chapter5

Q: What is sensation?

: The process by which sensory receptors detect and transmit stimulus energy from the environment.

Q: What is the absolute threshold?

: The smallest amount of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

Q: What are subliminal messages?

: Stimuli presented below the threshold of conscious awareness.

Q: What is perception?

: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Q: What is bottom-up processing?

: Perception that begins with sensory input and builds up to a mental representation.

Q: What is top-down processing?

: Perception driven by knowledge, experience, and expectations.

Q: What is inattentional blindness?

: Failure to notice visible objects when attention is focused elsewhere.

Q: How can motivation affect perception?

: We may perceive what we expect or want to perceive (e.g., thinking your phone is ringing).

Q: How do beliefs and expectations shape perception?

: They can influence how we interpret sensory information (e.g., thinking reduced-fat foods taste better).

Q: What is wavelength?

: The distance between peaks of a wave; related to frequency.

Q: What is frequency?

: The number of waves per second, measured in hertz (Hz).

Q: What is amplitude?

: The height of a wave; related to brightness (light) or loudness (sound).

Q: What do rods do?

: Detect light; allow vision in dim conditions.

Q: What do cones do?

: Detect color (red, green, blue); function best in bright light.

Q: What is depth perception?

: The ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance.

Q: What are binocular cues?

: Depth cues that depend on both eyes (e.g., binocular disparity).

Q: What are monocular cues?

: Depth cues available to each eye alone.

Q: What are the three parts of the ear?

: Outer ear, middle ear, inner ear.

Q: What is the function of the outer ear?

: Collects and funnels sound into the ear canal.

Q: What does the middle ear do?

: Uses the eardrum and ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) to transmit sound vibrations.

Q: What does the inner ear contain?

: The cochlea, lined with hair cells that send signals to the auditory nerve.

Q: What is localization of sound?

: Using monaural (one ear) and binaural (two ear) cues to determine where a sound is coming from.

Q: What are the five main tastes?

: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

Q: What is olfaction?

: The sense of smell; detection of molecules in the air.

Q: How are taste and smell related?

: Both rely on the perception of molecules and influence flavor perception.

Q: What is pain perception?

:

Q: Why is pain important?

: It alerts us to injury and prevents further damage.

Q: What does Gestalt mean?

: “Form” or “pattern”; the whole is different from the sum of its parts.

Q: What is the figure-ground relationship?

: The tendency to separate objects (figures) from their background (ground).

Q: What is proximity in Gestalt theory?

: We group items that are close together.

Q: What is similarity in Gestalt theory?

: We group items that look alike.