Ap Psych Chapter 4 Vocab

Sensation

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

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory info

• what happens in your brain

Prosopagnosia

“face blindness”

• can be born with it or develop it from injury

Bottom-Up Processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory info

• no prior knowledge

Top-Down Processing

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

• you have prior knowledge

Selective Attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus 

• Ex. Cocktail Party Effect

Inattentional Blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Change Blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy to another in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies (sight, sound, smell) into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Psychophysics

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Absolute Threshold

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

• awareness to a faint stimuli 

Signal Detection Theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)

• assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness 

Subliminal

a stimulation below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

• cannot detect 50% of the time

Prime 

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response 

• we can evaluate stimulus even when we are not aware of it 

Difference Threshold

the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time 

• we experience a difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

Webers Law

the principle that, to be perceive as different, 2 stimulus must differ by a constant minimum % (rather than constant amount)

Sensory Adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Synesthesia (Joined Senses)

signals are interpreted as more than one sensation because they go to places in the brain they weren't originally meant to be

Perceptual Set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

• through experience we come to expect certain results

• tendency to see one thing 

• (bunny or duck picture)

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Wavelength

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

Hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names (blue, green, etc.)

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

Pupil

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

Iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Lens

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

Retina

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

Accommodation

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

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Cones

retinal receptors cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Optic Nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

Fovea

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

Feature Detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

• the detectors are located in the occipital lobe’s visual cortex

Parallel Processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions including vision 

• contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and conscious problem solving

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (3 color) Theory

the theory that the retina contains 3 color receptors (one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue) which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

Opponent-Process Theory

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

Ex. some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are vice versa

Gestalt

an organized whole

• Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes 

• when given a cluster of sensations, people tend to organize them into a gestalt 

Figure-Ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground) 

• Ex. black words on white paper

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

• how our minds bring order and form to stimuli

• Ex. proximity, continuity, closure

Depth Perception

the ability to see objects in 3 dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2-D 

• allows us to judge distance

Visual Cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

• Experiment by Gibson and Walk

Binocular Cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of 2 eyes

• when judging the distance of nearby objects, 2 eyes are better than 1

Retinal Disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the retinas in the 2 eyes, the brain computes distance 

• the greater the disparity (difference) between 2 images, the closer the object 

Monocular Cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone (separately)

Phi Phenomenon

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

• creates impression of a moving arrow

Perceptual Constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change 

• consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color

• regardless of viewing angle, distance, and illumination

Color Constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Perceptual Adaptation

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

audition 

the sense or act of hearing

frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

pitch

a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Middle Ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.

Cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

Inner Ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

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

Conduction Hearing Loss

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

Cochlear Implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Place Theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.

Frequency Theory

in hearing, 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.

Gate-Control Theory

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Kinesthesia

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Vestibular Sense

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

Sensory Interaction

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

Embodied Cognition

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.