| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Sensation | the raw data of experience; sensory stimulation; example are eyes only register light energy and ears only register wave energy |
| difference threshold | Just Noticeable Difference (JND); the smallest change in stimulation that you can detect 50% of the time; differs from one person to the other (and from moment to moment); tells us the flexibility of sensory systems |
| perception | the mental process of sorting, identifying, and arranging raw sensory data into meaningful patterns; Ex. how we distinguish between music and crying, how we take light and form a tree |
| Weber's law | developed the 1930s by Ernst Weber; the principle that accounts for how one notices JND for any cents by noticing a fraction or proportion of a stimulus; change necessary for JND-hearing 0.3%, taste 20%, weight 2% |
| Cornea | transparent protective coating over the front of the eye |
| Pupil | small opening in the center of the iris; color part of the eye |
| Adaptation | process by which our senses adjust to different levels of stimulation; in addition there are two types-light and dark; the sensitivity of rods and cones change accord how much light is available |
| Iris | the color part of the eye; made of muscle that contracts/relaxes to control the size of the people allowing light to enter the eye |
| Lens | transparent part of the eye behind the iris; focuses light on the retina; change shape to focus on objects;-if object is closed, muscles attach to the land contract to make lens around,-if object is far away, the muscles pull to flatten the lens |
| Rods | visual receptor cell; located in retina; 120 million in each eye; respond to varying degrees of light and dark; chiefly responsible for night vision and perception of brightness |
| Retina | the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eyeball; contains receptor cells |
| Cones | visual receptor cells; located in retina; 8 million in each eye; works best in bright light; chiefly responsible for viewing color; greatest density in the fovea |
| Fovea | located on retina, directly behind lens; is a depressed spot; Center a visual field; images are sharpest here; contains mostly cones |
| bipolar cells | specialize neuron located in the eye; as one dendrite and one axon; connects rods/cones to ganglion cells |
| light | electromagnetic energy; eyes are sensitive to this energy |
| visual acuity | the ability to distinguish fine details; acuity-Greek word for sharp |
| wavelengths | physical energy |
| dark adaptation | process by which rods and cones become more sensitive to light in lower levels of light; maximum sensitivity is achieved in 30 minutes; in dark, there is not enough energy to see colors, therefore only see black, white, gray |
| light adaptation | process by which rods and cones become less sensitive to light in increased levels of light; takes approximately 1 minute to adjust |
| optic chiasm | located near the base of the brain; point where some the fibers in the optic nerve crossover to the other side of the brain |
| afterimage | sensory experience that occurs after a visual experience has been removed; when eyes adjust to stimulation (or lack of) but they do not completely adjust/adapt |
| hue | color, or aspects of colors; most people can name 150 |
| ganglion cells | neurons that connect the bipolar cells to the optic nerve; an interneuron; one million in each eye; summarizes and organizes data from rods/cones and sends it to the brain |
| saturation | how rich or vivid a color is, deep/saturated |
| optic nerve | bundle of axons from ganglion cells that carries no messages from the eye to the brain |
| brightness | how bright or dark a color is; based on the strength of light entering your eyes |
| blind spot | place on the retina out where the ganglion cells axons leads the eye; no receptors fantasy rods/cones) are located here |
| additive color mixing | mixing light waves to create new hues privacy colors) |
| subtractive color mixing | mixing of pigments to create hues; depending on the pigment, light may be absorbed or reflected |
| dichromats | people who only see two of the three primary colors; blind to read-green or blue-yellow; colorblind individuals |
| trichromatic theory | created by Hermann von Helmholtz; theory of color vision based on additive color mixing; suggest that the retina contains three types of color receptors, cones: red, green, blue |
| opponent-process theory | created by Edward Hering; alternative theory used to explain after images; suggest that the retina contains three pairs color receptors or cones-yellow-blue, red-green, black-white; pairs work in opposition |
| colorblindness | inability to see certain color combinations: red-green or blue-yellow; 10% are male and 1% are female |
| sound | brains interpretation to changes in air pressure purposely soundwaves) as it passes through the ear |
| trichromats | individuals with normal color vision |
| soundwaves | changes in air pressure caused when the molecules of air or fluid collide with one another and move apart again |
| monochromats | individuals who see no color at all; respond only to shades of light and dark; very rare |
| ossicles | the middle ear; contains the hammer, anvil, and stirrup which are the smallest three bones the body; when the eardrum quivers it causes the hammer, anvil, and stirrup to hit each other in sequence, then carry the vibrations to the inner ear; stirrup catch the oval window |
| frequency | the number of cycles per second in a soundwaves; the primary determinant of page; expressed in hertz (Hz) unit |
| Hertz (Hz) | unit that measures frequency a soundwaves or cycles per second |
| Timbre | the quality or texture of sound; caused by overtones |
| Pitch | auditory experience corresponding to the frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or lower tone; humans respond to 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz |
| absolute threshold | minimal amount of energy required to produce any sensation; taste-1 g salt and 500 L of water, smell-one draw perfume in a three room apartment, touch-wing of the bee at 1 cm, hearing-pick of the watch 20 feet in a quiet room, vision-candle flame 30 miles on a clear night |
| Hammer, anvil, and stirrup | middle ear; free tiniest bones in the body; quivering of eardrum causes these bounds to hate in sequence and carry vibrations to the oval window |
| amplitude | the magnitude of the way; combined with frequency, it determines loudness; measured in decibels |
| oval window | membrane between the middle and inner ear; attach to stirrup of middle ear and cochlea of the inner ear; since vibrations to the cochlea |
| decibel (dB) | unit of measurement; measures loudness |
| round window | located just below the oval window; equalize pressure in the inner ear |
| overtones | tones that result from soundwaves that are multiples of the basic town; primary determinant of timbre; created by musical instruments |
| cochlea | snail-shaped structure in the inner ear; contains fluid that vibrate; attach the oval window and basilar membrane |
| basilar membrane | part of the inner ear; divides the cochlea lengthwise; stiff near the oval window but becomes flexible by the other end; as the fluid in the cochlea begins to move, the basilar membrane ripples in response |
| volley principle | a modified or refined frequency theory; suggest that the auditory neurons fire in the sequence increasing to a rapid series of impulses; the complete pattern corresponds to the frequency of a soundwave |
| organ of Corti | part of the inner ear; structure on service and basilar membrane that connects thousands of tiny hair cells (receptor cells) for hearing; each hair is taught by fibers that push and pull the vibrations of the basilar membrane and brain pools the information |
| olfactory epithelium | patch of tissue in nasal cavity that contains receptor cells |
| auditory nerve | bundle of axons from the organ of Corti to the brain |
| olfactory bulb | axons of olfactory epithelium connects to olfactory bulb, which is considered the smell center of the brain; olfactory bulb records messages and send them to the temporal lobe and brain core |
| Place theory | one unto basic views of pitch discrimination; brain determines pitch by the place on the basilar membrane with the messages strongest; the highest frequency sounds cause the greatest vibrations at the stiff base of the basilar membrane |
| pheromones | often considered a nonfunctional relic of human past; it animals, it provides information about another animals identity or status (i.e. stress); secreted by glands or in urine that has effects on other animals behavior; stimulates vomeronasal organ (VNO); colorless molecules |
| vomeronasal organ (VNO) | located in the root of the nasal cavity; stimulated by pheromones; sends messages to a second olfactory bulb (and animals) that is designed to enter their mobile communication; activates hypothalamus and amygdala; dismissed as nonfunctional in humans |
| taste buds | receptor cells onsides, depth, and back of tongue; pairs with smell to determine flavors; recognizes for basic taste qualities: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; adults have 10,000 but they decrease with age; research looking at umami<-- sensitivity to MSG and proteins |
| vestibular sense | sense of equilibrium-orientation and/or position in space; originates in inner ear-movement of fluid in the semicircular canals relays messages about speed and direction of body rotation |
| papillae | small bulbs on tongue that contain taste buds; the eye and replace every seven days |
| semicircular canals | three circular-like canals attached to the cochlea their relays messages about speed and direction of body rotation (vestibular sense) |
| kinesthetic senses | sense of muscle movement, posture, and strain on muscles/joints; provides information on speed and direction of movement; works with vestibular sense |
| vestibular sacs | two sacks in the inner ear by the semicircular canals that since gravitation forward, backward, and vertical movement |
| stretch receptors | works with kinesthetic senses; specialized nerve endings that are attached to muscle fibers that sense of muscle stretches and contractions |
| gate control theory | theory of pain sensitivity; suggest that there is a "neurological gate" in spinal cord that controls transmission of pain impulses to the brain; individual differences vary the control of the gate |
| golgi tendon organs | works with kinesthetic senses; specialized nerve endings attached to tendon (attaches muscles and bones) and sense movement |
| placebo effect | pain relief that occurs when a person believes that a pill or procedure will reduce pain; most likely caused by endorphin release |
| figure/ground | a gestalt-like illusion; an illusion where a figure of merges from the background (ground) using perceptual cues |
| shape constancy | tendency to see an object as the same shape no matter the angle it is viewed from; example-closed door collusion |
| brightness constancy | tendency to see an object |
| feature detectors | specialized brain cells that respond to particular elements such as movement or lines; discovered by David Hubel and Torsten Weisel |
| color constancy | tendency to perceive familiar objects as a color despite changes in sensory information; example-blue under fluorescent lights but not so blue and natural light--> it is still blue |
| perceptual constancy | tendency to see/perceive objects as stable and unchanging; example-a white house is still white no matter the elimination or angle |
| binocular cues | visual messages/cues that only require one eye |
| size constancy | the perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed; example someone height |
| binoculars cues | visual messages/cues that require the use of two eyes |
| superposition | an object appears closer because the images superimposed on the top of the other image; example-one card laying on top of another card |
| shadowing | illusion that gives depth to spherical objects to give it a three-dimensional quality |
| linear perspective | binocular cue; used to cue distance in depth by allowing two parallel lines to come together at a horizon |
| motion parallex | binocular distance cubed; objects close to you seem to move in the direction opposite from the way in which your head is moving; objects far away seem to move in the same direction; example-when you're driving in the car |
| aerial perspective | binocular cue; just distance and death; distant objects appear hazy and blurred |
| stereoscopic vision | combination of two retinal images to give a 3-D perceptual experience |
| elevation | suggestion of depth because one object is appreciatively smaller; vestibular |
| retinal disparity | binocular distance cue; based on the overlay of two retinal fields when both eyes focus on one object |
| texture gradient | binocular cue; judges distance and death in the objects in the foreground are large and clear but distant objects are smooth and less textured |
| convergence | binoculars cue; visual depth cue; muscles controlling eye movement as the eyes turned inward to view a nearby stimulus |
| monaural cues | cues sound location that requires just one ear |
| binaural cues | cues sound location that requires both ears |
| autokinetic illusion | illusion of apparent movement; when a stationary object is perceived to move |
| stroboscopic motion | illusion of apparent movement; result from flashing a series of still pictures in rapid succession; example-motion picture |
| phi phenomenon | illusion of apparent movement; caused by flashing lights in the sequence; example-neon lights |
| physical illusion | optical phenomenon; illusion produced by reflection of light into hot air; example-mirage |
| perceptual illusion | illusion due to misleading cues in stimuli; inaccurate or impossible perceptions |
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