Robert S. Feldman,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| absolute threshold | The smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected
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| adaptation | An adjustment in sensory capacity following prolonged exposure to stimuli
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| 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 sound basilar_membrane (217.0K)
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| bottom-up processing | Perception that consists of recognizing and processing information about the individual components of the stimuli
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| cochlea | A coiled tube in the ear filled with fluid that vibrates in response to soundcochlea (136.0K)
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| cones | Cone-shaped, light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light
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| difference threshold | The smallest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred
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| eardrum | The part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it
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| 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)
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| feature detection | The activation of neurons in the cortex by visual stimuli of specific shapes or patterns
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| frequency theory of hearing | The theory that the entire basilar membrane acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to a sound
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| gate-control theory of pain | The theory that particular nerve receptors lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain
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| gestalt laws of organization | A series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes
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| hair cells | Tiny cells covering the basilar membrane that, when bent by vibrations entering the cochlea, transmit neural messages to the brain
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| just noticeable difference | The minimum stimulation required to detect the difference between two stimuli
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| opponent-process theory of color vision | The theory that receptor cells are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other
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| optic nerve | A bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information
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| otoliths | Tiny, motion-sensitive crystals within the semicircular canals that sense body acceleration
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| perception | The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brain
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| place theory of hearing | The theory that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies
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| psychophysics | The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of thempsychophysics (161.0K)
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| retina | The part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light into useful information for the brain
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| rods | Thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light
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| 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)
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| sensation | The processes by which our sense organs receive information from the environmentsensation (127.0K)
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| skin senses | The senses that include touch, pressure, temperature and pain
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| stimulus | Energy that produces a response in a sense organ
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| top-down processing | Perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations
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| 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)
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| visual illusions | Physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception
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| 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
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education