AP Psychology Unit 4 Mrs. Rose

R3 What is the minimum amount of stimulus necessary to detect a particular sensation called?

Absolute Threshold

7 Discuss the levels of processing of visual info traveling from the eye's retina to the brain's cortex

1.scene -> 2. retinal processing (rods, cones, bipolar cells, etc to the OPTIC NERVE to the THALAMUS) -> (VISION CORTEX 3-5) 3. feature detectors (brain detector cells respond to specific features like edges, lines, etc.) -> 4. parallel processing (motion form, color etc.) -> 5. recognition (brain interprets constructed image based on info from stored images

R23 What is the process by which the lens changes its curvature called?

Accomodation

R30 What is the process by which red, blue, and green lights are combined to form white light called?

Additive Color Mixing

R7 What is the distance from the peak to the trough of a light wave called?

Amplitude

R29 What is the sense of hearing also called?

Audition

R2 What is the proces by which we start with information from the sensory processors and work up to higher levels of processing called?

Bottom-up Processing

R31 What is the coiled, bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses called?

Cochlea

10 Explain the importance of color constancy

Color constancy is our ability to perceive consistent color in objects, even though the lighting and wavelengths shift

R33 Problems with the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea causes what type of deafness?

Conductive

R18 What are the specialized receptor cells that transform light waves into color called?

Cones

R14 What is the protective covering on the eye called?

Cornea

26 Discuss research on depth perception

Depth perception seems to be nature---> -babies presented with a visual cliff were hesitant to move forward to their mothers

R4 What is the minimum difference in stimuli tht a person can detect half of the time called?

Difference Threshold aka Just noticeable difference

29 Describe the debate over the role of nature and nurture in perception, and discuss what research findings on sensory deprivation and restored vision have contributed to this debate

Do we need to learn to perceive? -research suggests that some parts of perception are innate or a part of nature -the same research says those with cataract removal could not visually recognize objects that were familiar by touch -nurture sculpts what nature has endowed

32 State the claim of ESP; and explain why most research psychologists remain skeptical

ESP: claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input: includes telepathy (mind to mind communication), clairvoyance (perceiving remote events), and precognition (perceiving future events). 1. to believe in ESP, you must believe the brain is capable of perceiving without sensory input 2. researchers have been unable to replicate ESP phenomena under controlled conditions

R19 What is the retina's area of central focus called?

Fovea

R27 What determines the pitch of a sound?

Frequency

R32 What is the theory in which pitch is determined by how fast the basilar membrane vibrates with the incoming sound wave called?

Frequency Theory

R48 A leading theory on pain in which both the brain and sense receptors can influence the intensity of the pain is called what?

Gate-Control Theory

R44 The tendency for out brain to perceives things as organized whole rather than individual separate parts?

Gestalt Psychology

24 Discuss Gestalt psychology's contribution to our understanding of perception

Gestalt emphasized humans' tendencies to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes Grouping: the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups (proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, connectedness)

R40 The sense of taste is also called what?

Gustation

R28 What are the 3 bones in the middle ear?

Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup OR Ossicles

R11 What is the inability to perceive certain things in the environment when the observer is not attending to them called?

Inattentional Blindness

R15 What are the muscles that determine the size of the pupil called?

Iris

R43 Which sense relates to body position and movement?

Kinesthetic Sense

R51 As the tracks get further away from us, they seem to converge. This is an example of which binocular depth cue?

Linear Perspective

R45 What is the theory called in which after leaving the receptor cells< visual information is analyzed in terms of the opposite colors of red-green, blue-yellow, and black and white?

Opponent-Proess Theory

R16 What is the network of ganglionic cells that carry the neural messages from eye to the brain called?

Optic Nerve

R22 What is the method by which the brain processes various inputs at once - for example color, motion, form, and depth of vision - called?

Parallel Processing

30 Explain the use of distorting goggles indicate regarding the adaptability of perception

Perceptual adaption: the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field We can adapt quickly to new perceptual circumstances and then back again to "normal"

31 Discuss the effects of experiences, assumptions, expectations, and context on our perceptions

Perceptual set: a mental predisposition that functions as a lens thru which we perceive the world (ex: pilot hears "gear up" instead of "cheer up") Schemas, learned concepts, prime us to organize and interpret ambiguous stimuli in certain ways physical and emotional context can also create expectations and color our interpretations

R26 What is the theory in which pitch is determined by the location of the vibrating stereocilia?

Place theory

13 Contrast the place and frequency theories and explain how they help us to understand pitch perception

Place theory: explains how we hear high-pitched sounds/proposes that our brain interprets a particular pitch by decoding the place where a sound wave stimulates the cochlea's basilar membrane frequency theory: explains how we hear low-pitched sounds/proposes that the brain deciphers the frequency of the neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve to the brain

R46 What are the four main skin senses?

Pressure, warmth, cold, pain

5 Describe the major structure of the eye

Pupil: adjustable opening in the center of the eye thru which light enters iris: a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina sclera: tough outer coat, which is opaque in front, where it bulges out to form a transparent membrane 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 optic nerve: the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain fovea: the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

R17 What is the eyeball's light-sensitive surface on which the rays are focused called?

Retina

R12 When we stare at an object, each eye receives a slightly different image, providing a depth cue known as

Retinal Disparity

R20 When trying to see better at night, why should you look out of the periphery of your eyes?

Rods are located here

6 Contrast the two types of receptor cells in the retina, and describe the retina's reaction to light

Rods: detects black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision///retina dilates cones: functions in daylight or in well-lit conditions (detects fine detail and give raise to color sensations)/// retina constrict

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R1 What is the process by which we detect physical energy from the environment called?

Sensation

Sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

1 Contrast sensation and perception, and explain the difference between bottom up and bottom down processing

Sensation: the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment Perception: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events Bottom up: analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information top down: information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectation

R34 Damage to the cochlea's hair cell receptors or their associated nerve cells causes which type of deafness?

Sensorineural

R9 What is the diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus called?

Sensory Adaptation

R36 The idea that information from one sense may influence another, as in the case of taste and smell, is called what?

Sensory Interaction

R42 Which is the only sense whose neural information is not passed through the thalamus?

Smell (Olfaction)

R41 What are the 2 chemical senses?

Smell and Taste (Olfaction and Gustation)

27 Describe stroboscopic movement and phi phenomenon

Stroboscopic movement: the brain perceives continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images (ex: film animation) Phi phenomenon: an illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession (ex> lighted signs like moving arrow)

R5 What is the term for the stimuli that exist below our absolute threshold?

Subliminal

R35 What are the 5 taste sensations?

Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Umami

R49 Which organs are responsible for sensing balance?

The inner ear/vestibular organs (semicircular canals and otolith sacs)

Subliminal

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

R47 Why do people experience pain?

To warn us that something is wrong

R8 What is the conversion of one energy form to another, such as light waves to neural messages, called?

Transduction

4 Define transduction and specify the form of energy our visual system converts into the neural messages our brain can interpret

Transduction: conversion of one form of energy into another (sights, sounds, smells into neural impulses our brain can interpret)

R13 What is the tendency for vision to dominate the other sense called?

Visual Capture

R6 What determines a color's hue?

Wavelength

R10 What is the principle that regardless of their magnitude, two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceptible called?

Weber's Law

R21 What is the theory of color processing which states that the retina has 3 types of color receptors called?

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

9 Understand the different theories on processing

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (3 color) theory: our eyes contain 3 types of color receptors Opponent-process theory: the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision (ex.: some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red)

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.

Monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of the two eyes

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the 2 eyes, the brain computes distance/the greater the disparity between 2 images, the closer the object

Cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses

Cochlear implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

16 Describe how cochlear implants function and explain why Deaf culture advocates object to these devices

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea. -they do not see deafness as a problem, noises can be heightened

Visual cliff

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

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

Signal detection theory

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, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Pitch

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

2 Distinguish between absolute and difference thresholds

absolute threshold: minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time (ex.: single drop of perfume in a 3 room apartment, candle flame on top of a mountain 30 miles away) difference threshold: the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50 of the time

Phi Phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

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

Change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

Inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

25 Explain the figure-ground relationship, and identify principles of perceptual grouping in form perception

figure-ground relationship: tendency to organize info into objectios (figure) that stand out from their background (ground). Relationship continually reverses. (Do you see a vase or two faces? A seal on the ice or polar bear climbing out of a pool of ice

Sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

Conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Frequency Hearing

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

Embodied cognition

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

Perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Top-down processing

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

Feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

12 Describe the three regions of the ear, and outline the series of events that triggers the electrical impulses sent to the brain

outer ear: visible portion, channels waves into auditory canal Middle ear: eardrum (tight membrane) that transmits vibrations thru 3 tiny bones (ossicles- hammer, anvil, stirrup) inner ear: cochlea vibrates and jostles the fluid that fills the tube---> this causes ripples in the basilar membrane that bend the hair cells lining the surface---> triggers impulses in the adjacent nerve cells--->axons of those cells converge and form the auditory nerve and sends those to the thalamus and to the auditory cortex)

Color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having constant shapes, sizes, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

28 Describe the perceptual constancies and show how the perceived size-distance relationship operates in visual illusions

perceptual constancy: perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change. color constancy: perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object. shape and size constancies: both we know are the same as the angle in which we see them changes

Cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

Rods

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

15 Contrast the two types of hearing loss and describe some of their causes

sensorineural hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness. conduction hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. (sometimes diseases, heredity, aging, and prolonged exposure to loud noises)

3 Describe sensory adaptation and explain how we benefit from being unaware of unchanging stimuli

sensory adaption: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation (nerve cells fire less frequently as we adapt) it is important that we adapt to our surroundings or else our senses would always be stimulated and that would be overwhelming

14 Describe how we pinpoint sound

sound waves strike on ear sooner and more intensely than the other, the brain analyzes the minute differences in the sounds received by the 2 ears and computes the sound's source

Depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2D; allows us to judge distance

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

Pupil

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

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

Fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

Middle ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones 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

Wavelength

the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

Selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

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

Difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

Absolute 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

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Figure ground

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

Sensory interaction

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

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)

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

8 Define parallel processing and discuss its role in visual information processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously (motion, form, depth, color) since we interpret all of these things at once, we can intake multiple faucets of information simultaneously. this can help to quickly compare the new info with stored information and enable perceptions

Parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Audition

the sense or act of hearing

Parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Psychophysics

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Kinesthesia

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 (3 color 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.

Gate-Control Theory

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 activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

11 Describe the pressure waves we experience as sound

waves travel to our ears to get processed (Long waves=low frequency and low pitch/short=high frequency and pitch)