AP Psychology Vocab - Sensation & Perception

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous systems receive and represent stimulus from our environment.

Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli.

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information.

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

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 brain and interpret.

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

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

A theory detecting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a persons experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

The minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing ones perceptions, memory, or response.

The principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage.

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of consent stimulation.

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the colors blue, green, and so forth.

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness.

The eyes clean, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris.

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil.

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of nervous that began the processing of visual information.

The process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.

Retinal receptors that are concentrate near the center of the retina and that function in the daylight or in well-lit conditions — detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye where no receptor cells are located.

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eyes cones cluster.

The theory that the retina contains 3 different types of color receptors — one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue — which when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision.

Nerve cells in the brains visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

An organized whole.

The organization of the visual field into objects stand out from their surroundings.

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

The ability to see objects in 3 dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

A depth cue, such as retinal disparity that depends on the use of 2 eyes.

A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing retinal images from the 2 eyes, the brain computes distance.

A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

An illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Perceiving objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

The sense or act of hearing.

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time.

A tones experienced highness or lowness depends on frequency.

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing 3 tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval windows.

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochleas receptor cells or to the auditory nerves.

A less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place the cochleas membrane is stimulated.

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.

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on the brain. The “gate'“ is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in large fibers or by information coming from the brain.

The sense of smell.

Our movement sense — our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

The influence of body sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.