Vocab Terms
What is Audition?
Hearing; depends on vibrations in the air called sound waves
What is figure-ground perception?
Division of experience between figure and ground; means that you can distinguish between an object and its background
What is the cochlea?
A spiral-shaped, fluid-filled cavity in the inner ear that converts sound waves into electrical signals that are sent to the brain.
In the context of sight, how do rods and cones work?
They change light energy into neural impulses that are sent through the optic nerve to the occipital lobe of the brain. Cones work better with more lights and colors, rods work better with less light and shadows.
What are optical illusions?
They trick our perceptions because our brains use shortcuts and and make assumptions to interpret visual information, leading to misinterpretations of reality.
What is Binocular fusion?
The concept of combining the images received from the two eyes into a single, fused image
What is gustation?
Taste
What is Gestalt?
The experience that comes from organizing a bit of information into a whole.
In the context of hearing, what are frequency and amplitude?
Frequency is what pitch depends on depending on the frequency rate of vibrations, while amplitude is what loudness depends on depending on the height of the sound waves.
What factors into our sense of taste?
Taste receptors on the tongue, smell, genetics, culture, and individual experiences.
What is depth perception?
The ability to recognize distances and three-dimensionality
What is synesthesia?
A neurological phenomenon that couples two or more senses in 4% of the population
What is conduction deafness?
When anything hinders the outer or middle ear, or if the bones become rigid and can't carry sounds into the ear. Can be cured or helped with hearing aids.
Briefly explain the principles of figure-ground perception and provide an example.
The division of experience into figure and ground, where you can distinguish between an object and its background. If you can hear one persons voice above a noisy background, or see an airplane at night against a starry background.
What are the five recognized taste experiences?
Sour, salty, bitter, umami, and sweet.
What is olfaction?
Smell; the olfactory nerve carries smell impulses from the nose to the brain
What is extrasensory perception?
The ability to gain information by some means other than the ordinary senses (Ex, Clairvoyance, telepathy, psychokinesis).
What is perception?
The organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand your environment.
Who is better at detecting odors-men or women? Why?
Women are better at detecting odors than men because they have more neurons in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain responsible for smell.
What is meant by absolute threshold? What about the difference threshold?
Absolute threshold: The minimum level of a stimulus that can be detected.
Difference threshold: The minimum change in a stimulus that is needed for a person to detect a difference between two stimuli.
What is retinal disparity?
The differences between the images that stimulate each eye
Caused by damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory neurons. Can be helped with a cochlear implant
What is somesthesis?
The groups of senses that include balance, touch, and body positioning.
What role does selective attention play in how we process sensory information? Provide an example.
Selective attention acts as a filter, allowing us to focus on specific, relevant information while ignoring distractions from the vast amount of sensory input we receive. In a conversation in a crowded room, your selective attention allows you to focus on the speakers voice while tuning out other conversations, music, and other background noise.
What are the 4 parts of our eye that work together in the process of vision?
The cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve.