AP Psych Sensation and Perception

parallel processing

The ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli of differing quality. Parallel processing is associated with the visual system in that the brain divides what it sees into four components: color, motion, shape, and depth

sensation

what occurs when a stimulus activates a receptor

perception

the organization of sensory information into meaningful experiences

psychophysics

the study of the relationships between sensory experiences and the physical stimuli that causes them

absolute threshold

the weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect half the time

difference threshold

the smallest change in a physical stimulus that can be detected between two stimulus

Weber's law

the principle that the layer or stronger a stimulus, the larger the change required for an observer to notice a difference

signal-detection theory

the study of people's tendencies to make correct judgments in detecting the presence of stimuli

pupil

the opening in the iris that regulates the amount of light entering the eye

lens

a flexible, transparent structure in the eye that changes its shape to focus light on the retina

retina

the innermost coating of the back of the eye, containing the light sensitive receptor cells

optic nerve

the nerve that carries impulses from the retina to the brain

binocular fusion

the processes of combining the images received from the two eyes into a single fused image

retinal disparity

the differences between the images stimulating each eye

auditory nerve

the nerve that carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the sensation of sound

vestibular system

three semicircular canals that provide the sense of balance, located in the inner ear and connected to the brain by a nerve

olfactory nerve

the nerve that carries smell impulses from the nose to the brain

kinesthesis

the sense of movement and body postition

gestalt

the experience that comes from organizing bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes

subliminal messages

brief auditory or visual messages that are presented below the absolute threshold

motion parallax

the apparent movement of stationary objects relative to one another that occurs when the observer changes postition

constancy

the tendency to perceive certain objects in the same way regardless of changing angle, distance or lighting

illusions

perceptions that misrepresent physical stimuli

extrasensory perception

(ESP) an ability to gain information by some means other than the ordinary senses

anvil

one of the three tiny bones in the ear. Also one of the main structures of the middle ear. (linked to cochlea & eardrum)

conduction deafness

occurs when anything hinders physical motion through the outer or middle ear or when the bones of the middle ear become rigid and cannot carry sounds inward

cornea

this cover that is in the front of the human eye

eardrum

where sound waves vibrate to start the hearing processes and is located at the end of the ear canal

gate control theory

the theory that we can lessen some pains by shifting our attention away from the pain impulses or by sending other signals to compete withe the pain signals

motion sickness

where there is a lack of a sense of balance making it hard to walk and maybe cause you to stumble or fall

semicircular canals

prominent features of the vestibular system

sensorineural deafness

occurs from damage to the cochlea, the hair cells or the auditory neurons.

blind spot

the small are, insensitive to light, in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters

color deficiency

when a person can see some colors (not all)

decibels

the softest sound humans can detect

ear flap

outer part of the ear where sound to be directed into the auditory canal

hammer

one of the three bones in the middle ear (also the name of a tool)

pitch

depends on sound-wave frequency or the rate of the vibration of the medium through which the sound wave is transmitted

sensory adaptiation

the sense of adapting to an environment

stirrup

one of the three bones in the middle ear (also the name of something on a horse)

cochlea

makes up the inner ear. a bony tube that contains fluids and neurons

cones

a light sensitive receptor cell or photoreceptor

ear canal

tube that sound enters into to reach the eardrum

flavor

the combination of taste, smell and tactile sensations.

iris

part of the eye, regulates the amount of light entering the eye

rods

sensitive to low levels of light

taste buds

on the tongue, sense organs

amplitude

height of a specific (sound or light) wave

bipolar cells

send messages from rods and cones to the ganglion cells

concentrations of skin receptors

on hands, lips or feet

farsightedness

medically known as hyperopia or hypermetropia, is a condition that is the result of the eye's physical inability to focus an image correctly on the retina at the back of the eye. Farsightedness is the result of the eyeball being too short, and/or the lens of the eye not being flexible enough, for proper focus to occur.

figure-ground perception

our visual system organizes images into figures that we see and a ground or background

lights, electricity and magnetism

forms of electromagnetic radiation

frequency

length of each wave (pitch)

ganglion cells

cells whose axons converge to form optic nerves which send neural signals to the brain

interposition

depth cue involves one object partially covering up another object

just noticeable difference

(JND) the smallest amount of change that you can notice

kinesthetic system

one of two parts of sensory system, helps a person stay balanced and coordinate his/her movements

three layers of the skin

epidermis, dermis and hypodermis

nearsightedness

light rays from each eye meet before they hit the retina

occipital lobe

where visual signals are processed

perceptual inference

same perceptions aren't based entirely on current sensory information, so we need to "fill in the gaps"

psychoanalysis

comprises of several interlocking theories concerning the functioning of the mind, unconscious basis for systems/ problems

psychokinesis

the purported ability to move or deform inanimate objects, as metal spoons, through mental processes.

relative motion

When you are riding in a car, (for example), and look at distant mountains, the objects in a nearby field seem to be moving in the opposite direction to your movement, Yet, when you look at distant mountains, the objects in a nearby or land beyond the animal seem to be moving in the same direction that you are

stroop effect

your right brain tries to say the color but your left brain insists on reading the work

afterimage

after staring at an image for a while, when you close your eyes or look away you see the negative image.

proximity

when we see a number of similar objects, we tend to perceive them as groups or sets of those that are close to each other

similarity

when similar and dissimilar objects are mingled, we see the similar objects as groups

closure

when we see a familiar pattern or shape with some missing parts, we fill in the gaps

continuity

we tend to see continuous patterns, not disrupted ones

simplicity

our mind perceives everything in its simplest form. The image below, for example, when studied in depth is made up of individual components that have no meaning when viewed separately

texture-density/gradient

The farther removed an object is, the less detail we can identify. It is one of your monocular depth cues.

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

top-down processing

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

bottom-up processing

the analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception

Gustav Fechner

early German psychologist credited with founding psychophysics

David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel

Nobel-prize-winning researchers who discovered "feature detectors" within the brain

Ernst Weber

1795-1878; Field: perception; Contributions: just-noticeable-difference (JND) that eventually becomes Weber's law; Studies: 1st study on JND

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

context effects

memory is aided by being in the physical location where encoding took place

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Tri-Color Theory

also known as the component theory; proposed by Thomas Young and Hermann van Helmholtz suggests that there are three types of receptors in the retina: cones that respond to red, blue or green

Synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")

motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

linear perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.

binocular disparity

the difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides information about depth

convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object

vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

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 brains can interpret.

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

inattentional blindness

a failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

selective attention

the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input

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

trichromatic theory of color vision

The theory that there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengths

Afterimage

A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed.

visual cliff experiment

created by E.J. Gibson, used to determine when infants can perceive depth

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.