minimal amount of energy required to produce any sensation, 50 percent of the time

visual messages/cues that require two eyes (retinal disparity, convergence)

place on the retina out where the optic nerve leaves the eye, no receptors (rods/cones) are located here

snail-shaped structure in the inner ear; contains fluid that vibrate; attach the oval window and basilar membrane

visual receptor cells; located in retina; works best in bright light; responsible for viewing color; greatest density in the fovea

binoculars cue; visual depth cue; muscles controlling eye movement as the eyes turned inward to view a nearby stimulus

Just Noticeable Difference (JND); the smallest change in stimulation that you can detect 50% of the time; differs from one person to the other (and from moment to moment); tells us the flexibility of sensory systems

Starts with basic sensory information; transduction

Constructing perceptions based on our experiences and expectations

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, like the cocktail effect (notice your name in a crowd)

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

failing to notice changes in the environment.

color, or aspects of colors

the color part of the eye; made of muscle that contracts/relaxes to control the size of the people allowing light to enter the eye

sense of muscle movement, posture, and strain on muscles/joints; provides information on speed and direction of movement; works with vestibular sense

transparent part of the eye behind the iris; focuses light on the retina (accommodation); change shape to focus on objects;-if object is closed, muscles attach to the land contract to make lens around,-if object is far away, the muscles pull to flatten the lens

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.

States that circumstances, experiences, expectations affect our thresholds

Sensory information that is detected without our conscious knowledge

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.

created by Edward Hering; alternative theory used to explain after images; suggest that the retina contains three pairs color receptors or cones-yellow-blue, red-green, black-white; pairs work in opposition (thalamus)

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from longer/red, shorter/blue

bundle of axons from ganglion cells that carries messages from the eye to the brain

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

the mental process of sorting, identifying, and arranging raw sensory data into meaningful patterns

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision, hearing

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green Christmas, yellow-blue Michigan, white-black) enable color vision.

auditory experience corresponding to the frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or lower tone

brain determines pitch by the place on the basilar membrane, works best for high pitch

small opening in the center of the iris

the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eyeball; contains receptor cells (rods/cones)

binocular distance cue; based on the overlay of two retinal fields when both eyes focus on one object

visual receptor cell; located in retina; respond to varying degrees of light and dark; responsible for night vision and peripheral vision

in perception, the ability to adjust to an idea or mind set

the raw data of experience; sensory stimulation; example are eyes only register light energy and ears only register wave energy

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

the perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed; example someone height

The sense of hearing.

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (Hammer, Anvil, and Stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations (conduction) of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve by electrodes threaded into the cochlea

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tude in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

created by Hermann von Helmholtz; theory of color vision based on additive color mixing; suggest that the retina contains three types of color receptors, cones: red, green, blue

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

A membrane inside the cochlea which vibrates in response to sound and whose vibrations lead to activity in the auditory pathways.

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

sense of smell

groups of cells located on the tongue that enable one to recognize different tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salt)

Ernst Weber; the principle that accounts for how one notices the difference threshold for any change must be proportional

The spinal cord contains a "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. It's opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in large fibers or information coming from the brain.

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.

discovered feature detector groups of neurons in the visual cortex that respond to different types of visual images

Theorist who both aided in the development of the trichromatic theory of color perception and Place theory of pitch perception.

Ability to see objects in three dimension although the image that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wave-lengths reflected by the object

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

Controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

Process by which the eye lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina