Unit 4: Sensation and Perception

Sensory adaption

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. Example moving your watch up an inch on your wrist the sensation is normal after a while.

Perception

Enables us to recognize meaningful objects and events in the environment. Mnemonic device: perception the way you look at objects, being able to recognize them.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes occurring in the environment. Mnemonic device: blindness not being able to see

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere. Mnemonic device: blindness not able to see something

Sensorineural loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or the auditory nerves. Mnemonic device: caused damage to the neural nerves.

Conducting hearing loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. Mnemonic device: cant hear as good as you could before.

Top-up Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. Mnemonic device: top or the highest level mental process

Taper-down treatment

Less intense then the previous one before it. Mnemonic device: taper down means to bring down a notch

Subliminal detection

Meaning below the threshold. Mnemonic device: sub means to be under.

Super cell clusters

Respond to more complex patterns. Mnemonic device: super means out of the ordinary or complex

Serial clusters

Tendency to recall best the last and first items on a list. Example reading a list you will remember the first and last names of things on it.

Frequency theory

The brain reads pitch by monitoring the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve. Mnemonic device: monitors the frequency.

Plasticity

The brains ability to modify itself after damage. Mnemonic device: like plastic it is flexible and can modify its shape.

Young-Helmhotz Theory

The comes do their color magic in teams of three. Example the three colors are red, green, and blue not yellow.

Selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. Mnemonic device: Attention has to do with focusing on something

Difference threshold

The minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time. Mnemonic device: has to do with a difference.

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. Mnemonic device: absolute means the least amount or minimum.

Sensory interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another.Mnemonic device: the senses interact with each other.

Accommodation

The process by which the eye lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. Mnemonic device: the lens changes shape to accommodate with the object.

Parallel processing

The process of many aspects of a problem simultaneously. The brains natural mode of information processing for many functions including vision. Mnemonic device: processing is happening in the brain.

Vestibular sense

The sense of body movement and position including the sense of balance. Mnemonic device: has to do with sensing something.

Gate control theory

The spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allow them to pass on to the brain. Mnemonic device: a gate blocks pain signals.

Kinesthetic sense

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. Mnemonic device: has to do with sensing something.

Place theory

The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated. Mnemonic device: has to do with the place where the noise came from.

Signal Detection

Theory predicting how and when we notice or detect the presence of a faint stimulus making noise. Mnemonic device: Detection of sound.

Weber's law

Two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage rather than a constant amount. Example the difference between a high pitched sound and a low pitched sound.

Pop-out Stimuli

We don't chose to look at the stimuli, they draw our eyes and get our attention. Mnemonic device: the stimuli pops out to our eyes, eye poping

Sensation

When sensory receptors receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. Mnemonic device: Sensation has to do with sensory receptors

Phantom sense

When the brain misinterprets the spontaneous central nervous system activity that occurs in the absence of normal sensory inputs. Mnemonic device: phantom is like a not clear and the brain misinterpretation.

Feature detectors

Ability to respond to a scene's specific features. Mnemonic device: has to do with features

Bottom-up Processing

Analysis beginning with our sense receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information. Mnemonic device: works "up" to the brain.

Opponent process theory and after images

As visual information leaves the receptor cells we analyze it in terms of three sets of opponent colors. Mnemonic device: has to do with opponent or opposite colors.

Cocktail party effect

Being able to focus ones auditory attention on a certain stimulus while filtering out a range of stimuli. Mnemonic device: There are a lot of people at a party and they filter out a lot of stimuli.

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy to another. Mnemonic device: transport means to convert or move.