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Psychology 200 NOVA EXAM 1 Study Guide
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Psychology 200 NOVA EXAM 1 Study Guide
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Psychology 200 NOVA EXAM 1 Study Guidesensation - ANSWER stimulation of a sense organ
perception - ANSWER interpretation of a sensation to form a mental representation
transduction - ANSWER when many sensors in the body convert physical signals
(vision = light; hearing = vibrations; touch = pressure; taste & smell = molecules in
the air/saliva)
psychophysics - ANSWER methods that measure strength of stimulus/observer's
sensitivity to stimulus
absolute threshold - ANSWER minimal intensity that is needed to just barely detect a
stimulus in 50% of trials
just noticeable difference - ANSWER minimal change in a stimulus that can just
barely be detected
Weber's Law - ANSWER the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant
proportion despite variations in intensity
signal detection theory - ANSWER response to stimulus depends on both a person's
sensitivity to stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person's response criterion
sensory adaptation - ANSWER sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline
over time as an organism adapts to current conditions [NOSE
BLINDNESS/CONCERTS GET LESS LOUD]
three properties of light waves - ANSWER length, amplitude, purity
what does length of light wave determine? - ANSWER hue/what we perceive as
color
what does amplitude of light wave determine? - ANSWER brightness
what does purity of light wave determine? - ANSWER saturation/richness of color
retina - ANSWER light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eyeball
accommodation - ANSWER process by which the eye maintains a clear image on
the retina. bad eye shape -> not being able to do this properly ->
nearsightedness/farsightedness
cones - ANSWER photoreceptors that detect color, operate under daylight
conditions, and allow us to focus on fine detail
, rods - ANSWER photoreceptors that become active under low-light conditions for
night vision, no color vision.
fovea - ANSWER an area of the retina where vision is the clearest and there are no
rods at all
How does transduction occur, i.e. how does the light wave become a neural
impulse? - ANSWER light -> cornea -> pupil -> iris, behind the iris the thickness and
shape of the lens adjust to focus light on the retina. light sensitive receptor cells in
the retinal surface influence specialized neurons that signal he brains visual centers
through bundled axons, which make up the optic nerve
why do we have a blind spot? - ANSWER where the optic nerve leaves your eye,
there is a hole in the retina with no rods or cones and thus no mechanism to sense
light
There are three types of cones, what color wavelengths of light do they respond to? -
ANSWER red (long wavelength); green (medium wavelength); blue (short
wavelength)
How do we perceive more than three colors? - ANSWER different combinations of
the three basic elements in the retina
color afterimage - ANSWER form of sensory adaptation- if you stare at a color for too
long, it fatigues the cones corresponding with that cones and will result in an
afterimage with the opposite colors.
What are feature detectors? - ANSWER specialized feature detectors in different
parts of the visual system analyze different features of an object (orientation, color,
shape, etc.)
What is perceptual constancy? - ANSWER refers to the tendency to perceive an
object you are familiar with as having a constant shape, size, and brightness despite
the stimuli changes that occur.
simplicity - ANSWER visual system tends to select simplest/most likely interpretation
closure - ANSWER filling in missing elements of visual scene, allowing us to
perceive edges that are separated by gaps are being complete objects
continuity - ANSWER when edges or contours have the same orientations, we tend
to group them together conceptually
similarity - ANSWER regions that are similar in color, lightness, texture, shape are
perceived as belonging to the same group
proximity - ANSWER objects that are close together tend to be grouped together
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