AP PSYCH Unit 4

Sensation (4)

Process where sensory receptors and nervous systems take in stimulus from environment

Perception (4)

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info letting us remember/recognize meaningful things

Bottom-Up Processing (4)

Analysis that begins with basic senses and then works up to brain's interpretation

Top-Down Processing (4)

Where we process info with higher thinking. We construct perceptions based on experience and expectations

Selective Attention (4)

When you focus on one particular thing/stimuli

Inattentional Blindness (4)

When we can't see visible objects because our attention is elsewhere

Change Blindness (4)

Failing to notice changes in environment

Psychophysics (4)

Study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (e.g. intensity and our psychological experience of them)

Absolute Threshold (4)

Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Signal Detection Theory (4)

Theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes that there's no absolute threshold

Subliminal (4)

Hidden from our consciousness; below absolute threshold

Priming (4)

Unconscious associations

Difference Threshold (4)

Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection. 50% of the time it's a just noticeable difference

Weber's Law (4)

Principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage

Sensory Adaptation (4)

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Transduction (4)

Conversion of one form of energy to another. In sensation, it's transforming stimulus energy (sights, sounds, smells) into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Wavelength (4)

Distance from one peak of a wave to another

Hue (4)

Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

Intensity (4)

Amount of energy in a light or sound wave; determined by amplitude.

Pupil (4)

Adjustable opening in center of eye where light enters

Iris (4)

Ring of muscle tissue that is the color part of the eye. Controls pupil opening size

Lens (4)

Transparent structure behind pupil that changes shape to help focus images on retina

Retina (4)

Light-sensitive inner surface of eye that contains receptor rods, cones, and layers of neurons that begin processing of visual info

Accommodation (4)

Process in which the lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Optic Nerve (4)

Nerve that carries neural impulses from eye to the brain

Rods (4)

Retinal receptor that detect black, white, and grey. Necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don't work that well or respond

Cones (4)

Retinal receptor close to the center of the retina. Works best at daylight or in well lit place. Finds fine details and color

Blind Spot (4)

Point where optic nerve leaves the eye, creating an area where you can't see There are no receptors located in this spot

Fovea (4)

Central focal point in the retina around which the eye's cones cluster

Feature detectors (4)

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as angle, shape, and movement

Parallel Processing (4)

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously. Brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (3-color) Theory (4)

Theory that retina has 3 color receptors: red, blue, and green. Theory states that, when combined, they can make any color

Opponent Process Theory (4)

Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

Audition (4)

Sense or act of hearing

Frequency (4)

Number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (e.g. three things a second)

Pitch (4)

Tone's experienced highness or lowness. Depends on frequency. Long waves produce a low sound. Short waves produce a high sound

Middle Ear (4)

Chamber between the eardrum and cochlea that has three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on a cochlea's oval window

Cochlea (4)

Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Inner Ear (4)

Innermost part of the ear containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Place Theory (4)

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Frequency Theory (4)

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses travelling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Conduction Hearing Loss (4)

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Sensorineural Hearing Loss (4)

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. Nerve deafness

Cochlear Implant (4)

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Kinesthesis (4)

System for sensing the position and movement of body parts

Vestibular Sense (4)

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

Gate-Control Theory (4)

Theory that spinal cord has a neurological "gate" that either allows or blocks pain signals to the brain

Sensory Interaction (4)

Principle that one sense may influence another

Gestalt (4)

An organized whole

Figure-Ground (4)

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Grouping (4)

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Depth Perception (4)

The ability to see objects in 3D although the images that hit the retina are 2D. It allow us to judge distance

Visual Cliff (4)

A lab device for testing depth perception in babies and young animals

Binocular Cues (4)

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Retinal Disparity (4)

Binocular cue for perceiving depth: the difference between the two images. Greater this is, the closer the object

Monocular Cues (4)

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

Phi Phenomenon (4)

Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Perceptual Constancy (4)

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change (seeing the open door as a rectangle even though it looks like a trapezoid or something)

Color Constancy (4)

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the objects

Perceptual Adaptation (4)

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Perceptual Set (4)

Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

ESP (4)

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Parapsychology (4)

Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and Psychokinesis