Psychology 2000 | Chapter 5 | Biopsychology

sensory

when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

transduction

conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

absolute threshold

minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time (how dim can a light be or how soft can a sound be and still be detected half of the time)

subliminal messages

messages that are presented below the threshold for conscious awareness

perception

the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced

bottom-up processing

the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced (basic features of stimuli and then integrate them)

top-down processing

knowledge and expectancy driving a process (previous experience and expectations are first used to recognize stimuli)

sensory adaptation

don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time

inattentional blindness

failure to notice something that is completely visible because the person was actively attending to something else and did not pay attention to other things

signal detection theory

identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background is called

amplitude

of a wave is the distance from the center line to the top point of the crest or the bottom point of the trough

wavelength

length of a wave from one peak to the next

frequency

number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period

hertz

frequency is expressed in this

visible spectrum

the narrow range of electromagnetic radiation that the human eye can perceive

electromagnetic spectrum

all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment and includes gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, microwaves, and radio waves

pitch

frequency of a sound wave

decibels

loudness is measured in

timbre

refers to a sound’s purity, and it is affected by the complex interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves

cornea

the transparent covering over the eye

pupil

the small opening in the eye through which light passes

iris

colored part of the eye

lens

curved, transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus

fovea

back of the eye

retina

fovea is part of the retina

cones

specialized types of photoreceptors that work best in bright light conditions

rods

specialized photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions

optic nerve

the optic nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain

blind spot

even when light from a small object is focused on the blind spot, we do not see it

optic chiasm

the optic nerve from each eye merges just below the brain at a point

trichromatic theory of color vision

all colors in the spectrum can be produced by combining red, green, and blue

opponent-process theory

color is coded in opponent pairs: black-white, yellow-blue, and green-red

afterimage

describes the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

depth perception

our ability to perceive spatial relationships in three-dimensional (3-D) space

binocular cues

rely on the use of both eyes for establishing our sense of depth

binocular disparity

the slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives

monocular cues

or cues that require only one eye

linear perspective

we perceive depth when we see two parallel lines that seem to converge in an image

ossicles

The middle ear contains three tiny bones (malleus, incus, and the stapes)

pitch perception

different frequencies of sound waves are associated with differences in our perception of the pitch of those sounds. Low-frequency sounds are lower pitched, and high-frequency sounds are higher pitched

temporal theory of pitch perception

pitch perception asserts that frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron

place theory of pitch perception

pitch perception suggests that different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies

monaural cues

one-eared

binaural cues

two-eared

gustation (taste)

sweet, salty, sour, umami, and bitter

olfactory receptors

cells are located in a mucous membrane at the top of the nose

olfactory bulb

a bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe where the olfactory nerves begin

figure-ground relationship (gestalt principle)

we tend to segment our visual world into figure(object or person we focus on) and ground(background)

proximity (gestalt principle)

things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together

similarity (gestalt principle)

to group things in our visual fields

continuity/good continuation (gestalt principle)

we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines

closure principle

states that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts