Psych Unit 3

cochlea

(snailed shaped) coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear in which sound vibrations trigger nerve impulses/where sound energy is converted into neural impulses

ORDER OF SOUNDS PROCESSING

1. The outer ear funnels sound waves through the auditory canal to the eardrum 2. The bones of the middle ear amplify and relay the vibrations of the eardrum to the fluid-filled cochlea 3. The vibrations in the cochlear fluid cause ripples on the basilar membrane 4. The vibrations bend the tiny hair cells, causing them to release neurotransmitters 5. The neurotransmitters trigger impulses in the nerve cells that form the auditory nerve 6. The auditory nerve carries the messages to the auditory contex of the opposite side of the brain

_____ occurs when the eardrum is punctured or if the tiny bones in the middle ear lose their ability to vibrate.

Conduction hearing loss

inner ear

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

percieve

organizing and interpreting information from the senses to understand its meaning

hair cells

receptor cells for the auditory system; located within the cochlea on the basilar membrane

auditory cortex

region in the temporal lobe of the brain's cerebral hemispheres that is the primary area for hearing and processing speech sounds

If a visual image is first presented _____, the chance of a person later recognizing the same briefly presented image is improved.

subliminally

As the alternating high-and low-pressure regions of the sound wave strike the eardrum, the eardrum begins to vibrate.

true

The three small bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations of the eardum before pasing the vibrations along to the cochlea.

true

When the vibrations reach the cochlea, they cause the fluis around the basilar membrane to move, bending the hair cells.

true

Auditory canal

tube in the outer ear that channels sound waves to the eardrum

_____ is the process by which physical energy is detected in the environment and encoded as neural signals.

Sensation

Judith suffers from painful arthritis. Judith's physician gave her medication to help ease her pain. The medication Judith was given contained water, rather than actual medicine. However, Judith reported that her pain reduced. Which of the following is the best explanation for this?

The medication dampened the central nervous system's attention and response to her back pain.

Studying the impact of boredom and fatigue on people's _____ thresholds would involve research based on signal detection theory.

absolute

neural impulse

an electrical signal that carries a message along an axon

Alabama police officers fatally shot a young man who was recently involved in a minor traffic accident. The man was holding his wallet but the office mistook it for a gun. The officer was likely _____ at the time of the encounter.

angry

San Jose police fatally shot a 19-year-old girl who was holding a power drill in 2014. The officer was likely _____ at the time of the encounter.

angry

Josie intently watched the live tennis match and did not realize that a bird had landed on the adjacent empty seat next to her. Her inability to notice the bird can be explained by inattentional _____.

blindness

The eye takes in an inverted image of the world, yet humans see the world correctly because the _____ reassembles the image.

brain

auditory nerve

carries neural impulses from the inner ear toward the brain

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers released by the axon terminal into the synaptic gap between neurons

What is the minor property or characteristic called?

complexity

Ricardo has been suffering from a lengthy battle with the flu. His ears are painfully plugged with fluid. One morning his right ear pops from all of the pressure and fluid comes out. He screams in pain because the eardrum has punctured. This will result in _____ hearing loss.

conduction

A neutral facial expression may be perceived as sadder at a funeral than at a circus. This best illustrates a(n) _____ effect.

context

transduction

converting energy from external stimuli into neural impulses that the brain can understand

loudness

determined by amplitude (intensity) of sound waves

timbre

determined by complexity (waveform) of sound waves

pitch

determined by frequency of sound waves

Amplitude

determines the loudness

Complexity

determines the timbre (characteristic quality)

Frequency

detrmines the pitch of the sound

outer ear

external portion of the ear, including pinna, auditory canal, and eardrum

Most of the neural signals from the left ear travel first to the thalamus-the relay station for the senses-and then to the auditory cortex in the left hemisphere for processing.

false

The process of transduction-converting the sound energy into neural impulses-takes place in the middle ear.

false

What are the 2 main properties or characteristics of sound waves?

frequency and amplitude

Talia is 45 years old. She has started to notice that newspaper print is too small for her to read. Talia needs reading glasses because the _____ of her eyes are less able to accommodate.

lenses

Infant rats deprived of their mothers' grooming touch produce:

less growth hormone and have a lower metabolic rate

Bees can see ultraviolet light, but cannot see the color red. This means that bees cannot see_____ wavelengths

long

Relative _____ most clearly contributes to lightness constancy.

luminance

thalamus

main relay center in the brain for sensory information on the way to processing areas in the cortex

Bart was struck by a 2 x 4 to the back of his head. He is having severe difficulties with his vision because the injury was sustained to his _____ lobe.

occipital

hemisphere

one half of the brian; divided into four lobes

Some stroke victims lose the capacity to perceive motion, but retain the capacity to perceive shapes and colors. Others lose the capacity to perceive colors, but retain the capacity to perceive movement and form. These peculiar visual disabilities best illustrate a normal capacity for _____ processing.

parallel

temporal lobes

part of the cerebral cortex, located in the lower portion of the brain on each side of the head; processes information from the ears

pinna

part of the outer ear that protrudes from the head

The fact that _____ involves more than the sum of sensations best illustrates the importance of top-down processing.

perceptions

After some practice, Carol was able to read books while holding them upside down. This best illustrates:

perceptual adaptation

In 2008, some men from Georgia claimed to have found Big Foot. They claimed to have the body of Big Foot in their possession and graciously provided photos as evidence. For many, these photos were proof of the existence of Big Foot. Others, however, saw a costume in the photos. The interpretation of the photos were influenced by the viewers' _____.

perceptual set

Once John learned of Sara's abusive past, he began to perceive her cautious behavior around men as more self-protective than rude. This best illustrates the impact of:

perceptual set

Enrico is having trouble telling the difference between the sound of a tuba and the sound of a piccolo. Even though a piccolo produces much shorter, faster sound waves than does a tuba, he has trouble picking out the differences in the _____ of these sounds.

pitch

The central focal point in the _____ where cones are heavily concentrated is known as the fovea.

retina

Kiera stayed up way too late last night and her eyes are tired. She closes her eyes, and as she rubs them she notices a white light. This is because Kiera's _____ cells are extremely responsive, and the pressure from her hand triggers them.

retinal

The _____ may all be influenced by perceptual set.

senses

After hearing that Bryce had served a prison sentence, Janet began to perceive his genuinely friendly behavior as insincere and manipulative. This best illustrates the impact of perceptual _____.

set

Once Frederic learned of Amelia's abusive past, he began to perceive her cautious behavior around men as more self-protective than rude. This best illustrates the impact of perceptual _____.

set

Professor Page is conducting a study on perceptual _____. She shows her study participants a picture of an adult-child pair. She tells half of the participants that they are looking at a parent and her child. She tells the other half that they are looking at a daycare worker and a child in the daycare center. The group that thinks the pair is related rates them as looking more alike than the group that thinks they are NOT related.

set

Two TSA officers are scanning bags at the airport. One of the officers lets a bag go through, but the other officer yells, "Wait, didn't you see that?" Why one officer saw a weapon and the other did not is best explained by:

signal detection theory

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

size

loudness

the apparent intensity of a sound; whether a sound seems soft (weak) or loud (intense)

A person is at a large party with lots of music and conversations going on simultaneously. While talking to a friend about his/her latest romantic break-up, the person hears his/her name spoken from the other side of the room. (S)he immediately looks in the direction of the voice and sees the person who spoke his/her name. This ability to detect one's name being spoken in this situation is an example of:

the cocktail party effect

amplitude

the height of a sound wave, measured as the distance between the peak and the midpoint; related to the loudness of a sound

The FBI is considering a new identification method. Instead of using old-fashioned fingerprints, they have decided to scan which part of eye to confirm people's identity?

the iris

complexity

the shape of a sound wave; related to the specific object that produced the wave

Dennis, a nurse, notes that some parents of asthmatic children respond to very small changes in their children's breathing, and seek care accordingly. However, other parents do not notice the same small changes. This type of difference in reaction to stimuli is best explained by:

the signal detection theory

frequency

the speed with which a sound wave moves up and down, measured as the number of peaks per second; related to the pitch of a sound

middle ear bones

the three small bones within the middle ear that amplify the eardrum vibrations and pass them on to the cochlea

basilar membrane

thin membrane that seperates the cochlea into two main chambers; contains the receptors (hair cells)

eardrum

thin membrane that vibrates in response to incoming sound waves; seperates auditory canal from middle ear

pitch

whether a sound seems low (deep) or high (squeaky)