Psychology ch.4

A visual receptor most sensitive to the violet-purple wave lengths; very sensitive for night vision

Rod

Light as it originates from the sun or a bulb before it is broken into different frequencies

White Light

Part of the eye that focuses an object on the back of the eye

Lens

The back of the eye which contains millions of receptors for light

Retina

How high or low a sound is

Pitch

Bundle of nerves carrying sound to the brain

Auditory Nerve

Piece of skin stretched over the entrance to the ear; vibrates to sound

Eardrum

Tiny hairs that act as receptor cells for hearing and sense of smell

Cilia

Chemical receptors on the tongue that decode molecules of food or drink to identify them

Taste Receptors

The ability to percieve an object as the same color regardless of the environment

Color Constancy

Depth perception based on how rough or smooth objects appear

Visual Texture

The ability to see objects in space

Depth Perception

The process of filling in the missing details of what is viewed

Closure

A perceptual cue in which we group together things that are near one another

Proximity

An allusion in which the same object is seen as two alternate figures

Reversible Figure

The process of assembling and organizing sensory information to make it meaningful

Perception

Visual receptor that responds during daylight; receives color

Cone

Sense of smell

Olfaction

Sense of hearing

Audition

Measure of how loud sound is

Decibels

Units that receive odor molecules and communicate their nature to the brain

Olfactory Bulbs

A perceptual cue in which we group like things together

Similarity

The human visual network keeps brightness constant as an object is moved to various environments

Brightness constancy

Two pictures in which one line seems longer than the other but really isn't

Muller-lyer Illusion

Stimulation presented below the level of consciousness

Subliminal Perception

A large table with plexiglas, used to demonstrate depth perception in small children

Visual Cliff

Odor chemicals that communicate a message

Pheromones

Organized whole, shape, or form

Gestalt

The complexity of a sound

Timbre

The nerve receptors in the skin that respond to pressure, temperature, or pain

Cutaneous Receptors

An inaccurate perception

Illusion

The ability to retain the size of an object regardless of where it is located

Size Constancy

The ability to keep objects in the environment steady

Space Constancy

The process of receiving information from the environment

Sensation

The opening in the eye

Pupil

The firing of the cones not used after viewing something steadily in order to bring the visual system back in balance

Afterimage

How loud a sound is

Intensity

Snail shaped part of the ear, filled with fluid and small hairs that vibrate to incoming sound

Cochlea

The difference between the image provided by each eye

Binocular Disparity

The clear outer covering of the eye behind which is a fluid

Cornea

Portion of the retina through which the optic nerve exits and where there are no receptors for light waves

Blind Spot

A colored circular muscle that opens and closes, forming larger and smaller circles to control the amount of light getting into the eye

Iris

Inability to perceive certain colors

Color Blindness