MCAT - Psych

sensory receptors

sensory nerves that respond to stimuli (vision, smell, taste, hearing, touch)

endolymph

If you move your head quickly and then stop suddenly, the ___ fluid continues to move in the semicircular canals and this gives you a false sense of moving - dizziness.

top-down processing

Top-down processing is the recognition of an object by memories and expectations .

• using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information

• little attention to detail

• uses background knowledge

Botton-up processing

• taking sensory info and assembling and integrating it

• process details first, then whole object

• recognition of objects via feature detection

• not influenced by background knowledge

Rhodopsin is a biological pigment found in the __ of the retina.

rods

What do rods detect?

light/dark

What kind of receptors are rods?

g-protein coupled receptors (GPCR)

__ is a temperature that is felt by the skin as neither warm nor cold.

physiological 0

Projection areas are areas in the four lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital) of the brain where ___ occurs.

sensory processing

gestalt principle of symmetry

elements that are symmetrical to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group

___ are enlargements along peripheral nerves that transmit signals to the CNS.

sensory ganglia

Weber’s law states that the just noticeable difference for a stimulus is proportional to the ___ of the stimulus.

magnitude

In signal detection theory, a ___ strategy is one in which the observer says “yes” only when the signal is almost certain.

conservative

The ___ is the minimum stimulus energy that will activate a sensory system.

absolute threshold

___ is the sense that tells you info abt your body’s movements.

kinesthesia

___ is the sense that tells you info abt your body’s position.

proprioception

___ is the sense that tells you info abt your body’s balance.

vestibular sense

What detects head motion?

semicircular canals

The ___ receives all sensory input from the body and it is located in the ___.

somatosensory cortex, parietal lobe

What part of the brain receives all sensory input from the body?

somatosensory cortex

Where is the somatosensory cortex located?

parietal cortex

___ refers to the effects of non sensory factors, such as experiences, motives, and expectations on perception of stimuli.

signal detection theory

• accounts for response bias

___ can increase or decrease our receptors sensitivity to the stimulus.

sensory adaptation

• ie. amplification

The ____ is the minimum stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and long enough in duration to be brought into awareness.

threshold of conscious perception

in signal detection theory, a ___ strategy is one in which the observer says “yes” whenever there may be a signal.

liberal

in signal detection theory, a ___ strategy is one in which false alarm and miss rates are equal.

balanced