Attention and perceptfion Flashcards
Attention
Actively focusing on particular information while simultaneously ignoring other information
>Avoid overwhelming feeling= filter to determine important and not important, allowing to concentrate
=level of awareness directed towards certain stimuli to the exclusion of others
Internal stimuli
Info/sensations that origianate from within the body
External stimuli
Info/sensations that originate from outside of the body
Sustained attention
=maintaining a high degree of attention over a prolonged period of time
>readiness to detect rare and unpredictable stimuli
*the more rare= greater a persons vigilance is likely to be
> can be unconcious (reading a book)
>Long period of time
Selective attention
=focusing attention on a single activity while disregarding other environmental stimuli
>req. when completing
Divided attention
Distributing ones attention to allow for processing of two or more stimuli at the same time
>used when automatic cognitive processes are being performed= req. decreased number of conscious awareness
> when 2+ stimuli rely on similar sensory systems, its harder to pay attention and process the information
Sensations
=process of receiving and detecting raw sensory stimuli via sensory organs and sending info to the brain
>once received converted to nueral impulses>sent to brain area for processing sensory info
Perception
Process where we interpret and give meaning to sensory informaton
>process of selecting, organising and interpreting sensory info
*Perception allows sensory information to enter conscious awareness to be understood
Visual perceptions example
Stimulus: light energy -> Reception: Eye receptors
Transduction: Converted from electromagnetic to neural impulses ->Transmission: Sent to brain via optic nerve -> Received by primary visual cortex
Top-down processing
=When we apply prior knowledge and expectations to a situation, which changes how we perceive it.
>allows to quickly link new into old information
-> means sensory input can be perceived inaccuartely
Draw on past experiences/knowledge> interpret info according to expectations>perception is formed
Schemas
= Pattern of thought that organises and interprets these expectations
->shapes how indiv. percieve stimuli
Bottom up processing
=When preocessing sensory information begining with salient sensory information, which is processed to produce meaning
>an indiv. will create their own perception on new experience/stimuli
Analysing specific elements or features of stimuli> Creating a whole picture from indiv. elements> perception is formed
Salient sensory information
The most important/ dominant stimuli
> shapes how they perceive new stimuli as it depends on what they most pay attention to
Biological factors: influence on perception def
=Grounded in physiology and are similar for most people; except when their is a difference in functionality
Biological factors: Depth cues
=ability to judge distances and see the world in 3D
-> relies on correctly processing biological depth cues
-> When eyes receive visual stimuli as 2D and convert to 3D
Biological factors: Binocular DC
=Requires both eyes to send information to the brain to perceive depth
>convergence
>retinal disparity
Biological factors: Binocular DC: Convergence
= Inward turning of the eyes which is detected by the brain as the muscle tension changes
> when increases; Visual cortex is activated by cue to determine the depth/distance of object
Further away=decreased muscle tension=no inward turning.
ONLY TAKES PLACE WITHIN 7 METRES
Biological factors: Binocular DC: Retinal disparity
=Brain detecting similarities and differences between information being snet from each eye (pupils=67cm apart)
when large disparity=close to observer
When small disparity= far away from observer
WHEN 10 METRES CLOSE
Biological factors: Monocular DC
=requires only one eye to send information to the brain to perceive depth
>accommodation
Biological factors: Monocular DC: accommodation
=automatic focusing mechanism of the lens in the eye to adjust shape, in response to distances of objects
-> eyes ability to adjust shape and therefore focus to see objects clearly at different distances
>Ciliary muscles control the lens
->bulge to focus on close objects
>elongate to focus on faraway objects
-> Brain monitors information to determine depth
E.g. watching a golf ball
Psychological factors
=learned mental process as individuals, have unique combination of mental process causing people to interpret environmental stimuli personally
>perceptual set (past experience, memory, motivation, context)
Psychological factors: Perceptual set
=Leads to view things in a certain way due to readiness to receive certain stimuli
-> informed by past experiences, memories, motivations and contexts
Psychological factors: Perceptual set:
past experiences
=Sum of life experience, meaning everyone has unique set
-> influenced by; Relationships, education, physiology, cultural beliefs
Psychological factors: Perceptual set:
Memory
=System that actively receives, organises, stores and recovers information
-> forming expectations on how the world should work
Psychological factors: Perceptual set:
Motivation
=Individual desires, and how certain stimuli align with our goals as more salient
-> stimuli=salient, as directed by past experiences and expectations from top-down processing
Psychological factors: Perceptual set: Context
= The conditions/situation in which something occurs, affecting how stimuli is perceived.
Psychological factors: Perceptual constancy
=Ability to process shifting/changing information and know the object hasn’t changed size, shape, or orientation
-> to efficiently function brain needs to perceive visual world with constancy and without distortion
Psychological factors: Perceptual constancy: Size constancy
=Individual recognises that a stimulus’ actual size remains the same despite changes sent to the brain
-> somethin faraway may appear small but we know its the same size as smt close
Psychological factors: Perceptual constancy: Orientation constancy
=Individual recognises that stimuli’s orientation remains the same despite changes
-> Viewing objects from different positions
Psychological factors: Perceptual constancy: Shape constancy
=Individual recognises that stimuli shape remains the same despite changes
->viewing objects from different angles
Psychological factors: Gestalt principles:
Figure ground
=Tendency to perceive part of visual stimulus as more relevant then surrounding
-Line of separation between figure and ground is contour= helps to differentiate figure and ground
Psychological factors: Gestalt principles: Closure
=ability to fill in or ignore gaps when viewing stimuli’s close-up and perceive stimuli as whole
-> reduce mental effort to perceive incomplete stimuli
Psychological factors: Gestalt principles: Similarity
=grouping together as a whole any stimuli that are alike in size, shape or colour.
Psychological factors: Gestalt principles: Proximity
- Tendancy to perceive parts of stimuli as belinging to a group rather than far apart
Social factors: Culture
= unique cultures and societal norms we experience
-> can be traditional or modern
-> shapes our perceptual set causing is to view the world in a particular way
Fallibility in visual perception’s:
=It occurs when two or more visual cues conflict and we can make an interpretation that is not due to one or the other
-> can arise from a stimulus itself or how it’s processed
Fallibility in visual perception’s:
Visual agnosia
=A brain disorder whcih interferes with ability to recognise objects people or sound using one or more senses despite sensory systems being fully functionaly
->distortion isn’t explained by memory attention or language