Psych 101 Exam 2 Review

The perception associated with the amplitude of a sound wave is?

loudness

The term absolute threshold refers to the _ intensity of a stimulus that must be present for stimulus to be detected.

smallest

The vestibular system is primarily responsible for:

processing location and motion; problems would make it difficult to balance.

The _ threshold refers to the smallest amount of stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus from another.

difference

Rods are related to vision in _ situations.

dimly lit

Which of the following is the best synonym for sensation?

reception

Much of the visual-recognition areas of the brain are located along the ventral pathway also known as?

the "What" pathway

The blind spot is the place on the retina where _?

the optic nerve leaves the eye toward the brain

The smallest intensity at which you are able to detect a stimulus refers to the?

absolute threshold

The _ is important in that it functions to collect and amplify sound.

outer ear

The ability to view the world in three dimensions and to perceive distance - a skill known as depth perception - is largely a result of?

binocular disparity

Sensation begins when

energy stimulates a receptor cell in a sense organ

"We all see things - but we _ differently".

percieve

Transduction

the conversion of physical energy into neural signals

Perception

the brain's interpretation of sensory information, giving it meaning; knowing what you saw

Sensory thresholds

the limits of our ability to sense stimuli in the environment

Absolute threshold

the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time

We have one _ for each sense.

absolute threshold

Signal detection

method for studying the ability to correctly identify sensory stimuli.

Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)

out ability to detect the smallest change in stimulation

The ability to see a candle flame from 30 miles away and can distinguish represents what Law?

Weber's Law

Weber's Law

the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) is a proportion of the original stimulus

What are the two approaches to perceiving the world?

Bottom-up processing and Top-down processing

Bottom-up processing

recognizing and processing information from individual components to build a perception of the whole stimuli

Ex. Person is trying to learn a new language and has to think of the meaning of the word to process and make sentences. This represents what type of processing?

Bottom-up processing

Top-down processing

perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experiences, expectations, and motivations.

Ex. A native English speaking individual doesn't need to thing about the meaning of words. This represents what type of processing?

Top-down processing

Sensory adaptation

decrease in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant stimulation

Over time becoming accustomed to fan sound in room is an example of?

Sensory adaptation

After being told what inaudible sound says, you are able to now identify it because of _?

our expectations of reality

Ex. When being told to count how many basketball passes are made throughout the video, you completely ignore the moonwalking bear that passes by. This is because of what?

Inattentional blindness

Binocular disparity

allows for slightly different views from each eye

Ex. Viewing our finger with one eye changes our perspective. This is an example of _?

binocular disparity

Inattentional blindness states that things that we don't see, don't _.

exist

Binocular vision

provides 3D and depth cues based on different views from two eyes

Types of photoreceptors?

rods and cones

We have two eyes so that we can use _.

depth perception

Function of photoreceptors?

transduce light into electrical signals

Rods are sensitive to _ but not to _?

light/color

Cones are _-sensitive and respond to _?

light/color

Depth perception allows us to?

perceive distance and view the world in 3D

Location of photoreceptors?

retina

Order of visual pathway through brain? (4)

optic nerve to optic chasm to thalamus to primary visual cortex

Cones function in what type of lighting?

light areas

Carries electrical signals to brain

Optic nerve

Signals are transported to the _ and _ lobes for further processing in the _ association cortex.

temporal/parietal/visual

Rods function in what type of lighting?

low light or dark areas

Extrastriate body area

understands and recognizes different body parts

Agnosia

inability to perceive stimuli

Prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces

Occurs when you go from a dark movie theatre to the afternoon sun?

Light adaptation

Known as the "Where" pathway?

Dorsal pathway

Prosopagnosia occurs because of failure of the _?

Fusiform face area

Perception takes place where?

visual association cortex

_ are activated when dark adaption occurs

rods

Occurs when you go from the afternoon sun into a dark movie theatre?

Dark adaptation

Fusiform face area

interprets and recognizes faces

_ are activated when light adaption occurs

cones

Trichromatic theory of color vision states that we have?

three different color-sensitive cells

What are the S-cones of the Trichromatic theory?

blue-violet colors

What are the M-cones of the Trichromatic theory?

green colors

What are the two major theories of color vision?

Trichromatic theory and Opponent-process theory

What are the L-cones of the Trichromatic theory?

red-yellow colors

Trichromatic theory: We can see so many colors because of the _ of stimuli.

combination

Opponent-process theory of color vision

two pairs of basic colors work in opposition to each other

Opponent-process theory colors

blue-yellow/red-green/black-white

Colors of the Opponent-process theory can't _.

can't exist together

Which theory of color vision best explain after images?

Opponent-process theory

Why are some people colorblind?

damaged cones

The perceptual attributes of sound (3)

loudness/pitch/timbre

Loudness (amplitude) refers to the _ sensation.

pressure

Pitch refers to?

frequency of sound waves

Timbre refers to?

distinction

Sound

movement of air molecules brought about by a source of vibration

Outer ear

detects direction of sound

Pinna

Outermost portion of the ear

Auditory canal

Tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear

Cornea

transparent layer in front of the eye

Pupil

Opening in the middle of the iris

Retina

Cell layer in the back of the eye containing photoreceptors

Photo activation

when light is converted to electrical impulses for transmission to the brain

Tympanic membrane (eardrum) is where what occurs?

sound vibration

Ossicles (middle ear)

three bones in the ear where vibration is transported to the cochlea

Inner ear (cochlea) is the location of

receptor cells

Auditory hair cells

receptors in the cochlea that transduce sound into electrical potentials

Basilar membrane

converts sound waves into neural activity

What causes sound waves to be converted into neural activity?

movement of fluid in cochlea deforms the hair cells of basilar membrane

Cochlear nerve

transfers auditory information from cochlea to the brain

Primary auditory cortex (temporal lobe)

processes complex auditory signals

Semicircular canals

fluid-filled tubes in your inner ear that help with balance

What is vertigo?

issues with balance

Mechanoreceptors

mechanical sensory receptors in the skin that respond to stimulation

Primary somatosensory cortex

area of cortex involved in processing somatosensory stimuli

Somatotopic map

helps determine different touches in different areas of the body

What are phantom limbs?

vivid sensations coming from the missing limb

Why are smell and taste chemical senses?

because we have to interpret chemical stimuli to smell or taste something

Olfactory epithelium

where receptors are located

Odorants

chemicals transduce by olfactory receptors

Anosmia

loss of ability to smell

Taste receptor cells

receptors that transduce taste information

Tastants

chemical stimulants

What are the five tastants?

sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami

Do different tastes form a map-like organization on the tongue?

No

Multimodal perception

integration of sensories to interpret stimuli

Super-additive effect of multi sensory integration states:

typically using different sensory cues is better than using just one

Principle of inverse effectiveness states:

if only type of sensory is needed then it is sufficient

Synesthesia

stimulation of one sensory leads to experiences of another

Ex. Listening to music, but seeing shapes is an example of?

Synesthesia

Consciousness

the awareness of internal and external stimuli

Types of conscious (or non-conscious) experiences of visual awareness? (2)

Motion-induced blindness and Cortical blindness

Ex. Staring at the stationary yellow dot in the middle of the moving cube causes the cube to disappear. This is an example of what/

Motion-induced blindness

Blindsight

responses to visual stimulus without conscious awareness

Coincident sensations

feeling two or more sensations simultaneously

The rubber hand illusion is an example of?

Coincident sensations

Presence

body awareness regulated by brain mechanisms at the temporal junction

What is lowest level of awareness?

death

One example of high level awareness?

making a decision

Subliminal

below threshold of awareness but brain still encodes information

Cost of low awareness

influenced by subtle factors

Benefit of low awareness

saves mental effort

Cost of high awareness

uses mental effort

Benefit of high awareness

can overcome some biases

Dissociation

mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity

Hypnotherapy uses

relaxation and suggestion

Does hypnosis improve memory? Why?

No, because we can't retrieve lost memories

Sleep

altered state of consciousness characterized by periods of activity and inactivity

Melatonin

hormone that influences sleep

Circadian rhythm

sleep cycle that tells us when to wake up vs go to sleep

Jet lag

symptoms resulting from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment

Stage 1 of sleep

NREM

NREM periods

first three stages of sleep

Stage 1 (NREM)

brief transitional stage of light sleep

Stage 2 (NREM)

breathing, respiration, muscle tone, body temperature, and heart rate decline

Stage 3 (NREM)

low-frequency waves are prominent and it is difficult to awaken

REM periods

high-frequency beta waves and vivid dreams occur

More likely to remember dreams if awaken in this stage

REM periods

REM rebound/recovery

lack of sleep causes rebound at next sleep episode

When we sleep is our brain sleeping?

No

Stage where brain is most active

REM

Class Video: Effects of alcohol

fell asleep faster but was in and out of sleep

Class Video: Effects of Caffeine

experienced more light sleep and couldn't fall asleep

Purpose of dreams

may represent life events that are important to the dreamer

Drugs typically affect _ by either increasing or decreasing activity at the _.

neurotransmitters/synaps

Hallucinogens

substances that alter a person's perceptions often distorting reality

Hallucinogens affect which neurotransmitter(s)?

serotonin