Psychology Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception
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Questions and Answers

What is sensation?

Process of detecting a physical stimulus, such as light, sound, heat, or pressure.

What is perception?

The process of integrating, organizing, and interpreting sensations.

What are sensory receptors?

Specialized cells unique to each sense organ that respond to a particular form of sensory stimulation.

What is transduction?

<p>The process by which a form of physical energy is converted into a coded neural signal.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is absolute threshold?

<p>The smallest possible strength of a stimulus that can be detected half the time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference threshold (just noticeable difference)?

<p>The smallest possible difference between two stimuli that can be detected half the time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does Weber's law state?

<p>The size of the just noticeable difference (JND) will vary depending on its relation to the strength of the original stimulus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is sensory adaptation?

<p>The decline in sensitivity to a constant stimulus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is subliminal perception?

<p>The perception of stimuli that are below the threshold of conscious awareness.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does wavelength refer to?

<p>The distance from one wave peak to another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the cornea?

<p>A clear membrane covering the visible part of the eye that helps gather and direct incoming light.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the pupil?

<p>The opening in the middle of the iris that changes size to let in different amounts of light.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the iris?

<p>The colored part of the eye which is the muscle that controls the size of the pupil.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the fovea?

<p>A small area in the center of the retina, composed of cones, where visual information is sharply focused.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the retina?

<p>A thin, light-sensitive membrane in the back of the eye that contains the sensory receptors for vision.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the optic disk?

<p>An area of the retina without rods or cones where the optic nerve leaves the eye.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the lens?

<p>A transparent structure located behind the pupil that actively focuses, bends, light as it enters the eye.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are optic nerve fibers?

<p>Axons of ganglion cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is iridology?

<p>Pseudoscience based on the notion that the physical and psychological functioning of an individual is represented in the markings of the iris.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is accommodation?

<p>The process by which the lens changes shape to focus incoming light so that it falls on the retina.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are rods?

<p>Long, thin, blunt sensory receptors of the eye, highly sensitive to light, functioning in night vision or peripheral vision.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the blind spot?

<p>The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, producing a small gap in the field of vision.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are ganglion cells?

<p>Specialized neurons in the retina that connect to the bipolar cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are bipolar cells?

<p>Specialized neurons in the retina that connect rods and cones with the ganglion cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the optic chiasm?

<p>The point in the brain where the optic nerve fibers from each eye meet and partly cross over to the opposite side of the brain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is color?

<p>The perceptual experience of hue, saturation, and brightness.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does hue refer to?

<p>Color light.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is saturation?

<p>The property of color that indicates the purity of the wavelength.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is brightness?

<p>The intensity of a color.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the trichromatic theory of color vision?

<p>Red light (long waves), green light (medium waves), blue light (short waves).</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is color blindness?

<p>An inherited gene that disables one from being able to distinguish between certain colors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an afterimage?

<p>A visual experience that occurs after the original source of stimulation is no longer present.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the opponent-process theory?

<p>Green/red, blue/yellow, black/white.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are cones?

<p>Short, thick, pointed sensory receptors of the eye that detect color and are responsible for color vision and visual acuity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does olfactory refer to?

<p>Sense of smell.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does gustation refer to?

<p>Sense of taste.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the olfactory bulb?

<p>The enlarged ending of the olfactory cortex at the front of the brain where the sensation of smell is registered.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are pheromones?

<p>Chemical signals released by an animal that communicate and affect the behavior of others of the same species.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are taste buds?

<p>Sensory receptors on your tongue, throat, and mouth responsible for taste.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is pain?

<p>An unpleasant sensation of physical discomfort or suffering that can occur in varying degrees of intensity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the gate-control theory?

<p>Pain is a product of physiological and psychological factors, causing spinal gates to open and relay pain messages to the brain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is substance P?

<p>A neurotransmitter involved in the transmission of pain messages to the brain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the kinesthetic sense?

<p>The sense of location and position of body parts in relation to one another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are proprioceptors?

<p>Sensory receptors located in the muscles and joints that provide information about body positions and movements.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the vestibular sense?

<p>The sense of balance or equilibrium.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the figure-ground relationship?

<p>A Gestalt principle of perceptual organization in which we automatically separate elements into figure and ground.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of similarity?

<p>The principle that we group similar items together.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of closure?

<p>The principle that we tend to finish the lines of certain shapes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of good continuation?

<p>The principle that we perceive lines as continuing in their established direction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of proximity?

<p>The principle that we use other landmarks to assume the distance of items nearby.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of simplicity?

<p>The principle that we tend to perceive the simplest shape.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is depth perception?

<p>Visual cues to help perceive the distance and 3D characteristics of objects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are monocular cues?

<p>Distance or depth that can be processed by either eye.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is relative size?

<p>The concept that a larger object appears closer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does overlap refer to?

<p>When a blocked object appears farther away.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is aerial perspective?

<p>The phenomenon where distant objects appear hazy and bluish.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is texture gradient?

<p>The detail apparent in close objects compared to distant objects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is linear perspective?

<p>The principle that parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is motion parallax?

<p>The effect where objects close to us seem to move faster than those far away.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are pictorial cues?

<p>Monocular cues used to create a 3D effect.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is accommodation in vision?

<p>The change in lens shape that helps focus on distance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are binocular cues?

<p>Distance and depth measurements made with both eyes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is convergence?

<p>The degree to which your eyes rotate to focus on an object.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is binocular disparity?

<p>The difference between two different images on each retina.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a stereogram?

<p>Pictures that use binocular cues to create a 3D image.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is induced motion?

<p>The tendency to assume the background is stationary, making us feel like we're moving.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who is Karl Duncker?

<p>The scientist known for the moving dot experiment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is stroboscopic motion?

<p>The illusion of movement created with two flashlights.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who is Max Wertheimer?

<p>The scientist who created the stroboscopic experiment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are auditory cues?

<p>Used to estimate distance or depth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are perceptual constancies?

<p>Common objects that are perceived as unchanging.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is size constancy?

<p>The perception that objects remain the same size despite changes in retinal image.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is shape constancy?

<p>The perception that objects maintain the same shape despite changes in retinal image.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is brightness constancy?

<p>The perception that an object's brightness remains constant despite changes in lighting.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a perceptual illusion?

<p>Misperceptions of an image's characteristics.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the Muller-Lyer illusion?

<p>An optical illusion involving arrows.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the moon illusion?

<p>The optical illusion where the moon appears closer when on the horizon.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are impossible figures?

<p>Visual representations of objects that defy logic, such as waterfalls and triangles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Sensation and Perception Overview

  • Sensation refers to detecting physical stimuli such as light, sound, and pressure.
  • Perception involves organizing and interpreting the sensations received.

Sensory Processes

  • Sensory receptors are specialized cells responsive to specific stimulation types.
  • Transduction is the conversion of physical energy into neural signals for processing.

Thresholds

  • Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus intensity detectable 50% of the time.
  • Difference threshold (just noticeable difference) is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

Weber's Law

  • The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) varies depending on the original stimulus strength.

Sensory Adaptation and Subliminal Perception

  • Sensory adaptation entails reduced sensitivity to a constant stimulus over time.
  • Subliminal perception allows the recognition of stimuli below the conscious awareness threshold.

Vision Anatomy

  • Wavelength is the distance between wave peaks, affecting color perception.
  • The cornea is the transparent outer layer of the eye that directs light.
  • The pupil is the adjustable opening that regulates light entry, controlled by the iris.
  • The fovea is the sharpest area in the retina for focused vision, primarily containing cones.
  • The retina is the light-sensitive area containing sensory receptors for vision.

Visual Pathway

  • The optic disk lacks sensory receptors and is where the optic nerve exits the eye.
  • Ganglion cells connect bipolar cells to the retina's sensory receptors.

Color Perception

  • Color involves hue (actual color), saturation (purity of color), and brightness (intensity).
  • Trichromatic theory outlines that color vision relies on red, green, and blue light wavelengths.
  • Opponent-process theory suggests color perception is managed in opposing pairs (red-green, blue-yellow).

Light and the Eye

  • Rods are sensitive to dim light, supporting night vision but not color detection.
  • Cones are responsible for color vision and visual acuity in bright light.

Olfaction and Gustation

  • The olfactory bulb processes smell, receiving signals from olfactory receptors.
  • Taste buds grant the senses of taste: umami, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Pain Perception

  • Pain is an unpleasant sensory experience influenced by both physiological and psychological factors.
  • Substance P is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in transmitting pain signals.

Body Senses

  • The kinesthetic sense provides awareness of body parts' positions relative to one another.
  • Proprioceptors in muscles and joints offer feedback on position and motion.
  • The vestibular sense maintains balance and equilibrium.

Gestalt Principles

  • Figure-ground relationship aids in distinguishing between foreground and background elements.
  • Laws of similarity, proximity, closure, and good continuation are principles that manage perceptual organization.

Depth Perception

  • Monocular cues provide depth perception for each eye, while binocular cues rely on both eyes.
  • Visual cues such as relative size and motion parallax aid depth estimation.

Visual Illusions and Constancies

  • Perceptual constancies ensure we perceive objects as stable despite changes in sensory input.
  • Size, shape, and brightness constancy maintain perception consistency despite variations in viewing conditions.
  • Illusions like the Müller-Lyer and moon illusions showcase our perceptual misinterpretations.

Advanced Concepts

  • Induced motion and stroboscopic motion demonstrate how backgrounds affect perceived movement.
  • Impossible figures present visual paradoxes that defy typical perception constraints.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the concepts of sensation and perception in this flashcard quiz. Each card presents key terms and their definitions related to sensory processes, helping you grasp the foundational elements of psychology. It's a great tool for reinforcing your understanding of how we perceive the world around us.

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