Sensation and Perception

To what extent can the temporal and place theories explain the perception of high- and low-pitched sounds?

The temporal theory cannot explain the perception of high-pitched sounds.

Nocicepors

a sensory receptor for painful stimuli

Sensory adaptation

activation is greatest when a stimulus is first detected, responsiveness to unchanging stimulus decreases over time.

Damage to the basilar membrane is MOST likely to affect one's:

audition

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

clairvoyance, precognition, and telepathy

Which sequence correctly arranges the structures of the inner ear from the largest and most inclusive to the smallest and most specific?

cochlea > basilar membrane > hair cells

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

How light enters the eye

cornea -> pupil -> lens -> retina

Perceptual constancy

even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains consistent EX: Kim Kardashian w/o makeup

Inattentional blindness

failure to see objects that are not the focus of attention

Perceptual illusions

false interpretation of physical reality

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness EX: hearing loud noises constantly over a period of time

Binocular Cues: Retinal disparity

images from the two eyes differ, and the closer the object the larger the disparity EX: 3-D movies exaggerates one's retinal disparity

Franklin has problems with his balance. His problems are probably caused by difficulties with his:

inner ear

Visual Receptor Cells: Rods

low illumination Black/White only

Absolute threshold

minimum amount of energy needed to detect a stimulus (vision, hearing, smell, taste)

Eleanor suffered severe stroke damage near the rear of both sides of her brain. Based on the case study of "Mrs. M." described in the textbook, the stroke is MOST likely to impair Eleanor's ability to perceive:

motion

Binocular Cues: Convergence

neuromuscular cue, two eyes move inward for near objects

Blind Spot

no visual cells, where optic nerve leaves the eye

Perception

organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation

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

Gastalt psychology

perceive a unified, whole object rather than a collection of parts

Gestalt laws of organization

proximity, closure, and continuity

Visual Receptor Cells: Cones

responsible for color perception

Umami

savory

Sensation

simple stimulation of a sensory organ (5 senses)

Jess was in a serious car accident and is having trouble recognizing familiar faces. She MOST likely suffered damage to her _____ lobe, just behind her right ear.

temporal

Fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

Bones of the middle ear

the hammer, anvil, stirrup; vibrate with the eardrum

Apparent motion

the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations (pictures that look like they're moving)

Sensory Interaction

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

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 EX: the size of the difference threshold is greater for heavier objects than for lighter ones

Kinethesia

the sense that tells you where parts of your body are with respect to each other

Opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.

Top-Down Processing

the use of preexisting knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole EX: The fact that perception involves more than the sum of sensations

Trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green, explains how we see combinations of colors

Signal-Detection Theory

theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions (how some people notice certain things that others didn't)

Color Processing Two Stages

trichromatic theory and opponent-process theory

Kiara excels at gymnastics, especially at balance beam routines. Her skill depends in large part on her _____sense.

vestibular

Linear Perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.