69 terms

Terms	Definitions
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
binocular cues	visual messages/cues that only require one eye
blind spot	place on the retina out where the ganglion cells axons leads the eye; no receptors fantasy rods/cones) are located here
cochlea	snail-shaped structure in the inner ear; contains fluid that vibrate; attach the oval window and basilar membrane
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
convergence	binoculars cue; visual depth cue; muscles controlling eye movement as the eyes turned inward to view a nearby stimulus
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
bottom-up processing	Starts with basic sensory information
top-down processing	Constructing perceptions based on our experiences and expectations
selective attention	The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, like the cocktail effect.
inattentional blindness	failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
change blindness	failing to notice changes in the environment.
hue	color, or aspects of colors; most people can name 150
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
kinesthesis	sense of muscle movement, posture, and strain on muscles/joints; provides information on speed and direction of movement; works with vestibular sense
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
psychophysics	The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
signal detection theory	States that circumstances, experiences, expectations affect our thresholds
subliminal perception	Back masking or reverse speech. Sensory information that is detected without our conscious knowledge
priming	the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
sensory adaptation	Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
habituation	decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner
transduction	Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.
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
wavelength	The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
optic nerve	bundle of axons from ganglion cells that carries no messages from the eye to the brain
Intensity	The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.
iris	A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
feature detectors	nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
monocular cues	depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
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
parallel processing	The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
opponent process theory	The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
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
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
pupil	small opening in the center of the iris; color part of the eye
retina	the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eyeball; contains receptor cells
retinal disparity	binocular distance cue; based on the overlay of two retinal fields when both eyes focus on one object
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
perceptual accommodation	in perception, the ability to adjust to an idea or mind set
visual accommodation	a process by which the eye adjusts and is able to focus, producing a sharp image at various, changing distances from the object seen.
sensation	the raw data of experience; sensory stimulation; example are eyes only register light energy and ears only register wave energy
fovea	The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
size constancy	the perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed; example someone height
audtition	The sense of hearing.
frequency	The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).
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.
conduction hearing loss	Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
sensorineural hearing loss	Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.
cochlear implant	a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve by electrodes threaded into the cochlea
cochlea	A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tude in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
Young-Helmholtz 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
inner ear	The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Place theory	In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
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.
basilar membrane	A membrane inside the cochlea which vibrates in response to sound and whose vibrations lead to activity in the auditory pathways.
vestibular sense	The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
olfaction sense	sense of smell
taste buds	groups of cells located on the tongue that enable one to recognize different tastes
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%
Gate-control theory	The spinal cord contains a "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. It's opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in large fibers or information coming from the brain.
Sensory interaction	The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
perceptual consistancy	perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.
Gustav Fechner	1801-1887; Field: perception; Contributions: stated that the magnitude of a sensory experience is proportionate to the # of JND's that the stimulus causing the experiences above the absolute threshold
David Hubel	Along with Torsten Wiesel discovered feature detector groups of neurons in the visual cortex that respond to different types of visual images
Harry McGurk	created the McGurk effect which was demonstration of how we all use visual speech information. The effect shows that we can't help but integrate visual speech into what we 'hear'
Herman von Helmholtz	Theorist who both aided in the development of the trichromatic theory of color perception and Place theory of pitch perception.
Ernst Weber	1795-1878; Field: perception; Contributions: just-noticeable-difference (JND) that eventually becomes Weber's law; Studies: 1st study on JND
Thomas Young	showed that light, like waves, could be diffracted

Flickr Creative Commons Images

Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com. Click to see the original works with their full license.

• "priming" image
• "sensory adaptation" image
• "habituation" image
• "transduction" image
• "opponent-process theory" image
• "wavelength" image
• "optic nerve" image
• "Intensity" image
• "iris" image
• "feature detectors" image
• "monocular cues" image
• "perception" image
• "parallel processing" image
• "opponent process theory" image
• "pitch" image
• "place theory" image
• "pupil" image
• "retina" image
• "retinal disparity" image
• "rods" image
• "perceptual accommodation" image
• "visual accommodation" image
• "sensation" image
• "fovea" image
• "size constancy" image
• "audtition" image
• "frequency" image
• "middle ear" image
• "conduction hearing loss" image
• "sensorineural hearing loss" image
• "cochlear implant" image
• "cochlea" image
• "Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory" image
• "inner ear" image
• "Place theory" image
• "Frequency theory" image
• "basilar membrane" image
• "vestibular sense" image
• "olfaction sense" image
• "taste buds" image
• "Weber's law" image
• "Gate-control theory" image
• "Sensory interaction" image
• "perceptual consistancy" image
• "Gustav Fechner" image
• "David Hubel" image
• "Harry McGurk" image
• "Herman von Helmholtz" image
• "Ernst Weber" image
• "Thomas Young" image

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