Heather Hardman Chapter 3 Terms 1.

Sensation-The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. 2. Perception-The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. 3. Sensory Receptors- detect changes in the environment and stimulate neurons to send nerve impulses to the brain. 4. Transduction- 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. 5. Absolute threshold- the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. 6. Difference Threshold- the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference. (also called just noticeable difference or jnd.) 7. Webers Law- the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) 8. Subliminal perception- a thought or behavior that is influenced by stimuli that a person cannot consciously report perceiving. 9. Sensory adaption- diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. 10. Wavelength- the distance (measured in the direction of propagation) between two points in the same phase in consecutive cycles of a wave. 11. Cornea- transparent anterior portion of the outer covering of the eye. 12. Pupil- the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters. 13. Iris- a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. 14. Lens- the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina. 15. Accommodation- the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. 16. Retina- 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. 17. Rods- retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

18. Cones- 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 give rise to color sensations. 19. Fovea- area consisting of a small depression in the retina containing cones and where vision is most acute. 20. Optic disk- the 'blind spot' of the eye, this is where the axons of the ganglion cells exist the retinal to form the optic nerve. there are no photoreceptors in the optic disk. 21. Blind spot- the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there. 22. Ganglion cells- he specialized cells which lie behind the bipolar cells whose axons form the optic nerve which takes the information to the brain. 23. Bipolar Cells- eye neurons that receive information from the retinal cells and distribute information to the ganglion cells. 24. Optic nerve- the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. 25. Optic chiasm- the point in the brain where the visual field information from each eye "crosses over" to the appropriate side of the brain for processing. 26. Color- the appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation. 27. Hue- the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth. 28. Saturation- the intensity of a color; how close it is to a pure hue. 29. Brightness- intensity of reflected light that reaches our eyes. 30. Trichromatic theory- idea that color vision is based on our sensitivity to three different colors: blue, green, and red. 31. Color blindness- one of several inherited forms of color deficiency or weakness in which an individual cannot distinguish between certain colors. 32. Afterimage- a visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed. 33. Opponent process theory- the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. for example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green. 34. Audition- sense of hearing. 35. Loudness- the human perception of how much energy a sound wave carries. 36. Amplitude- the maximum distance that the particles of a wave's medium vibrate from their rest position.

37. Decibel- unit of sound intensity. 38. Pitch- the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration. 39. Frequency- the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time. 40. Timbre- quality of a musical tone produced by a musical instrument (which distinguishes it from others of the same pitch) 41. Outer ear- the portion of the ear consisting of the pinna and the external auditory canal. the outer ear is separated from the middle ear by the tympanic membrane (the eardrum). 42. Eardrum- sheet of tissue separating the outer ear from the middle ear that vibrates when stimulated by sound waves. 43. Middle ear- the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window. 44. Inner ear- the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. 45. Cochlea- a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses. 46. Basilar membrane- a structure that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells. 47. Hair cells- sensory receptors found in the inner ear. cochlear hair cells respond to vibration in the cochlea caused by sound waves and vestibular hair cells respond to changes in position and acceleration (used for balance) 48. Frequency theory- 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. 49. Place theory- in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated. 50. Olfaction- sense of smell. 51. Gustation- sense of taste. 52. Pheromones- odorless chemicals that serve as social signals to members of one's species. 53. Olfactory bulb- the first brain structure to pick up smell information from the nose. 54. Taste buds- sense receptors in the tongue that respond to sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, and perhaps fat. 55. Pain- feeling of suffering, distress or agony, caused by stimulation of specialized nerve endings, a protective device of the body; a subjective sensation (reported by the client).

56. Nociceptors- pain receptors. nociceptors are found everywhere in the body except for the brain. 57. Substance- element or compound that cannot be broken down into simpler components and maintain the properties of the original substance. 58. Gate control theory- theory that spinal cord contains neurological gate that blocks pains signals or allows them to pass. gate is opened by activity of pain going up small nerve fibers & gate is closed by act of large fibers or by info coming from brain. 59. Kinesthetic sense- the sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other. 60. Proprioceptors- sensory receptors, located in the muscles and joints, that provide information about body position and movement. 61. Vestibular sense- the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance. 62. Bottom-up processing- analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. 63. Top-down processing- information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectation. 64. Gestalt psych- a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts. 65. ESP- the controversial claim that sensation can occur apart from sensory input. 66. Parapsychology- the study of paranormal phenomena, including esp and psychokinesis. 67. Figure-ground relationship- a gestalt principle of perceptual organization that states that we automatically separate the elements of a perception into the feature that clearly stands out and its less distinct background. 68. Depth perception-the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance. 69. Monocular cues- depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone. 70. Binocular cues- depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes. 71. Perceptual constancy- bility to recognize the same object under different conditions such as , changes in illumination, distance, or locations, occurs with old colors in pictures. 72. Size constancy- perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed.

73. Perceptual illusion- the misperception of the true characteristics of an object or an image. 74. Mller-Lyer illusion- a famous visual illusion involving the misperception of the identical length of two lines, one with arrows pointed inward, one with arrows pointed outward. 75. Moon illusion- an illusion in which the moon appears to be larger when it is on or near the horizon than when it is high in the sky. 76. Perceptual set- a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. 77. Biofeedback- a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. 78. Acupuncture- treatment of pain or disease by inserting the tips of needles at specific points on the skin.

Key People: 1. Karl Dunker- was a Gestalt psychologist. Duncker coined the term functional fixedness for describing the difficulties in visual perception and in problem solving that arise from the fact that one element of a whole situation already has a (fixed) function which has to be changed for making the correct perception or for finding the solution to the problem. 2. Max Wertheimer- was a Prague-born psychologist who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Khler. Described principles of perception.