3.1 Psych Vocab Flashcards

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our envrionment

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

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

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) aid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

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

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a different amount)

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another