AP Psych Ch. 3
Order by
53 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 psychophysics | study of the relationship between physical stimulation and subjective sensations |
| absolute threshold | smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected |
| signal-detection theory | theory that detecting a stimulus is jointly determined by the signal and the subject's response criterion |
| just noticeable difference | smallest amount of change in a stimulus that can be detected |
| Weber's law | principle that the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity |
| cornea | clear outer membrane that bends light so that it is sharply focused in the eye |
| iris | ring of muscle tissue that gives eyes their color and controls the size of the pupil |
| pupil | small round hole in the iris of the eye through which light passes |
| lens | transparent structure in the eye that focuses light on the retina |
| accommodation | visual proces by which lenses become rounded for viewing nearby objects and flatter for viewing remote objects |
| retina | rear multilayer part of the eye where rods and cones convert light into neural impulses |
| rods | rod-shaped photoreceptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light |
| cones | cone-shaped photoreceptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to color |
| fovea | center of the retina, where cones are clustered |
| dark adaptation | process of adjustment by which the eyes become more sensitive to light in a dark environment |
| light adaptation | process of adjustment by which the eyes become less sensitive to light in a bright environment |
| optic nerve | pathway that carries visual information from the eyeball to the brain |
| blind spot | part of the retina through which the optic nerve passes. lacking rods and cones, this spot is not responsive to light |
| visual cortex | located in the back of the brain, it is the main information-processing center for visual information |
| feature detectors | neurons in the visual cortex that respond to specific aspects of a visual stimulus such as lines or angles |
| trichromatic theory | theory of color vision stating that the retina contains three types of color receptors- for red, blue, and greed- and that these combine to produce all other colors |
| afterimage | visual sensation that persists after prolonged exposure and removal of a stimulus |
| opponent-process theory | theory that color vision is derived from three pairs of opposing receptors. the opponent colors are blue and yellow, red and green, and black and white |
| audition | sense of hearing |
| white noise | hissing sound that results from a combination of all frequencies of the sound spectrum |
| auditory localization | ability to judge the direction a sound is coming from |
| conduction deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the eardrum or bones in the middle ear |
| nerve deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the structures of the inner ear |
| olfactory system | structures responsible for the sense of smell |
| pheromones | chemicals secreted by animals that transmit signals-usually to other animals of the same species |
| gustatory system | structures responsible for the sense of taste |
| taste buds | nets of taste-receptor cells |
| gate-control theory | theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals from the brain when flooded by competing signals |
| kinesthetic system | structures distributed throughout the body that give us a sense of position and movement of body parts |
| vestibular system | inner ear and brain structures that give us a sense of equilibrium |
| synesthesia | rare condition in which stimulation in one sensory modality triggers sensations in another sensory modality |
| sensory adaptation | decline in sensitivity to a stimulus as a result of constant exposure |
| reversible figure | drawing that one can perceive in different ways by reversing figure and ground |
| Gestalt psychology | school of thought rooted in the idea that the whole (perception) is different from the sum of its parts |
| size constancy | tendency to view an object as constant in size despite changes in the size of the retinal image |
| shape constancy | tendency to see an object as retaining its form despite changes in orientation |
| depth perception | use of visual cues to estimate the depth and distance of objects |
| convergence | binocular cue for depth perception involving the turning inward of the eyes as an object gets closer |
| binocular disparity | binocular cue for depth perception whereby the closer an object is to a perceiver, the more different the image is in each retina |
| monocular depth cues | distance cues, such as linear perspective, that enable us to perceive depth with one eye |
| visual cliff | apparatus used to test depth perception in infants and animals |
| perceptual set | effects of prior experience and expectations on interpretations of sensory input |
| perceptual illusions | patterns of sensory input that give rise to misperceptions |
| Muller-Lyer illusion | illusion in which the perceived length of a line is altered by the position of other lines that enclose it |
| Ponzo illusion | illusion in which the perceived length of a line is affected by linear perspective cues |
| moon illusion | tendency for people to see the moon as larger when it's low on the horizon than when it's overhead |
| extrasensory perception (ESP) | alleged ability to perceive something without ordinary sensory information |
| parapsychology | study of ESP and other claims that cannot be explained by existing principles of science |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.