PSYC 1020 Trent Final Exam Questions
and Answers
Psychophysics - ANS-The study of how physical stimuli are translated into
psychological experience.
sensory adaptation - ANS-tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less
responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging
bottom-up processing - ANS-analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works
up to the brain's integration of sensory information
- register raw stimuli
- convert to neural impulses
- relay to the brain
top-down processing - ANS-information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and
expectations
- organizes, identifies and interprets sensation
- form mental representation
Retina - ANS-the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods
and cones plus layers of neurons
proximal stimulus - ANS-In perception, it is the information our sensory receptors
receive about the object.
distal stimulus - ANS-In perception, it is the actual object or event out there in the world,
as opposed to its perceived image.
proximal stimulus vs distal stimulus - ANS-Proximal stimulus is the stimulation that
actually occurs when your sensory receptors are activated... the neural activity.
Distal stimulus is the actual stimulus or object in the real world that you end up sensing
and then perceiving, which results in the proximal stimulus.
cone cells - ANS-work best in bright light and enable you to see colors; concentrated in
fovea
rod cells - ANS-work best in dim light and enable you to see black, white, and shades of
gray; concentrated in periphery
,just noticeable difference (JND) - ANS-the minimal change in a stimulus that can just
barely be detected
Weber's Law - ANS-the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must
differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount); larger
stimulus, larger JND
Area VI - ANS-the part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex;
activate feature detectors with specialized neutrons that respond to specific aspects of
stimuli (e.g. edges, angles, size) to determine what stimuli is
Neural data --> Thalamus --> PVC (Occipital)
binocular cues - ANS-depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes
absolute threshold - ANS-the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular
stimulus 50 percent of the time
signal detection theory - ANS-a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence
of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise).
perceptual hypothesis - ANS-assumptions brain uses to make quick, automatic
extrapolations
Gestalt Principles - ANS-ways for the brain to infer missing parts of a picture when a
picture is incomplete; form of top-down processing
monocular cues - ANS-depth cues available to either eye alone; help determine size,
distance from motion parallax and pictoral cues
familiar size (monocular cue) - ANS-two objects placed higher than one another look
different sizes but are actually the same
linear perspective (monocular cue) - ANS-Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance.
textural gradient - ANS-Close objects have greater detail than far objects.
interposition (monocular cue) - ANS-closer object blocks distant object
relative image height (monocular cue) - ANS-closer objects = lower; far objects = higher
transduction - ANS-The process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural
activity
selective attention - ANS-the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
, cocktail party effect - ANS-Ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd
grouping rules: proximity - ANS-objects close to each other are perceived as belonging
together
grouping rules: similarity - ANS-similar features perceived as belonging together
grouping rules: closure - ANS-completing a familiar form when it appears to have gaps
Colour-opponent system - ANS-theory stating that pairs of visual neurons work in
opposition; other colour shows up when cells get fatigued
red =/= green
blue =/= yellow
grouping rules: simplicity - ANS-simplest explanation is usually the best; brain interprets
the most likely interpretation
grouping rules: continuity - ANS-group images with same orientation
grouping rules: common fate - ANS-elements of visual image moving together are
perceived together
parallel processing - ANS-the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
illusory conjunction - ANS-a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects
are incorrectly combined
dorsal pathway - ANS-Projects to the parietal cortex and is involved in perceiving the
location of objects ("where" and "how"); location, motion and guiding movements
somnambulism - ANS-the condition of walking or performing some other activity without
awakening; also known as sleepwalking; common in 4-8 y/o
Narcolepsy - ANS-A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The
sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times; last 30 sec-30
min
sleep paralysis - ANS-A temporary condition in which a person is unable to move upon
awakening in the morning or during the night; often accompanied by hallucinations
- hypnopompic (when awakening)
- hypnogogic (when falling asleep)
Area MT - ANS-An area in the medial temporal lobe believed to participate in motion
analysis
and Answers
Psychophysics - ANS-The study of how physical stimuli are translated into
psychological experience.
sensory adaptation - ANS-tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less
responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging
bottom-up processing - ANS-analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works
up to the brain's integration of sensory information
- register raw stimuli
- convert to neural impulses
- relay to the brain
top-down processing - ANS-information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and
expectations
- organizes, identifies and interprets sensation
- form mental representation
Retina - ANS-the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods
and cones plus layers of neurons
proximal stimulus - ANS-In perception, it is the information our sensory receptors
receive about the object.
distal stimulus - ANS-In perception, it is the actual object or event out there in the world,
as opposed to its perceived image.
proximal stimulus vs distal stimulus - ANS-Proximal stimulus is the stimulation that
actually occurs when your sensory receptors are activated... the neural activity.
Distal stimulus is the actual stimulus or object in the real world that you end up sensing
and then perceiving, which results in the proximal stimulus.
cone cells - ANS-work best in bright light and enable you to see colors; concentrated in
fovea
rod cells - ANS-work best in dim light and enable you to see black, white, and shades of
gray; concentrated in periphery
,just noticeable difference (JND) - ANS-the minimal change in a stimulus that can just
barely be detected
Weber's Law - ANS-the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must
differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount); larger
stimulus, larger JND
Area VI - ANS-the part of the occipital lobe that contains the primary visual cortex;
activate feature detectors with specialized neutrons that respond to specific aspects of
stimuli (e.g. edges, angles, size) to determine what stimuli is
Neural data --> Thalamus --> PVC (Occipital)
binocular cues - ANS-depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes
absolute threshold - ANS-the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular
stimulus 50 percent of the time
signal detection theory - ANS-a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence
of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise).
perceptual hypothesis - ANS-assumptions brain uses to make quick, automatic
extrapolations
Gestalt Principles - ANS-ways for the brain to infer missing parts of a picture when a
picture is incomplete; form of top-down processing
monocular cues - ANS-depth cues available to either eye alone; help determine size,
distance from motion parallax and pictoral cues
familiar size (monocular cue) - ANS-two objects placed higher than one another look
different sizes but are actually the same
linear perspective (monocular cue) - ANS-Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance.
textural gradient - ANS-Close objects have greater detail than far objects.
interposition (monocular cue) - ANS-closer object blocks distant object
relative image height (monocular cue) - ANS-closer objects = lower; far objects = higher
transduction - ANS-The process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural
activity
selective attention - ANS-the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
, cocktail party effect - ANS-Ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd
grouping rules: proximity - ANS-objects close to each other are perceived as belonging
together
grouping rules: similarity - ANS-similar features perceived as belonging together
grouping rules: closure - ANS-completing a familiar form when it appears to have gaps
Colour-opponent system - ANS-theory stating that pairs of visual neurons work in
opposition; other colour shows up when cells get fatigued
red =/= green
blue =/= yellow
grouping rules: simplicity - ANS-simplest explanation is usually the best; brain interprets
the most likely interpretation
grouping rules: continuity - ANS-group images with same orientation
grouping rules: common fate - ANS-elements of visual image moving together are
perceived together
parallel processing - ANS-the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
illusory conjunction - ANS-a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects
are incorrectly combined
dorsal pathway - ANS-Projects to the parietal cortex and is involved in perceiving the
location of objects ("where" and "how"); location, motion and guiding movements
somnambulism - ANS-the condition of walking or performing some other activity without
awakening; also known as sleepwalking; common in 4-8 y/o
Narcolepsy - ANS-A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The
sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times; last 30 sec-30
min
sleep paralysis - ANS-A temporary condition in which a person is unable to move upon
awakening in the morning or during the night; often accompanied by hallucinations
- hypnopompic (when awakening)
- hypnogogic (when falling asleep)
Area MT - ANS-An area in the medial temporal lobe believed to participate in motion
analysis
