IB Psychology Ch 4 Vocab
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53 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Sensation | a message regarding physical stimulation of a sensory receptor that our brains receive from our senses |
| Sense | a physical system for receiving a particular kind of physical stimulation and translating that stimulation into an electrochemical message the brain can understand |
| Perception | the set of mental processes that organize and interpret sensory information that has been transmitted to the brain. Usually refers to the cognitive processes in the brain through which we interpret the messages our senses provide. Involves synthesizing and assigning meaning to sensations by taking into account our expectations, our prior experiences, and sometimes our culture |
| Psychophysics | the systematic study of the relationship between the physical stimulation of a sense organ and the psychological sensations produced by that stimulation |
| Detection | awareness of the presence of a sensory stimulus |
| Absolute Threshold | The hypothetical minimum amount of physical energy of a given kind - scent, sound, pressure, and so on - that an individual can detect |
| Signal-detection theory (STD) | four possible combinations of stimulus and response exist. 1. Hit- stimulus is present, and your response is to detect it correctly. 2. Miss- stimulus is present, but you do not detect it. 3. False alarm- the stimulus is not present, but you detect it. 4. Correct rejection- the stimulus is not present, you do not detect it |
| Just noticeable difference (jnd) | he minimus amount of defference that can be detected between two sensory stimuli. (also called the difference threshold) |
| Weber's Law | the greater the magnitude of the stimulus, the larger a difference needs to be in order to be detected as a difference. |
| Receptor Cells | cells which have evolved to detect particular kinds of energy, such as mechanical, electromagnetic, or chemical energy. |
| sensory coding | a physiological form of communication through which sensory receptors convey a range of information about stimuli within the nervous system. |
| Single-cell recording | a recording of one nerve cell (neuron) in the brain. One way to measure the firing patterns of individual neurons |
| Sensory adaption | a temporary physiological response to a sensed change in the environment; it encompasses the temporary gradual decrease in sensitivity that occurs when a sensory system is stimulated for a period of time, and the temporary increase in sensitivity that occurs when a sensory system is not stimulated for a period of time |
| Adaptation level | the reference level of sensory stimulation against which an individual may judge new stimuli or changes in existing stimuli |
| Electro-magnetic spectrum | a range of energy of varying wavelengths, and human eyes are receptive only to the narrow wavelength range from about 350 to 750 nanometers |
| Cornea | Where light beams enter the eye. bulges slightly to form a clear dome-shaped window |
| Retina | a network of neurons extending over most of the back (posterior) surface of the interior of the eye. Where the refracted light focuses on. |
| Ganglion Cells | the first layer of neuronal tissue - closest to the front, outward-facing surface of the eye. Ganglion cells, whose axons constitute the optic nerve |
| Rods | long and thin photoreceptors, and more highly concentrated in the periphery of the retina than in the foveal region of the retina. |
| Cones | short and thick photoreceptors, and are more highly concentrated in the foveal region of the retina than in the periphery. |
| Photopigments | within the rods and cones are chemical substances that react with light |
| Fovea | a small, thin region of the retina, the size of the head of a pin that is most directly in the line of sight |
| Blind spot | the small area on the retina where the optic nerve pushes aside photoreceptors to exit the eye. You are unable to see any images that happen to be projected onto that spot because you lack photoreceptor in the blind spot. |
| Additive color mixture | when light waves of varying wavelengths are mixed or blended, as when aiming spotlights of different colors towards one point |
| Subtractive color mixture | the remaining wavelengths of light that are reflected from an object after other wavelengths of light have been absorbed by that object |
| Opponent-process theory of color vision | Ewald Hering, Leo Hurvich and Dorothea Jameson - based on the notion of opposing processes in human vision, each of which contrasts one color with another. Two sets of two opposed colors- four colors altogether. Blue and yellow and red and green. |
| Optical illusions | visual images that prompt distortions of visual perceptions. |
| Perceptual constancy | the perception that stimuli remain the same even when immediate sensations of the stimuli change. |
| Size constancy | the perception that an object maintains the same size despite changes in the size of the proximal stimulus on the retina |
| Ponzo Illusion | stems from the depth cue provided by the converging lines. |
| Muller-lyer illusion | vertical line segments look like they are different but are not - due to interior vs exterior views |
| shape constancy | refers to our perceiving an object as retaining its shape, even when the shape of its retinal image changes. |
| Lightness constancy | refers to our perception that an object is evenly illuminated, despite differences in actual amount of light reaching our eyes |
| Monocular depth cues | one way of judging depth; can be represented in just tow dimensions, as in a picture |
| Binocular depth cues | capitalize on the fact that each eye views a scene from a slightly different angle, this disparity of viewing angles provides info about depth |
| Gestalt Approach | based on the notion that the whole is different from the sum of its individual parts |
| Figure | any object perceived as being highlighted, almost always against, or in contrast to, some kind of receding, unhighlighted (back)ground. |
| Figure-ground concept | it shows reversible figures, in which each of a given pair of adjacent or even interconnecting figures can be seen as either figure or ground. |
| Feature-detector approach | an approach to form perception based on observing the activity of the brain in which specific neurons of the visual cortex respond to specific features detected by photoreceptors. David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel. |
| Feature-matching theories | we attempt to match features of an observed pattern to features stored in memory. |
| Stroboscopic motion | the perception of motion produced by a stroboscope - an instrument that intermittently flashes an alternation pair of lights against a dark background. I the lights are flashed at an appropriate distance apart and a appropriately timed intervals, it appears that a solitary light has moved. Gestalt psychologists found evidence inconsistent with the idea that motion is only inferred through the study of stroboscopic motion. |
| pinna | visible outer part of the ear, collects sound waves |
| eardrum | a physiological structure of the outer ear that vibrates in response to the sound waves. |
| cochlea | the coiled and channeled main structure of the inner ear. |
| Place theory | posits that we hear each pitch as a function of the location in the basilar membrane that is stimulated. Helmholtz. |
| Frequency theory | suggests that the basilar membrane reproduces the vibrations that entre the ear, triggering neural impulse at the same frequency as the original sound wave. Wever. |
| Volley principle | auditory neurons are able to cooperate. That is, neurons can fire not just singly, but in alternating groups. |
| Duplicity theory | both place and frequency play some role in hearing pitch. |
| papillae | Taste buds- clusters containing taste-receptor cells located inside the small visible protrusions on the tongue |
| olfactory bulbs | where its neurons communicate with other neurons in complex arrangements. |
| Free nerve endings | sensory receptors for noticing when a hair follicle is bent, for noticing pain, and for noticing temperature. Are noncorpuscular. |
| Kinesthesis | the sense that helps us to ascertain our skeletal movements and positioning |
| Vestibular system | a sensory system that comprises the vestibular sacs and semicircular canals, both of which contain a fluid that moves when the head rotates. |
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