Understanding Psychology Chapter 8

Simplicity

We see the simplest shapes possible, part of the Gestalt Principles.

Kinesthesis

the sense of movement and body position

Sensation

what occurs when a stimulus activates a receptor

Lens

a flexible, transparent structure in the eye that changes its shape to focus light on the retina.

Subliminal Messages

brief auditory or visual messages that are presented below the absolute threshold.

Retina

the innermost coating of the back of the eye, containing the light-sensitive receptor cells.

Difference Threshold

the smallest change in a physical stimulus that can be detected between two stimuli.

Illusion

perceptions that misrepresent physical stimuli.

Retinal Disparity

the differences between the images stimulating each eye.

Psychophysics

the study of the relationships between sensory experiences and the physical stimuli that cause them.

Closure

When we see a familiar pattern or shape with some missing parts, we fill in the gaps. Part of the Gestalt Principles.

Weber's Law

the principle that the larger or stronger a stimulus, the larger the change required for an observer to notice a difference.

Signal-detection theory

the study of people's tendencies to make correct judgements in detecting the presence of stimuli.

Vestibular System

three semicircular canals that provide the sense of balance, located in the inner ear and connected to the brain by a nerve.

Optic Nerve

the nerve that carries impulses from the retina to the brain.

Absolute Threshold

the weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect half the time.

Continuity

We tend to see continuous patterns not disrupted ones, part of the Gestalt Principle.

Pupil

the opening in the iris that regulates the amount of light entering the eye.

Perception

the organization of sensory information into meaningful experiences

Constancy

the tendency to perceive certain objects in the same way regardless of changing angle, distance or lighting.

Proximity

When we see a number of similar objects, we tend to perceive them as groups or sets of those that are close to each other, part of Gestalt Principles.

Olfactory Nerve

the nerve that carries smell impulses form the nose to the brain.

Gestalt

the experience that comes from organizing bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Auditory Nerve

the nerve that carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the sensation of sound.

Similarity

When similar and dissimilar objects are mingled, we see the similar objects as groups, part of Gestalt Principles.

Binocular Fusion

the process of combining the images received from the two eyes into a single, fused image.

Motion Parallax

the apparent movement of stationary objects relative to one another that occurs when the observer changes position.

ESP

(extrasensory perception) an ability to gain information by some means other than the ordinary senses.