psychology ch. 4: Sensation & Perception

T/F: Sensory receptors are specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain

True

T/F: top-down processing starts out with cognitive processing, while bottom-up processing is initiated by stimulus input

True

the purpose of the pupil is to

adjust the amount of light that enters the eye

you have been sitting in a darkened movie theater and step outside into the bright sunshine. Which of the following is an example of sensory adaptation in this situation?

after a minute of two, your eyes readjust to the glare

synesthesia

an experience in which one sense induces an experience in another sense

________ _________ is the perception that a stationary object is moving

apparent movement

what is the process of focusing awareness on a narrowed aspect of the environment called?

attention

sensory receptors adjust their response rates on the basis if the _______ amount of stimuli received, resulting in sensory adaptation

average

________ is a binocular cue to depth and distance

convergence

_________ is a binocular cue to depth and distance

convergence

there are two structure of the eye that bring an image into focus; the lens and the

cornea

signal detection theory has two main components: information acquisition and _________.

criterion

the principle by which individuals organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over is called the

figure-ground relationship

signal detection theory

focuses on decision making about stimuli under conditions of uncertainty

the school of psychology that emphasizes that people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns is called:

gestalt psychology

which of the following is the most common type of color blindness?

inability to perceive some colors

in the Simons and Chabris (1999) study, participants failed to notice a woman dressed in a gorilla suit because they were paying attention to a series of basketball passes. This is because participants were experiencing

inattention blindness

retina

light-sensitive surface that records electromagnetic energy and converts it into neural impulses for processing in the brain

the absolute threshold is the ________ amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect.

minimum

_________ cues are images available from either eye that help determine the depth of an object

monocular

due to ______ constancy, you know that an image project on your retina by a moving object is not actually changing shape

motion

house lights interfering with the ability to see a candle flame in the distance is a type of ___________.

noise

what is an effect of "noise" on the perception of stimuli?

noise interferes with the perception off stimuli

gestalt psychology

school of thought interested in how people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns

the ______, the iris, and the pupil are the three parts of the eye that can be seen in the mirror

sclera

focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others is known as

selective attention

_____________ is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment

sensation

________ receptor neurons take information from the environment, creating local electrical currents. The receptors trigger action potentials neurons, which carry information to the central nervous system

sensory

the specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit if to afferent nerves and the brain are called ________ __________.

sensory receptors

bottom-up processing

sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation -taking in information and trying to make sense of it

the recognition that an object retains the same shape even though its orientation to you changes is known as

shape constancy

which of the following statements regarding the characteristics of light waves are correct?

-colors that are very pure have no white light in them -light travels in waves -light waves can be described in terms of amplitude

which of the following statements about the pupil are accurate?

-it can be compared to a cameras aperture -it adjusts to let more or less light enter

which of the following statements regarding the opponent-process theory are correct?

-it explains afterimages -it states that a given cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue -it states that a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green

which of the following statements regarding light are correct?

-it travels in waves -it is a form of electromagnetic energy

what are the main categories of sense organs and sensory receptors based on the type of energy that is detected?

-photoreception -mechanoreception -chemoreception

how can an animal distinguish among sight, sound, odor, taste, and touch considering that all communicate with he nervous system through action potentials?

-receptors are specialized to absorb a particular type of energy and transform it into an action potential -sensory receptors are selective and have different neural pathways -there are different types of action potentials for each sense, so the central nervous system can interpret each correctly

cones

-receptors that we use for color perception

what are the two kinds of visual receptor cells?

-rods -cones

after the optic chasm, approximately ____% of the nerve fibers cross over the midline of the brain

50

_______________ processing involved sensory receptors registering environmental information and sending it to the brain for analysis and interpretation.

Bottom-up

T/F: Perception is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neutral energy

False

sensory adaptation

a change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation

sensory adaptation is

a change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation

light

a form of electromagnetic energy that can be described in terms of wavelengths

we perceive an object that partially conceals or overlaps another object as close. This is an example of

a monocular cue

perceptual set

a predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way

depth perception

ability to perceive objects as three-dimensionally

the purpose of the lens is

bending light

depth cues depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together are known as

binocular cues

the place on the retina that contains neither rods nor cones is known as the

blind spot

according to the Stroop effect. If an individual sees the word blue printed in yellow ink and is then asked to name the color of the in used to print the word, what color will the person be most likely to say?

blue

processing that is initiated by sensory information about the external environment is called...

bottom-up processing

ulike rods, ______ process information about color

cones

optic nerve

carries the visual information to the brain for further processing

opponent-process theory

cells in the visual system respond the red-green and blue-yellow colors; and a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue

chemoreception

detection of chemical stimuli, perceived as smell and taste

photoreception

detection of light, perceived as sight

mechanoreception

detection of pressure, vibration, and movement, perceived as touch, hearing, and equilibrium

the failure to recognize a stimulus that is presented immediately after an encounter with an emotionally charged stimulus, (e.g., driving by the scene of automobile fatality), is called

emotion-induced blindness

neurons in the brain's vital system that respond to particular features of stimulus are called

feature detectors

the primary mechanism of sight is the

retina

_________ processing is the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways

parallel

pupil

part which appears black, is the opening in the center of the iris

Bobby has recently had his left arm amputated due to a tragic accident. Even though his arm is no longer there, he still reports feeling pain and tingling in charm. Bobby is experiencing

phantom limb pain

extrasensory perception, or ESP, is

reading another person's mind or knowing future events in the absence of concrete sensory input

rods

receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light, but they are not very useful for color vision

figure-ground __________ is the principle by which individuals organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over

relationship

the part of the eye that contains rods and cones is the

retina

top-down processing

starts with cognitive processing in the brain -we begin with some sense of what is happening and apply that framework to incoming information from the world

trichromatic theory

states that color perception is produced by three types of concerts receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping ranges of wavelengths

___________ ___________ is the detection of the information below the level of conscious awareness

subliminal perception

My sister claims that she can taste colors. This is an example of

synesthesia

depth perception is

the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally

binding

the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different pathways or cells

iris

the colored part of the eye

Weber's Law

the principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as different

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense

sensation

the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy

perceptual constancy

the recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing

parallel processing

the simultaneous disruption of information across different neural pathways

the difference threshold is

the smallest change in stimulation needed in order to discriminate one stimulus from another

the absolute threshold is

the smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected half of the time

________ ___________ processing is the operation in sensation and perception that allows the organism to sense what is happening and apply that framework to information from the world

top-down

the operation in sensation and perception that allows the organism to sense what is happening and to apply that framework to information from the world is known as

top-down processing

the _____ theory of color vision outline three types of cones that work together to form color vision

trichromatic

the ______ cortex processes sensory information from the yes in the occipital lobe of the brain.

visual

light is measured by

wavelengths

one disadvantage of our tendency to pay attention to emotional stimuli is that

we may not perceive other non-emotional stimuli

sclera

white outer part of the eye that helps maintain the shape of the eye and to protect is from injury

which of the following is NOT an example of perceptual constancy?

your eye i dawn away to the way a tablespoon of olive oil moves and changes shape on the surface of a bowl of water