AP Psychology Unit 3 (copy)

Unit 3 terms not 5

sensation

sensation

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

bottom-up processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

top-down processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret.

absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

difference threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (or jnd).

weber's law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).

sensory adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

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 gamma rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.

lens

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

accommodation

The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

cones

Retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. Cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

blind-spot

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there.

fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

young-helmholtz trichromatic (3 Color) theory

States that within your eye are tiny cells that can receive waves of light and translate them into one of three colors: blue, green, and red.

opponent-processing theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, 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.

gestalt

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

binocular cue

A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes.

retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

monocular cue

A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

perceptual constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

audition

The sense or act of hearing.

frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness

conduction hearing loss

A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

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. (Also called temporal theory.)

gate-control theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

olfaction

The sense of smell.

kinesthesia

Our movement sense—our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body arts.

vestibular sense

Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.

sensory interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Amplitude

The heigth of a wave length

Afterimage

A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed

Pheromones

Olfactory chemical messages secreted by animals (including humans) that influence the behaviors of others within the same species.

Synesthesia

Stimulation of one sensory pathway (such as hearing) lead to automatic, involuntary experiences in a secondary sensory primary (such as vision)

Prosopagnosia

Impaired ability to recognize faces, even if friends or family

Cocktail party effect

Someone across a noisy room mention your name, bringing that voice into consciousness while tuning out other noise around you