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4.3 The interpretation of sensory information
key terms
28
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
12/14/2010

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Term
absolute sensory threshold
Definition
intensity at which a given individual can detect a sensory stimulus 50% of the time; a low threshold indicates the ability to detect faint stimuli
Term
binocular cues
Definition
visual cues that depend on the action of both eyes
Term
bottom-up process
Definition
sensory activity in which tiny elements combine to produce larger items
Term
brightness contrast
Definition
increase or decrease in an object's apparent brightness because of the effects of objects around it
Term
closure
Definition
in Gestalt psychology, tendency to imagine the rest of an incomplete, familiar figure
Term
common fate
Definition
tendency to perceive objects as part of the same group if they change or move in similar ways at the same time
Term
continuation
Definition
in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to fill in the gaps in an interrupted line
Term
convergence
Definition
degree to which the eyes turn in to focus on a close object
Term
depth perception
Definition
perception of distance, which enables us to experience the world in three dimensions
Term
feature detector
Definition
neuron in the visual system of the brain that responds to the presence of a certain simple feature, such as a horizontal line
Term
figure and ground
Definition
object and its background
Term
Gestalt psychology
Definition
approach to psychology that seeks to explain how we perceive overall patterns
Term
good figure
Definition
in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to perceive simple, symmetrical figures
Term
induced movement
Definition
perception that an object is moving and the background is stationary when in fact the object is stationary and the background is moving
Term
monocular cues
Definition
visual cues to distance that are just as effective with one eye as with both
Term
moon illusion
Definition
apparent difference between the size of the moon at the horizon and its size when viewed higher in the sky
Term
motion parallax
Definition
apparently swift motion of objects close to a moving observer and the apparently slow motion of objects farther away
Term
optical illusion
Definition
misinterpretation of a visual stimulus as being larger or smaller, or straighter or more curved, than it really is
Term
proximity
Definition
(a) in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to perceive objects that are close together as belonging to a group; (b) in social psychology, the tendency to choose as friends people with whom we come in frequent contact
Term
retinal disparity
Definition
difference in the apparent position of an object as seen by the left and right retinas
Term
reversible figure
Definition
stimulus that you can perceive in more than one way
Term
signal detection theory
Definition
study of people's tendencies to make hits, correct rejections, misses, and false alarms
Term
similarity
Definition
in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to perceive objects that resemble each other as belonging to a group
Term
stroboscopic movement
Definition
illusion of movement created by a rapid succession of stationary images
Term
subliminal perception
Definition
ability of a stimulus to influence our behavior even when it is presented so faintly or briefly or along with such strong distracters that we do not perceive it consciously
Term
top-down process
Definition
activity in which someone applies experience and expectations to interpret what each item must be in context
Term
visual constancy
Definition
tendency to perceive objects as unchanging in shape, size, and color despite variations in what actually reaches the retina
Term
waterfall illusion
Definition
phenomenon in which prolonged staring at a waterfall and then looking at nearby cliff s causes those cliff s to appear to flow upward
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