PSY 10000 Exam 2 Textbook Vocab

Sensation

simple stimulation of a sense organ

Perception

he organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation

Transduction

the process whereby sense receptors convert physical signals from the environment into neural signals that are sent to the central nervous system

sensory adaptation

sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current (unchanging) conditions

psychophysics

methods that systematically relate the physical characteristics of a stimulus to an observer's perception

absolute threshold

the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the trials

sensitivity

how responsive we are to faint stimuli

acuity

how well we can distinguish two very similar stimuli, (such as two tones that differ slightly in loudness or two lights that differ slightly in brightness)

just noticeable difference (JND)

the minimal change in a stimulus (e.g., its loudness or brightness) that can just barely be detected

Weber's law

for every sense domain, the change in a stimulus that is just noticeable is a constant proportion despite variation in intensities (fraction 2%)

signal detection theory

the response to a stimulus depends both on a person's sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person's decision criterion

wavelengths, and what do they determine **

distance between their peaks, hue (for visible light)

purity of light refers to what and influences what **

degree to which a light source is emitting just one wavelength or mixture of wavelengths, influences how saturated color looks

saturation **

rich color

pupil **

a hole in the colored part of the eye

iris **

translucent, doughnut-shaped muscle that controls the size of the pupil

retina

a layer of light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball

lens **

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

accommodation

the process whereby the eye maintains a clear image on the retina

myopia v hyperopia which is which **

myopia: nearsightedness

hyperopia: farsightedness

photoreceptor cells **

contain light-sensitive proteins that absorb light and transduce it into electrical signals. cones and rods

Cones

detect color, operate under typical daylight conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail.

Rods

become active only under low-light conditions, for night vision

fovea

an area of the retina where vision is clearest and there are no rods at all

retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) **

which organize the signals from rods and cones and send them to the brain

blind spot

a location in the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina

area V1

part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex

color-opponent system

airs of cone types (channels) work in opposition, green afterimage when looking at red

ventral (lower) stream **

the what pathway in occipital lobe

dorsal (upper) stream **

the where at pathway in occipital lobe (perception for action)

Parallel processing

the brain's capacity to perform multiple activities at the same time

binding problem

how the brain links features together so that we see unified objects in our visual world rather than free-floating or miscombined features

illusory conjunction

a perceptual mistake whereby the brain incorrectly combines features from multiple objects

feature-integration theory **

focused attention is not required to detect the individual features that make up a stimulus (e.g., the color, shape, size, and location of letters), but it is required to bind those individual features together

attention

the active and conscious processing of particular information

machine learning

a form of artificial intelligence in which a computer program learns from data that are input to the program and uses that information to process new data

perceptual constancy

even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant (clock is circle from every angle)

perceptual organization

The process of grouping and segregating features to create whole objects organized in meaningful ways

Simplicity **

perceive the complex shape as an arrow, rather than as two separate shapes: a triangle sitting atop a rectangle.

Closure **

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Continuity **

We tend to group together edges or contours that have the same orientation, crossing lines instead of 2 v shapes

similarity **

the tendency to perceive things that look similar to each other as being part of the same group

proximity **

close together are grouped together

common fate **

Elements of a visual image that move together are perceived as parts of a single moving object

Monocular depth cues

aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only one eye

binocular disparity

the difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides information about depth

apparent motion

perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations

Biological motion perception

ability to perceive biological motion critical for identifying individuals and socially relevant features, such as their emotional state, personality characteristics, and whether they are engaging in deceptive actions

change blindness

when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

inattentional blindness

failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

sound waves

changes in air pressure unfolding over time

pitch

how high or low a sound is (frequency)

Loudness

the perception of a sound's intensity (amplitude) (signaled by total amount of activity in hair cells)

timbre

the quality of sound that allows you to distinguish two sources with the same pitch and loudness

cochlea

a fluid-filled tube that contains cells that transduce sound vibrations into neural impulses

basilar membrane

a structure in the inner ear that moves up and down in time with vibrations relayed from the ossicles, transmitted through the oval window

inner hair cells

specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane

area A1

the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe

place code

the brain uses information about the relative activity of hair cells (e.g., which ones are more active and which are less active) across the whole basilar membrane to help determine the pitch you hear

temporal code

the brain uses the timing of the action potentials in the auditory nerve to help determine the pitch you hear

Haptic perception

active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands

referred pain

sensory information from internal and external areas converges on the same nerve cells in the spinal cord

gate-control theory

signals arriving from pain receptors in the body can be stopped, or gated, by interneurons in the spinal cord via feedback from the skin or from the brain

proprioception

your sense of bodily position

vestibular system

the three fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear

olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs)

receptor cells that transduce odorant molecules into neural impulses

olfactory bulb

a brain structure located above the nasal cavity beneath the frontal lobes

pheromones

biochemical odorants emitted by other members of an animal's species that can affect its behavior or physiology

taste buds

the organs of taste transduction

emotion

a temporary state that prepares people for action and is characterized by a distinctive subjective experience and pattern of physiological activity

appraisal

conscious or unconscious evaluations and interpretations of the emotion-relevant aspects of a stimulus or event

action tendencies

a readiness to engage in a specific set of emotion-relevant behaviors

The James-Lange Theory

The subjective experience of emotion follows our body's specific response to a stimulus.

The Cannon-Bard Theory

The subjective experience of emotion accompanies our body's specific response to a stimulus.

The Two-Factor Theory

The subjective experience of emotion depends on how we label our body's general response to a stimulus.

emotional expression

an observable sign of an emotional state

universality hypothesis

all emotional expressions mean the same thing to all people in all places at all times

facial feedback hypothesis

emotional expressions can cause the emotional experiences they typically signify

display rule

a norm for the appropriate expression of emotion (roll your eyes at friend, not grandma)