Transduction
a process during which signals are transferred into neural impulses
Sensory Adaptation
decreased responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation eg. socks on feet
Sensory Habituation
our perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on them
Sensation
activation of our senses
Perception
the process of understanding sensations
Energy Senses
Vision (light), hearing (sound waves), and touch (pressure).
Chemical Senses
smell and taste
Vision
the dominent sense in human beings, gather information using their surroundings more than any other sense
Cornea
the protective covering that light first enters through, helps focus light
Pupil
light travels through it, the shutter of a camera
Lens
curved and flexible in order to focus light
Retina
a screen in the back of the eye on which inverted images are projected
Feature Detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
Optic Nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
Occipital Lobe
the lobe in which the visual cortex is, the point that sensation ends and perception begins
Visible Light
Electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the unaided eye
Rods
respond to black and white, outnumber 20:1
Fovea
an indentation in the center of the retina that has the highest concentration of cones
Blind Spot
the spot where the optic nerve leaves the retina and has no cones or rods
Trichromatic Theory
oldest and most simple theory, we have three cones that detect blue red and green
Color Blindness
cannot see certain colors
Afterimages
if you stare at one color for a while then look at a blank space, you will see color, stare at green, it will be red, yellow blue
Opponent-Process Theory
state that sensory receptorsare arranged in retina are in pairs of red/green, yellow/blue, black/white
Hearing
auditory senses, waves are created in the air
Sound Waves
created by vibrations which travel through the air and collect in our ears
Amplitude
the height of the wave and determines the loudness, measured in decibels
Frequency
refers to the length of the waves and determines pitch, measured in megahertz
Cochlea
the snail-shaped tube (in the inner ear coiled around the modiolus) where sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses by the Organ of Corti
Frequency Theory
theory that we sense pitch because the hair cells fire at different rates
Conduction Deafness
occurs when some goes wrong with the system of conducting the sound to the cochlea
Touch
sense is activated when the skin is indented, pierced, or experiences a change in temperature
Taste/Gustation
chemical sense involved in food
Smell/Olfaction
depends on chemicals emitted by substance
Vestibular Sense
the sense that tells how our body is oriented in space
Kinesthetic Sense
the sense that gives us feedback about the position and orientation of specific body parts
Absolute Threshold
the smallest amount of stimulus we can detect
Subliminal Messages
stimuli below our absolute threshold
Difference Threshold
is the smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before we can detect a change
Weber's Law
states that the change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus
Signal Detection Theory
this theory investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while perceiving the world
Top-down Processing
perceive by filling in gaps in what we sense, less accurate but quicker than bottom-up
Perceptual Set
a predisposition to perceive something in a certain way
Bottom-up Processing
we use only the features of the object itself to build a complete perception, automatic process, takes longer but more accurate than top-down
Gestalt Rules
we normally perceive images as groups, not as isolated elements, innate and inevitable
Proximity
objects that close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group
Similarity
objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group
Continuity
objects that form a continuous form are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group
Closure
objects that make a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived as belonging in te same group even if it contains caps
Constancy
our ability to maintain a constant perception of an object despites changes in light, angle, etc.
Size Constancy
objects closer to our eyes will produce bigger images on our retinas, but we take distance into account
Shape Constancy
objects viewed from dfferent angles will produce different shapes, but we know the shape of an object remains constant
Brightness Constancy
objects as being a constant color even as the light reflected off of them changes
Depth Cues
Perceptual features that impart information about distance and three-dimentional space
Light Intensity
how much energy a light contains, how bright the object is
Light Wavelength
determines the particular hue, longer than visible light infrared, microwaves, radio waves, shorter, UV and X
Color Spectum
longest to shortest wavelength: red orange yellow green blue indigo violet
Iris
the muscles that control the pupil, dilate it to let more light in, make it smaller to let less light in
Accommodation
light that centers the pupil is focused by the lens
Cones
respond to color
Left Hemisphere
impulses from the left side of the retina go here
Right Hemisphere
impulses from the right side of the retina go here
Optic Chiasm
the spot where the nerves cross each other
Outer Ear/Pinna
sound waves collected here
Auditory/Ear Canal
waves travel through here to eardrum
Ear Drum/Tympanic Membrane
a thin membrane that vibrates as the sound wave hits it
Hammer/Anvil/Stirrup
three bones as the ossicles, vibration transmitted to the oval window
Oval Window
membrane similar to the eardrum, attached to the cochlea
Organ of Corti
neurons activated by movement of hair cells, fires, impulses then transmitted to the brain via auditory nerve
Monocular Cues
depth cues that do not depend on having two eyes
Binocular Cues
cues that depend on having two eyes
Linear Perspective
to draw train tracks, you would draw two lines that converge at the top of the paper
Relative Size Cue
draw things closer to the viewer as bigger
Interposition Cue
objects that block the view to other objects must be closer
Texture Gradient
we know that we can see details in texture close to us but no far away
Shadowing
by shadowing part of your picture, you can imply where the light source is thus implying depth and position of objects
Convergence
as an object gets closer to our face, our eyes must move toward each other to keep focused on the object