quiz 4

hmmmmm gregor

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Amplitude

Determines loudness, and is measured in decibels

Blind Spot

The point where there are no receptor cells.

Bottom Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

Cochlea

Coiled, bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Conduction Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Cones

Concentrated near the center of the retina and function in daylight or well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and color.

Cornea

Transparent protective coating over the front of the eye.

Decibel

Measures loudness

Difference Threshold

The minimum difference between two stimuli required fro detection 50% of the time

Feature Detectors

Specialized brain cells that respond to particular elements such as movement or lines

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the cones cluster

Frequency Theory

The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Frequency

The number of cycles per second in a sound wave

Gate-Control Theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate' that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass onto the brain

Hue

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light (green, blue, red, etc.)

Inner Ear

Consists of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

Iris

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye. Controls the size of the pupil opening.

Kinesthetic Sense

The sense of position and movement of individual body parts

Lens

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

McGurk Effect

Seeing the mouth movement for "ga" while hearing "ba" may have us perceiving "da"

Middle Ear

Consists of three small bones, the hammer, anvil, and stirrup

Opponent Process Theory

The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision; some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red, and vice versa

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Outer Ear

Channels sound waves through the auditory canal towards the eardrum

Parallel Processing

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously. Detects color, depth, form, movement, etc.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Place Theory

The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

Prosopagnosia

A condition stemming from damage to the temporal lobes that disrupts the ability to recognize familiar faces

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods, cones, and layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

Rods

Receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.

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 to the auditory nerves

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

Signal Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulus. Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

Smell

A chemical sense that alerts the brain to fragrances

Subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Synaethesia

When one sort of a sensation, like hearing a sound, produces another, like seeing color

Taste

A chemical sense mixed of salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami

Top Down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Touch

A mix of at least four distinct skin senses (pressure, warmth, cold, and pain)

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another

Vestibular Sense

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Wavelength

The distance from peak to peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Weber's Law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, not an amount

Young-Helmholtz (trichromatic theory)

The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors, ones sensitive to blue, green, and red, which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

Binocular Cues

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes

Closure

Identifies the tendency to fill in gaps in figures and to see incomplete figures as complete

Cocktail-Party Effect

Your ability to attend to only one voice among many

Connectedness

When objects uniform are linked we perceive them as a single unit

Continuity

We prefer perceptions of connected and continuous figures to disconnected and disjointed ones

Convergence

The extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object (the greater the inward strain, the closer the object)

Depth Perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional

Figure-Ground

The organization of the visual fields into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Gestalt

An organized whole

Intentional/Change Blindness

Failing to see visible objects or when objects change when our attention is directed elsewhere

Interposition

If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer

Light Constancy

We perceive an object as having a constant lightness even while its illumination varies

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines appear to converge with distance

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone

Perceptual Adaptation

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging, even as illumination and retinal images change

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 in quick succession

Proximity

We tend to group objects together when they are near each other

Relative Clarity

We perceive hazy objects as father away than sharp, clear objects

Relative Height

We perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away

Relative Motion

As we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move (riding in a car)

Relative Size

If we assume that two objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away

Retinal Disparity

By comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance (the greater the distance between the two images, the closer the object)

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect

Shadow Effect

Given two identical objects, the dimmer one seems farther away

Shape Constancy

We perceive the form of familiar objects as constant even while our retinal images of them change

Similarity

We tend to group similar objects together in our perceptions

Size Constancy

We perceive objects as having a constant size, even while our distance from them varies

Stroboscopic Movement

When the brain perceives continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images (flip book)

Texture Gradient

A gradual change from a coarse distinct texture, to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance

Activation-Synthesis Dream Theory

REM Sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use

Agonists/Antagonists

Agonists mimic the activity of neurotransmitters, and antagonists block the function of a neurotransmitter

Circadian Rhythm

The biological clock, regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Depressants

Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions (alcohol, tranquilizers, and opiates)

Dissociation Theory of Hypnosis

Involves dissociation, a split in consciousness in which one part of the mind operates independently of the rest of consciousness

Dreams

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind

Dualists vs. Monists

Dualists presume that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact, and monists presume that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input (LSD, marijuana)

Hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Information-Processing Dream Theory

Dreams may help sift, sort, and fix the day's experiences in our memory

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Latent Content

The underlying meaning of a dream

Manifest Content

The remembered storyline of a dream

Narcolepsy

Characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks, sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

Night Terrors

Characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified

Opiates

Depress neural activity and temporarily lessen pain and anxiety (Morphine, heroin, opium)

Physical Dependence

A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued