AP Psychology-Sensations

sensation

the biological process of sensing the world through various systems in our body

perception

process of interpreting your senses

somatic nervous system

your sensations will be sent to this part of the PNS

thalmus

sensations, other than smell, are process is in this part of the brain

sensory receptors

these take in stimuli energies, modify and transports them to the brain

bottom up processing

focuses on the information received by the sensory receptors and builds to a conclusion; this process is figuring things out

top down processing

uses the stimuli received by our senses to validate our predictions; this process is more expectations and is faster but less accurate

sensory reduction

protects ourselves from being overwhelmed

reticular formation

part of the brain that screens for sensory info

cerebral cortex

part of the brain where the lobes are located

transduction

conversion of outside info to neural impulses

rods

vision neuron for brightness

cones

vision neuron for color

organ of corti

hearing nueron

psychophysics

the study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experineces of them

absolute threshold

smallest amount of a stimulus needed to detect that a stimulus is present

difference threshold

minimal difference needed to notice a stimulus change

signal detection theory

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

weber’s law

to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by constant minimum percentage (2% difference)

sensory adaptation

repeated or constant stimulation decreases the number of sensory messages sent to the brain, which causes decreased sensation

brightness

light intensity or_____ is the amount of energy in a light wave

color

light wavelength or____ is the distance between the peaks in light waves

hue

this is the name of the color

blue-ish

short wavelengths result in this color

red-ish

long wavelengths result in this color

amplitude/height

this part of the wavelength determines the brightness we see

cornea

transparent area of the eye

pupil

part of the eye that determines brightness

iris

part of the eye that dilates the pupil and has the color

lens

part of the eye that bends light and where accommodation happens

retina

back of the eye where transduction occurs

accommodation

automatic adjustment of the eye, which occurs when muscles change the shape of the lens so that it focuses light on the retina

myopia

can’t see far away(nearsighted)

hyperopia

can’t see up close(farsighted

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

additive color mixing

wavelengths are mixed together stimulating more cones, when lights are added together the end color will be white

subtractive color mixing

mixing colors causes more wavelengths to be absorbed, color will turn black

fovea

center of the retina that is only made of cones gives you the clearest image

ganglion

cells in the eye that light hits first

young-Helmholtz/trichromatic theory of color

ratio of the cells firing contribute to the different shades we see

afterimages

young-Helmholtz/trichromatic theory of color can’t explain these

opponent-process theory of color

color sensitive visual elements are group into 3 pairs(red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white) and opposing retinal processes enable color vision

feature detectors

neurons in the brain’s cortex that respond to features like shape, angle, or movement

this lobe deconstructs and reassembles visual images

parallel processing

processing multiple aspects of a stimuli

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 highness or lowness

conduction deafness

caused when the middle earbones fuse together

cochlea

spot where transduction occurs in the ear

nerve deafness

organ of corti are damaged

place theory

the sound hits a specific spots on the basilar membrane than it hits specific spots on the temporal lobe

frequency match theory

haircells fire in unison(concert) in order to get high level sounds

sound localization

determined by which ear is hit first by soundwaves

touch

tactile stimulus that reduces anxiety

gate control theory of pain

spinal cord contains neurological gates that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

nociceptors

sensory receptors that detect harmful temps, pressure, or chemicals

c fibers

slow non-myelin fibers that carry chronic pain, dull aches, and burning sensations

a-delta fiber

myelinated fiber that carries sharp, pricking pains

olfacation

sense of smell

gustation

sense of taste

umami

enhanced flavor

tastebuds

neurons on the tongue

papillae

groups of neurons on the tongue

supertasters

large number of papillae on their tongue

non-tasters

have only hundreds of papillae on their tongue; tend to weigh more

amygdala

smell triggers this part of the brain

anosmia

inability to smell

capsaicin

active chemical released to deal with spice

pheromones

chemicals released by an animal and detected by another that shape the other animal’s behavior

kinesthesis

our movement sense

vestibular sense

our balance sense

cerebellum, inner ear(otoliths), vestibular sacs, and semicircular cannals

controls our balance

proprioceptors

located in joins, tendons, and muscles; sensors necessary for motion and position

sensory interaction

one sense can influence another

embodied cognition

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive references and judgements

synesthesia

your senses are connected/blending of the different senses