psychology chapter 5

sensory adaptation

If Tom moves his watchband up his wrist an inch, he will feel it for only a few moments. This BEST illustrates:

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

absoulte threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

visual cliff

Dr. Juan is studying depth perception in infants. What device might she use in her research?

Relitive size

Drivers sometimes overestimate the distance between their own vehicles and pedestrians who are short because they rely on the distance cue known as:

Sensation and Perception

Experiencing sudden pain is to _____ as recognizing that one is suffering a heart attack is to _____.

Umami

Happy Moon Restaurant uses monosodium glutamate in most of its dishes to enhance the flavor. The use of this flavor enhancer also stimulates the fifth taste of:

top-down processing

Interpreting new sensory information within the framework of a past memory illustrates:

precognition

Josh is convinced that his grandfather will die soon. He believes he is capable of:

brain

Receptor cells for the vestibular sense send messages to the:

The Mcgurk effect

When people see the mouth movements for "ga" while hearing "ba," they may perceive "da." This BEST illustrates:

Extra sensory perception

Which method is NOT a way to manage pain?

visual cliff Def

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Gestalt

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

top-down processing Def

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

middle ear

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

extrasensory perception (ESP)

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

embodied cognition

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements

inner ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem or scene at the same time; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

audition

the sense or act of hearing

kinesthesis

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.