Behavioral Sciences Flashcards
binocular cues
two eyes give a sense of depth
retinal disparity
because eyes ~2.5 inches apart, give ideas on depth
convergence
gives humans idea of depth (far away: eye muscles relaxed/ close: eye muscles contract)
monocular cues
only need 1 eye, give sense of form/motion/constancy
relative size
closer objects are perceived as larger
interposition
overlapping objects: front object is closer
relative height
higher objects perceived as higher
shading/countour
give ideas about craters/mountains
motion parallax
objects farther away move slower/ objects closer move faster
constancy
perception doesn’t change even if the cast on the retina is different (size, shape, color)
sensory adaptation
senses are adaptable and they can change their sensitivity to stimuli
hearing adaptation
controlled by the inner ear muscle, when hear higher noise, the muscle contracts (dampens vibrations in inner ear, protecting the eardrum)
touch adaptation
temperature receptors are desensitized over time
smell adaptation
receptors in nose desensitized to molecule sensory information over time
proprioception adaptation
eventually reorient your sense of position of body in space
sight adaptation
down regulation (pupils constrict) or up regulation to light intensity (pupils dilate)
Weber’s Law
predicts linear relationship that the change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus
just noticeable difference
threshold at which one is able to notice a change in any sensation (smallest difference can be detected 50% of the time)
absolute threshold of sensation
the minimum intensity of stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time, not a fixed number
psychological influences on absolute threshold
expectations, familiarity, motivation, alertness
subliminal stimuli
stimuli below the absolute threshold of sensation
types of somatosensation
temperature (thermoception),
pressure (mechanoception),
pain (nociception), and
position (proprioception)
intensity of somatosensation
how quickly neurons fire for us to notice
(slow=low intensity, fast=high intensity)
non-adapting neuron timing
neuron fires at constant rate
slow-adapting neuron timing
neuron fires at beginning of stimulus and calms down after some time
fast-adapting neuron timing
neuron fires as soon as stimulus starts, then stops firing, fires again when stimulus stops
the vestibular system
relates to balance and spatial orientation (inner ear and limbs)
location of semicircular canals
inner ear
endolymph
fills canals, shifts during rotation, which allows the head to detect the direction and strength of rotation
otolithic organs
(utricle/saccule) helps to detect linear acceleration and head positioning
hair cells’ function in otolithic organs
attached to CaCO3 crystals in viscous gel, during movement: crystals pull on hair cells and triggers AP.
And contributes to dizziness and vertigo
signal detection theory
how make decisions under conditions of uncertainty (discerning between important and unimportant stimuli)
signal detection possible results
Hit (affirmative when signal present)
False Alarm (perceive signal when no signal present)
Correct Rejection (correct negative answer for no signal)
Miss (negative response to present signal)
bottom-up processing
begin with stimulus, no preconceived cognitive constructs of stimulus (never seen it before), data driven
top-down processing
uses background knowledge to influence perception, theory driven, perception driven by expectation
Gestalt Principles
similarity, pragnanz (reduced to simplest form), proximity, continuity, closure, symmetry, Law of Common Fate, Law of Past Experiences, Contextual Effects
conjunctiva
thin layer of cells lines eyelids from eye
cornea
transparent thick sheet of fibrous tissue
anterior 1/6th
starts to bend light
first part of eye light hits
anterior chamber
space filled with aqueous humor (pressure to maintain shape of eyeball)
allows nutrients and minerals to supply cells of cornea/iris
pupil
opening in middle of iris, modulates amount of light entering eyeball
iris
gives eye color, a muscle that constricts/relaxes to change the size of the pupil
lens
bends the light
