01:830:101 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: 18 Months, Fidgeting, Retina
Psychology Exam 2 Study Guide
CHAPTER 4
Sensation - the conversion of energy from the environment into a pattern of responses by the nervous
system: the detection of stimuli
e.g: light rays striking your eyes
Perception: the interpretation of that information
e.g: recognizing your roommate
The Structures of the Eye
• Pupil: an adjustable opening in the eye
Iris: the colored structure on the surface of the eye surrounding the pupil
Light that passes through the eye passes through a layer of vitreous humor (jellylike substance) to
strike the retina.
Retina: A layer of visual receptors covering the back surface of the eyeball
Cornea: A rigid transparent structure on the outside of the eyeball
Lens: Just below the cornea: can bend and vary in thickness to allow for accommodation of
objects at different distances.
Fovea: Central area of the human retina; adapted for highly detailed vision. Greatest density of
receptors.
The Visual Receptors
Located in the retina, in the back of the eyeball; very sensitive and very specialized.
Cones: Adapted for color vision, daytime vision. Only 5% of total receptors, but far more axonal
connections to brain: send much more information. The fovea is all cones.
Rods: Adapted for vision in dim light – not color.
Hearing and the Ear
Sound waves are vibrations of air, or another medium.
Frequency: the number of cycles (vibrations) a sound wave goes through in a second (hertz/Hz).
Loudness: amplitude of sound waves: intensity
Sound waves strike eardrum: cause it to vibrate
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Eardrum connects to 3 tiny bones: hammer, anvil, and stirrup. (aka malleus, incus, stapes.)
Stirrup vibrates last, and transfers vibrations to the cochlea.
- contain fluid-filled canals
- also contain receptors for hearing, which are hair-cells.
These hair cells connect to neurons which transmit signals to the brain.
Types of hearing loss
Conduction deafness – bones connected to the eardrum fail to transmit sound waves properly to
the cochlea. Can be repaired surgically.
Nerve deafness: disease, heredity, exposure to loud noises destroys either cochlea or efferent
neurons. Cannot be surgically repaired. Hearing aids help.
Cutaneous Senses
Aka skin senses
Pain: sensory and emotional aspect.
a. Emotional aspect: anterior cingulate cortex
b. Physical aspect has strong placebo effect
Gate theory of pain: Signals from the brain can stop painful signals from reaching the brain.
Substance P: signals intense pain while endorphins reduce or block pain.
Depth Perception Cues
Binocular cues:
a. Retinal disparity: the difference in the apparent position of an object as seen by the left and right retinas
b. Convergence of the eyes: degree to which they turn in to focus on a close object
Monocular cues:
a. experience: drawing of man aiming at far away elephant – if you’ve never seen a drawing, it’s a baby
elephant.
include object size, linear perspective, detail, interposition, texture gradient, shadows, lens
accommodation, Motion parallax: closer objects move more than farther objects.
CHAPTER 5
Heritability: an estimate of the variance within a population that is due to heredity.
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Document Summary
Sensation - the conversion of energy from the environment into a pattern of responses by the nervous system: the detection of stimuli e. g: light rays striking your eyes. Perception: the interpretation of that information e. g: recognizing your roommate. The structures of the eye: pupil: an adjustable opening in the eye. Iris: the colored structure on the surface of the eye surrounding the pupil. Light that passes through the eye passes through a layer of vitreous humor (jellylike substance) to strike the retina. Retina: a layer of visual receptors covering the back surface of the eyeball. Cornea: a rigid transparent structure on the outside of the eyeball. Lens: just below the cornea: can bend and vary in thickness to allow for accommodation of objects at different distances. Fovea: central area of the human retina; adapted for highly detailed vision. Located in the retina, in the back of the eyeball; very sensitive and very specialized. Cones: adapted for color vision, daytime vision.