AP Psych 1.6 & 2.1 Terms

Sensation

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

Sensory Receptors

Sensory nerve endings that report to stimuli

Perception

The process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful

Bottom-up processing

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

Top-down processing

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

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of physical energy, such as sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses the brain can interpret

Psychophysics

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity and our psychological experience of them

Absolute Threshold

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

Signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation

Subliminal

Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Priming

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

Difference Threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

Weber’s Law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Sensory adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Wavelength

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Hue

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness, determined by the wave’s height

Cornea

The eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris

Iris

Ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye

Lens

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

Retina

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

Accommodation

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

Rods

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

Cones

Retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail

Optic Nerve

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

Blindspot

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

Fovea

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

Three-color theory

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

Opponent-process theory

The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

Feature detectors

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

Parallel Processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

Audition

The sense or act of hearing

Frequency

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

Pitch

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

Middle Ear

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

Cochlea

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

Inner Ear

The inner neural part of the ear, containing the cochlear, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Sensoineural hearing loss

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

Conduction hearing loss

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

Cochlear Implant

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

Place theory

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

Frequency Theory

The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a ton, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

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 larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Gustation

Our sense of taste

Olfaction

Our sense of smell

Kinestinesis

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

Vestibular sense

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

Sensory Interaction

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

Embodied cognition

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

Selective Attention

Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Change blindness

Failng to notive changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Gestalt

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

Figure-ground

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

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

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

Visual cliff

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

Binocular cue

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

Convergence

A cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images

Retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the 2 eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity between the two images, the closer the object

Monocular cue

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

Stroboscopic movement

An illusion of continuous movement experienced when viewing a rapid series of slighting varying still images

Phi phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Autokinetic effect

The illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

Perceptual constancy

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

Color constancy

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

Perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Interposition - Monocular Cue

A monocular depth cue where objects that obscure or block the view of other objects are perceived as closer

Texture gradient - Monocular Cue

Texture change across a surface helps indicate depth

Relative clarity - Monocular Cue

Where objects that are clearer and sharper in detail are perceived as being closer

Relative size - Monocular Cue

Larger objects are perceived as being closer

Perceptual constancy - Monocular Cue

We perceive objects as constant despite changes in perspective

Linear perspective - Monocular Cue

Parallel lines, like railroad tracks, seem to converge with distance

Light and Shadow

Nearby objects reflect more light, dim light suggests distance

Prosopagnosia

Face blindness

Amplitude

The height of a light’s wavelength, determines brightness or intensity

Nearsighted

Distant objects blurry

Farsighted

Near objects blurry

Bipolar cells

Neurons in the retina that connect photoreceptors to ganglion cells

Ganglian cells

Neurons in the retina that transmit visual info from the eye to the brain

Incomplete retinal images

Missing parts of a scene, requiring the brain to fill in gaps to create a coherent perception

Color vision

Through the activity of cone photoreceptors in the retina

Red - long waves

Green - medium waves

Blue - short waves

Sound localization

Ability to determine the origin of direction of a sound source

Dichromatism

Color deficiency

Confederate

A person playing a role or is in on the experiment