1.6a to 1.6b Wednesday vocab quiz

sensation

detecting information from our senses

Sensory receptors

sensory

nerve endings that respond to

stimuli.

Perception

the process by

which our brain organizes and

interprets sensory information

bottom-up processing

information processing that

begins with the sensory

receptors and works up to the

brain's integration of sensory.

information.

top-down processing

using what you already know, your experiences and expectations to interpret what you’re seeing or experiencing

Transduction

TRANSFORMING energy into neural signals

psychophysics

the study of how physical stimuli relate to sensory experiences

absolute threshold

the

minimum stimulus energy

needed to detect a particular

stimulus 50 percent of the time.

signal detection theory

The idea that detecting a stimulus depends on both the stimulus itself and your psychological state

subliminal

below one's

absolute threshold for conscious

awareness.

priming

the activation, often

unconsciously, of certain

associations, thus predisposing

one's perception, memory, or

response.

difference threshold

The smallest difference between two stimuli that you can detect 50% of the time

Weber's law

the principle that,

to be perceived as different, two

stimuli must differ by a constant

minimum percentage (rather

than a constant amount).

sensory adaptation

diminished

sensitivity as a consequence of

constant stimulation.

wavelength

the distance from

the peak of one light wave

or sound wave to the peak

of the next. Electromagnetic

wavelengths vary from the short

gamma waves to the long pulses

of radio transmission.

hue

the dimension of color that

is determined by the wavelength

of light; what we know as the

color names blue, green, and so

forth.

intensity

the amount of

energy in a light wave or sound

wave, which influences what

we perceive as brightness or

loudness.

cornea

the eye's clear,

protective outer layer, covering

the pupil and iris.

pupil

the adjustable opening

in the center of the eye through

which light enters.

iris

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, containing

the receptor rods and cones plus

layers of neurons that begin the

processing of visual information.

accommodation

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, white, and gray, and

are sensitive to movement.

cones

retinal receptors that

are concentrated near the

center of the retina and that

function in daylight or in well-lit

conditions.

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,

creating a "blind" spot because

no receptor cells are located

there,

Young-Helmholtz

trichromatic (three-color)

theory

the theory that the retina

contains three different types

of color receptors

opponent-process theory

explains that our sensory and emotional systems operate through opposing pairs, where activating one response automatically suppresses its opposite

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

parallel processing

processing

multiple aspects of a stimulus or

problem simultaneously.