	transduction	covergent of one form of energy into another
43676382	wavelength	the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.
43676383	hue	the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light
43676384	intensity	the amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness
43676385	pupil	the adjustible opening of the center of the eye in which light enters
43676386	iris	a ring of muscle tissue that forms the color portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the sizes of the pupil opening
43676387	lens	the transperent structures behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
43676388	accommodation	the process by which the eyes lens change shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
43676389	retina	the light sensitive inner surface of the eye
43676390	acuity	the sharpness of vision
43676391	nearsightedness	a condition in which near by objects are seen more clearly than distant objects
43676392	farsightedness	a condtions in which far away objects are clearly than near objects
43676393	rods	retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey neccessary for peripheral and twilight vision
43676394	cones	receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight in well lit conditions
43676395	optic nerve	the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
43676396	blind spot	the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creating a "blind spot"
43676397	fovea	the central focal point in the retina around which the eye's cones cluster
43676398	feature detectos	nerve cells in the brain that respond to the specifc features of the stimulis such as shape, angle. or movement
43676399	parallel processing	the procesing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously. (more than one thing at a time)
43676400	Young-Helmholtz trichomatic theory	the theory that the retina contains 3 different colors receptors such as red, blue, and green
43676401	opponent-process theory	the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision
43676402	color constancy	perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color even if changing illumination alters he wavelenght reflected by the object
43676403	audition	the sense of hearing
43676404	frequency	the number of complete wavelenght that pass a point in a given time
43676405	pitch	a tone's highness or lowness: depends on frequency
43676406	place theory	in hearing the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated
43676407	frequency theory	in hearing the theory that the rate of nerve impulses travelling of the auditory nerve matches the frequence of a tone
43676408	conduction hearing loss	hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sounds waves cochlea
43676409	sensorineural hearing loss	hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves
43676410	gate-control theory	the theory that the spinal cord contains a neuralogical "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows then to pass on to the brain
43676411	sensory interaction	the principle that one sense may influence another as when the smell of food influence it's taste
43676412	kinesthesis	the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
43676413	vestibular sense	the sense of body movement and postion including the sense of balance
43676414	middle ear	the chamber between the ear drum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones that concentrate vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window
43676415	inner ear	the innermost part of the ear containing the cochlea semicercular canals and vestibulars sacs
43676416	cochlea	a coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impluses
43676417	difference thereshold	the minimum difference beetween two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of time
43676418	Weber's law	the principle that to be perceived as different 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage