1
Q
What is the philosophical belief that knowledge is primarily gained through reason and logic, separate from sensory experience?
A
Rationalism
2
Q
What is the philosophical belief that knowledge is gained through sensory experience and observation?
A
Empiricism
3
Q
In deductive reasoning, if the initial observations are true, the conclusion is guaranteed to be _____.
A
True
4
Q
What is the primary limitation of deductive reasoning regarding its starting point?
A
It requires a self-evident premise that does not need prior proof.
5
Q
Which philosopher is famously associated with the phrase “I think, therefore I am” and the concept of Cartesian dualism?
A
René Descartes
6
Q
According to Cartesian dualism, reality is composed of which two distinct substances?
A
Mind and Matter
7
Q
John Locke’s theory that perceptions are built from the ground up (sensations to complex structures) conflicts with what other idea of his?
A
Tabula Rasa (the blank slate)
8
Q
Which philosopher argued that we can never observe a necessary tie between cause and effect, only that they are conjoined?
A
David Hume
9
Q
David Hume attributed our belief in cause and effect to what psychological phenomenon?
A
Psychological habits (learned expectations)
10
Q
According to Immanuel Kant, what are “a priori structures”?
A
Concepts that can be known or exist independently of sensory experience (e.g., space and time).
11
Q
In Kantian philosophy, what is the “noumenon”?
A
The “thing-in-itself” that exists independently of our perception.
12
Q
In Kantian philosophy, what is the “phenomenon”?
A
The impression or perception that the noumenon exerts on our senses.
13
Q
Why did Immanuel Kant believe the mind could not be scientifically studied through introspection?
A
The act of introspection itself changes the content of the mind.
14
Q
Who defined the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) as the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli?
A
Ernst Heinrich Weber
15
Q
According to Weber, the JND between a standard weight and a comparison weight is always close to what fraction of the standard weight?
A
1/40 (or 0.025)
16
Q
What is the relationship between a sensory modality’s Weber fraction and its discriminability?
A
A low Weber fraction indicates high discriminability.
17
Q
Which philosophical position, held by Fechner, suggests that everything material also has a mental aspect?
A
Panpsychism
18
Q
What is the mathematical formula for Fechner’s Law?
A
p = k x log(S/S0)
19
Q
In Fechner’s Law, what does the variable k represent?
A
A modality-specific factor controlling the steepness of the function.
20
Q
In Fechner’s Law, what does the variable S/S0 represent?
A
The absolute threshold (smallest intensity perceivable).
21
Q
What is the first step of sensation and perception, where a stimulus is converted into neuronal activity?
A
Transduction (or Encoding)
22
Q
Which brain structure acts as a relay station for all sensory modalities except olfaction?
A
The Thalamus
23
Q
At what stage of the sensory process do we become consciously aware of a stimulus?
A
When sensory input reaches the primary sensory cortices.
24
Q
What is the fourth step of sensation/perception, where the CNS influences how much information is transmitted to the brain?
A
Modulation
25
Which researcher developed a power law to describe the relationship between physical stimulus intensity and subjective perception?
Stanley Smith Stevens
26
In magnitude rating, what is the technique where a participant rates the intensity of one stimulus (e.g., taste) by adjusting the intensity of another (e.g., sound)?
Cross-modality matching
27
What are "prothetic" sensations?
Sensory experiences that vary in intensity or magnitude on a continuous, additive scale.
28
What are "metathetic" sensations?
Sensory experiences that vary in quality or kind (e.g., pitch or color).
29
The minimum intensity of a stimulus required for a person to perceive its presence 50% of the time is called the _____.
Detection Threshold
30
Which psychophysical method presents pre-defined stimulus intensities in a random order to determine a threshold?
Method of Constant Stimuli
31
Which psychophysical method involves progressively increasing or decreasing intensity until a reversal in perception occurs?
Method of Limits
32
Which psychophysical method allows the participant to control the intensity of the stimulus directly?
Method of Adjustment
33
In Signal Detection Theory, what term describes the participant's ability to distinguish between signal and noise?
Sensitivity (or d')
34
In Signal Detection Theory, what is the term for the decision threshold set by an individual to report a signal?
Criterion
35
In Signal Detection Theory, what occurs when a signal is absent but the observer responds "yes"?
False Alarm
36
In Signal Detection Theory, what occurs when a signal is present but the observer responds "no"?
Miss
37
What does an ROC (Receiver-Operating Characteristics) curve represent?
All possible proportions of hits and false alarms as the criterion moves.
38
On an ROC curve, where is the point of highest accuracy (best criterion) located?
The point closest to the top-left corner.
39
On an ROC curve, what does the diagonal line represent?
Chance-level performance (equal proportion of hits and false alarms).
40
How does the ROC curve change as the sensitivity (d') of the observer increases?
The curve bows or bends more toward the top-left corner.
41
What percentage of the human cortex is dedicated to vision?
25%
42
Light is perceived as a stream of _____ when it hits the retina and is transduced.
Photons
43
What is the process by which light bounces off a rough surface in multiple directions?
Diffuse Reflection
44
What is the term for the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another with a different refractive index?
Refraction
45
Which part of the eye is the transparent, circular outer layer that helps focus light initially?
Cornea
46
Which structure in the eye regulates the amount of light entering by changing the size of the pupil?
Iris
47
What is the gel-like substance that fills the space between the lens and the retina?
Vitreous Humor
48
Objects at what distance are considered to be at "optical infinity" for a healthy eye?
20 feet or more
49
What is the medical term for the condition where the eye gradually loses the ability to focus on nearby objects due to aging?
Presbyopia
50
What is the cause of Myopia (Nearsightedness) in terms of eyeball shape?
The eyeball is too long, causing light to focus in front of the retina.
51
What is the cause of Hyperopia (Farsightedness) in terms of eyeball shape?
The eyeball is too short, causing light to focus behind the retina.
52
What eye condition results from an irregularly shaped cornea or lens, leading to uneven focus?
Astigmatism
53
What is the name of the central area of the retina responsible for detailed vision and containing a high density of cones?
Macula
54
Why does the optic disc create a "blind spot"?
It contains no photoreceptor cells because it is where the optic nerve exits the eye.
55
Which retinal neurons connect photoreceptors to ganglion cells?
Bipolar cells
56
Which photoreceptors are highly sensitive to low light levels and responsible for scotopic vision?
Rods
57
Which photoreceptors are active in bright light and responsible for color vision?
Cones
58
What is the first chemical step of visual perception within the photoreceptor?
Photoisomerization
59
During photoisomerization, the chromophore (11-cis retinal) changes into what shape?
All-trans retinal
60
What is the photopigment found in rods?
Rhodopsin
61
At what wavelength (in nanometers) do rods show their maximum response?
498 nm
62
Why are rods more sensitive to light than cones?
They have a larger outer segment containing more photopigments.
63
What is "dark adaptation"?
The process where eyes increase sensitivity by shifting from cone-dominated to rod-dominated vision.
64
After approximately how many minutes of darkness does vision typically switch from being dominated by cones to rods?
7-8 minutes (Rod-cone break)
65
What neural mechanism enhances contrast by inhibiting the activity of neighboring neurons?
Lateral Inhibition
66
Which cells in the retina are primarily responsible for lateral inhibition?
Horizontal cells
67
What is a "receptive field" in the context of retinal ganglion cells?
The region of the retina where stimuli trigger a response in a specific cell.
68
Which type of ganglion cell fires rapidly when light hits the middle of its receptive field but is inhibited when light hits the periphery?
ON-center cell
69
How do photoreceptors respond electrically when they are exposed to light?
They become hyperpolarized (more negatively charged).
70
The illusory light and dark stripes seen at the borders of uniform grey bars are known as _____.
Mach Bands
71
Visual acuity is typically measured by the smallest spatial detail that can be resolved, corresponding to what visual angle in most people?
One minute of arc (or $1/60$ of a degree)
72
In visual processing, what do high spatial frequencies represent?
Fine details, edges, and sharp changes.
73
In visual processing, what do low spatial frequencies represent?
The global layout or "gist" of a scene.
74
What is the major limitation of retinal ganglion cells regarding the perception of lines?
They cannot encode the orientation of lines.
75
In which brain area do neurons first show orientation selectivity?
Primary Visual Cortex (V1)
76
The phenomenon where staring at tilted lines causes vertical lines to appear tilted in the opposite direction is called the _____.
Tilt Aftereffect
77
What is the primary cause of the tilt aftereffect?
Neural adaptation (reduced firing of neurons tuned to the tilted orientation).
78
What is an "orientation column" in V1?
A vertical arrangement of neurons that all share the same orientation preference.
79
How are neighboring orientation columns in V1 organized?
They have gradually shifting orientation preferences.
80
What are ocular dominance columns?
V1 columns that preferentially receive input from either the left eye or the right eye.
81
What is a "hypercolumn" in V1?
A 1 mm² block of cortex containing orientation columns for all angles and inputs from both eyes.
82
How do complex cells in V1 differ from simple cells?
Complex cells have larger receptive fields and are often selective for movement direction, not just position.
83
What is the specific function of "end-stopped" cells in V1?
Detecting corners, angles, or boundaries by responding only to lines of a specific length.
84
What does the existence of binocular aftereffects (transferring from one eye to the other) imply about the location of the adaptation?
It occurs in the brain (V1), not the retina.
85
What are "pictorial cues" in depth perception?
Monocular depth cues that are available from a static, 2D retinal image.
86
Which depth cue relies on the fact that closer objects block the view of objects further away?
Occlusion
87
What is an "accidental viewpoint"?
A rare alignment of objects that produces a misleading 2D image, usually rejected by the brain.
88
Which monocular cue involves the perception that objects higher in the visual field (on the ground) are farther away?
Relative Height
89
What depth cue is caused by the scattering of light in the atmosphere, making distant objects appear bluer and fainter?
Aerial Perspective
90
What is the term for the depth perception derived from the horizontal separation of the two eyes?
Stereopsis
91
The difference between the images falling on the left and right retinas is called _____.
Binocular Disparity
92
What is the "horopter"?
An imaginary surface where all points have zero binocular disparity.
93
Objects located closer to the observer than the horopter result in _____ disparity.
Crossed
94
Objects located farther from the observer than the horopter result in _____ disparity.
Uncrossed
95
What did Random Dot Stereograms prove about depth perception?
Stereopsis does not require recognizable objects or monocular cues; it is a central neural computation.
96
What is the "correspondence problem" in binocular vision?
The brain's task of determining which features in the left eye's image match features in the right eye's image.
97
Which depth cue describes how near objects move faster across the retina than far objects when the observer is in motion?
Motion Parallax
98
What is "optic flow"?
The radial pattern of apparent motion that indicates an observer's direction of movement.
99
Around what age do infants typically develop binocular depth perception?
3 to 5 months
100
What is the Ames Room illusion designed to demonstrate?
How linear perspective can dominate perception and lead to size illusions.
101
Which eye condition involves a suppression of input from one eye, often leading to a loss of binocular depth cues?
Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
102
What is the purpose of the "General Label Magnitude Scale"?
To provide a standard reference for rating sensory intensities across different individuals.
103
According to the "Duplex" Retina theory, which system is responsible for high visual acuity in bright light?
The Photopic system (Cones)
104
In the staircase method of thresholding, what happens immediately after a participant stops detecting a stimulus?
The stimulus intensity is reversed and adjusted until the next change in perception.
105
Which retinal layer contains the axons that merge to form the optic nerve?
Ganglion cell layer
106
In V1 organization, what is "cortical magnification"?
The disproportionately large amount of cortical area dedicated to processing the fovea.
107
What is "Blindsight"?
The ability to respond to visual stimuli in a blind field without conscious awareness, often after V1 damage.
108
The imaginary circle in space that passes through the fixation point and the nodal points of the eyes is the _____.
Vieth-Müller circle
109
What is "Binocular Rivalry"?
The competition between eyes for awareness when completely different images are presented to each eye.
110
What is the "Principle of Univariance" in color vision?
The fact that an individual photoreceptor's response varies in only one dimension (intensity), not wavelength.
111
According to Trichromacy Theory, color vision depends on the activity of how many types of cones?
Three
112
What is the difference between additive and subtractive color mixing?
Additive mixing (lights) adds wavelengths; subtractive mixing (pigments) removes wavelengths.
113
What are "metamers"?
Physically different mixtures of light that appear identical to the observer.
114
Which theory of color vision is based on the existence of antagonistic color pairs (e.g., Red-Green)?
Opponent Color Theory
115
What is "Color Constancy"?
The tendency of a surface to appear the same color under different illuminants.
116
What is "Akinetopsia"?
A neuropsychological condition characterized by the inability to perceive motion (motion blindness).
117
Which brain area is most critical for the perception of global motion?
Area MT (Middle Temporal)
118
What is the "Aperture Problem" in motion perception?
The fact that a single neuron's receptive field sees only a small portion of a scene, making the true motion direction ambiguous.
119
What are "Saccades"?
Rapid, jerky eye movements used to shift the gaze between fixation points.
120
What is "Saccadic Suppression"?
The reduction of visual sensitivity during eye movements to prevent the perception of blur.
121
In the visual system, the "Where" pathway travels to the parietal lobe and is also known as the _____ stream.
Dorsal
122
In the visual system, the "What" pathway travels to the temporal lobe and is also known as the _____ stream.
Ventral
123
What is "Visual Agnosia"?
An inability to recognize objects despite having intact basic vision.
124
Which brain region is specialized for face perception?
The Fusiform Face Area (FFA) (or Inferotemporal Cortex)
125
What is "Viewpoint Invariance"?
The ability to recognize an object regardless of the angle or distance from which it is viewed.
126
According to the "Recognition by Components" theory, objects are recognized by combinations of simple 3D shapes called _____.
Geons
PSYC 212
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