absolute threshold | The minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect.
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apparent movement | The perception that a stationary object is moving.
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auditory nerve | Nerve that carries neural impulses to the brain’s auditory areas.
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binding | The bringing together and integration of what is processed through different pathways or cells.
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binocular cues | Depth cues that are based on the combination of the images on the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together.
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bottom-up processing | Processing that begins with sensory receptors registering environmental information and sending it to the brain for analysis and interpretation.
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cones | The receptors in the retina that process information about color.
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depth perception | The ability to perceive objects three dimensionally.
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difference threshold | The smallest difference in stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus from another 50 percent of the time; also called just noticeable difference.
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feature detectors | Neurons in the brain's visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus.
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figure-ground relationship | Principle by which individuals organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out (figure) and those that are left over (background, or ground).
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frequency theory | Theory stating that perception of a sound's frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires.
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gate-control theory of pain | The spinal column contains a neural gate that can be open (allowing the perception of pain) or closed (blocking the perception of pain).
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gestalt psychology | School of psychology emphasizing that people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns.
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inner ear | Consists of oval window, cochlea, and basilar membrane.
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kinesthetic senses | Senses that provide information about movement, posture, and orientation
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middle ear | Consists of eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup.
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monocular cues | Depth cues that are available from the image in either eye.
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noise | Irrelevant and competing stimuli.
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olfactory epithelium | A sheet of receptor cells for smell that lines the roof of the nasal cavity.
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opponent-process theory | Theory stating that cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue.
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outer ear | Consists of pinna and external auditory canal.
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pain | The sensation that warns us that damage to our bodies is occurring.
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papillae | Bumps on the tongue that contain taste buds, the receptors for taste.
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parallel processing | The simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways.
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perception | The brain's process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning.
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perceptual constancy | Recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing.
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perceptual set | A predisposition, or readiness, to perceive something in a particular way.
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place theory | The theory of hearing that states that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane.
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psychophysics | The field that studies links between the physical properties of stimuli and a person's experience of them.
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retina | The light-sensitive surface in the back of the eye that records what we see and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain.
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rods | The receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light but are not very useful for color vision.
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selective attention | Focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others.
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semicircular canals | Structure in the inner ear containing the sensory receptors that detect head motion.
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sensation | The process of receiving stimulus energies from the environment.
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sensory adaptation | A change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation.
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sensory receptors | Specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain.
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signal detection theory | The theory about perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty; detection depends on a variety of factors besides the physical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer.
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subliminal perception | The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness
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thermoreceptors | Sensory receptors, located under the skin, that respond to changes in temperature at or near the skin and provide input to keep the body’s temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
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top-down processing | Processing of perceptual information that starts out with cognitive processing at the higher levels of the brain.
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transduction | The process of transforming physical energy into electrochemical energy.
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trichromatic theory | Theory stating that color perception is produced by three types of receptors (cone cells in the retina) that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths.
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vestibular sense | Senses that provide information about balance and movement.
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visual illusion | A discrepancy between reality and the perceptual representation of it.
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volley principle | Modification of frequency theory stating that a cluster of nerve cells can fire neural impulses in rapid succession, producing a volley of impulses.
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Weber's law | The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) to be perceived as different.
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