Chapter 5: Sensation and Perception

Ossicles

________: three tiny bones known called the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and the stapes (or stirrup)

Proximity

________: things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together,

Absolute threshold

________: the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50 % of the time.

Light waves

________ are transmitted across the cornea and enter the eye through the pupil.

Pinna

________: the visible part of the ear that protrudes from our heads,

Normal sighted individuals

________ have three different types of cones that mediate color vision.

Proprioception

________ (perception of body position) and kinesthesia (perception of the bodys movement through space) interact with the information provided by the vestibular system.

Transduction

________: the conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential.

vestibular sense

We have sensory systems that provide information about balance (the ________), body position and movement (proprioception and kinesthesia), pain (nociception), and temperature (thermoception)

auditory system

The ________ uses both monaural (one- eared) and binaural (two- eared) cues to localize sound.

Motivation

________ to detect a meaningful stimulus can shift our ability to discriminate between a true sensory stimulus and background noise.

Sound waves

________ travel along the auditory canal and strike the tympanic membrane, causing it to vibrate.

Frequency

________: the number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period.

normal sighted individual

In a(n) ________, the lens will focus images perfectly on a small indentation in the back of the eye known as the fovea, which is part of the retina, the light- sensitive lining of the eye.

Similarity

________: things that are alike tend to be grouped together.

Rods

________ and cones are connected to retinal ganglion cells.

object recognition

The "what pathway "is involved in ________ and identification, while the "where /how pathway "is involved with location in space and how one might interact with a particular visual stimulus.

Nociception

________: a signal indicating potential harm and pain.

Timbre

________: a sounds purity.

Semi circular canals

________: involved in balance and movement (the vestibular sense)

Umami

________: our fifth taste; associated with a taste for monosodium glutamate.

Wavelength

________ is directly related to frequency.

major sensory organ

The eye is the ________ involved in vision.

Afterimage

________: the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus.

Molecules

________ from the food and beverages we consume dissolve in our saliva and interact with taste receptors on our tongue and in our mouth and throat.

Inattentional business

________: failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention.

Sensation

________: when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor.

Sensory adaptation

________: we often dont perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time.

Amplitude

________: the distance from the center line to the top point of the crest or the bottom point of the trough.

Loudness

________ is measured in terms of decibels (dB), a logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

Perception

________ involves both bottom- up and top- down processing.

Pain

________: an unpleasant experience that involves both physical and psychological components.

Thermoception

________: temperature perception.

Lens

________: a curved, transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus.

odor molecule

Once a(n) ________ has bound a given receptor, chemical changes within the cell result in signals being sent to the olfactory bulb.

Electromagnetic spectrum

________: encompasses all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment.

Taste information

________ is transmitted to the medulla, thalamus, and limbic system, and to the gustatory cortex.

object

Figure: the ________ or person that is the focus of the visual field.

Attention

________ plays a significant role in determining what is sensed versus what is perceived.

Taste molecules

________ bind to receptors on the extensions and cause chemical changes within the sensory cell that result in neural impulses being transmitted to the brain via different nerves, depending on where the receptor is located.

Signal detection theory

________: The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background.

Visible spectrum

________: the portion of the larger electromagnetic spectrum that we can see.

Blind spot

________: a point in the visual field we cant see.

Higher amplitudes

________ are associated with louder sounds.

Monaural cue

________: sounds that occur above or below and in front or behind us.

Depth perception

________: our ability to perceive spatial relationships in 3- D space.

Webers law

________: the difference threshold is a constant fraction of the original stimulus.

Binocular disparity

________: the slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives.

retinal ganglion

Axons from the ________ cells converge and exit through the back of the eye to form the optic nerve.

Cochlea

________: a fluid- filled, snail- shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells (hair cells) of the auditory system.

Sensory receptors

specialized neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli

Sensation

when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

Transduction

the conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

Absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

Subliminal messages

when we receive messages that are presented below the threshold for conscious awareness

Just noticeable difference (jnd) or difference threshold

how much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them

Webers law

the difference threshold is a constant fraction of the original stimulus

Perception

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

Bottom-up processing

perceptions are built from sensory input

Top-down processing

how we interpret those sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts

Sensory adaptation

we often dont perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time

Inattentional business

failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention

Signal detection theory

The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background

Amplitude

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

Wavelength

the length of a wave from one peak to the next

Frequency

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

Visible spectrum

the portion of the larger electromagnetic spectrum that we can see

Electromagnetic spectrum

encompasses all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment

Timbre

a sounds purity

Cornea

the transparent covering over the eye that serves as a barrier between the inner eye and the outside world

Pupil

the small opening in the eye through which light passes

Lens

a curved, transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus

Rods

a type of specialized photoreceptor thats located throughout the remainder of the retina, and are involved in our vision in dimly lit environments and our perception of movement on the periphery of our visual field

Optic nerve

carries visual information from the retina to the brain

Optic chiasm

the point just below the brain where the optic nerve from each eye merges

Blind spot

a point in the visual field we cant see

Trichromatic theory of color vision

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

Afterimage

the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

Depth perception

our ability to perceive spatial relationships in 3-D space

Binocular cues

cues that rely on the use of both eyes

Binocular disparity

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

Monocular cues

cues that require only one eye

Linear perspective

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

Pinna

the visible part of the ear that protrudes from our heads,

Tympanic membrane

the eardrum

Ossicles

three tiny bones known called the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and the stapes (or stirrup)

Semi-circular canals

involved in balance and movement (the vestibular sense)

Cochlea

a fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells (hair cells) of the auditory system

Basilar membrane

a thin strip of tissue within the cochlea

Temporal theory of pitch perception

frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron

Place theory of pitch perception

different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies

Monaural cue

sounds that occur above or below and in front or behind us

Binaural cue

provides information on the location of a sound along a horizontal axis by relying on differences in patterns of vibration of the eardrum between our two ears

If a sound comes from an off-center location, it creates two types of binaural cues

interaural level differences and interaural timing differences

Interaural level difference

a sound coming from the right side of your body is more intense at your right ear than at your left ear because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through your head

Interaural timing difference

the small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear

Deafness

the partial or complete inability to hear

Congenital deafness

when people are born deaf

Conductive hearing loss

when the hearing problem is associated with a failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles

Sensorineural hearing loss

when the hearing problem is associated with a failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain