AP Psych Unit 2 (Sensation)

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

• sensation
• perception
• psychophysics
• absolute threshold

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

• difference threshold
• Weber's law
• signal-detection theory
• pupil

the larger or stronger a stimulus, the larger the change required for a person to notice that anything has happened to it

• Weber's law
• signal-detection theory
• pupil
• lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

• lens
• retina
• optic nerve
• Binocular Fusion

Light sensitive layer of the eye; contains rods and cones

• retina
• optic nerve
• Binocular Fusion
• retinal disparity

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

• optic nerve
• Binocular Fusion
• retinal disparity
• auditory nerve

carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the perception of sound

• auditory nerve
• vestibular system
• olfactory nerve
• kinesthesis

carries smell impulses from the nose to the brain

• olfactory nerve
• kinesthesis
• Gestalt Psychology
• subliminal messages

the three fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear

• vestibular system
• olfactory nerve
• kinesthesis
• Gestalt Psychology

the sense of movement and body position

• kinesthesis
• Gestalt Psychology
• subliminal messages
• motion parallax