Perception Vocabulary

Place Theory

Place Theory

Suggests that the perception of pitch is determined by the specific place on the basilar membrane of the cochlea that vibrates in response to sound.

Frequency Theory

Proposes that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, allowing us to detect its pitch.

Volley Principle

An extension of the frequency theory, stating that groups of auditory neurons can fire in rapid succession, allowing for the perception of higher pitches than individual neurons can encode alone.

Gate-Control Theory

Describes how the spinal cord has a "gate" mechanism that either blocks or allows pain signals to pass to the brain, suggesting that pain perception can be modulated by psychological factors.

Gustation

The sense of taste, which involves detecting chemicals through taste receptors on the tongue and mouth.

Oleogustus taste

Refers to the sensation of tasting fat; it's recognized as one of the basic tastes, distinct from sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

Olfaction

The sense of smell, which involves detecting airborne molecules that bind to receptors in the nasal cavity.

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by an organism that can influence the behavior or physiology of other members of the same species, often playing a role in mating and social communication.

Kinesthesis

The sense of the position and movement of body parts, often facilitated by receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints.

Vestibular System

The sensory system responsible for providing the brain with information about balance, spatial orientation, and movement, largely located in the inner ear.

Sensory Interaction

The principle that senses can influence each other; for example, smell can enhance taste.

McGurk Effect

A phenomenon in which visual information affects the perception of spoken sounds, illustrating the interaction between sight and hearing in speech perception.

Synesthesia

A condition where one sensory experience automatically triggers another sense, such as seeing colors when hearing music.

Selective Attention

The process by which a person focuses on one specific sensory input while ignoring others, allowing for concentration on a particular task or stimulus.

Inattentional Blindness

A failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object because attention is engaged on another task, event, or object.

Change Blindness

The failure to detect changes in a visual scene, especially when those changes occur during a brief interruption or distraction.

Gestalt Theory

A psychological approach emphasizing that we tend to perceive whole, organized patterns and objects rather than separate parts.

Figure-Ground

A type of perceptual grouping in which we organize the visual field into objects (the figure) that stand out from the background (the ground).

Depth Perception

The ability to judge distance and three-dimensional characteristics of objects, which allows us to navigate our environment.

Visual Cliff

An experimental setup used to study depth perception in infants, involving a simulated drop-off covered by glass to see if infants can perceive depth.

Binocular vs. Monocular Depth Cues

Depth cues that require two eyes (binocular, e.g., retinal disparity) versus those that can be perceived with one eye (monocular, e.g., linear perspective).

Retinal Disparity

A binocular depth cue based on the difference in images between the two eyes, which the brain uses to calculate depth.

Convergence

A binocular depth cue involving the inward angle of the eyes when focusing on a close object, helping to gauge distance.

Apparent Movement

The perception of motion in a stationary object, such as when lights flash in sequence to simulate movement.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory input, such as changes in lighting, distance, or angle.

Color Constancy

The perception that colors of objects remain consistent under varying lighting conditions, despite changes in the wavelengths reflected.

Perceptual Adaptation

The ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field, showing the brain’s flexibility in adjusting to new sensory experiences.