psych unit 3 test

senstations and perceptions

opponent-process theory

theory that the eye processes four primary colors (+ the absence and combination of all) in the form of pairs: red + green, blue + yellow, and black + white

young-Helmholtz/trichromatic theory

theory that the retina contains receptors sensitive to red, green, and blue

sensation

turning stimuli into neural signals

perception

organizing and interpreting our sensations

conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the parts of the ear; can be treated with hearing aids

sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to specifically the cochlea’s receptor cells of auditory nerve; can be treated with cochlear implants

rods

outermost part of the retina that helps with night vision; part of 1st step for seeing

cones

outermost part of retina that helps with colors; part of 1st step for seeing

bipolar cells

middle part of the retina; neurons between rods/cones and ganglion cells; 2nd step for seeing

ganglion cells

innermost part of the retina; their axons combine to form the optic nerve; 3rd step for seeing

optic nerve

the part of the eye that sends the visual message from the retina to the thalamus; 4th step for seeing

thalamus

sensory switchboard (all sense-related info comes through it); 5th step for seeing

feature detector

the nerves in the visual cortex that respond to edges, angles, and movement

lens

part of the eye that flips image & focuses the light on the retina

retina

part of the eye that grabs and sends visual signals

iris

muscle of the eye that contracts and opens to protect the pupil

basilar membrane

part inside the cochlea that vibrates in response to sound and stimulates the hairs

olfactory receptors

up to 5 million of these; send odorant signals to be translated into smell; in back and slightly above nasal cavity

sensory adaptation

a decrease in sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation

absolute threshold

minimum stimulation that produces a response exactly 50% of the time

kinesthesis

the sense of our body’s position and movement

perceptual adaptation

visual ability to adjust to an artificially displaced visual field

gestalt

to organize the senses, you must look at the whole picture

figure-ground

organizing vision into objects that stand out from the ground

continuity

a type of grouping, when the image is never ending

connectedness

a type of grouping; when one part of the image is connected to another part of the image

convergence

a binocular cue; when an object comes closer to your face, your eyes move inward (cross-eyed)

binocular cues

cues requiring information from both eyes

interposition

a monocular cue; the way that objects blocking other objects appear closer

monocular cue

cues requiring information from one eye

retinal disparity

a binocular cue; the way that images between your two eyes differ

relative size

a monocular cue; if two objects are similar in size, the smaller-looking one appears farther away

reative clarity

a monocular cue; objects that are fuzzier and less detailed, it appears farther away

texture gradient

a monocular cue; indistinct or fine textures appear farther away

relative height

a monocular cue; objects higher in our field of vision appear farther away

relative motion

a monocular cue; objects closer to the fixation point appear to be moving faster and in the opposite direction (& vice versa)

linear perspective

a monocular cue; parallel lines appear to converge in the distance

top-down processing

processing by beginning with the mind and working to the senses

bottom-up processing

processing by beginning with senses and working to the mind

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to see one thing and not another

schemas

concepts that organize and interpret unfamiliar information

phi phenomenom

when lights flash at a specific speed, they give an illusion of motion

cocktail party effect

hearing what the one person you’re talking to is saying, even if there’s tons of other ppl talking

retina; cochlea

________ is to the eye as ________ is to the ear

cornea

the outermost layer of the eye; protects/shields the eye