Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Science of Psychology: Ch 4
Chapter Four Review
120
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
02/14/2013

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Sensation
Definition
The process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.
Term
Perception
Definition
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it has meaning.
Term
Ambiguity
Definition
A situation of stimulus that can have more than one interpretation
Term
Illusion
Definition
Miss-perception of sensory stimuli
Term
Psychophysics
Definition
Combines physics with psychology by looking at the impact of physical stimulation on our psychological experience (absolute threshold, difference threshold, Weber's Law)
Term
Bottom-Up-Processing
Definition
The operation in sensation and perception in which sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation.
Term
Top-Down-Processing
Definition
The operation in sensation and perception, launched by cognitive processing at the brain's higerh levels, that allow the organism to sense what is happening and to apply that framework to information from the world.
Term
Sensory Receptors
Definition
Specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain.
Term
Human Senses: Organs, Energy Stimuli, and Sensory Receptors
Definition
[image]
Term
Photoreception
Definition
Detection of light, perceived as sight
Term
Chemoreception
Definition
Detection of chemical stimuli, perceived as taste and smell
Term
Mechanoreception
Definition
Detection of pressure, vibration, and movement, perceived as touch, hearing, and equilibrium.
Term
Synaesthesia
Definition
An experience in which one sense (such as sight) induces an experience in another sense (such as hearing)- tasting sound/seeing music
Term
Sensory Signal Path
Definition
Sensory Organ->thalamus->sensory area of the cerebral cortex for modification->throughout the vast neuron network
Term
Absolute Threshold
Definition
The minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect. This is defined as the point at which a person can detect a stimulus 50% of the time.
Term
Noise
Definition
Irrelevant and competing stimuli - no only sounds bus also any distracting stimuli for our senses.
Term
Difference Threshold
Definition
The degree of difference that must exist between two stimuli before the difference is detected. This is defined as the point at which a person can detect a difference in intensity of a stimulus 50% of the time.
Term
Weber's Law
Definition
The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) to be perceived as different.
Term
Subliminal Perception
Definition
The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness.
Term
Signal Detection Theory
Definition
A theory of perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty. In this theory, detection of sensory stimuli also depends on individual and contextual variations in a person.
Term
Information Acquisition
Definition
A part of decision making in signal detection theory - pertains to information being communicated and received in a given situation.
Term
Criterion
Definition
A part of decision making in signal detection theory - the component of this theory that is the basis for making a decision based on judgement from the available information.
Term
Signal Detection Outcomes
Definition
[image]
Term
Attention
Definition
The process of focusing awareness on a narrowed aspect of the environment.
Term
Selective Attention
Definition
The process of focusing on a specific aspect of the experience while ignoring others. (focusing on one voice in a crowd)
Term
Cocktail Party Affect
Definition
A common term used to describe selective attention ability - the ability to concentrate on one voice among many in a noisy crowded room.
Term
Stroop Effect
Definition
Effect named for John Ridley. Refers to the way that automatically reading a color name can make it difficult to name the color in which the word is printed.
Term
Novel Stimuli
Definition
Stimuli that are new, different, or unusual.
Term
Emotion-induced Blindness
Definition
Refers to the fact that when we encounter an emotionally charged stimulus, we often fail to recognize a stimulus that is presented immediately after it.
Term
Inattentional Blindness
Definition
A term that refers to the failure to detect unexpected events when our attention is engaged by a task (gorilla on basketball court).
Term
Perceptual Set
Definition
A predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way - reflects a top-down influence on perception (red ace of spades test).
Term
Sensory Adaption
Definition
A change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation (initially freezing water feels warmer/sound in room diminishes as we adjust to it).
Term
Parapsychology
Definition
The term for the scientific study of ESP (extrasensory perception).
Term
Light
Definition
A form of electromagnetic energy that can be described in terms of wavelengths. The visible light range is from 400 to 700 nanometers (1 billionth of a meter abbreviated nm)
Term
Wavelength
Definition
The distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next (light).
Term
Light Hue (color)
Definition
The wavelength of light that is reflected from a stimulus.
Term
Light Amplitude (brightness)
Definition
The height of the wavelength of light. Greater amplitude make up brighter light, and smaller amplitude make up dimmer light.
Term
Light Purity
Definition
The purity of the wavelengths of light - whether they are all the same or a mix of waves.
Term
Light Saturation
Definition
The richness of a visual stimulus.
Term
Sclera
Definition
The white, outer part of the eye that helps maintain the shape of the eye and protect it from injury.
Term
Iris
Definition
The colored part of the eye, which can be different colors in each person. It contains the muscles that control the size of the pupil, and hence the amount of light that gets into the eye.
Term
Pupil
Definition
The opening in the iris.
Term
Cornea
Definition
A clear membrane just in front of the eye. The function of this part of the eye is to bend the light hitting the eye to focus it on the back. Contains three layers - Rods/Cones, Bipolar Cells, Ganglion Cells. Light hits rods/cones, moves to the bipolar cells, the ganglion cells, and then to the optic nerve for transmission to the brain.
Term
Lens
Definition
A transparent and somewhat flexible disk-shaped structure filled with a gelatin-like material. Functions by changing shape to bend the light hitting the eye to focus it on the back of the eye.
Term
Retina
Definition
The multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain. Contains rods and cones and approximately 126 million receptor cells.
Term
Rods
Definition
The receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light but not very useful for color vision. Retina contains approximately 120 million rods. Function wall under low illumination.
Term
Cones
Definition
The receptor cells in the retina that allow for color reception. Retina contains approximately 6 million cones. Require brighter light to function.
Term
Fovea
Definition
The most important part of the retina. Tiny area in the center of the retina. Area where vision is the best. Contains only cones.
Term
Optic Nerve
Definition
The structure at the back of the eye, made up of axons of the ganglion cells, that carries visual information to the brain for further processing.
Term
Eye Structures
Definition
[image]
Term
Rods and Cones
Definition
[image]
Term
Optic Nerve
Definition
[image]
Term
Optic Chiasm
Definition
The point where the optic nerve fibers divide, and approximately half of the nerve fibers cross over the mid-line of the brain. This results in the visual information coming from the right halves of the two retinas is transmitted to the right side of the occipital lobe in the cerebral cortex, and the visual information coming from the left halves of the retinas is transmitted to the left side of the occipital lobe.
Term
Visual Processing
Definition
[image]
Term
Visual Cortex
Definition
The part of the cerebral cortex involved in vision. It is located in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain.
Term
Feature Detectors
Definition
Neurons in the brain's visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus.
Term
Parallel Processing
Definition
The simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways.
Term
Binding
Definition
Term related to vision. Refers to the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells.
Term
Trichromatic Theory (Thomas Young-1802)
Definition
Theory stating that color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths.
Term
Opponent-Process Theory
Definition
Theory stating that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue.
Term
Figure-ground Relationship
Definition
The principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out (figure) and those that are left over (background or ground).
Term
Gestalt Psychology
Definition
A school of thought interested in how people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns (the whole is different than the sum of its parts).
Term
Closure
Definition
Theory of gestalt psychology that says when we see disconnected or incomplete figures, we fill in the spaces and see them as complete figures.
Term
Proximity
Definition
Theory of gestalt psychology that says when we see objects that are near each other, they tend to be seen as a unit.
Term
Similarity
Definition
Theory of gestalt psychology that says when we see objects that are similar to each other, we tend to see them as a unit.
Term
Depth Perception
Definition
The ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally.
Term
Binocular Cues
Definition
Depth cues that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together.
Term
Convergance
Definition
A binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in our eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is. - Binocular Cue
Term
Monocular Cues
Definition
Powerful depth cues available from the image in one eye, either the right or the left.
Term
Familiar Size
Definition
The cue to the depth and distance of objects that is based on what we have learned from experience about the standard size of objects. - Monocular Cue
Term
Height in the field of view
Definition
All other things being equal, objects positioned higher in a picture are seen as farther away. - Monocular Cue
Term
Linear perspective and Relative size
Definition
Objects that are farther away take up less space on the retina. So, things that appear smaller are perceived to be farther away. - Monocular Cue
Term
Overlap
Definition
We perceive an object that partially conceals or overlaps another object as closer. - Monocular Cue
Term
Shading
Definition
The cue that involves changes in perception due to the position of the light and the position of the viewer.
Term
Texture Gradient
Definition
Texture becomes denser and finer the farther away it is from the viewer. - Monocular Cue
Term
Apparent Movement
Definition
The perception that a stationary object is moving.
Term
Perceptual Constancy
Definition
The recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing.
Term
Size Constancy
Definition
The recognition that an object stays the same size even though the retinal image of the object changes. (perceptual constancy)
Term
Shape Constancy
Definition
The recognition that an object retains the same shape even though its orientation to us changes. (perceptual constancy)
Term
Color Constancy
Definition
The recognition that an object retains the same color even though different amounts of light fall on it. (perceptual constancy)
Term
Sound
Definition
[image]
Term
Complex Sounds
Definition
Sounds in which numerous frequencies blend together.
Term
Sound Timbre
Definition
The tone saturation (perceptual quality) of a sound.
Term
Sound Amplitude
Definition
The amount of pressure the sound wave produces relative to a standard- measured in decibels (dB). The weakest sounds a human ear can detect is 0 dB.
Term
Sound Loudness
Definition
The perception of the sound wave's amplitude.
Term
Sound Frequency
Definition
The number of cycles (full wavelengths) that pass through a point in a given time interval.
Term
Sound Pitch
Definition
The perceptual interpretation of the frequency of a sound.
Term
Auditory System
Definition
[image]
Term
Outer Ear
Definition
The outermost part of the ear, consisting of the pinna and the external auditory canal.
Term
Middle Ear
Definition
The part of the ear that channels sound through the eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup to the inner ear.
Term
Tympanic Membrane (eardrum)
Definition
Separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound waves.
Term
Inner Ear
Definition
The part of the ear that includes the oval window, cochlea, and basilar membrane. Its function is to convert sound wave into neural impulses and send them to the brain.
Term
Pinna (Pinnae)
Definition
The visible funnel-shaped outer part of the ear.
Term
Hammer->Anvil->Stirrup
Definition
Found in the middle ear. Intricately connected chain of the three smallest bones in the human body. Vibration of the these bones transmits sound waves to the inner ear.
Term
Oval Window
Definition
A membrane in the inner ear that the stirrup is connected to. Transmits sound waves to the cochlea.
Term
Cochlea
Definition
The part of the inner ear that is a tubular fluid-filled structure. This part of the ear is coiled up like a snail.
Term
Basilar Membrane
Definition
A part of the inner ear that lines the cochlea and runs its entire length. This membrane is lined with hair cells.
Term
Auditory Hair Cells
Definition
The ear's sensory receptors which are found in the cochlea.
Term
Tectorial Membrane
Definition
A jellylike flap found in the cochlea. Movement of the auditory hair cells against this membrane generate impulses that the brain interprets as sound.
Term
Place Theory
Definition
Theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane. - Theory of hearing
Term
Frequency Theory
Definition
Theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that the perception of a sound's frequency depends on how often the auditory nerves fire - Theory of hearing
Term
Volley Principle
Definition
Modification of frequency theory stating that a cluster of nerve cells can fire neural impulses in rapid succession, producing a volley of impulses - Theory of hearing
Term
Auditory Nerve
Definition
The nerve structure that receives information about sound from the hair cells of the inner ear and carries these neural impulses to the brain's auditory areas.
Term
Cutaneous Senses
Definition
Receptors in the skin for touch, temperature, and pain.
Term
Touch
Definition
The detection of mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. - Cutaneous Sense
Term
Thermoreceptors
Definition
Sensory nerve endings under the skin that response to changes in temperature at or near the skin and provide input to keep the body's temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Term
Pain
Definition
The sensation that warns us of damage to our bodies.
Term
Chemical Senses
Definition
Sense responsible for processing chemicals in our environment. The senses that allow us to detect taste and smell.
Term
Papillae
Definition
Rounded bumps above the tongue's surface that contains the taste buds.
Term
Taste Buds
Definition
The bodies receptors for taste. Contained in the papillae on the tongues surface. Different sections of the tongue contain taste buds responsible for detecting sweet, bitter, salty, and sour.
Term
Olfactory Epithelium
Definition
The lining of the roof of the nasal cavity, containing a sheet of receptor cells for smell. Neurons of the olfactory epithelium have the ability to replace themselves after injury.
Term
Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)
Definition
An evolutionary perspective that says the goal of human mating is to find someone with whom to produce the healthiest offspring due to having a differing set of genes.
Term
Kinesthetic System
Definition
Senses that provide information about movement, posture, and orientation. Not contained in any specific organ - embedded in muscle fibers and joints.
Term
Vestibular System
Definition
Sense that provides information about balance and movement.
Term
Proprioceptive Feedback
Definition
Information about the position of our limbs and body parts in relation to other body parts. Works in concert with the kinesthetic sense.
Term
Semicircular Canals
Definition
Three fluid-filled circular tubes in the inner ear containing the sensory receptors that detect head motion caused when we tilt or move our head and/or body.
Term
Ultraviolet Light
Definition
Rays that are shorter than 400 nm
Term
Ifrared Rays
Definition
Rays that are longer than 700 nm
Term
Conduction Deafness
Definition
Caused by poor transfer of vibrations from tympanic membrane to inner ear; can be compensated for with use of amplifier (aka: hearing aid)
Term
Nerve Deafness
Definition
Caused by damage to hair cells or the auditory nerve; hearing aids don't work in this case because auditory messages cannot reach the brain, and cochlear implants (electronic devices that stimulate auditory nerves) can be used but are not always effective.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!