Psych - chapter 6 - terms

sensation and perception

Sensation -- the detection of physical energy omitted or reflected by physical objects; it occurs when it energy and the external environment or the body stimulates receptors in the sense organs
perception -- the process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information
sense receptors -- specialized cells that convert physical energy and the environment or the body to electrical energy that can be transmitted as nerve impulses to the brain
doctrine of specific nerve energies -- the principle that different sensory modalities exist because signals received by the sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways leading to different areas of the brain
synesthesia -- a condition in which stimulation of one cents also evokes another
absolute threshold -- the smallest quantity of physical energy that can be reliably detected by an observer
difference threshold -- the smallest difference in stimulation that can be reliably detected by an observer went to stimuli are compared; also called just noticeable difference
signal-detection. -- a psycho-physical theory that divides the detection of a sensory signal into a sensory process and a decision process
sensory adaptation -- the reduction or disappearance of sensory responsiveness when stimulation is unchanging or repetitive
sensory deprivation -- the absence of normal levels of sensory stimulation
selective attention -- the focusing of attention on selected aspects of the environment and the blocking out of others
inattentional blindness -- failure to consciously perceive something you are looking at because you are not attending to it
hue -- the dimension of visual experience specified by color names and related to the wavelength of light
brightness -- lightness or luminance; the dimension of visual experience related to the amount of light omitted from or reflected by an object
saturation -- vividness or appearing of color; in a visual experience related to the complexity of light waves
retina -- neural tissue lining the back of the eyeballs interior, which contained the receptors for vision
rods -- visual receptors that respond to dim light
cones -- visual receptors involved in color vision
dark adaptation -- a process by which visual receptors become maximally sensitive to dim light
ganglion cells -- neurons and the retina of the eye, which gather information from receptor cells by way of intermediate bipolar cells; thier axons make up the optic nerve
feature detectors -- cells of the visual cortex and are sensitive to specific features of the environment
trichromatic theory -- a theory of color perception that proposes three mechanisms and the visual system, each sensitive to a certain range of wavelengths; their interaction is assumed to produce all the different experiences of hue
opponent-process theory -- a theory of color perception that assumes that the visual system treats pairs of colors as opposing or antagonistic
gestalt principles -- principles that describe the brains organization of sensory information into meaningful units and patterns
binocular cues -- visual cues to depth or distance requiring two eyes
convergence -- the turning inward of the eyes, which occurs when they focus on a nearby object
retinal disparity -- the slight difference in lateral separation between two objects as seen by the left eye in the right eye
monocular cues -- the accurate perception of object as stable or unchanged despite changes in the sensory patterns they produce
loudness -- the dimension of auditory experience related to the intensity of the pressure wave
pitch -- the dimension of auditory experience related to the frequency of the pressure wave; the height or depth of a tone
timbre -- the distinguishing quality of the sound smart: the dimension of auditory experience related to the complexity of the pressure wave
organ of corti -- a structure in the cochlea containing hair cells that serve as the receptors for hearing
cochlea -- a snail shaped fluid filled organ in the inner ear, contained the organ of corti, where the receptors for hearing are located
papillae -- knoblike elevations on the tongue, containing the taste buds
taste buds -- nests of taste receptor cells
gate-control theory -- the theory that the experience of pain depends in part on whether pain impulses get past a neurological "gate" and the spinal cord and thus reach the brain
kinesthesis -- the sense of body position and movement of body parts
equilibrium -- the sense of balance
semicircular canals -- sense organs in the inner ear that contribute to equilibrium by responding to rotation of the head
perceptual set -- a habitual way of perceiving, the on expectations
priming -- a method used to measure on conscious cognitive processes, in which a person is exposed to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects behavior or performance on another task or in another situation