Chapter 5 - Sensation

I. Intro

_______________________ - detecting a physical energy/a stimulus (also known as ___________________________________________)

_______________________ - selecting, organizing, and interpreting our sensations (also known as ___________________________________________)

_______________________ - the study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience (Gustav Fechner)

__________________________ - the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

______________________________ - states there is no single absolute threshold and experiences, expectation, motivation and tiredness play a role in stimulus detection

__________________________ - the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time (also known as JND or __________________________________________)

___________________________ - when stimuli are below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

______________________ - states that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount), to be perceived as different (Ernst Weber)

__________________________ - diminished sensitivity is a consequence of constant stimulation

II. Transduction

_____________________ - the transformation of stimulus energy into neural impulses

A. Sight

__________________________ - the conversion of light energy into neural impulses that the brain can understand

________ (color) - the dimension of color determined by the ______________________ (distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next) of the light

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Chapter 5 - Sensation

______________ - the amount of energy in a wave of light determined by the ___________________ (the height of a wave). It is related to perceived brightness.

__________ - transparent tissue where light enters the eye

_________ - muscle that expands and contracts to change the size of the opening (pupil) for light

_________ - focuses the light rays on the retina

____________ - contains sensory receptors that process visual information and sends it to the brain

_____________________ - the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to help focus near or far objects on the retina

_________________________ - a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects. _________________________ - condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects

___________ - central point in the retina around which the eye’s cones cluster (visual acuity)

__________________ - carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

___________________ - point where the optic nerve leaves the eye because there are no receptor cells located there.

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Chapter 5 - Sensation

__________________________ - processing of several aspects of the stimulus simultaneously (uses _____________________________)

__________________________________________________ - suggests that the retina contains three receptors that are sensitive to red, blue and green colors which combine to create all colors

__________________________________ - if three primary colors (lights) are mixed, the wavelengths are added and the color white is the result

__________________________________ - mixing three primary colors (pigments) subtracts wavelengths and the color black is the result

____________________________ - genetic disorder (more males) in which people are blind to green or red colors

__________________________________ - suggests that we process four primary colors combined in pairs of red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white. This creates _____________________. (Ewald Hering)

__________________________________ - suggests that color vision is the result of both the Trichromatic Theory and the Opponent Process Theory

__________________________ - the color of an object remains the same under different illuminations

B. Hearing_______________________________ - the conversion of sound waves into neural impulses in the hair cells of the inner ear.

_________________ (pitch) - the dimension of frequency determined by the wavelength of sound. The number of wavelengths that pass a point at a given time.

________________ (loudness) – the amount of energy in a wave, determined by the amplitude (height), relates to the perceived loudness (volume)

_____________(timbre) – the characteristics of sound

Outer Ear: _____________ - collects sounds

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Chapter 5 - Sensation

____________________: chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (ossicles: ______________, __________ & __________________) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

Inner Ear: Innermost part of the ear, containing the _____________, _______________________________& _______________________________

______________ - the coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that transforms sound vibrations to auditory signals

_______________________ - suggests that sound frequencies stimulate the basilar membrane at specific places resulting in perceived pitch

__________________________ - suggests that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. Once again, it is believed that it is a combination of the Place and Frequency Theories which enables us to hear.

____________________________________________ - sounds that reach one ear faster than the other ear cause us to localize the sound

____________________________________________ - caused by damage to the mechanical system that sound waves to the cochlea (vibration is affected). ____________________________________________ - caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve, also called nerve deafness (often those born with deficiencies)

C. Touch & Body Position

____________________ - the sense of our body parts’ position and movement (registered in joints). Helps you register energy from others.

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Chapter 5 - Sensation

___________________________ - monitors the head (and body’s) position and helps with maintaining balance. Vestibular sense is governed by fluid filled sacs in ___________________________ of the inner ear.

____________ (tactile sense) - a mix of four distinct skin senses—pressure, warmth, cold, and pain

________________________________________ - suggests that the spinal cord contains neurological “gates” that either block pain or allow it to be sensed. __________ can be controlled by a number of different therapies.

D. Smell

__________ (olfactory sense) - is a chemical sense. Odorants enter the nasal cavity to stimulate 5 million receptors in the olfactory bulb to sense smell. Ability to identify smells usually peaks during early adulthood, but steadily declines after that. _____________ are often better at detecting odors than men.

The brain region for smell is closely connected with the brain regions involved with _____________ (limbic system). That is why strong memories are made through the sense of smell.

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Chapter 5 - Sensation

_________________________ - occurs when one sense affects another sense (like sight, smell & taste)

E. Taste

_____________ (gustatory sense) - consisted of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (_________________) tastes. Recently, scientists have suggested a sixth taste for “curries.”

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