Unit 3 - Sensation & Perception Vocabulary - AP Psychology

Sensation and perception vocab for AP psych

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 respond to stimuli

Perception

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

Bottom-up processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

Top-down processing

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

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Transduction

Sensory receptors convert physical stimuli from the environment into neural signals that the brain can interpret. Conversion of one form energy into another.

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.

Lens

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

Accommodation

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

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

Nearsightedness (Myopia)

A vision condition where close objects are seen clearly, but distant objects appear blurry due to the eye’s shape causing light rays to focus in front of the retina

Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

A vision condition where distant objects are seen clearly, but close objects appear because the eye is too short or the cornea has too little curvature causing lights rays to focus behind the retina

Photoreceptors

Specialized cells in the eyes that detect light and help us see by converting light into electrical signals for the brain

Rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina (retinal receptors) that are sensitive to low light levels and help us in dim conditions, but they do not detect color (detects: black, white and grey)

Cones

Retinal receptors that are responsible for detecting color and providing sharp vision in bright light conditions

Optic nerve

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

Blind Spot

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

Fovea

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

Young-Helmhotta 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

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

Absolute Threshold

The minimum amount of stimulus energy needed for a person to detect a particular sensation 50% of the time (Detection of changes)

Subliminal

Refers to the stimuli that are below the level of conscious awareness but can still influence thoughts, feelings or behaviors

Just-Noticeable Difference (Difference Threshold)

The smallest amount of change in a stimulus that a person can detect 50% oof the time (Noticing changes)

Afterimages

Visual sensations that remain after the original stimulus has been removed, often seen as a lingering image in complementary colors

Ganglion Cells

The neurons in the retina that receive visual information from photoreceptors and transmit it to the brain through their axons, forming the optic nerve

Dichromatism

The type of color vision deficiency where a person can only see two colors instead of the usual threen

Monocromatism

Condition where a person can see no color at all and perceives the world in shades of grey

Prosopagnosia

Neurological condition that impairs a person’s ability to recognize faces, often referred to as face blindness

Blindsight

Phenomenon where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously seeing them, usually due to damage in the primary visual cortex

Audition

The sense or act of hearing

Amplitude

Height of a wave, determines the loudness of a sound or the brightness of a light

Wavelength-Frequency

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

• For example: per second

Pitch

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

Sensorineural Hearing Loss (Nerve Deafness)

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

Conduction Hearing Loss

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

Sensory Adaptation

The process by which our senses become less sensitive to constant stimuli overtime

Synesthesia

A neurological condition in which two or more senses are perceived at once

• e.g. The number 7 is green

Place Theory

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

Volley Theory

The idea that groups of neurons fire in a coordinated manner to encode the frequency of sound waves, allowing us to perceive pitches

Frequency Theory (Temporal Theory)

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it’s pitch

Sound Localization

The ability to determine the origin of a sound based on the differences in the intensity and timing of the sound reaching each ear

Gate-control theory

Suggests that the spinal cord contains a. “gate” that can either block or allow pain signals to reach the brain, influencing our perception of pain (Substance P Neurotransmitter)

Phantom Limb Sensation

The feeling that a missing limb is sill present and can sometimes feel pain or other sensations even though it has been amputated

Gustation

The sense of taste

Umami

One of the five basic tastes, characterized by a savory meaty flavor, often found in foods like soy sauce and mushrooms

Olfaction

The sense of smell

Pheromones

Chemicals secreted by animals and humans that can influence the behavior or physiology of others of the same species

Kinesthesis

Our movement sense — our system for sensing for the position and movement of individual body arts

Vestibular Sense

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

Semicircular canals

Three fluid-filled structures in the inner ear that help maintain balance and head movements

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another

• Anology: As when the smell of food influences its state

Thalamus

Brain structure that acts as a relay station for sensory information , directing it to the appropriate areas of the brain for processing

Taste Receptors

Specialized cells on the tongue that detect different flavors (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami)

Oleogustus

Taste sensation that detects the flavor of fat, often described as a savory or rich taste

Supertasters

Individuals with a heightened sense of taste due to having more taste buds than average, making flavors more intense for them

Medium tasters

Individuals with an average number of taste buds, experiencing flavors at a typical intensity

Non-tasters

Individuals with fewer taste buds, making flvaors less intense for them

Gastalt

An organized whole; our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Figure-ground

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

Proximity

One of the gastalt principles. It states that people tend to organize objects close to each other into a perceptual group and interpret them as a single entity.

• Also called the law of proximty

Closure

One of the gastalt principles of organization. States that people tend to perceive incomplete forms (e.g mages, sounds) as complete, synthesizing the missing units

Binocular Cues

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

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

Monocular Cues

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

Relative size

Perceptual cue where objects that appear smaller are perceived as being further away than larger objects

Relative Motion

The phenomenon where objects to use move faster across our field of vision than those that are farther away when we are in motion

Interposition

A monocular depth cue occurring when two objects are in the same line of vision and the closer object, which is fully in view, partly conceals the further object

• Also called relative position

Linear Perspective

One of the monocular depth cues, arising from the principle that he size of an objects visual image is a function of its distance from the eye. Two objects appear closer together as distance form them increases

Light and Shadow

Depth cues where the distribution of light and shadows on an object can provide information about its shape and position relative to a light source

Perceptual constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape and 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

Brightness constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having the same brightness under different conditions of illumination

Shape constancy

Perceiving objects as having the same shape when viewed at different angles

Size constancy

Perceiving objects as being the same size despite the fact that the size of its retinal image changes depending on it’s distance from the observer

Selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Cocktail party effect

An example of selective attention where you have the ability to attend to one voce among a sea of other voices

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Change blindness

A form of inattentional blindness; failing to notice changes in the envrionment

Choice blindness

Failing to notice mismatches between a persons intended choices and the outcomes they are presented with, often rationalizing the altered outcome as if it were their original decision

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another