| A | B |
|---|
| Sensation | the stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system |
| Absolute threshold | the weakest amount of a stimulus that can be sensed |
| Difference threshold | the minimum amount of difference that can be detected between two stimuli |
| Signal-detection theory | a method of distinguishing sensory stimuli that takes into account not only their strengths but also such elements as the setting, your physical state, your mood, and your attitudes |
| Sensory adaptation | the process by which we become more sensitive to weak stimuli and less sensitive to unchanging stimuli |
| Pupil | opening in the colored part of the eye which regulates the amount of light that enters |
| Lens | the transparent structure of the eye that focuses light on the retina |
| Retina | the light sensitive inner surface of the eye that contains the rods, cones, and neurons that process visual stimuli |
| Photoreceptors | neurons that respond to light |
| Blind spot | the part of the retina that contains no photoreceptors |
| Visual acuity | the sharpness of vision |
| Complementary | the colors across from each other on the color circle |
| Afterimage | the visual sensation that occurs after the original stimulus has been removed |
| Cochlea | the fluid-filled structure of the inner ear that transmits sound impulses to the auditory nerve |
| Auditory nerve | the cranial nerve that carries sound from the cochlea of the inner ear to the brain |
| Sensorineural deafness | deafness that results from damage to the auditory nerve |
| Conductive deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the middle ear, thus interfering with the transmission of sound waves to the cochlea |
| Olfactory nerve | the nerve that transmits information about odors from olfactory receptors to the brain |
| Gate theory | the suggestion that only a certain amount of information can be processed by the nervous system at a given time |
| Closure | the tendency to perceive a complete or whole figure even when there are gaps in sensory information |
| Proximity | the perceptual tendency to group together visual and auditory events that are near each other |
| Similarity | the perceptual tendency to group together elements that seem alike |
| Continuity | the perceptual tendency to group stimuli into continuous patterns |
| Common fate | the tendency to perceive objects that are moving together as belonging together |
| Stroboscopic motion | a visual illusion in which the perception of motion is generated by the presentation of a series of stationary images in rapid succession |
| Monocular cue | for distance that may be available to either eye alone |
| Binocular cue | visual cues for depth that require the use of both eyes |
| Retinal disparity | a binocular cue for perceiving depth based on the difference between two images of an object that the retina receives as the object moves closer or farther away |
| Vestibular sense | the sense that provides information about the position of the body |
| Kinesthesis | the sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual body parts |
