PSYCH CHAPTER 6 HEARING

Subliminal persuasion

may produce a fleeting and subtle but not powerful or enduring effect on behavior (Greenwald, 1992)

Lana cannot recognize faces. She has to fake knowing or recognizing people she has already met. Lana MOST likely suffers from:

prosopagnosia

auditory cortex

the area of the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound information

Parts of the Retina

-Contains two types of receptors: rods and cones -Has layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

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 brain can interpret

Retinal processing

-Optic nerve: Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain -Blind spot: The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, where no receptor cells are located -Fovea: The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

All our senses:

-Receive sensory stimulation, often using specialized receptor cells -Transform that stimulation into neural impulses -Deliver the neural information to our brain

Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular sensory _____ percent of the time.

50%

Cochlea

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; contains nerve receptors

Iris

A colored muscle surrounding the pupil that controls its size

Cochlear implant

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

Pupil

A small adjustable opening through which the light then passes

Pitch

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

Cones

Receptors concentrated near the center of the retina; function in daylight or well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and color

Perceptual adaptation

Ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Priming

Activating, often unconsciously, associations in our mind, thereby setting us up to perceive, remember, or respond to objects or events in certain ways

The Retina

After entering the eye and being focused by a lens, light energy particles strike the eye's inner surface

Intensity

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

Middle ear

Chamber between the eardrum and cochlea; contains three tiny bones that amplify the vibrations of the eardrum

_____ threshold is to _____ threshold as detecting change is to detecting presence.

Difference; absolute

Hue

Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.

Wavelengths

Distance from the peak of one light wave 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.

Closure

Filling in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Lens

Focuses incoming light rays onto an image on the retina on the eyeball's sensitive inner surface

Webers Law

For an average person to perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (not a constant amount).

Proximity

Grouping nearby figures together

In an experiment described in the textbook, bar patrons preferred the taste of vinegar-laced beer in a glass labeled "MIT brew" to the taste of identical beer served in an unlabeled glass. The type of glass is a(n) _____ variable in this study.

Independent

Top-down processing

Information processing guided by high-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions by filtering information through our experience and expectations

Inner ear

Innermost part of the ear; contains the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Subliminal

Input below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Sensory adaptation

Is diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Perceptual set

Mental tendencies and assumptions that affect (top-down) what we hear, taste, feel, and see.

Difference threshold

Minimum difference that a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time

Perceptual constancy

Objects are perceived as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size), even as illumination and retinal images change

How do we organize and interpret the shapes and colors into meaningful perceptions?

People tend to organize pieces of information into an organized whole, or gestalt.

Continuity

Perceiving smooth, continuous patterns, rather than discontinuous ones

Cornea

Portion of the eye through which light passes (to the pupil and lens) and is bent to help provide focus

Signal detection theory

Predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)

Rods

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

Carlos was just touched on his cheek, which is a(n) _____. In order for Carlos to know if he was kissed or slapped, Carlos needs a(n) _____.

Sensation and perception

Marc is driving his 12-year-old car. He notices a sound coming from the engine, which involves _____ processing. He immediately starts thinking that the sound is similar to the sound his car made the last time he had it repaired, which involves _____ processing.

Sensation and perception

Bottom-up processing

Sensory analysis that begins at the entry level, with information flowing from the sensory receptors to the brain

How We Locate Sounds

Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. From this information, our brain can compute the sound's location.

Feature detectors

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

_____ occurs below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Subliminal stimulation

Depth perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions, although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional

Parallel processing

The brain's ability to do many things at once

Frequency

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

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

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

Which statement about the skin is true?

The skin is receptive to a mix of four basic and distinct skin senses.

Gate-control theory

The spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that either blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain.

If people stare at an object, why does it not seem to disappear?

Their nerve cells are constantly firing.

Place theory

Theory that links the pitch heard with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated; best explains high pitches

Frequency theory

Theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling its pitch to be sensed; explains low pitches

Samantha opens her eyes in the morning to see flowers by her bedside. At that point, her eyes are receiving light energy, which they change into neural messages for the brain to process. This conversion of one form of energy into another is called:

Transduction

The size of the difference threshold is greater for heavier objects than for lighter ones. This BEST illustrates _____ law.

Weber's

The Stimulus: Light Energy

What is seen as light is only a thin slice of the broad spectrum of electromagnetic energy.

Color processing two-stage process

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory: The retina's red, green, and blue cones respond in varying degrees to different color stimuli. Hering's opponent-process theory: Cones' responses are then processed by opponent-process cells.

Gestalt

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

Subliminal stimuli

are those that are too weak to detect 50 percent of the time; they are below the absolute threshold.

Tania was running outside and she felt a sensation on her leg and stopped to look. She saw a large red bump that she deduced was caused by getting stung by an insect. This deduction seemed only to increase her anxiety and pain. The influence of the sting itself on Tania's pain is a _____ influence. The influence of her deduction is a _____ influence.

bottom-up; top-down

Making an analogy between hearing and vision, the auditory hair cells in the _____ are similar to the _____ in the retina.

cochlea; rods and cones

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

cochlear implant

The flavor of a food is due to the:

combination of aroma, taste, and texture.

Amplitude

determines intensity (loudness) in sound waves

Length

determines the pitch

Sandra is at a social gathering with a lot of good friends. She will likely feel that the temperature in the room is warmer than will her friend who is feeling excluded. This phenomenon is called:

embodied cognition.

Perceptions are also influenced by

emotions and motivation

Subliminal sensation

exists, but such sensations are too fleeting to enable exploitation with subliminal messages

Juan and Joseph are opera singers. Juan is a baritone. Joseph is a tenor, so his voice is higher-pitched than Juan's voice. With respect to their physical properties, the sound waves corresponding to Juan's voice are lower in _____ than those corresponding to Joseph's voice.

frequency

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

Nociceptors initiate the sensation of:

pain

Dr. Faulk conducts empirical research to investigate the claims for such abilities as clairvoyance and telepathy. Dr. Faulk's research reflects a field called:

parapsychology

Racial and ethnic stereotypes can sometimes bias the way one sees others' behaviors. This BEST illustrates the impact of:

perceptual set

People perceive young infants as bigger and stronger if the infant is introduced with a male rather than a female name. This best illustrates the concept of:

perceptual sets

While playing Ring Around the Rosie, some children are spinning around and around. When they stop they still feel as though they are spinning because their _____ canals and kinesthetic receptors have not returned to their neutral state.

semicircular

In an amusement park ride, the cars spin rapidly while accelerating along a track. A person's head movements during this ride are detected by hair cells in the:

semicircular canals

The process by which receptor cells detect stimuli is called:

sensation

Detection is to interpretation as _____ is to _____.

sensation and perception

Barbara stubbed her toe last night. It hurt and all day today she has been aware of her toe. She says, "This is so weird. I usually don't think about my toe." Barbara's typical unawareness of her toe BEST reflects:

sensory adaptation

While playing golf James forgets that his sunglasses are on top of his head. As the day goes on, he forgets that he placed them there. This demonstrates the process of:

sensory adaptation

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

Astra is house sitting. On the first night, a thunderstorm causes the electricity to go out. She remembers seeing some candles and matches next to the grandfather clock. Why does she automatically cock her head when trying to pinpoint the sound of the clock? Please choose the correct answer from the following choices, and then select the submit answer button.

so that her two ears will receive slightly different messages

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. The BEST explanation for this is that:

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

Absolute threshold

the minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation

Audition

the sense or act of hearing

While at work, Tim, who is suffering from a hearing loss, experiences a ringing sensation in the ears known as:

tinnitus

Human ears detect these changes in air pressure and transform them into neural impulses

which the brain decodes as sound.

Sense of touch is actually a mix of four distinct skin senses:

•Pressure •Warmth •Cold •Pain