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psychGRE-sensation and perception
kaplan material (2010)
61
Psychology
Graduate
08/16/2010

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Term
absolute threshold
Definition
the amount of stimulus energy needed for a person to say that she perceives it.
Term
differences threshold
Definition
the amount of stimulus energy that needs to be added to or subtracted from a stimulus for a person to say that she notices a difference.
Term
jnd threshold
Definition
one jnd needs to be added to or subtracted from a stimulus for a person to say that she notices the difference
Term
Weber's Law
Definition
what's important in producing a jnd is not the absolute difference between the two stimuli, but the ratio of them.
Term
response bias
Definition
(signal detection theory)measures how risky the subject is in sensory decision-making; based upon nonsensory factors.
Term
sensitivity
Definition
(signal detection thry)measures how well the subject can sense the stimulus
Term
ROC curve
Definition
(signal detection thry)used to graphically summarize a subject's response in a signal detection experiment
Term
illumination
Definition
an objective measurement of the amount of light falling on a surface
Term
brightness
Definition
the subjective impression of the intensity of a stimulus
Term
dark adaptation
Definition
caused by the regeneration of rhodsin, the phootpigment in the rods
Term
lateral inhibition
Definition
adjacent retinal cells inhibit one another; sharpens and highlights borders b/w light and dark areas.
Term
Young-Helmholtz (trichromatic)
Definition
three types of color receptors: red, blue, & green
Term
Hering (opponent process)
Definition
(thry of color vision)three opposing pairs: red-green; blue-yellow, and black-white
Term
interposition (overlap)
Definition
cue for depth perception; if one object covers another, the partially hidden object is seen as farther away.
Term
relative size
Definition
(cue for depth perception)comparison of retinal size of object to actual size of objects gives cue to depth
Term
linear perspective
Definition
(cue for depth perception)parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance
Term
texture gradients
Definition
(cue for depth perception)as scene recedes from viewer, the surface texture of the object appears to change
Term
motion parallax
Definition
(cue for depth perception)when observer moves, objects in a stationary environment appear to move relative to distance from observer
Term
binocular disparity (steropsis)
Definition
(cue for depth perception)each eye sees slightly different scene; when the brain combines the scenes, we get perception of depth
Term
proximity
Definition
(Gestalt law of organization)elements of close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit
Term
similarity
Definition
(gestalt law of organization)elements that are similar to one another tend to be grouped together.
Term
good continuation
Definition
(gestalt law of organization)elements that appear to follow in the same direction tend to be grouped together
Term
closure
Definition
(gestalt law of organization)the tendency to see incomplete figures as being complete
Term
pragnanz
Definition
(gestalt law of organization)perceptual organization will always be as "good" (i.e., regular, simple, symmetrical, etc.) as possible.
Term
bottom-up processing
Definition
(data-driven processing)response directly to components of incoming stimulus on the basis of fixed rules and then sums of components to arrive at the whole pattern.
Term
top-down processing
Definition
(conceptually driven processing)guided by conceptual processes such as memories and expectations that allow the brain to recognize whole objects and then the components.
Term
apparent motion(Phi)
Definition
when two or more stationary lights flicker in succession they tend to be perceived as a single moving light
Term
induced motion
Definition
a stationary point of light appears to move when the background moves
Term
autokinetic effect
Definition
a stationary point of light when viewed in an otherwise totally dark room appears to move; probably caused by involuntary eye movements.
Term
motion aftereffect
Definition
if a moving object is viewed for an extended period of time, it will appear to move in an opposite direction when the motion stops.
Term
size constancy
Definition
tendency for the perceived size of an object to remain constant despite variations in the size of its retinal image
Term
shape constancy
Definition
tendency for the perceived shape of an object to remain constant despite variations in the shape of its retinal image
Term
lightness constancy
Definition
tendency for the perceived lightness of an object to remain constant despite changes in illumination
Term
color constancy
Definition
tendency for the perceived color of an object to remain constant despite changes in the spectrum of light falling on it.
Term
preferential looking
Definition
method used to study infant visual perception; two diff. simuli are presented side by side; if infant looks longer at one of them, it is inferred that the infant can perceive the difference b/w the stimuli
Term
habituation
Definition
a stimulus is presented to infant, infant eventually stops attending to it; a different stimulus is presented, if the infant attends to it, it is inferred that the infant can perceive the difference b/w the old & new stimuli
Term
visual cliff
Definition
an apparatus designed by Gibson and Walk to asses infant depth perception
Term
animal experiments
Definition
sometimes used to assess contributions of nature and nurture to the development of vision
Term
frequency
Definition
objective dimension of sound; the number of cycles per sec.; measured in Hertzes
Term
intensity
Definition
objective dimension of sound; the amptitude of the sound wave; measured in decibels.
Term
pitch
Definition
subjective dimension of sound.the subjective experience of the frequency of the sound.
Term
loudness
Definition
the subjective experience of the intensity of the sound
Term
timbre
Definition
subjective dimension of sound; refers to the quality of sound
Term
two-point threshold
Definition
the minimum distance necessary b/w two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli
Term
Physiological zero
Definition
a neutral temperature perceived to be neither hot nor cold.
Term
gate theory of pain
Definition
the theory that there is a gating mechanism in the spinal cord that turns pain signals on and off
Term
Bekesy, G.
Definition
empirical studies led to traveling wave theory of pitch perception which, at least partially, supported Helholtz's place-resonance theory.
Term
Berkeley, G.
Definition
developed a list of depth cues that help us to perceive depth
Term
Broadbent, D.
Definition
proposed filter theory of attention
Term
Fechner, G.
Definition
developed Fechner's law, which expresses the relationship b/w the intensity of the stimulus and the intensity of the sensation.
Term
Gibson, E. and Walk, R.
Definition
developed the visual cliff apparatus, which is used to study the development of depth perception
Term
Gibson, J.
Definition
studied depth cues (especially texture gradients) that help us to perceive depth
Term
Helmholtz, H.
Definition
developed Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color vision: developed place-resonance theory of pitch perception.
Term
Hering, E.
Definition
developed theory of isomorphism
Term
Hubel, D. and Wiesel, T.
Definition
studied feature detection in visual cortex and discovered simple, complex, and hypercomplex cells.
Term
Kohler, W.
Definition
developed theory of isomorphism
Term
Melzack, R. and Wall, P.
Definition
proposed gate theory of pain
Term
Stevens, S.S.
Definition
developed Stevens' Law as an alternative to Fechner's law
Term
Swets, John A.
Definition
Refined ROC curves in signal detection theory
Term
Wever, E. and Bray, C.
Definition
proposed volley theory of pitch perception in response to a criticism of the frequency theory of pitch perception
Term
Yerkes, R. and Dodson, J.
Definition
Developed Yerkes-Dodson Law which states that performance is best at intermediate levels of arousal.
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