AP Psychology Chapter 3 Sensation and Perception
Photons
"wave packets" of light
Absolute Threshold
(Gustave Fechner) The smallest amount of energy needed for stimulus 50% of the time
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
(LGN) Sends image to occipital lobe
Eardrum
(Tympanic Membrane) Membrane in ear canal that vibrates in response to sound area *Highlighted blue
Visual Accomodation
Changing the Corneas shape from thick to thin, allows eye to focus on objects close and far away
Cornea
Clear membrane covering and protecting the eye. Bends light waves so the image can be focused on the retina *Highlighted red
Aqueous Humor
Clear watery fluid, continually replenished, supplies nourishment to the eye *Highlighted red
Nerves (Cochlear Nerve)
Cochlear nerve. The cochlear nerve, also known as the acoustic nerve, is the sensory nerve that transfers auditory information from the cochlea (auditory area of the inner ear) to the brain.
Iris
Colored part of the eye; its muscles control the size of the pupil *White star
Complete incomplete figures
In Gestalt theories, the principle of closure refers to the tendency to...
Anvil
In middle ear transmits vibrations from the hammer to the stirrup *Highlighted Blue
Pupil
Iris opening, changes size depending on the amount of light in the environment *White star
Light Adaptation
Recover of eyes sensitivity to visual stimuli in the light after being in the darkness
Dark Adaptation
Recovery of eyes sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after being in the light
Red-Green Color Blindness
Red and Green cones do not work *sees blue, yellow, and gray*
Whether someone is right-brained versus left-brained
Research suggests that perception may be influenced by all variables except
Frequency Theory
Theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations in the basilar membrane
Volley Principle
Theory of pith that stats that frequencies from about 400 Hz to 4000 Hz cause the hair cells to fire in a volley pattern or take turns firing
Pictorial Depth Cues
These require visual cues from only one eye..
Vitreous Humor
Thick transparent liquid that fills the center of the eye, mostly water, gives eye its shape
Culture
This affects visual perception
Depth Perception
This helps one to judge how far away objects are
Illusion Research
This type of research provides valuable information about how the sensory receptors and sense organs work...
Hammer
Tiny bone that passes vibrations from the eardrum to the anvil *Outlined in red
Outer Ear canal
Tube traveling sound to the ear drum *Yellow arrow
Stirrup (Stapes)
V-Shaped; passes vibrations to the cochlea *Highlighted blue
Perceive apparent brightness in a constant manner
Visually, the concept of brightness constancy causes the brain to
Convert the energy into neural activity, sending messages to the brain
When sensory receptors are stimulated by outside energy they...
Presbyopia
When the lens hardens as we age. it damages visual accomidation
Afterimage
When visual sensitivity persists for a brief time
Motion parallax
Which pictorial depth cue causes distant objects, such as mountains, to appear to move more slowly than closer objects, when viewed from a moving vehicle?
Fovea
Central area of retina; greatest density of photoreceptors *Red dot
Lens
Changes shape to bring objects into focus
Trichromatic Theory
(Young-Hemholtz) Theory of color vision, processes 3 cones: red, blue, and green. RED+GREEN=YELLOW RED+BLUE=MAGENTA Does not explain colorblindness and afterimage
Color
(hue), Determined by length of wave *long wavelengths are at the red end and the short wavelengths are at the blue end*
3 Parts of Vision
-Brightness -Color -Hue
Path of Light Through the Eye
1) Cornea 2) Aqueous Humor 3) Pupil 4) Lens 5) Vitreous Humor 6) Retina
Semicircular Canals
3 Loops of fluid-filled tubes with fluid attached to the cochlea. In the inner ear, and helps maintain balance
Opponent-Process Theory
4 Primary colors, theory that sensory receptors come in pairs. RED+GREEN YELLOW+BLUE BLACK+WHITE If one sensory receptor of color is overstimulated, the other color takes over
Color Blindness
A Recessive trait, 8% of men have it and 1% of women have it
Habituation
A decrease in responsiveness with repeated stimuli. (In the central nervous system) CAN GET THE FEELING BACK *white noise, such as the A/C, or projector in class*
Shape Constancy
A person will perceive a coin as a circle even if it is held at an angle to appear to the eye as an oval because of...
Sensation
Activation of receptors in the various sense organs
Volume
Amplitude is interpreted as...
Sensory Conflict Theory
An explanation of motion sickness in which the information from the eyes conflicts with the information from the vestibular senses
Subliminal Stimuli
Below the level of conscious awareness
Somesthetic Senss
Body senses consisting of skin senses *KINESTHETIC & VESTIBULAR
Eustachian Tube
Connects middle ear to the back of the nose; it equalizes the pressure between the middle ear and the outside ear. This is where you here the "Pop" as altitude changes *Outlined in red
Microsaccades
Constant tiny movement of the eyes that prevents sensory adaptation to visual stimuli
Retina
Contains photoreceptor cells
Hertz (Hz)
Cycles or waves per second, a measurement of frequency
In early infancy
Depth perception seems to develop
Brightness
Determined by amplitude (how high or how low a wave is)
Sensory Adaptation
Diminishing sensitivity to changing stimulus (outside the central nervous system) CANNOT GET THE FEELING BACK *cold swimming pool, cologne, clothing, or jewelry*
Synesthesia
Disorder where the signals from various sensory organs are processed in the wrong cortical areas, resulting in the sense info being interpreted as more than one sensation
Hyperopia
Farsightedness
The three types of cells/neurons in the Retina
Ganglion cells Bipolar cells Special cells
Cones
Has color sensitivity to low levels of light, and has to deal with sharpness of vision *sees color*
Rods
Has noncolor sensitivity to low levels of light. Visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina *sees black and white*
...cones can adapt to an increase in brightness faster than rods can adapt to a decrease in brightness
Light adaptation occur so much more rapidly than dark adaptation because...
Myopia
Nearsightedness
Blind Spot
No rods and cones. Axons of three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form the optic nerve, insensitive to light
Perceptual Set
One's tendency to perceive things in a certain way because of previous experience or expectation is called __________.
Signal Detection Theory
Predicting how and when we detect presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise) *WHY PEOPLE RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO THE SAME STIMULI* -detection will always depend on persons experiences, expectations, motivations, and alertness
Transduction
Process of converting outside stimuli; turns light into neural activity
wavelength, amplitude, and purity
Properties sound waves and light waves share..
Saturation
Purity of color adding black or grey will make the color less saturated
The absolute threshold for the sense of smell
Researchers have found that for a person to notice a smell in a room, the smallest amount of scent needed is one drop of perfume diffused throughout a three-room apartment. This amount of perfume would be described as:
Graphine
Seeing letters or numbers in color
Optic Nerve
Sends visual information to the brain *Highlighted yellow
Skin Senses
Sensations of touch, pressure, temperature, and pain
Kinesthetic Senses
Sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and eachother
Radial Kerototomy
Small incisions in the cornea to change focus in the eye
Just Noticeable Difference (Difference Threshold)
Smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50% of the time...The research of Ernst Weber led to the formulation of a theory of.....
Pitch
Sound wavelengths are interpreted by the brain as...
Sensory Receptors
Specialized forms of neurons that respond to outside stimuli
Subliminal Perception
Subliminal stimuli acts upon unconscious mind, inflicting behavior
Monochrome Color Blindness
Syndrome where no cones exist, or cones exist, but do not work at all *sees shades of gray*
Organ of Corti
The __________ contains the receptor cells for the sense of hearing.
Müller-Lyer
The __________ illusion tends to occur more in societies with lots of buildings that have straight lines and corners.
The Absolute Threshold
The __________ is the lowest level of stimulation that a person can consciously detect 50 percent of the time the stimulation is present.
Moon
The apparent distance hypothesis, which is a basic error in our application of size constancy, is the best explanation that we have for the __________ illusion.
Visual Accommodation
The change in the thickness of the lens as the eye focuses on objects that are far away or close
Cochlea
The cochlea is the sense organ that translates sound into nerve impulses to be sent to the brain. Each person has two cochlea, one for each ear. The cochlea is a fluid-filled, snail shaped cavern in the mastoid bone of your skull behind each ear
Transduction
The process of converting outside stimuli into neural activity is called __________.
Vestibular Senses
The sensations of movement, balance, and body position
Olfaction (olfactory sense)
The sense of taste
Linear Perspective
The tendency for lines that are actually parallel to seem to converge, as when you look down a long interstate highway, is __________.
Closure
The tendency to complete figures that are incomplete.
Size Constancy
The tendency to interpret an object as always being the same size regardless of its distance from the viewer is __________.
Brightness Constancy
The tendency to perceive the apparent brightness of an object as the same even when the light conditions change
Top-down processing
The use of preexisting knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole is known as
Pinna
The visible part of the ear, funneling
Place Theory
Theory of pitch that states that different pitches are experienced by the stimulation of hair cells in different locations on the organ of corti
Because there is not enough visual information present to help you readily distinguish the figure from the ground.
Why is it so difficult to tell what you should focus on when you look at a reversible figure?
Convergence
__________ is the rotation of the two eyes in their sockets to focus on a single object.
Proximity
__________ is the tendency to perceive objects that are close to one another as part of the same grouping.
Weber's Law
__________ states that the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time is always a constant.
Olfactory bulbs
areas of the brain located above the sinus cavity and below the frontal lobes
Figure-Ground Perception
one has a tendency to perceive objects as existing on a background.