AP psych sensation and perception

skin senses

Sensory systems for processing touch, warmth, cold, texture, and pain

warm/cold receptors

thermoreceptors are specialized cells; detect differences in temperature; when warm and cold receptors are stimulated together the sensation is perceived as hot

Pain

nociceptors in the skin=activated by tissue damage and sent to the brain for processing

gate-control theory

the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

perception

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

perceptual illusions

misperceptions or interpretations of stimuli that do not correspond to the sensations received

internal factors

schemas, perceptual set

schema

mental frameworks that help us organize/interpret information about the world

Perceptual set

top down processing skill that influences our disposition to perceive one aspect of a thing and not another

External factors

context, cultural expectation

context

the impact of an environmental cue on human perception

cultural expectations

culture can focus on individual objects versus the broader concept, and how we organize information based on their cultural values and norms

Gestalt principles

Principles that describe the brain's organization of sensory information into meaningful units and patterns.

Figure ground relationship

organizations of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surrounding

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

proximity

occurs when elements placed close together tend to be perceived as a group

similarity

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

closure

the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

form of inattentional blindness in which individuals will not notice a significant change in their visual environment

visual perceptual constancies

help us maintain a consistent perception of objects, even when their images change

depth perception

the ability to see the world in three dimensions and accurately judge the distance of objects

Gibson and walk study

visual cliff experiment

binocular depth clues

retinal disparity and convergence

convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

monocular depth cues

linear perspective, texture gradient, interposition, relative size, relative clarity

linear perspective

parallel lines appear to converge with distance

relative size

smaller image is more distant

interposition

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

relative clarity

hazy object seen as more distant

texture gradient

the tendency for textured surfaces to appear to become smaller and finer as distance from the viewer increases

perceptual adaptation

the means by which the brain accounts for the differences that the subject may witness, particularly alterations in the visual field

Apparent movement

Our brains computes motion as object move across/towards the retina. A quick succession of images, as in motion pictures or on a lighted sign, can also create illusion of movement

stroboscopic movement

a type of apparent movement based on the rapid succession of still images, as in motion pictures

Phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Human factors psychology

a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another

perception

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

Bottom Up processing

the analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception

Top down processing

a progression from the whole to the elements

absolute threshold

the weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect half the time

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

just noticeable threshold

the difference threshold is also called ___ ____ ____

weber's law

the difference threshold must be consistent to the baseline/starting intensity. Detecting between 2 levels of stimulus is more difficult the stronger the initial value is

signal detection theory

predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

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

synesthesia

when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another

wavelengths

The distance between the arrival of peaks of a light wave; shorter wavelengths correspond to higher frequencies

higher

shorter wavelength = __ frequency

hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of lightam

amplitude

Height of a wave

brightness

the amount of intensity corresponds to the amplitude of the wave

cornea

bends light waves so the image can be focused on the retina

astigmatism

defective curvature of the cornea or lens of the eye

pupil

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

iris

its muscles control the size of the pupil

lens

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

accomodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

retina

Light sensitive layer of the eye; contains rods and cones

photoreceptors

rods and cones; light sensitive cells in the retina that convert light energy into neural energy

fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a ____ ___ because no receptor cells are located there

optic nerve

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

light and dark adaptation

The process by which the eyes become more sensitive to light in the dark and less sensitive to light, in the light

nearsightedness

visual image is focused in the front of the retina

farsightedness

visual image is focused behind the retina

visual information processing

optic nerves connect to the thalamus in the middle of the brain, and the thalamus connects to the visual cortex

rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray

cones

color vision

ganglions

Next cell in pathway, action potentials, release excitatory NT

trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green

dichromatism

one cone type is missing or malfunctioning

monochromatism

individual possesses only one type of functioning cone

opponent process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

after images

images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed

prosopagnosia

ability to see faces-eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, but they cant identify whos face it is (face blindness)

blindsight

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

pitch

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

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

sound localization

the process by which the location of sound is determined

cochlea

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

hammer

A tiny bone that passes vibrations from the eardrum to the anvil

anvil

A tiny bone that passes vibrations from the hammer to the stirrup

stirrup

A tiny U shaped bone that passes vibrations from the anvil to the cochlea.

oval window

membrane that covers the opening between the middle ear and inner ear

hair cells

specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane

place theory

suggests that sound frequencies stimulate the basilar membrane at specific places resulting in perceived pitch

frequency theory

the brain monitors the frequency of neural impulses travelling up the auditory nerve. the impulses to the brain match the frequency of the sound wave

the volley principle

neural cells alternate firing and fire in rapid succession, reaching higher frequencies

conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea; outer/middle ear

sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

olfaction

sense of smell

pheromones

Chemical signals released by an animal that communicate information and affect the behavior of other animals of the same species.

gustation

sense of taste

papillae

rough, bumpy elevations on dorsal surface of tongue

supertaster

an individual whose perception of taste sensations is the most intense

medium tasters

average number of taste buds