Sensation and Perception Review

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture notes on sensation and perception, including definitions, theories, and physiological processes.

What is Sensory Adaptation?

The process of adapting to changes in sensory input, such as lighting levels or temperature.

Define Bottom-Up Processing.

Processing that is based on sensory input and experiences without relying on prior knowledge.

What is Top-Down Processing?

Utilizing prior experiences and knowledge to make associations with sensory input.

What is the Absolute Threshold?

The minimum level of stimulus intensity needed for detection 50% of the time.

Provide an example of Absolute Threshold for vision.

A candle flame seen at 30 miles on a dark clear night.

Describe Signal Detection Theory.

A theory that explains how we detect stimuli amid noise; it includes the concepts of hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections.

What is Selective Attention?

The process of focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others, exemplified by the cocktail party effect.

Define Just Noticeable Difference (JND).

The minimum amount of change in a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

What does Weber’s Law state?

The principle that JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

What structures are involved in the visual process?

Cornea, pupil, iris, lens, retina, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, and optic nerve.

What is the Blind Spot?

The area in the retina where the optic nerve leaves, containing no visual receptors.

Differentiate between rods and cones.

Rods detect shades and dim light; cones detect color and function best in bright light.

Explain Accommodation in vision.

The process by which the lens changes shape to focus images on the retina.

What is the Opponent Process Theory?

A theory that states we perceive colors in pairs such as red-green and yellow-blue.

Describe the Young-Helmholtz theory.

The trichromatic theory that suggests the retina has three types of color receptors: red, blue, and green.

What is Transduction?

The process of converting energy from stimulus (like light or sound) into neural impulses.

List the parts of the auditory process.

Waves enter the eardrum, vibrate the bones of the middle ear, then reach the oval window and the cochlea.

What is the role of endorphins in sensation?

Endorphins act as natural painkillers in the body.

What do taste buds indicate about basic tastes?

Each taste indicates something essential about its source: sweet for energy, salty for sodium, sour for potential toxins, bitter for poisons, and umami for proteins.

What is the significance of smell (olfaction)?

Smell helps identify food freshness, alerts to danger, and works closely with taste.

Explain the concept of perceptual set.

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another based on expectations.

What are binocular and monocular cues for depth perception?

Binocular cues involve two eyes (like convergence), while monocular cues involve one eye (like interposition and relative size).