AP Psych Unit 3

Mr. McCarthy G Bock Unit 3 Terms

sensation

the processes by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our neurons

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

bottom-up processing

analysis starting from sensory receptors then going to higher levels of processing

top-down processing

perceptions constructed from experience/expections

selective attention

focusing our conscious awareness on only one stimulation, in which constantly toggling attention is dangerous due to brain activity decreasing

inattention blindness

failing to see a visible object when our attention is directed elsewhere

inattention deafness

failing to hear an audible thing when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice a change in the environment

change deafness

failing to detect the change between one voice and another due to attention being directed elsewhere

transduction

conversion of one form of energy to another

psychophysics

the relationship between physical properties of stimuli and our conscious experience of them

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

signal detection theory

predicts how/when we can detect a faint stimulus when distractions are present, and is based on expectations, alertness, experience, and motivation

subliminal

below the threshold for conscious awareness

difference threshold

the “just noticeable difference”/minimum difference for detection 50% of the time

weber’s law

stimuli must be different at a constant percent, not constant value, to be recognized as different (i,e. weight must be 2% different, not 2 grams for everything since 2 grams is a lot for small values and vice versa)

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity to a certain stimuli as a result of constant (usually increasing) stimulation, such as loud music

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another based on our experiences

extrasensory perception

the claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input instead of a combination of sensation+cognition+emotion

parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena

wavelength

the distance from one part of a wave to the same part on another section (I,e. crest to crest)

hue

the colour we experience

intensity

amount of energy

cornea

transparent, protective outer layer of the eye that bends light waves to assist in proper focus

pupil

adjustable opening in the eye controlled by the iris

iris

ring of muscle tissue that controls the pupil by responding to cognitive and emotional states

lens

changes shape (curvature/thickness) to help focus images of the retina

retina

has receptor rods

accommodation

process of lens changing shape

rods

retinal receptors that perceive black and white

cones

type of photoreceptor that distinguishes colors and detects fine details in well-lit conditions

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

blind spot

where there are no visual receptors because that is where the optic nerve exits the eye

fovea

where cones cluster

young-helmholtz trichromatic theory

receptors in the retina are sensitive to red, green, or blue - any combo of which makes up every colour we perceive

opponent-process theory

opposing retinal processes enable colour vision (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white)

feature detector

nerve cells in the visual cortex that respond to certain features of a stimulus

parallel processing

processing many things all at once, then binding the individual parts of it to form the full picture

gestalt

these psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surrounding (the ground)

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

proximity

grouping nearby figures together

similarity

grouping similar figures together

continuity

perceiving smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

connectedness

perceiving connected things as a single unit

closure

filling in gaps to create a complete object

depth perception

ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2D, which allows us to judge distance

visual cliff

laboratory device to test depth perception in infants and young animals

binocular cues

depth cues such as retinal disparity that depends on the use of two eyes

monocular cues

depth cues that depend on the use of one eye

retinal disparity

binocular cue for perceiving depth; compares images from the retinas by noting that the larger the disparity is, the closer the object must be.

relative height

we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as further away

relative size

if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceiving the one that casts the smaller as farther away

interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer.

linear perspective

parallel lines that appear to converse with distance in such a way that the more they converge, the greater the perceived difference is

relative motion

as we move, objects that are actually stable appear to move

light and shadow

nearby objects reflect light to our eyes in such a way that the dimmer of two identical objects seems further away

phi phenomenon

illusion of movement when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

colour constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent colour, even if illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field, usually one with distortion lenses

perceptual set

mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

schema

organized bodies of information that are stored in memory which can bias the way new information is interpreted stored and recalled

context effects

describes the influence of environmental factors on one’s perception of a stimulus

audition

the sense or act of hearing

frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a certain point in one second

pitch

highness or lowness of a sound

outer ear

channels the sound wave into the ear canal

middle ear

chamber between eardrum and cochlea

three bones in the middle ear

hammer, anvil, stirrup

cochlea

fluid filled semi-coiled tube

inner ear

innermost part of the ear

process of hearing

incoming vibration → cochlear membrane vibrates → basilar membrane vibrates → hair cells trigger nerve cells → auditory nerve brings info to brain

sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to nerve cells

conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the ear’s mechanical system

cochlear implant

device that converts sounds into electrical signals, then delivers those signals to the nerves

place theory

the theory that we determine pitch by where the cochlear membrane vibrates, but can only explain how we hear high pitches

frequency theory

aka temporal theory, which states the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone which enables pitch