Psych Quiz #3

What is a hormone-secreting gland also called?

ductless gland

Hormone Definition

chemical messengers that are secreted directly into the bloodstream

Neurotransmitter is to nervous system as hormone is to…

endocrine system

What is the pituitary gland?

pea-shaped organ that regulates growth and water and salt metabolism

Where is the pituitary gland located?

at the base of the brain below hypothalamus

What is another name for the pituitary gland and why?

master gland because it controls other glands

Where is the pineal gland located?

located in brain directly above brainstem

What does the pineal gland do?

secretes melatonin and relaxes the body

What cycle does the pineal gland interact?

sleep-wake cycle in endocrine system

Where is the thyroid gland located?

in the neck

What does the thyroid gland do?

secretes thyroxin and controls metabolism or metabolic rate

What are parathyroids?

healthy bones embedded in thyroid gland

Why are parathyroids necessary?

needed for healthy bone development

What are the adrenal glands?

twin structures of glands that produce adrenaline

Where are the adrenal glands located?

just above kidneys

What do the adrenal glands prepare the body for?

action (fight or flight)

What are the gonads?

sex glands

What are the male gonads called?

testes

What are the female gonads called?

ovaries

What is the masculine hormone?

androgen

What is the feminine hormone?

estrogen

True or False: everyone produces both androgen and estrogen

true

What are primary sex characteristics?

parts of the body necessary for sexual reproduction

What are the male primary sex characteristics?

testes, scrotum, penis

What are the female primary sex characteristics?

ovaries, uterus, vagina

What are the male secondary characteristics?

deepening of the voice, Adam’s apple

What are the female secondary characteristics?

breast buds, widening of the hips

What is a stimulus?

any form of energy to which the sense organs can respond

What is an example of a stimulus?

ringing of a bell

What are senses or sense organs?

systems that translate information (energy) from outside the nervous system into neural activity

Example of Senses

vision is the sense, eye is the sense organ that converts light into neural activity

What is transduction?

process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural activity

Where does transduction occur?

receptor cells in sense organs

What is sensation?

a sense organ’s response to external stimuli that is taken to thalamus by afferent neurons

What is perception?

brain’s interpretation of the sensation, process through which messages are given meaning

What is an example of perception?

cerebral cortex receives input to temporal lobe to auditory cortex

What is the physical stimulus for vision?

light (electromagnetic energy)

Is light invisible to human eye?

mostly except for small portion that is visible light

What are the two characteristics of light?

amplitude and wavelength

What is light amplitude?

distance from base line to peak

What is light wavelength?

distance between peaks in light waves

What is the cornea?

transparent protective covering

What does the cornea do?

bends light wave

What is the aqueous humor?

a watery substance in back of cornea

What does the aqueous humor do?

keeps cornea rounded and lazy, nourishes eye

What is the pupil?

an adjustable opening in the center of the iris

What does the pupil do?

constricts and dilates (only an opening)

What is the iris?

translucent, doughnut-shaped muscle

What does the iris do?

controls amount of light that enters eye because it controls pupil

What does the lens do?

focuses the visual image on the retina (one concave, one convex)

What do the cilliary muscles do?

change shape of lens to bend light rays

What happens with the cilliary muscles?

when object gets closer, the cilliary muscle makes lens more round (pushing it in) and vice versa

What is myopia?

nearsightedness: close objects are clear, distant objects are blurry

(image focuses in front of retina)

What is hyperopia?

farsightedness, distant objects are seen clearly

(image focuses behind retina)

What is the vitreous humor?

jelly-like substance, most of eye, gives shape to eye

What is the retina?

a multilayered light sensitive tissue (3 layers)

Where does transduction in the eye occur?

Retina

What is the outermost layer of the retina?

Photoreceptor Cells

What is the middle layer of the retina that has one dendrite and one axon

Bipolar Cells

What is the inner layer of the retina where action potential occur?

Ganglion Cells

What do photoreceptors do?

perform transduction

What are the two types of photoreceptors?

rods and cones

What are rods’ sensitivity to light?

function better in dim light, highly sensitive to light

What are rods’ color perception?

primarily black and white

Where are rods located?

located on periphery of eyes

What are cones’ sensitivity to light?

function better in bright light, less sensitive to light

What are cones’ color perception

help to see color, distinguish color

Where are cones located?

center of eye (fovea)

What do bipolar neurons do?

pass signals from photo receptors to ganglion cells

What do ganglion neurons do?

generate action potentials and make up optic nerve

Where are ganglion neurons located?

on surface of retina

What is the fovea?

small area in the center of the retina

What is special about the fovea?

only cones no rods

What is the blindspot?

point at which optic nerve is exiting eye (no receptor cells)

What is the function of the optic nerve?

takes message to the brain

What is the trichromatic theory?

cones are most sensitive to wavelengths corresponding to blue, green, and red (3 kinds of cones)

What is one limitation for the trichromatic theory?

cannot explain afterimage

What is the opponent process theory of color?

explains color afterimages, color sensitive visual elements are grouped into pairs that oppose each other (red/green, blue/yellow, and black/white)

What is the dual process theory of color?

combines 2 theories to account for color perception

What is the trichromatic portion of the dual process theory of color?

cones are most sensitive to blue, green, and red

What is the opponent process portion of the dual process theory of color?

begin in ganglion and beyond

What is colorblindness?

inability to sense certain colors

Who are Trichromats?

people with normal color vision

Who are Dichromats?

people who are color blind in one of the three systems

Who are Monochromats?

people who are completely color-blind, sensitive to only black and white

Gestalt Meaning

means whole or form

What is perceptual organization?

making sense out of things by imposing some sort of structure or form

What is figure ground?

organize stimuli into figure against a background

What is the figure ground classification?

perception

What is figure?

part of the visual field that has meaning (stands in front of rest) salient, sticks out

What is ground?

background

What is grouping?

putting things together to form a group

What are the four principles of grouping?

similarity, proximity, closure, and continuity

What is similarity?

similar elements, common feature, look alike

Example of similarity

separate 2 football teams on field because of uniform

What is proximity?

closer objects or events are to one another (perceived as belonging together)

What is closure?

filling in missing contours to form complete object

What is continuity?

create a continuous form or pattern

Example of continuity

traffic patterns

What are perceptual constancies?

helps us to see things as same, even though they appear to be changing