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Distal Stimulus
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Olfaction
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The sense of smell
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gustation
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The sense of taste.
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phantom limb
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Percieved sensation, following amputation of a limb, that the limb still exists
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priming
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the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
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Wavelength
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The distance (measured in the direction of propagation) between two points in the same phase in consecutive cycles of a wave
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top-down processing
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information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 197)
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cornea
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the curved protective layer through which light rays enters the eye. Light rays are bent here as well as in the lens.
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perception
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the process through which messages from the senses are given meaning
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loudness
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a psychological dimension of sound determined by the amplitude of a soundwave
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LGN
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(lateral geniculate nucleus) a region of the thalamus in which axons from most of the ganglion cells in the retina end and form synapses
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sensory adaptation
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diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
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Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
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Rods
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A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
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Pitch
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decibel
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Measurement of the intensity of perceived sound.
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Kinesthesis
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the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
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Sensation
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The process by which we detect physical enery from the environment and encode it as neural signals.
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absolute threshold
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the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 199)
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pitch
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how high or low a tone sounds
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blind spot
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the light-sensitive point at which axons from all of the ganglion cells converge and exit the eyeball.
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farsightedness
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a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina
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difference threshold
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the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
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hue
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the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
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Proximal Stimulus
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physical stimulation that is available to be measured by an observer’s sensory apparatus (2D)o Ie: when a person “sees” a dog, it is because the dog (distal stimulus) created a retinal image (proximal stimulus)o What I see in my head
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The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enables color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
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Opponent-Process Theory
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transduction
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The translation of energy from one form to another.
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taste cells
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The sensory receptor cells for gustation located in the taste buds.
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subliminal Stimuli
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Stimuli that is below the absolute thershold for conscious awareness.
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bottom-up processing
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analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 197)
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kinesthesia
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the sense that tells you where the parts of the body are with respect to one another.
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Temporal coding
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coding attributes of a stimulus in terms of changes in the timing of neural firing.
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middle ear
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the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window
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sensory interaction
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the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
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o Subtractive Color Mixing:
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combination of pigments, eyes absorb color to see it, you see black
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Conduction deafness
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something goes wrong with the system of conducting the sound to the cochlea
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The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activ
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Gate-Control Theory
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The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
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Fovea
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accommodation
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the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
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Frequency Theory
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In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.
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intensity
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the amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness as determined by the wave's amplitude. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 205)
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opponent-process theory
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A theory of color vision stating that color-sensitive visual elements are grouped into red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white elements.
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Optic Chiasm
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part of the bottom surface of the brain where half of each optic nerve's fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain.
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three color theory
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The thoery that the retina contains three different color recptors (one for each red, blue and green) which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color
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Stuff in the Retina
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• Cones and rods: directly activated by color and black and white light respectivelyo Rods outnumber cones and are distributed throughout the retinao Cones are concentrated towards the centero Fovea: highest concentration of cones in the retinao If enough cones and rods activate, they trigger the next layer of bipolar cells• Bipolar cellso If enough bipolar cells fire, ganglion cells are activated
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The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.
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Intensity
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iris
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The colored part of the eye behind the cornea that regulates the amount of light that enters.
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feature detectors
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cells in the cortex that respond to a specific feature of an object
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signal detection theory
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a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.
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A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, exp
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Signal Detection Theory
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olfactory epithelium
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The sheet of receptor cells at the top of the nasal cavity.
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Malleus, Incus & Stapes
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3 tiny bones that amplify the changes in pressure produced by the original sound waves, by focusing the vibrations of the tympanic membrane into the oval window.
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