Studied by 15 people
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Absolute Threshold
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
Accommodation
The eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Addiction
Compulsive craving and use of a substance.
Alcohol Use Disorder
Prolonged and problematic alcohol use.
Alpha Waves
The slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.
Amphetamines
Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up functions.
Audition
The sense or act of hearing.
Barbiturates
Drugs depressing the central nervous system, impairing memory and judgment.
Binocular Cues
Depth cues that depend on the use of both eyes.
Blind Spot
The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a 'blind' spot because no receptor cells are located there.
Bottom-Up Processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Change Blindness
Failing to notice changes in the environment.
Circadian Rhythm
The biological clock regulating bodily rhythms on a 24-hour cycle.
Cocaine
A powerful stimulant producing increased alertness and euphoria.
Cochlea
A coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that triggers nerve impulses in response to sound waves.
Cochlear Implant
A device converting sounds into electrical signals to stimulate the auditory nerve.
Color Constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if lighting alters the wavelengths reflected.
Conduction Hearing Loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system conducting sound waves to the cochlea.
Cones
Retinal receptors concentrated near the retina's center and function in daylight or well-lit conditions.
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.
Delta Waves
The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.
Depressants
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.
Depth Perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions, allowing judgment of distance.
Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.
Dissociation
A split in consciousness that allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously.
Dream
A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts in a sleeping mind.
Ecstasy (MDMA)
A stimulant and mild hallucinogen causing euphoria and social intimacy.
Embodied Cognition
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.
Ernest Hilgard
Known for his theory of dissociation in hypnosis.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
The claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input.
Feature Detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, like shape, angle, or movement.
Figure-Ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).
Fovea
The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
Frequency
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time, determining pitch.
Frequency Theory
Theory that the brain reads pitch by monitoring the frequency of neural impulses.
Gate-Control Theory
Theory that the spinal cord has a gate that blocks or allows pain signals to the brain.
Gestalt
An organized whole; gestalt psychologists emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Grouping
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Hallucination
A false sensory experience with no external stimulus.
Hallucinogens
Drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images.
Hue
The color we experience, determined by the wavelength of light.
Hypnosis
A social interaction involving a subject's openness to suggestions.
Inattentional Blindness
Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.
Inner Ear
The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Insomnia
Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, perceived as brightness or loudness.
Iris
The colored part of the eye, a muscle that controls the size of the pupil.
Kinesthesia
The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Latent Content
The hidden meaning of a dream, per Freud.
Lens
The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina.
LSD
A powerful hallucinogenic drug causing visual distortions.
Manifest Content
The remembered storyline of a dream.
Methamphetamine
A highly addictive stimulant that affects dopamine levels.
Middle Ear
The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea with three tiny bones that concentrate vibrations on the cochlea's oval window.
Monocular Cues
Depth cues available to either eye alone.
Narcolepsy
A disorder causing uncontrollable sleep attacks.
Near-Death Experience
An altered state of consciousness reported after close brushes with death.
Nicotine
A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco.
Night Terrors
High arousal and appearance of terror during NREM-3 sleep.
NREM Sleep
Non-rapid eye movement sleep encompassing all stages except REM.
Opiates
Drugs that reduce pain and anxiety.
Opponent-Process Theory
Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.
Optic Nerve
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Parallel Processing
The brain's ability to process many aspects of a problem simultaneously.
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.
Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Perceptual Adaptation
The ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field.
Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in illumination and retinal images.
Perceptual Set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
Phi Phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off.
Pitch
A tone's highness or lowness, depending on frequency.
Place Theory
Theory linking the pitch we hear with the location where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
Posthypnotic Suggestion
A suggestion made during hypnosis to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.
Priming
The activation of certain associations, predisposing perception, memory, or response.
Psychoactive Drug
A chemical that alters perceptions and moods.
Psychophysics
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them.
Pupil
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
REM Rebound
The tendency for REM sleep to increase after deprivation.
REM Sleep
A sleep stage with vivid dreams and relaxed muscles, while other systems are active.
Retina
The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing rods and cones and processing visual information.
Retinal Disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from both eyes.
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.
Selective Attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or auditory nerves.
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished sensitivity due to constant stimulation.
Sensory Interaction
The principle that one sense may influence another.
Sigmund Freud
Proposed theories on dreams, particularly manifest and latent content.
Signal Detection Theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise.
Sleep
A periodic, natural loss of consciousness.
Sleep Apnea
A disorder with temporary cessations of breathing and awakenings.
Stimulants
Drugs that excite neural activity and increase body functions.
Subliminal
Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Substance Use Disorder
Continued substance craving and use despite risks.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
A pair of hypothalamic cell clusters controlling circadian rhythm.
THC
The major active ingredient in marijuana causing mild hallucinations.
Tolerance
Diminished drug effect with regular use.
Top-Down Processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, drawing on our experience and expectations.
Transduction
The conversion of one form of energy into another, as in transforming stimulus energies into neural impulses.
Vestibular Sense
The sense of body movement and position, including balance.
