chapter 5 senses

First sense to develop

Taste

What type of energy are sound waves, light energy, etc. converted into by receptors to be sent to the brain?

Electrochemical

ambiguous illusion

illusions that are meant to shift from one object to another as a person's perception of them changes

Perception

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

What are the three physical properties of light?

wavelength, amplitude/intensity, purity

What is the physical distance from one energy cycle to the next?

wavelength

We experience intensity as

brightness

What does purity influence?

saturation/color

What is determined by the mix of wavelengths that are present?

Purity

cornea

outer layer of the eye, helps the eye to focus

lens

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

Where are the light-senstive receptors located?

Back of the eye

How many receptors are in the retina?

126 million

Rods

highly sensitive to light and are used for night vision

Cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Accommodation

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

Information from the left visual field is projected onto the ____ half of each retina,and then it travels to the ____ hemisphere of the brain

right;right

What percentage of visual signals go to the superior colliculus in the midbrain?

10%

What are feature detectors?

Cells that respond to specific visual events, such as patterns of light and dark

Describe bottom up processing?

Process that begins with actual physical stimulus,focused on sensory information

Describe top down processing?

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

What are the Gestalt principles?

theory that we have strong natural tendencies to seek and find patterns and to make sense of the world

Emergence

The whole is seen before the individual parts are perceived.

Reification

Our mind automatically fills in perceptual gaps

Multi-stability

The tendency of ambiguous perceptual experiences to pop back and forth unstably between two or more alternative interpretations

Qualia

In philosophy, private conscious experiences of sensation or perception. raw feelings that cannot adequately be put into words

Biederman's Component Recognition theory

theory that our visual systems break down objects into component parts

Which of the following is a limitation on Biederman's Component Recognition theory?

Facial recognition does not seem based on geons; we perceive faces as faces and not component shapes.

Geons

perceptual building blocks that can be combined to create objects

Law of proximity

elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

Law of similarity

objects that are similar tend to be grouped together

Closure(Gestalt)

objects grouped together are seen as a whole. Mind fills in missing information

Common fate (Gestalt)

Humans tend to perceive elements moving in the same direction as being more related than elements that are stationary or that move in different directions.

Continuation(Gestalt)

we are more likely to see continuous and smooth flowing lines rather than broken or jagged ones

Depth Perception

ability to judge distance and three-dimensional relations

Retinal disparity

difference between the locations of the images in the two eyes

Convergence

the degree that the eyes turn inward(toward the nose)

the brain also uses this information to calculate information about depth

What is the perceptual illusion involving arrows that makes a line seem longer?

Muller-Lyer Illusion

Phi Phenomenon

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

size constancy

the tendency to interpret an object as always being the same actual size, regardless of its distance

How does sound travel?

waves

Sound must travel through

a medium, sound cannot travel through a vacuum.

What is the order in which sound travels through the ear?

Outer ear/pinna, ear canal, eardrum, bones (hammer, anvil, stirrups), cochlea, Cilia, auditory receptor, brain

Localizing sound

The brain can detect differences in when sound was received to your left vs. your right ear By comparing these arrival times, the brain can figure out where the sound came from

What is pitch?

How high or low a sound is

What is frequency and what is it measured in?

-The number of waves per second

-Hertz (Hz)

Frequency theory

pitch is determined by the speed at which neural impulses travel up the auditory pathway

Place theory

pitch is determined by the specific place on the basilar membrane (within cochlea) that is active (base of the basilar membrane responds best to high frequencies and the tip of the basilar membrane responds best to low frequencies)

What kinds of cells does the skin contain?

Pressure-sensitive receptor cells

What kinds of information do different nerve fibers carry?

Location and duration

thermoreceptors

receptors that detect changes in temperature

pain

an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage

Thermal Grill Illusion

Metal feels colder than wood, because metal absorbs more heat from the skin, and the brain perceives this loss of heat as being cooler, even though it is not

Nociceptors

pain receptors

gate control theory

neural impulses generated by pain receptors can be blocked, or gated, in the spinal cord by signals produced in the brain

What is the role of endorphins according to gate control theory

chemicals released in the body that inhibit the experience of pain

Difference between small fibers and large fibers in gate control theory

-Large Fibers= close gate and prevent pain -Small Fibers= open gate and allow for pain

Kinesthesia

movement

kinesthetic sense

ability to sense the position and movement of one's own body in space

vestibular system

responds to changes in upright posture

• changes can lead to vertigo, dizziness, and nausea

Four basic tastes

sweet, bitter, salty, and sour

5th taste

umami (savory)

What are taste buds?

Taste receptors that help identify what the taste is. Different receptors are sensitive to different tastes.

Where are the taste buds located?

Papillae of the tongue (small bumps on tongue)

Where is taste processed?

insular cortex

What type of cells detect smell and taste?

Chemoreceptors

What is the formal name of the "tiny hairs" in the olfactory receptor cells?

Cilia

Olfactory cortex is part of which system?

Limbic system