| A | B |
|---|
| Sensation | the process by which our sense receptors and nervous system recieve and represent stimulus energies from our enviroment |
| Perception | the process of organizing and interperting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
| Psychophysics | the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them |
| Absolute Threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect particular stimulus |
| Subliminal | below ones's absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
| Difference Threshold | the minimum difference that a subject can detect between two stimuli 50% of the time |
| Weber's Law | the principle that, to be percieved as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) |
| Sensory Adaptation | diminshed sensitivity that is a consequence of constant stimulation |
| Wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next |
| Hue | the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names "blue", "green" and so forth |
| Intensity | the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude |
| Pupil | the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |
| Iris | a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening |
| Lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina |
| Accomodation | the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus the image of near objects on the retina |
| Retina | the light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information |
| Rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twighlight vision |
| Cones | receptor cells concentrated near the center of the retina that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
| Optic Nerve | the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
