Psychology Frequency Theory Flashcards

Frequency Theory and Pitch Perception

• Frequency theory links pitch perception to the speed of basilar membrane vibrations.
• Higher vibration speeds correlate with higher pitches perceived by the brain.

Volley Principle

• The volley principle explains pitch perception for frequencies around 4000 Hz.
• Auditory neurons fire in a coordinated pattern, alternating the sequence of firings among hair cells.

Sensation of Smell

• Olfaction is the technical term for the sensation of smell.

Somesthetic Senses

• Somesthetic senses encompass skin senses, kinesthetic sense, and vestibular senses.
• They contribute to the overall awareness of bodily sensations.

Skin Senses

• Skin senses include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain sensations.
• These senses are essential for tactile interactions with the environment.

Kinesthetic Sense

• Kinesthetic sense provides awareness of body part positioning in relation to one another and the ground.
• It plays a crucial role in movement and coordination.

Vestibular Senses

• Vestibular senses help maintain awareness of balance, position, and movement in relation to gravity.
• They are vital for spatial orientation and navigating within the environment.

Sensory Conflict Theory

• Sensory conflict theory explains motion sickness as a mismatch between visual and vestibular information.
• This conflict can lead to symptoms such as dizziness and nausea.

Cocktail Party Effect

• The cocktail party effect allows individuals to focus attention on one stimulus while filtering out numerous competing stimuli.
• It exemplifies selective attention in social settings.

Size Constancy

• Size constancy is the perception that an object maintains a constant size despite changes in distance from the observer.
• This perceptual phenomenon helps with object recognition and spatial reasoning.

Shape Constancy

• Shape constancy reflects the ability to perceive an object's shape as uniform, irrespective of its angle or perspective.
• This aids in recognizing objects even when they appear distorted.

Brightness Constancy

• Brightness constancy allows for the perception of an object's brightness as stable, despite varying light conditions.
• This compensatory mechanism enhances visual consistency across different lighting environments.

Figure-Ground Perception

• Figure-ground perception is the tendency to distinguish objects (figures) from their backgrounds.
• It is fundamental for interpreting visual scenes.

Reversible Figures

• Reversible figures are visual illusions where the figure and background can be swapped in perception.
• These demonstrate the complexity of visual processing.

Proximity in Perception

• Proximity, a Gestalt principle, influences perception by grouping nearby objects as related.
• This principle relies on the physical closeness of items to infer connection or singular categorization.