Psych Unit 3 Test Study Guide

absolute threshold

detection of signal 50% of the time (is it there)

difference threshold

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

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JND

weber's law

two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage to be perceived as different

signal detection theory

detection depends on experience, expectations, alertness, etc. (more likely to notice a door slam outside when waiting on teh pizza guy)

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a result of a constant stimulation (can you feel your underwear)

sensory habitutation

diminished sensitivity du to regular exposure (do you notice the train)

perceptual set

tendency to see something as part of a group; speeds up signal processing

inattentional blindeness

failure to notice something because you're so focused on another task

change blindness

failure to notice a change in the scene (door study)

cornea

protects the eye

pupil/iris

control light entering into the eye

lens

focuses light on the retina

fovea

area of best vision (cones here)

rods

black/white, dim light

cones

color, bright light (red, green, blue)

bipolar cells

connect rods/cones and ganglion cells

ganglion cells

create optic nerve

blind spot

occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye

feature detectors

specialized cells that see shapes, lines, etc located in the occipital lobe

trichromatic theory of color vision

three cones for receiving color (blue, red, green); colorblindness occurs when they are missing a cone type

opponent process theory of color vision

complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells; explains why we see an after image

visual capture

visual system overwhelms all others (nauseous in an IMAX theater - vision trumps vestibular)

constancies

recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input (size, shape, brightness)

phi phenomenon

adjacent lights blink on/off in succession- looks like movement

stroboscopic movement

motion produced by a rapid succession of slightly varying images (animations)

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone (1 eye); how we form 3D images from 2D images

interposition (monocular cue)

overlapping images appear closer

relative size (monocular cue)

2 objects that are usually similar in size, smaller one is farther away

linear perspective (monocular cue)

parallel lines converge with distance (railroad trakcs)

relative clarity (monocular cue)

hazy objects appear further away

texture gradient (monocular cue)

coarser objects are closer

relative height (monocular cue)

things higher in our field of vision look further away

motion parallax (monocular cue)

closer objects appear to move faster than objects that are farther

binocular cues

how both eyes make up a 3D image

retinal disparity (binocular cue)

image is cast slightly different on each retina, location of image helps us determine depth

convergence (binocular cue)

eyes strain more (looking inward) as object draw nearer

top-down processing

whole -> smaller parts (paintings w/ faces)

bottom-up processing

smaller parts -> whole (dog of bunch of dots

auditory system pathway of sound

sound -> pinna -> auditory canal -> ear drum (tympanic membrane) -> hammer, anvil, stirrup (HAS) -> oval window -> cochlea -> auditory nerve -> temporal lobes

outer ear

pinna (ear), auditory canal

middle ear

ear drum, HAS (bones vibrate to send signal)

inner ear

cochlea; cochlea - like COCHELLA (sounds 1st processed here); basilar membrane is in the cochlea

place theory of hearing

location where hair cells bend to determines sound (high pitches)

frequency theory of hearing

rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low pitches)

Muller-Lyer Illusion

doesn't work on cultures w/o exposure to modern architecture; perceiving to shafts depth perception

Ponzo illusion

an illusion of size in which two objects of equal size that are positioned between two converging lines appear to be different in size; also called the railroad track illusion; happens due to linear perspective

McGurk Effect illusion

see mouth saying ba or fa overrides what you actually hear (va)

touch sense pathway

mechanoreceptors-> spinal cord-> thalamus-> somatosensory cortex

vestibular sense

sense of balance (effected by semicircular canals in the inner ear)

kinesthetic sense (proprioception)

sense of body position (neurons in ligaments and body tell you this)

Pain (nociception)

Ggate-control theory: we have a "gate" to control how much pain is experienced

taste (gustation)

5 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory)

smell (olfaction)

only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus 1st; goes to temporal lobe and amygdala

gestalt psychology

the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

figure-ground (gestalt principle)

organize information into objects (figures) that stand apart from surroundings (back ground)

Closure (Gestalt Principle)

mentally fill in gaps

proximity (gestalt principle)

group things together that appear near each other

similarity (gestalt principle)

group things together based off of looks

continuity (gestalt theory)

tendancy to mentally form a continuous line