AP Psych 1.6-Sensation
AP Psychology Unit 1.6 – Sensation
Q/A Flashcard-Style Bullets (Complete Coverage)
1.6A — Sensation (Foundations)
Q: What is sensation?
A: Sensation is the process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimuli from the environment.
Q: How is sensation related to behavior and mental processes?
A: Sensation provides the raw sensory input that influences perception, decision-making, emotional responses, and behavior.
Q: What is stimulus detection?
A: The process by which sensory receptors detect physical energy (light, sound waves, chemicals) from the environment.
Q: What is the absolute threshold?
A: The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.
Q: What is the difference threshold (JND)?
A: The smallest detectable change in a stimulus.
Q: What is Weber’s Law?
A: The principle that the JND is proportional to the intensity of the original stimulus, not a constant amount.
Q: How does Weber’s Law apply to real life?
A: Adding sugar to unsweet tea is noticeable, but the same amount added to very sweet tea is not.
Q: What is sensory adaptation?
A: A decrease in sensitivity due to constant stimulation over time.
Q: Why does sensory adaptation occur?
A: It allows us to focus on changes in the environment rather than constant, unimportant stimuli.
Q: What is sensory interaction?
A: When one sense influences another, such as smell affecting taste.
Q: What is synesthesia?
A: A rare condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway causes automatic experiences in another (e.g., hearing colors).
Q: What is priming?
A: Exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a later stimulus.
1.6B — Vision
Structures of the Eye
Q: What is the cornea?
A: The clear outer layer that helps focus incoming light.
Q: What is the pupil?
A: The opening that controls how much light enters the eye.
Q: What is the iris?
A: The colored muscle that controls pupil size.
Q: What is the lens?
A: A flexible structure that changes shape to focus light on the retina.
Q: What is lens accommodation?
A: The process by which the lens changes shape to focus light clearly.
Q: What is the retina?
A: The light-sensitive layer containing rods and cones that transduce light into neural signals.
Q: What is the fovea?
A: The center of the retina with the sharpest vision, packed with cones.
Q: What is the optic nerve?
A: The nerve that carries visual information from the eye to the brain.
Photoreceptors
Q: What are rods?
A: Photoreceptors that detect light intensity and work best in low light.
Q: What are cones?
A: Photoreceptors that detect color and fine detail, concentrated in the fovea.
Memory Tip: Cones = Color
Vision Problems
Q: What is nearsightedness (myopia)?
A: Light focuses in front of the retina, causing distant objects to appear blurry.
Q: What is farsightedness (hyperopia)?
A: Light focuses behind the retina, causing near objects to appear blurry.
Color Vision
Q: What causes afterimages?
A: Fatigue of cones and opponent-process mechanisms in ganglion cells.
Q: What are color vision deficiencies?
A: Inability to distinguish certain colors due to missing or malfunctioning cones.
Hearing (Audition)
Q: What is the cochlea?
A: A fluid-filled structure that converts vibrations into electrical signals.
Q: What is the basilar membrane?
A: A membrane inside the cochlea lined with hair cells that respond to sound frequencies.
Q: What is the auditory (cochlear) nerve?
A: Carries sound signals from the cochlea to the brain.
Pitch Detection Theories
Q: What is place theory?
A: High-pitched sounds activate specific locations on the basilar membrane.
Q: What is frequency theory?
A: Low-pitched sounds are encoded by the rate of neural firing matching the sound frequency.
Q: What is volley theory?
A: Groups of neurons take turns firing to encode medium-to-high frequencies (1,000–4,000 Hz).
Sound Localization
Q: How do we locate sound?
A: By comparing timing and intensity differences between both ears.
1.6D — Smell, Taste, Touch, and Pain
Smell (Olfaction)
Q: How does smell work?
A: Airborne molecules dissolve in mucus and stimulate olfactory receptors.
Q: Where do smell signals go in the brain?
A: Directly to the olfactory bulb and limbic system, bypassing the thalamus.
Q: Why are smells strongly linked to memory?
A: Because olfaction connects directly to emotion and memory centers.
Taste (Gustation)
Q: What are taste buds?
A: Structures on the tongue containing taste receptors.
Q: What do taste receptors do?
A: Detect chemicals dissolved in saliva and send signals to the brain.
Q: Who are supertasters?
A: People with many taste buds who are highly sensitive, especially to bitterness.
Q: Who are nontasters?
A: People with fewer taste buds and reduced taste sensitivity.
Chemical Sense Interaction
Q: How do smell and taste interact?
A: Flavor perception depends on both systems working together.
Touch
Q: What are mechanoreceptors?
A: Receptors that detect pressure and texture.
Q: What are thermoreceptors?
A: Receptors that detect temperature.
Q: What are nociceptors?
A: Receptors that detect pain.
Q: What is the somatosensory cortex?
A: The parietal lobe area that processes touch, with more space for sensitive body parts.
Q: What is the thalamus’ role in touch?
A: It relays sensory information to the cortex.
Pain
Q: What is pain’s purpose?
A: To signal potential harm and encourage protective behavior.
Q: What is gate control theory?
A: The idea that non-painful input can close the spinal gate, reducing pain perception.
Q: What is phantom limb sensation?
A: Feeling sensations in an amputated limb due to the brain’s sensory map remaining active.
1.6E — Vestibular & Kinesthetic Senses
Vestibular Sense
Q: What does the vestibular system do?
A: Maintains balance, posture, and spatial orientation.
Q: What are the semicircular canals?
A: Three fluid-filled canals that detect head movement.
Q: Why does dizziness occur after spinning?
A: Fluid continues moving after the body stops.
Q: What is vertigo?
A: A spinning sensation caused by conflicting sensory signals.
Kinesthetic Sense
Q: What is kinesthesis?
A: The sense of body position and movement without visual input.
Q: Why is kinesthesia important?
A: It allows coordinated movement and precise action