AP psych test unit 3

Sensation

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

Receptors

sensory nerve ending that respond to stimuli

Bottom-up

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

Top-Down

information processing guided by high level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our own experiences and expectations

Selective Attention

allows us to devote mental processing information to the items we want

Inattention Blindness

unable to see visible objects because your attention is somewhere else 

Change Blindness

form of inattentional blindness the failing to notice changes in the environment there is also change deafness 

Cocktail Party Effect

a unique phenomenon where we are able to focus on a single audible stimulus in a noisy environment 

Transduction

 one form of energy changing into another

Psychophysics

relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli 

Absolute Threshold

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

Signal Detection Theory

theory predicting how and when we detect a certain stimulus

Hit

occurs when you detect a signal and have a response to it

Miss

occurs when we detect a stimulus but fail to respond

Corrrect rejection

occurs when we do not respond to a signal we don't detect

False Alarm

 occurs when we incorrectly respond to a stimulus that isn't there

Subliminal Stimulation 

below someones absolute threshold for awareness 

JND/Difference Threshold 

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

Weber’s Law

the principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, rather than a constant amount 

Sensory Adaptation

When we are constantly exposed to the same stimulus

perceptual set

mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

context

how your circumstances and setting can change your perception on a certain situation

motivation

motives that give you energy and influence your bias and perception

emotions

how different emotions can influence your perception of situations

vision

the state of being able to see

wavelength

the distance from one wave peak to the next

intensity

the amount of energy the wave contains

hue

dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

pupil

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

cornea

eyes clear protective outer layer

lens

structure in the eye that helps change shape and focus on the retina

iris

controls the size of the pupil opening

retina

light sensitive inner surface of the eye

fovea

central focal point in the retina

optic nerve

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

blindspot acuity

point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye

near sight

condition where far away object appear blurry

far sight

condition where object near to you appear blurry

brightness

intensity of colors increases but the actual color does not change

photoreceptors

neurons that convert light into electrical signals that stimulate physiological processes

rods

retinal receptors that detect white black and gray and are sensitive to movement

cones

retinal receptors that work during the daylight and detect fine details and color sensations

Young-Helmholtz Theory

theory that the retina has three different types of color receptors

Trichromatic

when the eyes have three types of color sensitive cone cells

Gestalt rules of perception

German word that means form or whole; our conscious perception is at every moment a seamless and integrated whole

figure-ground

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

grouping

tendency to organize stimuli into groups

proximity

grouping nearby figures together

continuity

perceiving smooth continuous patterns rather than discontinuous

closure

filling in gaps to create a whole/ complete object

depth perception

ability to see objects in three dimensions and allows us to judge distance

visual cliff

device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

binocular cues

depth cue that depends on the use of two eyes

retinal disparity

binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes

convergence

how sensory data is combined and evaluated to form perceptions

molecular cues

a depth cue available to either eye alone

size

if we assume two objects are similar in size most people perceive the one that casts a smaller retinal image as farther away

shading

produces a sense of depth with our assumption that light comes from above

interposition

if one object blocks our view of another we percieve it as closer

linear perspective

when paralell lines appear to meet in the distance

aerial perspective

distant objects tend to appear blurry and bluish

relative motion

as you move objects that are actually stable may look like theyre moving

phi phenomenon

illusion of movement created when two adjacent lights blink on and off

perceptual constancies

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal image changes

size shape and color

all examples of perceptual constancies

color constancies

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color

shape constancies

shapes appear to change based on the angle of view

size constantcies

unchanging size even though our distance varies

Hearing

Sounds moves and is perceived in much the same way light moves it is essentially vibrating air particles 

Middle ear

chamber between the eardrum and cochlea that contains three tiny bones

Hammer, anvil, stirrup

three tiny bones that pick up vibrations and transmit them to the cochlea

Cochlea

snail shaped tube in your inner ear

Sound waves

air pressure waves that we hear as sound

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point

Pitch

a tones highness or lowness depends on frequency

Height

how much energy a wave contains of how loud a sound is

decibels

how we measure the amplitude of sound

Hearing loss

losing your ability to hear

sensorineural

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochleas receptor cells or the auditory nerves

conduction

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

Sound Localization

occurs because our ears are about 6 inches apart we perceive sounds that originate from different places due to the differences in how the two ears perceive the sound

Touch

our bodys tactile sense meaning it alerts us to immediate sensations of pain

temperature

pain

sense that tells you something has gone wrong

Path to the CNS

Gate theory

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

Endorphins

hormones that can bind to pain receptors in the brain to block the pain signal during times of strenuous activities 

Taste(gustation)

our sense of taste

Sweet/Sour/Salty/Bitter/Umami

We have 5 specialized nerve fibers that work together to produce a taste sensation

Supertaster

The number of taste buds differ from person to person but sweet is typically the most abundant with more taste buds than average

Smell (olfaction)

our sense of smell

Olfactory Bulb

Kinesthetic Sense

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

Vestibular Sense

our sense of body movement and position that enables balance

Frontal Lobe

cognition and language production

Parietal lobe

body(soma)-sensation (including pain), and \n spatial relations

Temporal Lobe

auditory cortex(+ recognition and language \n processing)

Occipital Lobe

visual cortex;primary and secondary \n processing

Consciousness

subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment

Hypnosis

when one person tells anther than perceptions, feelings, or thoughts will just spontaneously occur