ap psych unit 3

sensation

information we receive from our five senses

perception

process of interpreting the information we obtained through our five senses

gestalt principles

people will perceive objects in their simplest form

closure

fill in the gaps

proximity

group by closeness

similarity

group by common traits

continuity

follow smooth, continuous lines

symmetry

balance in shape and form

figure-ground

distinguish between object and background

depth perception

understanding how we see the distance between things

binocular cues

depth cues that rely on both eyes working together about the distance

monocular cues

depth cues that rely on one eye working together about the distance

convergence

eyes angle inward for near objects and straighten for farther objects

relative size

larger objects appear closer, smaller objects appear farther

interposition

closer objects block farther ones

relative height cue

farther objects appear higher

linear perspective

parallel lines seem farther with distance. helps us understand positioning and understand depth

sensory transduction

sensory organs convert stimuli into signals

signal detection theory

distinguishing signals from noise accurately

sensory adaptation

being less sensitive to constant stimuli

habituation

getting used to repeated stimuli

difference threshold

minimum noticeable difference between stimuli

weber’s law

the bigger the stimulus, the bigger the change needed to notice a difference

perceptual constancy

seeing objects consistently despite changes

size constancy

seeing objects as the same size regardless of distance

color constancy

perceiving colors consistently despite lighting changes

shape constancy

recognizing objects’ shapes consistently despite viewing angle

lightness constancy

perceiving an object’s lightness consistently despite changes in illumination

schema

mental framework organizing information and experiences “shortcut”

perception

process of interpreting the information we obtained through our five senses

astigmatism

the cornea is irregularly shaped and could impact a person’s ability to focus

cataracts

occurs when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, causing vision to become blurry

trichromatic theory

red, green, and blue receptors

opponent-processing theory

information that is received from the cones goes to the ganglion cells; red-green, blue-yellow, black-white

achromatism

color blindness where they don’t have cones so they only see black, white, and grey

dichromatism

color blindness where they’re missing a rod and could make the person mix up colors

trichromatism

normal color vision

synesthesia

seeing colors with words and sounds

bottom up processing

building perception from small details

top down processing

using prior knowledge to interpret stimuli

stereocilia

little hairlike structures that come out of the organ of corti and are the sensory receptors for hearing

high frequency

high pitch

high pitch

high frequency

low frequency

low pitch

low pitch

low frequency

place theory

different parts of the inner ear detect different pitches

sensorineural hearing loss

inner ear or nerve damage affects hearing

conductive hearing loss

sound can’t reach inner ear

gestation

sensation of tasting

epidermis

protective outermost layer of skin

dermis

skin’s inner layer with nerves

nociceptors

nerve endings sensing pain stimuli

hypodermis

layer beneath the skin

kinesthesis

sensing body movement and position

proprioceptors

detecting body position and movement

vestibular sense

balance and spatial orientation sense

sensory interaction

senses influencing each other’s perception

inattentional blindness

missed seeing unexpected objects

phi phenomenon

an optical illusion, perception of motion in stillness

stimulus desensitization

reduced response to repeated stimuli

perceptual set

mindset shapes how we perceive things

functional fixedness

the inability to see unconventional uses due to fixation

spinal cord

controls the transmission of pain messages

dishabituation

reactive response to previously habituated stimulus

subliminal perception

below threshold awareness influences perception (hidden messages affect your thinking)