pysch cognition FULL

Sensation

Detecting a stimulus through the 5 senses (touch

Perception

The process of interpreting the information we obtain through our five senses; when our brain organizes and interprets sensory information

Sensory receptors

Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another; in sensation

Psychophysics

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (such as their intensity) and our psychological experience of them

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Signal detection theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience

Subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Difference threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time; experienced as a just noticeable difference (JND)

Weber's law

The principle that

Sensory adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Top-down processing

When you use prior knowledge and experiences to interpret information

Proofreader's illusion

Overlooking mistakes/auto-correcting mistakes due to top-down processing; when your brain overlooks spelling or grammar mistakes

Bottom-up processing

Information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information; building perception from the ground up without prior knowledge; takes longer to process

Schema

A mental framework that's built from our past experiences; a cognitive structure that guides our perception

Perceptual set

A mental shortcut your brain uses to quickly interpret what you're experiencing

Selective attention

Only paying attention to one stimulus; when we focus on a particular stimulus and tune out other stimuli in our environment

Cocktail party effect

The ability to focus on a specific conversation or sound in a noisy setting while filtering out the noisy background

Inattentional blindness

The failure to notice stimuli in our visual field due to our attention being focused elsewhere

Change blindness

A type of inattentional blindness where we fail to notice changes in the environment

Apparent movement

When we perceive motion even though nothing is actually moving

Stroboscopic motion

Illusion of movement created by showing a series of images in rapid succession

Phi phenomenon

Occurs when lights blink on and off in a sequence

Induced movement

When a stationary object appears to move because of the motion of surrounding objects

Autokinetic effect

When a stationary point of light in a dark environment appears to move

Figure and ground

How our visual system separates what we see into the object of focus (figure) and the background (ground)

Continuation

Why our eyes naturally follow continuous lines or paths

Closure

How our brain subconsciously fills in missing information when viewing a familiar but incomplete object

Similarity

How we perceive a group of similar objects or patterns as one cohesive unit

Proximity

When objects are placed close to each other they are often perceived as one single group

Symmetry

When objects that are symmetrical to each other are perceived as one rather than individual separate elements

Wavelength

The distance from the peak of one light wave or sound wave to the peak of the next

Hue

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as color names (blue

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave

Cornea

The eye's clear

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

Iris

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Lens

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

Retina

The light-sensitive back inner surface of the eye

Accommodation (vision)

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

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black

Cones

Retinal receptors concentrated near the center of the retina that function in daylight or well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

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

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

The theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors (one most sensitive to red

Opponent-process theory

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green

Feature detectors

Nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus

Depth perception

The ability to perceive relative distance of an object in one's visual field

Binocular cues

Rely on both eyes working together to judge depth

Convergence

When we look at something close our eyes move inward; when focusing on something farther away our eyes straighten out

Retinal disparity

The difference between the two images each eye sees

Monocular cues

Only require one eye and help us perceive depth on flat or two-dimensional surfaces

Relative size

Objects closer to us appear larger while objects farther away appear smaller

Interposition

When one object blocks another; the blocked object is perceived as farther away

Relative height

Objects higher in our visual field appear farther away while lower objects seem closer

Shading and contour

Helps us perceive the shape and form of an object

Texture and gradient

Objects that are clear

Linear perspective

When parallel lines seem to converge in the distance

Motion parallax

Objects closer to you appear to move quickly while those farther away seem to move more slowly

Perceptual constancy

The ability to perceive objects as having consistent shape

Size constancy

Our brain's tendency to perceive objects as the same size

Color constancy

When we perceive the color of an object to remain constant even if the lighting changes

Shape constancy

Tendency of the brain to perceive an object's shape as the same even when it moves

Lightness constancy

Our ability to perceive the blackness

Audition

The sense or act of hearing

Frequency

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

Pitch

A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Middle ear

The chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea containing three tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Cochlea

A coiled

Inner ear

The innermost part of the ear

Sensorineural hearing loss

The most common form of hearing loss

Conduction hearing loss

A less common form of hearing loss

Cochlear implant

Device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Place theory

In hearing

Frequency theory

In hearing

Gate-control theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

Gustation

Our sense of taste

Olfaction

Our sense of smell

Kinesthesis

Our movement sense; our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Vestibular sense

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

Sensory interaction

The principle that one sense can influence another

Embodied cognition

The influence of bodily sensations

Cognition

All forms of knowing and awareness such as perceiving

Concepts

Mental categories that help us organize and understand the world

Prototypes

The most typical or basic example of a concept

Assimilation

When we fit new information into existing schemas

Accommodation (cognitive)

When we change a schema to incorporate new information

Executive functions

Cognitive processes that help individuals generate

Algorithms

Tackling a problem step by step in a systematic way

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts based on past experiences

Representative heuristic

Making judgments based on how much something resembles a typical case or stereotype

Availability heuristic

Making judgments based on how easily examples come to mind

Mental sets

A cognitive framework that relies on past experiences and successful strategies to solve new problems

Priming

The activation

Repetition priming

When exposure to a specific stimulus makes it easier to recognize that same or similar stimulus later

Semantic priming

The influence of one word on the interpretation of another related word

Framing

How information is presented

Creativity

When we create new original ideas and solutions

Divergent thinking

When a person explores many possible solutions