Is the dress blue/back or wite/gold

absolute threshold

smallest amount of physical stimulus required to detect a sensory input half the time its present

difference threshold

minimum difference in physical stimulus required to detect a difference between sensory inputs

sensory adaptation

decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation of sensory receptors

webers law

just noticeable difference ids a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity

presbyopia

lens loses ability to change shape (result of age)

retina

thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball; contains sensory receptors

rods

sensory receptors in retina that process sensation of visible light waves and change them into signal that are processed as vision; respond best to low levels of illumination and don’t support color or details

cones

sensory receptors that process visible light waves and change them into signals that are processed as vision; respond best to higher levels of illumination and see fine detail and color

ganglion cells

receive info from rods and cones and generate action potentials, which leave the eyes via the optic nerve and travel to the thalamus; process color vision

primary visual cortex

area in the cortex of the occipital lobes of the brain that processes perception of visual info

trichromatic theory

three types of cone receptor cells in retina are responsible for color perception; each type responds optimally to different, but over-lapping, ranges and wavelengths

S cones

sensitive to short wavelengths —> blue

M cones

sensitive to medium wavelengths —> green

L cones

sensitive to long wavelengths —> red

opponent process theory

ganglion cells in retina receive excitatory input from another type of cone creating the perception that some colors are opposites

figure ground organization

brains perception of an object as a figure that is distinct from the background

grouping

brains perception of an object as a united whole by determining what features “go together”

object constancy

correctly perceiving objects as staying the same in their same size, shape, color and brightness across viewing conditions that yield different physical input to the eyes

schemas

mental structures that contain info about how the world works

concept

mental representation used to categorize related objects, events or ideas based on their shared features

prototype model

concepts; within each category there is a best example

exemplar model

concepts; all examples in a category are the representation on the concept

misinformation effect

memory can be distorted by misleading information and suggestions we experience after the event