Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Chapter 3
Sensation and perception
29
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
02/18/2010

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Sensation
Definition
The activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy.
Term
Perception
Definition
The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and the integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain.
Term
Psychophysics
Definition
The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them.
Term
Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
Definition
The smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred.
Term
Weber's law
Definition
A basic law of psycho-physics stating that a just noticeable difference is in constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus.
Term
Adaption
Definition
An adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli.
Term
Retina
Definition
The part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light to electrical impulses for transmission to the brain.
Term
Rods
Definition
Thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light.
Term
Cones
Definition
Cone-shaped, light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light.
Term
Optic nerve
Definition
A bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information to the brain.
Term
Feature detection
Definition
The activation of neurons in the cortex by visual stimuli of specific shapes or patterns.
Term
Trichromatic theory of color vision
Definition
The theory that there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengths.
Term
Opponent-process theory of color vision
Definition
The theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other.
Term
Sound
Definition
The movement of air molecules brought about by a source of vibration.
Term
Eardrums
Definition
The part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it.
Term
Cochlea
Definition
A coiled tube in the ear filled with fluid that vibrates in response to sound.
Term
Basilar membrane
Definition
A vibrating structure that runs thorough the center of the cochlea, dividing it into an upper chamber and a lower chamber and containing sense receptors for sound.
Term
Hair cells
Definition
The cells covering the basilar membrane that, when bent by vibrations entering the cochlea, transmit neural messages to the brain.
Term
Place theory of hearing
Definition
The theory that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to the different frequencies.
Term
Frequency theory of hearing
Definition
The theory that the entire baislar membrane acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to a sound.
Term
Semicircular canals
Definition
Three tube-like structures of the inner ear cell containing fluid that sloshes through them when the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement of the brain.
Term
Otoliths
Definition
Tiny, motion-sensitive crystals within semicircular canals that sense body acceleration.
Term
Skin senses
Definition
The senses of touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.
Term
Gale-control theory of pain
Definition
The theory that particular nerve receptors in the spinal cord lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain.
Term
Gestalt laws of organization
Definition
A series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Term
Top-down processing
Definition
Perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations.
Term
Bottom-up processing
Definition
Perception that consists of the progression of recognizing the processing information from individual components of a stimuli and moving to the perception of the whole.
Term
Depth Perception
Definition
The ability to view the would in three dimensions and to perceive distance.
Term
Visual illusions
Definition
Physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!