Sensation & Perception Adv review

Our sense of taste.

The part of a pattern that commands attention

The bundle of neurons that carries the visual information from the retina to the brain.

The Gestalt principle that we tend to group similar objects together that share a common motion or destination.

A law of magnitude that is more accurate than Fechner’s law and covers a wider variety of stimuli.

Specialized neurons that respond to stimuli by converting their excitation into a nerve signal.

Failing to notice a change in a previously selected item

Color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems; blue-yellow mechanism and red-green mechanism

The size of JND is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus

Argues that the brain forms a perceptual whole that is more than the mere sum of its sensory parts.

The number of waves that pass a fixed point in unit time, determines pitch.

Presenting images so quickly that the conscious mind does not perceive them, but the unconscious mind does

The smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed and the difference be detected.

Our sense of smell

The Gestalt principle that we tend to group similar objects together in our perceptions.

The sensory process that converts energy, such as light or sound waves, into the form of neural messages.

It supports hair cells, serves as the base layer of the organ of Corti

Light-sensitive cells (neurons) in the retina that convert light energy into neural energy.

The Gestalt principle which states that we tend to group objects together when they are near each other.

The study of our senses and their effect on our behavior.

Keeps track of body parts, relative to each other.

Analysis that emphasizes the perceiver’s expectations, concept memories and other cognitive factors.

A mental process that elaborates and assigns meaning to the incoming sensory patterns.

The diminishing responsiveness of our sensory systems to prolonged stimulation.

Photoreceptors that are especially sensitive to dim light, but not color.

Analysis that emphasizes the characteristics of the stimuli rather than our concepts and expectations.

Theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone

States that sensation depends on the characteristics of the stimulus, the background stimulation and the detector

Spiral cavity of the inner ear containing the organ of Corti, produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations.

The ability to perceive an object or other stimulus that comes into contact with the surface of the skin.

The sense of body orientation with respect to gravity

The Gestalt principle that we prefer percepts of connected and continuous figures to disconnected and disjointed ones.

The level of stimulus necessary for a stimulus to be detected.

Includes three small bones. They are the malleus, the incus; and the stapes.

Principle which states that the simplest organization, requiring the least cognitive effort, will emerge as the figure.

The point where the optic nerve exits the eye and where there are no photoreceptors.

Cortical region of the brain that receives, integrates, and processes visual information relayed from the retinas

The part of the pattern that does not command attention

The physical strength of a wave-the “volume” of the sound; height of the wave.

Area in the eye with the highest concentration of rods and cones.

A readiness to detect a particular stimulus in a given situation (Ex: noises in an empty house perceived as threats)

Failing to notice change in the environment around us.

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

This sense gathers light, focuses it, converts it to a neural signal and sends these signals on for further processing.

Our sense of hearing

Photoreceptors that are especially sensitive to colors but not dim light.

The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.

To be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a consistent amount)

Proposes we have a neural “gate” that can, under some circumstances, block incoming pain.

The process by which a stimulated receptor creates a pattern of neural messages that represent the stimulus in the brain