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Understanding Psychology Book Cover Image
Understanding Psychology, 6/e
Robert S. Feldman, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Sensation and Perception


absolute threshold  The smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected
adaptation  An adjustment in sensory capacity following prolonged exposure to stimuli
basilar membrane  A vibrating structure that runs through the center of the cochlea, dividing it into an upper and a lower chamber, and containing sense receptors for soundbasilar_membrane (217.0K)
bottom-up processing  Perception that consists of recognizing and processing information about the individual components of the stimuli
cochlea  A coiled tube in the ear filled with fluid that vibrates in response to soundcochlea (136.0K)
cones  Cone-shaped, light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light
difference threshold  The smallest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred
eardrum  The part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it
feature analysis  A theory of perception according to which we perceive a shape, pattern, object, or scene by reacting first to the individual elements that make it upfeature_analysis (207.0K)
feature detection  The activation of neurons in the cortex by visual stimuli of specific shapes or patterns
frequency theory of hearing  The theory that the entire basilar membrane acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to a sound
gate-control theory of pain  The theory that particular nerve receptors lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain
gestalt laws of organization  A series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes
hair cells  Tiny cells covering the basilar membrane that, when bent by vibrations entering the cochlea, transmit neural messages to the brain
just noticeable difference  The minimum stimulation required to detect the difference between two stimuli
opponent-process theory of color vision  The theory that receptor cells are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other
optic nerve  A bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information
otoliths  Tiny, motion-sensitive crystals within the semicircular canals that sense body acceleration
perception  The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brain
place theory of hearing  The theory that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies
psychophysics  The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of thempsychophysics (161.0K)
retina  The part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light into useful information for the brain
rods  Thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light
semicircular canals  Three tubelike structures of the inner ear containing fluid that sloshes through them when the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the brainsemicircular_canals (235.0K)
sensation  The processes by which our sense organs receive information from the environmentsensation (127.0K)
skin senses  The senses that include touch, pressure, temperature and pain
stimulus  Energy that produces a response in a sense organ
top-down processing  Perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations
trichromatic theory of color vision  The theory that there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengthstrichromatic_theory (224.0K)
visual illusions  Physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception
Weber's law  One of the basic laws of psychophysics, that a just noticeable difference is in constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus