Sensation, Perception, Emotions, Motivation, and Stress

A set of flashcards covering essential vocabulary and concepts related to sensation, perception, emotions, motivation, and stress.

Sensation

The process of detecting physical energy from the environment and converting it into neural signals.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to make it meaningful.

Bottom-up processing

An approach that starts with sensory input and builds up to the final perception.

Top-down processing

An approach that begins with the brain's prior knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information.

Transduction

The conversion of one form of energy into another, such as transforming sensory stimuli into neural impulses.

Absolute threshold

The minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur for a stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.

Signal detection theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus among background noise.

Difference threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; also known as just noticeable difference (JND).

Weber’s law

The principle stating that for two stimuli to be perceived as different, they must differ by a constant minimum percentage, not a constant amount.

Sensory adaptation

The diminished sensitivity to a stimulus as a consequence of constant exposure to that stimulus.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, influenced by expectations and experiences.

Physical sensations for vision

Includes light waves being detected by specialized receptor cells in the retina.

Physical sensations for hearing

Includes sound waves being captured by the ear canal and processed by auditory receptor cells.

Kinesthesia

The sense of body position and movement, enabled by specialized receptor cells in muscles and joints.

Thalamus

A brain structure that relays sensory information to the appropriate areas of the brain.

Eardrum

A membrane that vibrates in response to sound waves, transmitting sound to the inner ear.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear that houses the sensory receptors for hearing.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain.

Conduction Hearing Loss

Hearing loss due to problems with the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Cochlear Implants

Devices that convert sound into electrical signals and stimulate the auditory nerve directly to provide sound perception.

Loudness

A perception of sound intensity influenced by amplitude of sound waves.

Stereophonic hearing

The ability to perceive sound in three dimensions, allowing one to locate the direction of sound.

Synesthesia

A condition where stimulation of one sensory modality leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory modality.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an action is performed and when the same action is observed, facilitating imitation.

James Lange theory of emotions

The theory that emotions arise from physiological arousal and the body's reaction to stimuli.

Cannon Bard theory of emotions

The theory that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously but independently.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory of emotions

The theory that emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive labeling of that arousal.

Spillover effect

The tendency for our emotional responses to spill over from one event to another.

Hierarchy of needs

A motivational theory comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels.

Drive reduction theory

A theory stating that motivation is based on the need to reduce drives, such as hunger or thirst, to achieve homeostasis.

Yerkes-Dodson law

The principle that performance improves with arousal up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

Resilience

The ability to recover quickly from stress or adversity.

Chronic stress

Long-term stress resulting from ongoing situational pressures.

Learned helplessness

A mental state in which an individual feels unable to control their environment, leading to passive behavior.

Internal locus of control

The belief that one has control over their own life and outcomes.

External locus of control

The belief that one's fate is determined by external forces beyond their control.

HPA Axis

The hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, a central stress response system.

Cortisol

A hormone released in response to stress, involved in various body functions including metabolism and immune response.