Basic Principles
What occurs when our experiences influence our interpretation of data?
What is top-down processing
I don't want to clean the house, so I listen to upbeat music to help me get my mood right. What perceptual influence am I tapping into with this strategy?
What are emotions
Light's _________ is the distance from one wave peak to the next.
What is wavelength
The three small bones of the ear are located in the
What is middle ear
The process that allows a ballerina to detect the position of different parts of her body
What is kinesthesia
What principle states that in order to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a minimum percentage rather than a constant amount?
What is Weber's law
Because of this, a person sees a car drive away and know its size has not changed
size constancy
This theory explains reversed-color afterimages
What is opponent-process theory
The number of sound waves that reach the ear in a given time determines what
What is pitch
The principle that one sense may influence another
What is sensory interaction
What do we call the conversion of stimulus energies, like sights and sounds, into neural impulses?
What is transduction
What do we call a mental predisposition that influences our interpretation of a stimulus?
What is perceptual set
The process by which rods and cones change electromagnetic energy into neural messages is called what
The type of hearing loss due to damage to the mechanism that transmits sound waves to the cochlea is called
What is conduction
Dizziness and loss of balance could result from the disruption of what sense?
What is vestibular sense
If a stimulus is below a person's absolute threshold for conscious awareness, it's called...
What is subliminal
Perceptual set is an example of what type of processing?
What is top-down processing
Neurons that fire in response to specific edges, lines, angles, and movements are called
What are feature detectors
The coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that contains the basilar membrane
What is cochlea
Perceiving smooth continuous motion rather than a series of still images is the result of which process?
What is stroboscopic movement
Signal detection theory is most closely associated with what perception process
What is absolute thresholds
I see a person walk behind me out of the corner of my eye at home. It's an intruder, but I assume it's a family member and continue with my business. What perceptual influence contributed to my assumption?
What is context effect
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing the images in the two retinas is called
What is retinal disparity
The theory that our brain interprets a particular pitch by decoding the place where a sound wave stimulates the cochlea's basilar membrane
What is place theory
The sensory receptors that detect painful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals are called
What are nociceptors