psychology key terms

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perception
the way the brain makes sense of what we see
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retina
the light sensitive cell at the back of the brain made up of rods and cones
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rods
respond in dim light - detect light
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cones
in the retina - detect colour
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optic nerve
a bundle of nerves from the retina to the brain taking information from the rods and cones
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blind spot
where the optic nerve leaves there are no rods or cones
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visual cortex
an area in the back of the brain which interprets visual information
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depth cues
the visual clues we use to understand depth and distance
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monocular depth cues
it comes from one eye eg. relative size, linear perspective, superimposition, texture gradient and height in the plane
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binocular depth cue
info about distance using 2 eyes eg. stereopsis
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size constancy
we percieve objects as the same size even if the distance changes
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relative size
smaller objects are percieved further away than larger ones
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texture gradient
an area with a detailed pattern is percieved to be nearer than one with less pattern
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height in the plane
objects close to the horizon are percieved to be further away than those more distant from the horizon
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superimpostion
a partly hidden object is further away than the object covering it
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linear perspective
parallel lines converge in the distance
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stereopsis
he greater the difference between the view of each eye the closer the person is looking
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visual illusion
a conflict between reality and what we percieve
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fiction
an illusion where a figure is percieved even if it isn't present
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illusory contour
a boundary which is percieved but isn't present in the stimulus
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motion after effect
looking more at movement in one direction and perciving movement in the other direction straight afterwards
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colour after effect
focusing on a coloured stimulus and percieving opposite colours straight afterwards
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ambiguous figure
a stimulus with 2 possible interpretations which can only be percieved one at a time
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distortion illusion
our perception is decieved by some aspect of the stimulus this can affect the shape or size of the object
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schema
a framework of knowledge which helps us organise information and recall what we see
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indedendant variable (IV)
factor changed by the researcher
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dependant variable (DV)
the factor which is measured
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serial reproduction
information is passed from one participant to the next and the differences between them are measured
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repeated production
participants are given a story to remember they recall it several times after delays
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reconstructive memory
its not a copy of what we see or hear it is affected by information we already have eg.schemas
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experiment
a research method which measures participants performance in 2 or more conditions
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experimental design
the participants may do different conditions or all the same
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independant group design
different participants are used for each condition
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repeated measures design
all the participants are used for all the conditions
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hypothesis
it describes how the independent variable will effect the dependent variable
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controls
a way to keep variable constant
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descriptive statistics
summarising results in a study
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ethical issues
psychological and physical risks in experiments
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informed consent
a right to know what will happen in the experiment before agreeing to participate
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right to withdraw
the ability to leave the study at anytime
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ethical guidelines
advice to help psycholgists solve ethical issues
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eyewitness
someone who witnesses a crime and helps the police catch the ciminal
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

the light sensitive cell at the back of the brain made up of rods and cones

Back

retina

Card 3

Front

respond in dim light - detect light

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

in the retina - detect colour

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

a bundle of nerves from the retina to the brain taking information from the rods and cones

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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