AP Psych Sensation and Perception

the detection of physical energy emitted or reflected by physical objects

processes that organize sensory impulses into meaningful patterns

signals received by the sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways, which terminate in different areas of the brain

occurs when stimulation of one sense evokes sensations in another

how the physical properties of stimuli are related to our psychological experience of them

the smallest amount of energy a person can detect reliably (50 percent of the time)

the smallest difference in stimulation that a person can detect reliably (50 percent of the time); also called just noticeable difference (jnd)

Accounts for response bias (tendency to say yes or no to a signal)

Decline in sensory responsiveness occurs when a stimulus is unchanging; nerve cells temporarily stop responding

we routinely block out unimportant sensations

protects us from being overwhelmed with sensations

color that is related to wavelength

intensity, corresponds to amplitude of the wave

colorfulness and complexity of the range of wavelengths

wavelength, intensity, complexity

front part of the eye; protects the eye and bends light rays toward lens

located behind the cornea; focuses light by changing curvature

muscles that control the amount of light that gets into the eye

round opening surrounded by iris; widens and dilates to let light in

located in the back of the eye, contains visual receptors

sensitive to light, not to color

see color, but need more light to respond

center of retina, sharpest vision, contains only cones

time it takes to adjust to dim illumination; reflects mainly increase in sensitivity of rods

axons converge to form optic nerve, that carries information out of the eye to the brain

leaves the eye at optic disc; no rods or cones; blind spot on retina

This approach applies to the first level of processing (in the retina); Retina contains three types of cones: one responds to blue, another to green, another to red; these combine to make all colors c. People with color deficiencies lack particular types of cones

Second stage of color processing in the ganglion cells of the retina and neurons in the thalamus and visual cortex (opponent process cells); They turn off to one wavelength in a pair and on to the other

the mind interprets the retinal image and constructs the world using information from other senses

how people organize the visual world into meaningful patterns

figure/ground distinction, proximity, closure, similarity, and continuity

object's location inferred from distance or depth cues

dependent on information from both eyes

disparity in the lateral separation between two objects as seen by the two eyes is used to infer depth or distance

cues that do not depend on using both eyes include interposition and linear perspective

our perception of objects is unchanging though the sensory patterns they produce are constantly shifting

shape, location, size, brightness, and color; when seeing is believing

When seeing is misleading; visual constancies may occasionally fool us, resulting in ______

intensity of a wave's pressure; decibels

frequency (and intensity) of wave; hertz

complexity of wave; the distinguishing quality of a sound

occurs when all frequencies of the sound spectrum are present

amplify sound waves

contains the receptor cells called cilia, or hair cells, that are embedded in the basilar membrane stretching across the _______

the hair cells initiate a signal to the auditory nerve, which carries the message to the brain

influences the pattern and frequency of how the neurons fire, which determines what is heard

is used to organize patterns of sounds to construct meaning

bumps on tongue, contain taste buds

are replaced every 10 days; number of taste buds and receptor cells declines with age

four basic tastes