AP Psychology Unit 4 Vocabulary

Process where sensory receptors and nervous systems take in stimulus from environment

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info letting us remember/recognize meaningful things

Analysis that begins with basic senses and then works up to brain's interpretation

Where we process info with higher thinking. We construct perceptions based on experience and expectations

When you focus on one particular thing/stimuli

When we can't see visible objects because our attention is elsewhere

Failing to notice changes in environment

Study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (e.g. intensity and our psychological experience of them)

Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes that there's no absolute threshold

Hidden from our consciousness; below absolute threshold

Unconscious associations

Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection. 50% of the time it's a just noticeable difference

Principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Conversion of one form of energy to another. In sensation, it's transforming stimulus energy (sights, sounds, smells) into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Distance from one peak of a wave to another

Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light

Amount of energy in a light or sound wave; determined by amplitude.

Adjustable opening in center of eye where light enters

Ring of muscle tissue that is the color part of the eye. Controls pupil opening size

Transparent structure behind pupil that changes shape to help focus images on retina

Light-sensitive inner surface of eye that contains receptor rods, cones, and layers of neurons that begin processing of visual info

Process in which the lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Nerve that carries neural impulses from eye to the brain

Retinal receptor that detect black, white, and grey. Necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don't work that well or respond

Retinal receptor close to the center of the retina. Works best at daylight or in well lit place. Finds fine details and color

Point where optic nerve leaves the eye, creating an area where you can't see There are no receptors located in this spot

Central focal point in the retina around which the eye's cones cluster

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as angle, shape, and movement

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously. Brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

Theory that retina has 3 color receptors: red, blue, and green. Theory states that, when combined, they can make any color

Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

Sense or act of hearing

Number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (e.g. three things a second)

Tone's experienced highness or lowness. Depends on frequency. Long waves produce a low sound. Short waves produce a high sound

Chamber between the eardrum and cochlea that has three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on a cochlea's oval window

Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Innermost part of the ear containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses travelling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. Nerve deafness

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

System for sensing the position and movement of body parts

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Theory that spinal cord has a neurological "gate" that either allows or blocks pain signals to the brain

Principle that one sense may influence another

An organized whole

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

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

The ability to see objects in 3D although the images that hit the retina are 2D. It allow us to judge distance

A lab device for testing depth perception in babies and young animals

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Binocular cue for perceiving depth: the difference between the two images. Greater this is, the closer the object

Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change (seeing the open door as a rectangle even though it looks like a trapezoid or something)

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

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

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

Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and Psychokinesis