Sensation and attention
What is the process of receiving information from the environment through sensory receptors?
Sensation
Photoreceptors concentrated near the center of the retina that are responsible for color vision and fine detail.
Cones
The sense that allows you to know the position and movement of your arms and legs without looking at them.
Kinesthesis
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it becomes meaningful.
Perception
The Gestalt principle of mentally filling in gaps so that an incomplete object is perceived as complete.
Closure
What is the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time?
Correct Response
Absolute threshold
The correct order in which light passes through the eye: cornea, pupil, lens, and retina.
cornea → pupil → lens → retina
The five basic taste sensations: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.
What are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami?
Processing that begins with sensory receptors and builds a perception from individual pieces of sensory information.
Bottom up processing
The Gestalt principle that objects physically close together are perceived as belonging to the same group.
Proximity
This is the minimum difference between two stimuli required for a person to notice a change.
Correct Response
Difference threshold
The characteristic of visible light determined by its wavelength.
Hue
The theory that pitch is determined by the location along the basilar membrane where stimulation is greatest.
Place theory
The tendency for expectations and previous experiences to influence how a person interprets a stimulus.
Perceptual set
A monocular depth cue in which parallel lines appear to move closer together as they extend into the distance.
Linear perspective
A student studying in the library doesn’t notice the air conditioner running until it suddenly turns off. What principle explains why the student stopped noticing the sound?
Sensory adaptation
The theory of color vision that explains why staring at one color can produce an afterimage of its opposing color.
Opponent Process theory
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s hair cells or the auditory nerve.
Sensorineural hearing loss
The ability to focus on one conversation while still noticing personally relevant information, such as hearing one’s name in another conversation.
Cocktail party effect/ selective attention
A binocular depth cue based on the slightly different images received by each eye.
Retinal disparity
A researcher presents an extremely faint tone. Whether participants report hearing it depends on their expectations, alertness, and motivation in addition to the strength of the tone. Which theory explains this?
Signal detection theory
The area of the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye and where there are no rods or cones.
Blind spot
A device that converts sounds into electrical signals that directly stimulate the auditory nerve.
The failure to notice a visible object or event because attention is focused elsewhere.
Correct Response
Inattentional blindness
The tendency to perceive an object as remaining the same physical size even when its image on the retina changes size.
Size constancy