Ap psych Ch.3

conduction hearing loss

A less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

cochlea

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

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.

feature detectors

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

kinesthesia

our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

vestibular sense

our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance

Human tactile sense is actually a mix of which of the following distinct skin senses?

pressure, warmth, cold, pain

Cones

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

Which of the following concepts refers to the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs due to constant exposure to that stimulus?

sensory adaptation

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

According to the gate control theory of pain, which of the following contains neurological gate that controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain?

spinal cord

perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

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

pupil

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

Wavelength

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

Inner ears

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

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience this as a just noticeable difference (or jnd)

sensory interaction

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

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

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

audition

the sense or act of hearing

Psychophysics

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

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 (three-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.

Marlene had an infection that led to deafness in her left ear. Which of the following will be the most likely impact of losing her hearing in her left ear?

She will have trouble locating the source of sounds.

Which of the following anatomical structures is involved in the vestibular sense?

semicircular canals

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 (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Rods

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

Gestalt

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

Which of the following is the process of detecting environmental stimuli and converting them into signals that can be detected by the nervous system?

Sensation

Embodied cognition

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

Which of the following examples best illustrates the concept of interposition?

Because the chair partially obscured his view of the sofa, Brendan perceived the chair as being closer than the sofa.

Which of the following is the correct order of the eye-to-brain pathway of vision?

Retina,optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe

parapsychology

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Priming

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

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. It is determined by the wave's amplitude (height).

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

Cornea

the eye's clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

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

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulus energy 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 (for example, per second)

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

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

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

phi phenomenon

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

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; a form of inattentional blindness

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

lens

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

Which of the following scenarios is the best example of synesthesia?

Anastasia sees swirls of color when she hears music because stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the experience of another sensation

Dr. Ramen recruited 100 adults to participate in her study. The taste buds of each participant were measured, and the participants tasted a number of foods. She found there was a relationship between the size of a participant's taste buds and the number of foods that a participant could taste. What research method did Dr. Ramen use, and what was she most likely studying?

Correlational; the sensitivity of supertasters

Which of the following best illustrates the most predictable effect of schemas on perception?

Grant has more difficulty recognizing a penguin as a bird than he does a blue jay

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the opponent-process theory of color vision?

Kayla sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time

Helena did not recognize her English teacher when she unexpectedly saw him while traveling in Paris, even though she knew him well back in the classroom. The fact that Helena can recognize her teacher back home more easily than in Paris best demonstrates what concept?

Perceptual set

In a study on taste, what would researchers need to do to test participants' ability to distinguish umami from similar sensations?

Place disks soaked in MSG on the participants' tongues. Then replace those disks with disks that have been soaked in water. Compare the participants' reactions.

Denise has damaged her auditory nerve and now has difficulty understanding what people are saying. Which of the following descriptions explains how that damage impairs her hearing?

Sound messages fail to be transmitted directly to the brain.

Tracey was in pain from an ear infection, which her doctor said was in her inner ear. Which of the following is the most likely location of the infection?

The cochlea

Orville is talking with his friends at a cafeteria table when suddenly he is distracted by hearing his name at a neighboring table. Orville's shift of attention most clearly illustrates which psychological concept?

The cocktail party phenomenon

Which of the following is the best definition for absolute threshold?

The lowest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

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)

accommodation

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

A researcher wants to study the human sense of taste over a life span. The researcher has a group of participants taste foods that are salty, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami. Which study would best allow the researcher to test the sensation of taste as people age, and what is the likely outcome?

The researcher follows the same group of people over the course of 40 years. The researcher also measure the number of the people's taste buds throughout the 40 years. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste diminishes and their number of taste buds decreases.

Olfaction

The sense of smell

Bryan perceived a duck instead of other animals when viewing an ambiguous image because he watched a documentary about ducks the previous night. Which of the following best explains why Bryan perceived a duck?

Top-down processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience.

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object

Monocular cue

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

binocular cue

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

cochlear implant

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

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

Kimmie stood on the sidewalk rather than crossing the street because she saw that the approaching car was quite close to her. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example?

depth perception

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves;the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness

place theory

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

frequency theory

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. (Also called temporal theory)

top-down processing

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

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 consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change