A deeper look at the senses and perceptual processes from a college sensation and perception course, beyond the Intro Psych survey.
41 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is sensory transduction?
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The conversion of physical or chemical stimuli into neural signals that the nervous system can process.- Define absolute threshold.
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The minimum amount of physical stimulus energy required to be detected by a sense organ at least 50 percent of the time.- What is the difference threshold, also called the just noticeable difference (JND)?
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The smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be detected as different from the original stimulus.- What does sensory adaptation mean?
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The decrease in responsiveness of sensory receptors to a constant or unchanging stimulus over time.- State Weber's Law.
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The just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity; JND = k times the stimulus intensity.- What does Signal Detection Theory explain?
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How observers detect weak sensory signals, accounting for both sensitivity to the signal and decision criteria (bias) used by the observer.- How do rods and cones differ in function?
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Rods are sensitive to dim light and monochromatic; cones detect color and fine detail but require more light.- What is the fovea?
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The small area in the center of the retina where cone cells are densely packed, providing the sharpest visual acuity.- Trace the visual pathway from the retina to the brain.
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Retina to optic nerve to optic chiasm to lateral geniculate nucleus of thalamus to primary visual cortex in occipital lobe.- What is the trichromatic theory of color vision?
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The theory that the eye has three types of cone cells, each sensitive to different wavelengths (red, green, blue), and color perception arises from their combined activation.- What is opponent-process theory of color vision?
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The theory that color is coded by pairs of opposing mechanisms (red-green, blue-yellow, light-dark) in neural pathways, not just at the level of cone receptors.- Why are cones concentrated in the fovea but rods spread across the peripheral retina?
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Cones provide high acuity for detailed central vision; rods provide light sensitivity for peripheral and dim-light vision.- What is sound physically?
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Sound is a mechanical wave of pressure changes traveling through a medium (air, water, or solid).- How do decibels measure sound?
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Decibels express sound intensity on a logarithmic scale, with 0 dB as the threshold of human hearing and increases of 10 dB representing roughly a doubling of perceived loudness.- What determines the pitch of a sound?
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The frequency of the sound wave, with higher frequencies producing higher pitches and lower frequencies producing lower pitches.
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