psych - mod. 7

sensation

sensation

sensory systems (eyes, ears, and other sensory organs) and the nervous system receive stimuli from our environment

bottom up processing

information processing that analyzes the raw stimuli entering through the many sensory systems

perception

process of organizing and interpreting incoming sensory information

top down processing

information processing that draws on expectations and experiences to interpret incoming sensory information

absolute threshold

minimum amount of difference needed to detect a particular stimulus (50% of the time)

Ex: the dimmest visible star in the sky would be right at the absolute threshold for vision because it is just barely bright enough for you to see

difference threshold

the minimum amount of difference needed to detect that two stimuli are not the same

Ex: How much does the volume have to increase before you can tell that the music playing from your stereo has become louder

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity to constant and unchanging stimulation

Ex: When you dive into a swimming pool filled with cold water, at first it seems cold and then you get used to it.

selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus to the exclusion of others

Ex: E.G. Boring’s old woman young woman drawing

cornea

clear curved bulge on the front of the eye that bends light rays to begin focusing them

iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye and regulates the size of the pupil

pupil

the adjustable opening in the center of the iris, which controls the amount of light entering in the eye

lens

a transparent structure behind the pupil in the eye that changes shape to focus images on the retina

retina

the light-sensitive surface at the back of the eyeball

receptor cells

specialized cells in every sensory system of the body that can turn other kinds of energy into action potentials (neural impulses) that the brain can process

rods

visual receptor cells located in the retina that can detect only black, white, and gray

cones

visual receptor cells located in the retina that can detect sharp details and color

optic nerve

the nerve that carries visual information from the eye to occipital lobes of the brain

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve travels through the retina to exit the eye; the lack of rods and cones at this point creates a small blind spot

trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that says cones are sensitive to red, green, or blue light--the three colors that combine to create millions of color combinations

opponent process theory

theory of color vision that says color is processed by cones organized in opponent pairs (red-green, yellow-blue, black-white); light that stimulates one half of the pair inhibits the other half

pitch

a sound’s highness or lowness, which depends on the frequency of the sound wave

cochlea

the major organ of hearing; a snail-shaped, bony, fluid-filled structure in the inner ear where sound waves are changed to neural impulses

hair cells

the receptor cells for hearing; these are located in the cochlea and are responsible for changing sound vibrations into neural impulses

auditory nerve

the nerve that carries sound info from the ears to the temporal lobes of the brain

taste

chemical sense; 5 different types of taste: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami, sense of smell and taste are aligned

smell

processed by olfactory cells in our nasal passages, goes straight into the limbic system, a particle of it binds with the mucus

sensory interaction

one of your senses affect another sense, smell and taste influence one another

touch

• touch receptors on the skin

  • four basic types of skin receptors: pain, warmth, cold, and pressure

gate-control theory

our spinal cord contains neurological “gates” that either block pain or allow it to be sensed

pain control

can be controlled by many therapies, like drugs, surger, acupuncture, exercise, hypnosis, distraction

kinesthetic sense

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

vestibular sense

the system for sensing body orientation and balance, which is located in the semicircular canals of the inner ear