AP Psych Unit 3 Vocab

Accomodation

The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Audition

The sense or act of hearing

Blind Spot

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

Cochlea

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses(starts transduction)

Conductive Hearing Loss

A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Cones

Retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or well-lit conditions. Cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Cornea

The eyes clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris

Feature Detectors

Nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus such as shape, angle, or movement

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

Frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Frequency Theory

The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch(also called temporal theory)

Gate-Control Theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in large fibers or by information coming from the brain

Hue

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names, blue, green, and so forth

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. Intensity is determined by the wave’s amplitude(height)

Iris

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Kinesthesia

Our movement sense; our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Lens

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

Middle Ear

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones(hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

Olfaction

The sense of smell

Opponent-Process Theory

The theory that opposing retinal processes(red-green, blue-yellow, 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(supported by afterimages)

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Pitch

A tone’s experienced highness or loudness; depends on frequency

Place Theory

The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated

Retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

Sensation

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

Sensory Receptors

Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another. The transforming of stimulus into energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Vestibular Sense

Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance

Wavelength

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of gamma rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

The theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors-one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue-which, when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Binocular Cues

A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Bottom-Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of innatentional blindness

Color Constancy

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

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

Difference Threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time, we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

Extrasensory Perception(ESP)

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

Figure-Ground

The organization of the visual field into objects(the figures) that stand out from their surroundings(the ground)

Gestalt

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Monocular Cue

A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective available to either eye alone

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging(having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Phi Phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blind on and off in quick succession

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth, by comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity(difference) between the two images, the closer the object

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Signal-Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus(signal) and background stimulation(noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

Subliminal Top-Down Processing

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

Visual Cliff

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Weber’s Law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage(rather than a constant amount)

Young & Helmholtz

Trichromatic color theory-some cones and especially sensitive to red, some to green, and some to blue

David Hubel & Torsten Weiesel

Discovered that most cells in the visual cortex only respond to particular features(ex: maybe a cell responds to lines at this angle / and others at this angle \)

James J. Gibson

Among the first to discover the importance of texture for perceiving depth. Most surfaces have a texture but it becomes less detailed as it recedes into the background

Ernst Weber

Came up with “Weber’s Law”; for the difference between 2 stimuli to be apparent, they must differ by a constant proportion