AP Psych Sensation & Perception

Cornea

Cornea

• Transparent, dome-like structure on the front part of the eye

• Gives eye focusing or refracting power

Pupil

• Adjustable opening in the center of the eye where light enters

• Controls amount of light entering eyes

Iris

• Forms colored portion of the eye around the pupil

• Controls size of pupil opening

Lens

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

• Focus the eye on near or far objects

Retina

• Light-sensitive layer that lines the back of the eye

Photoreceptors

• Convert light energy to electrochemical neural impulses that are conducted to our brain

• Rods and cones

Rods

• Allow us to see in dim light

• Perception of movement in peripheral vision

Cones

• Function in daylight and well-lit areas

• Ability to see color

Optic Nerve

• Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain (occipital lobe)

Blind Spot/Optic Disc

• Point where optic nerve leaves the eye

• No receptor cells located there

Pinna

• Outer ear, visible part

• Designed to catch sound waves

Auditory/Ear Canal

• Small tube in the outer ear between ear flap and eardrum

• Transfers sound waves through ear

Tympanic Membrane/Eardrum

• Part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it

Middle Ear

• Between eardrum and cochlea

• Allow sound waves to vibrate bones (auditory ossicles)

• Malleus, incus, stopes

Cochlea

• Snail-looking, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear (sound waves trigger nerve impulses

• Also deals with balance

Auditory Nerve

• Carries sound from cochlea to the brain

Gustation

• A two-phase chemical reaction that involves both our mouth and throat (taste) and nose (smell)

• Processing sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami

Olfacation

• Chemical molecules being breathed through the nose

Kinesthesis

• Sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Vestibular

• Located in the inner ear

• Controls balance

Absolute Threshold

• Smallest level of stimulus that can be detected

• Ex: The instant you start to hear music when gradually turning the volume up

Just Noticeable Difference/Difference Threshold

• Amount something must be changed to notice the difference

• Ex: Noticing the volume difference between 0 and 10 but not noticing the difference between 10 and 11

Weber's Law

• Amount of stimulus needed to notice a change depends on how proportionate the change is from the strength of the original stimulus

Inattentional Blindness

• When our focus is directed at one stimulus, leaving us blind to other stimuli

Change Blindness

• Missing things that change in your environment

Synesthesia

• Condition in which two senses are sensed at the same time, where one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another

Color Blindness

• Lacking functioning red or green sensitive cones (sometimes both)

• Missing cones that respond to a specific color

Face Blindness

• Inability to recognize people's faces

Monocular Perception

• Clues that can be used in depth perception that only need one eye

Binocular Perception

• Require both eyes to perceive depth or distance

Gestalt Perception

• Brain’s tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Perceptual Constancy

• Top-down process

• Tendency to perceive an object you are familiar with as having a constant shape, size, and brightness despite the stimuli changes that occur

Hubel & Weisel

• Made studies on visual cortex by recording the electrical activity of cat brains

• Sewed some cats eyes shut

Gustav Fechner

• Demonstrated that mental processes can be measured