AP Psychology Unit 4 and 5

perceptual set

After watching a scary television movie, Julie perceived the noise of the wind rattling her front windows as the sound of a burglar breaking into her house. Her mistaken interpretation best illustrates the influence of

absolute threshold

Although Manuel was sitting right next to his parents, he smelled a skunk minutes before they did. Apparently, Manuel has a lower ________ for skunk odor than his parents have

perception

As the brain receives information about the lines, angles, and edges of objects in the environment, higher-level cells process and interpret the information to consciously recognize objects. This process best illustrates

sensation

As you look at an apple, its reflected light travels to the eye. The rods and cones absorb the light and help transmit the information to the brain. This process best illustrates

Sensory adaptation

diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

cochlea

fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

ESP

perception that occurs apart from sensory input

Young-Helmholtz

Evidence that some cones are especially sensitive to red light, others to green light, and still others to blue light is most directly supportive of the ________ theory.

top-down processing

Heather Sellers suffers from prosopagnosia and is unable to recognize her own face in a mirror. Her difficulty stems from a deficiency in

absolute threshold for light is likely to increase

If an adult develops cataracts, his or her

hue

Intensity is to brightness as wavelength is to

blindsight

Ms. Shields, a recent stroke victim, cannot consciously perceive the large book on the coffee table in front of her. Yet, when urged to identify the book, she correctly reads aloud the printed title on the book cover. Her response best illustrates

subliminal stimulation

News about the supposed effects of briefly presented messages on people's feelings of being thirsty involved false claims regarding

selective attention

Ohio State University pedestrians were more likely to cross streets unsafely if they were talking on a cell phone. This best illustrates the impact of

figure-ground

One of the ways we perceive images is by organizing stimuli into an object seen against its surroundings. What is this perceptual tendency called?

sensory input

Phantom limb sensations best illustrate that pain can be experienced in the absence of

priming

Photographs of people were rated more positively if the photos immediately followed a briefly flashed image of kittens. This best illustrates the impact of

have inadequate neural connections in her visual cortex

Rebecca was born with cataracts that were not surgically removed until she was 3 years old. As a result, Rebecca is most likely to

relative size

Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as

minimize sensory adaptation

The constant quivering movements of our eyes enable us to

the opponent-process theory

The fact that people who are colorblind to red and green may still see yellow is most easily explained by

transduction

The local fire department sounds the 12 o'clock whistle. The process by which your ears convert the sound waves from the siren into neural impulses is an example of

depth perception.

The organization of two-dimensional retinal images into three-dimensional perceptions is called

Weber's law

The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceived is known as

rods are more light-sensitive than cones

Under very dim levels of illumination

change blindness

When Jason briefly turned to summon the waiter, his wife quickly switched her glass of red wine with his glass of white wine. Jason's failure to notice that his chosen wine had been replaced best illustrates

signal detection theory

When you are expecting an incoming text message, you are much more likely to notice it the second it arrives. This best illustrates

rods and cones

Which cells for visual processing are located closest to the back of the retina?

cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina

Which of the following is the correct order of structures light passes through in the eye?

feature detectors

Which of the following types of cells are located in the brain's occipital lobe?

dilation of the pupil

Which process allows more light to reach the periphery of the retina?

cones

Which receptor cells most directly enable us to distinguish different wavelengths of light?

frequency theory

Which theory best explains how we perceive low-pitched sounds?

signal detection theory

Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds?

selective attention

You typically fail to consciously perceive that your own nose is in your line of vision. This best illustrates

Accommodation

process by which the lens changes shape to focus images on the retina

Parapsychology

study of phenomena such as ESP and psychokinesis

Kinesthesis

system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Supercell clusters

teams of cells that fire in response to complex patterns, such as the human face.

retinal disparity

A 3-D movie enhances our sense of depth perception by simulating the effects of

below one's absolute threshold for awareness

A subliminal message is one that is presented

conduction hearing loss.

Damage to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup is most likely to cause

retina

Bipolar cells are located in the

choice blindness

Research participants picked one of two photographed faces as more attractive. When researchers cleverly switched the photos, participants readily explained why they preferred the face they had actually rejected. Their behavior illustrated

detection; interpretation

Sensation is to ________ as perception is to ________.

the cocktail party effect

The ability to pay attention to only one voice at a time is called

parallel processing

The ability to simultaneously process the pitch, loudness, melody, and meaning of a song best illustrates

iris

The amount of light entering the eye is regulated by the

brightness

The amplitude of electromagnetic waves determines the ________ of light

the optic nerve

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form

Clairvoyance

extrasensory perception of events that occur at places remote to the perceiver

Telepathy

extrasensory transmission of thoughts from one mind to another