Unit 03: Sensation & Perception Flashcards

Flashcards for the Sensation & Perception Unit of AP psychology

Transduction

The process of converting one form of energy into another, such as transforming sensory stimuli into neural impulses that the brain can interpret.

Absolute Threshold

The minimal intensity of a stimulus that can be detected by an organism's sensory systems at least 50% of the time.

Just-noticable differences

(JND) is the smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be detected 50% of the time, reflecting the sensitivity of the sensory system.

Sensory Adaptation

The process by which sensitivity to a constant stimulus decreases over time, allowing the organism to become less responsive to unchanging stimuli.

Weber’s Law

The principle stating that the just-noticeable difference for a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity. It highlights the relationship between stimulus intensity and perception.

Synesthesia

A condition where stimulation of one sensory modality leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in another sensory modality, such as seeing colors when hearing sounds.

Retina

The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that converts light into neural signals for visual processing.

Blind Spot

The area on the retina where there are no photoreceptors, resulting in a lack of visual perception. It is the point where the optic nerve exits the eye.

Accommodation of Lens

The process by which the eye changes the shape of the lens to focus light onto the retina, allowing for clear vision at varying distances.

Rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for vision in low light conditions. They are more sensitive to light than cones but do not detect color.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision and visual acuity, functioning best in bright light.

Trichromatic Theory

A theory of color vision that proposes the eye has three types of cones, each sensitive to different wavelengths of light corresponding to red, green, and blue. The combination of activation of these cones allows for the perception of a wide range of colors.

Opponent-Processing Theory

A theory of color vision that suggests color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: a blue-yellow mechanism and a red-green mechanism. This theory explains how we perceive colors in contrasting pairs.

Prosopagnosia

A neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces, despite having intact vision and other cognitive functions.

Blindsight

A condition in which individuals can respond to visual stimuli but are not consciously aware of them, often due to damage in the primary visual cortex.

Place theory

A theory that explains how we perceive pitches based on the location of activated hair cells along the cochlea. Higher frequencies stimulate hair cells closer to the base, while lower frequencies activate those near the apex.

Volley Principle

A theory that suggests multiple neurons can fire in rapid succession to encode sound frequencies, allowing for the perception of pitches beyond the limitations of individual neuron firing rates.

Frequency Theory

A theory that explains how the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve corresponds to the frequency of a sound, allowing for the perception of low pitches.

Sound Localization

The ability to determine the origin of a sound in space, which relies on differences in the timing and intensity of sound reaching each ear.

Conduction Deafness

A type of hearing loss caused by problems in the outer or middle ear that prevent sound waves from being conducted to the inner ear.

Sensorineural Deafness

A type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the inner ear or the auditory nerve, leading to difficulties in processing sound and understanding speech.

Olfaction

The sense of smell, which involves the detection of airborne chemical molecules by olfactory receptors in the nasal cavity.

Gustation

The sense of taste, which allows detection of different flavors through taste buds located on the tongue.

Supertaster

A person who has a heightened sensitivity to certain tastes, often influenced by the density of taste buds on the tongue.

Gate Control Theory

A theory suggesting that the perception of pain is controlled by a gating mechanism in the spinal cord, which can either allow or block pain signals to the brain.

Phantom Limb Sensation

A phenomenon where individuals feel sensations, such as pain or itching, in a limb that has been amputated. This occurs due to the brain's representation of the missing limb still being active.

Vestibular Sense

The sense of balance and spatial orientation that helps determine body position and movement, influenced by the inner ear's semicircular canals and otolith organs.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear responsible for converting sound vibrations into neural signals, playing a crucial role in hearing.

Semi-circular canals

Three fluid-filled structures in the inner ear that help maintain balance and spatial orientation by detecting rotational movements of the head.

Ossicles

Three tiny bones in the middle ear, known as the malleus, incus, and stapes, that amplify sound vibrations and transmit them to the cochlea.

Kinesthesis Sense

The sense that provides information about the position and movement of body parts, allowing for the perception of body posture and motion.

Bottom up processing

A method of perception that starts with sensory input, building up to the final perception without prior knowledge or expectations.

Top-down processing

Cognitive processes that influence perception based on expectations and prior knowledge, leading to interpretation of sensory information.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, influenced by expectations, experiences, and cultural background.

Gestalt Principles

A set of organizing principles in perception that emphasize the holistic processing of visual elements, suggesting that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Closure

The Gestalt principle stating that individuals tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete by filling in missing information.

Figure ground

The perceptual organization that separates visual elements into the figure (subject of focus) and the ground (background). This principle helps individuals discern objects from their surroundings.

Proximity

The Gestalt principle that states objects that are close together tend to be perceived as a group. This principle highlights the human tendency to associate nearby elements as part of a unified whole.

Similiairty

The Gestalt principle that suggests individuals group together elements that are similar in color, shape, or size. This cognitive process helps create a cohesive visual experience.

Selective Attention

The cognitive process of focusing on a specific object or task while ignoring other stimuli in the environment. This ability enables individuals to enhance their perception of certain details while filtering out distractions.

Multitasking

The ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously or switch rapidly between tasks. While it may seem efficient, it can often lead to decreased performance and attention to detail.

Cocktail Party Effect

The phenomenon where an individual can focus on a single conversation or sound in a noisy environment, like a cocktail party, while filtering out other distractions. This ability highlights the adaptive nature of selective attention in social settings.

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object or event when attention is engaged elsewhere. This occurs because attention is a limited resource and can lead to significant oversights in perception.

Change Blindness

The failure to notice changes in a visual stimulus when it occurs gradually or during a scene change. This phenomenon illustrates the limitations of visual perception and attention.

Retinal Disparity

A depth perception cue that arises from the slightly different images recorded by each eye due to their horizontal separation. It helps the brain gauge the distance of objects by comparing these differences.

Convergence

The process by which the eyes rotate inward to focus on a nearby object, leading to the perception of depth due to the differing angles of each eye.

Relative Clarity

An illusion where distant objects appear less clear or blurry than nearby objects, used as a cue for depth perception.

Relative Size

A depth perception cue that relies on the size of objects; larger objects are perceived as being closer, while smaller objects are seen as further away.

Texture Gradient

A depth cue that involves the gradual change in the texture of a surface as it recedes into the distance; objects farther away appear smoother and less detailed than those nearby.

Linear Perspective

A depth cue that describes how parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, creating an illusion of depth.

Interposition

A depth perception cue where one object partially blocks the view of another, indicating that the obstructed object is farther away.

Motion Parallax

A depth cue that occurs when objects at different distances appear to move at different rates as the observer moves. Closer objects seem to move faster than those farther away.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues that require only one eye to perceive distance and spatial relationships.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that require both eyes to perceive distance, aiding in depth perception through the slight difference in images received by each eye.

Ganglion Cells

Specialized neurons in the retina that receive visual information from photoreceptors and transmit signals to the brain via the optic nerve, playing a key role in visual processing.