Absolute Threshold

1a

the minimum stimulation

needed to detect a
particular stimulus 50% of
the time
1b

Accommodation

2a

The process by which the

eye's lens changes shape
to focus near or far
objects on the retina.
2b

Acuity

3a

sharpness of vision

3b

Afterimage Effect

4a

staring at yellow, green,

and back flag and when
looking away you see red
white and blue
4b

Audition

5a

the sense or act of hearing

5b

Auditory Canal

6a

the canal in the out part of

the ear down which sound
waves travel (at the end is
the ear drum)
6b

Binocular Cues

7a

depth cues, such as retinal

disparity, that depend on
the use of two eyes
7b

Bipolar cells

8a

specialized neurons that

connect the rods and
cones with the ganglion
cells
8b

Blind Spot

9a

the point at which the optic

nerve leaves the eye, creating
a "blind" spot because no
receptor cells are located
there
9b

Bottom-up Processing

10a

analysis starting with

sensory receptors and
works up to the brain's
integration
10b

Change blindness

11a

failing to notice changes in

the environment
11b

Clairvoyance

12a

perceiving remote events,

such as sensing that a
friends house is on fire
12b

Closure

13a

filling in the gaps to create

a complete, whole object
13b

Cochlea

14a

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled

tube in the inner ear
through which sound waves
trigger nerve impulses
14b

Cochlear Implant

15a

a device for converting

sounds into electrical signals
and stimulating the auditory
nerve through electrodes
threaded into the cochlea
15b

Color Constancy

16a

perceiving familiar objects as

having consistent color, even
if changing illumination alters
the wavelengths reflected by
the object
16b

Conduction Hearing Loss

17a

hearing loss caused by

damage to the mechanical
system that conducts sound
waves to the cochlea
17b

Cones

18a

Retinal receptor cells that are

concentrated near the center of
the retina and that function in
daylight or in well-lit conditions.
The cones detect fine detail and
colors

18b

Connectedness

19a

perceiving sets of two dots

and the line between them
as a single unit because
they are uniform and linked
19b

Continuity

20a

we perceive smooth,
continuous, patterns
rather than discontinuous
ones
20b

Convergence

21a

...

21b

Depth Perception

22a

the ability to see objects in

three dimensions although
the images that strike the
retina are two-dimensional;
allows us to judge distance
22b

Difference Threshold

23a

the minimum difference between

two stimuli required for detection
50% of the time. We experience the
difference threshold as a just
noticeable difference. (Just
Noticeable Difference or JND.)
23b

Extrasensory Perception
(ESP)
24a

The controversial claim that

perception can occur apart
from sensory input (includes
telepathy, clairvoyance, and
precognition)
24b

Feature Detectors

25a

nerve cells in the brain that

respond to specific features
of the stimulus, such as
shape, angle, or movement
25b

Figure-Ground

26a

the organization of the

visual field into objects (the
figures) that stand out from
their surroundings (the
ground).

26b

Fovea

27a

The central focal point in

the retina, around which
the eye's cones cluster.
27b

Frequency

28a

the number of complete

wavelengths that pass a
point in a given time
(determines pitch)
28b

Frequency Theory

29a

in hearing, the theory that the

rate of nerve impulses traveling
up the auditory nerve matches
the frequency of a tone, thus
enabling us to sense its pitch
29b

Ganglion cells

30a

specialized neurons that

connect to the bipolar cells.
The bundled axons of the
ganglion cells form the optic
nerve
30b

Gate-control Theory

31a

the theory that the spinal cord contains a

neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals
or allows them to pass on to the brain. The
"gate" is opened by the activity of pain
signals traveling up small nerve fibers and
is closed by activity in larger fibers or by
information coming from the brain.
31b

Gestalt

32a

an organized whole. Gestalt

psychologists emphasized
our tendency to integrate
pieces of information into
meaningful wholes.
32b

Groupings

33a

the perceptual tendency

to organize stimuli into
coherent groups
33b

Hue

34a

a particular shade of a
given color
34b

Inattentional blindness

35a

failing to see visible

objects when our
attention is directed
elsewhere
35b

Inner Ear

36a

the innermost part of the ear,

containing the cochlea,
semicircular canals, and
vestibular sacs (important for
balance) and is where translation
happens for sound

36b

Intensity

37a

The amount of energy in a

light or sound wave, which
we perceive as brightness or
loudness, as determined by
the wave's amplitude.
37b

Interposition

38a

if one object particularly

blocks our view of
another, we perceive it as
closer
38b

Iris

39a

A ring of muscle tissue that

forms the colored portion of
the eye around the pupil and
controls the size of the pupil
opening.
39b

Kinesthesis

40a

the system for sensing the

position and movement of
individual body parts
40b

Lens

41a

The transparent structure

behind the pupil that
changes shape to help focus
images on the retina.
41b

Middle Ear

42a

the chamber between the

eardrum and cochlea containing
three tiny bones (hammer, anvil,
and stirrup) that transmit the
vibrations of the eardrum to the
cochlea

42b

Monocular Cues

43a

depth cues that are based

on the use of one eye
43b

Opponent-Process Theory

44a

the theory that opposing

retinal processes (redgreen, yellow-blue, whiteblack) enable color vision.
44b

Optic Nerve

45a

the nerve that carries

neural impulses from the
eye to the brain
45b

Outer Ear

46a

the part of the ear that

traps sound waves and
channels them through the
auditory canal to the
eardrum

46b

Parallel Processing

47a

the brains natural mode of

information processing
many things at once, such
as color, motion, form and
depth

47b

Parapsychology

48a

The study of paranormal

phenomena
48b

Perception

49a

the process of organizing

and interpreting sensory
information
49b

Perceptual Adaptation

50a

in vision, the ability to

adjust to an artificially
displaced or even inverted
visual field
50b

Perceptual Constancy

51a

perceiving familiar objects as

unchanging (having consistent
shapes, size, lightness, and color)
even as illumination and retinal
image change
51b

Perceptual Set

52a

a mental predisposition to
perceive one thing as not
another
52b

Phi Phenomenon

53a

an illusion of movement
created when two or more
adjacent lights blink on
and off in quick succession
53b

Pinna

54a

the fleshy outer part of

ear
54b

Pitch

55a

A tone's highness or
lowness (shorter waves,
higher pitch)
55b

Place Theory

56a

in hearing, the theory that

links the pitch we hear with
the place where the
cochlea's membrane is
stimulated

56b

Precognition

57a

perceiving future events

57b

Priming

58a

The activation, often

unconsciously, of certain
associations, thus predisposing
one's perception, memory, or
response.
58b

Proximity

59a

grouping figures by
closeness
59b

Psychophysics

60a

the study of relationships

between the physical
characteristics of stimuli, such as
their intensity, and our
psychological experience of
them

60b

Pupil

61a

The adjustable opening in

the center of the eye
through which light
enters.
61b

Relative Height

62a

we perceive objects as
higher in our field of
vision as farther away
62b

Relative Motion

63a

as we move, objects that

are actually stable appear
to move
63b

Relative Size

64a

if we assume two objects are

similar in size, most people
perceive the one that casts
the smaller retinal image as
farther away
64b

Retina

65a

The light-sensitive inner surface

of the eye, containing the
receptor rods and cones plus
layers of neurons that begin the
processing of visual information.
65b

Retinal Disparity

66a

a binocular cue for perceiving

depth; by comparing images from
the two eyeballs, the brain
computes distance - the greater the
disparity (difference) between the
two images, the close the object
66b

Rods

67a

Retinal receptors that detect

black, white, and gray;
necessary for peripheral and
twilight vision, when cones
don't respond.
67b

Selective Attention

68a

The focusing of conscious

awareness on a particular
stimulus
68b

Sensorineural Hearing
Loss
69a

hearing loss caused by

damage to the cochlea's
receptor cells or to the
auditory nerves (nerve
deafness)
69b

Sensory Adaptation

70a

diminished sensitivity as a
consequence of constant
stimulation (getting used
to hotness of hot tub)
70b

Sensory Interaction

71a

the principle that one sense

may influence another, as
when the smell of food
influences its taste
71b

Signal Detection Theory

72a

a theory predicting how and when we

detect the presence of a faint stimulus
(signal) amid background stimulation
(noise). Assumes there is no single
absolute threshold and that detection
depends partly on a person's experience,
expectations, motivation, and alertness.
72b

Similarity

73a

grouping similar figures

together
73b

Subliminal

74a

below one's absolute

threshold for conscious
awareness
74b

Top-down Processing

75a

information processing guided

by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct
perceptions drawing on our
experience and expectations
75b

Transduction

76a

Conversion of one form of energy

into another. In sensation, the
transforming of stimulus energies,
such as sights, sounds, and smells,
into neural impulses our brains
can interpret.
76b

Vestibular Sense

77a

the sense of body

movement and position,
including the sense of
balance
77b

Vision

78a

the sense of sight

78b

Visual Cliff

79a

a laboratory device for

testing depth perception
in infants and young
animals
79b

Wavelength

80a

The distance between the

crest of one wave and the
crest of the next wave
80b

Weber's Law

81a

the principle that, to be

perceived as different, two
stimuli must differ by a
constant percentage (not
constant amount)
81b

Young-Helmholtz (threecolor) Theory

82a

the theory that the retina

contains three different color
receptors (red,green, and blue)
which when stimulated in
combination can produce the
perception of any color

82b