Ch 1 review Flashcards
Distal stimuli
physical object in the external world that reflects light
proximal stimuli
the image that is formed on our retina of the distal stimulus
mechanoreceptors
stretch receptors and proprioceptors
propreioceptors
position and motion of body
thermoreceptors
temperature signaling
chemoreceptors
used in gustation and olfaction
photoreceptors
excitable photopigments that are used to produce a sense of vision
nociceptors
sensing pain
Transduction
conversion of environmental physical energy to neural impulses where signal information is extracted once it reasches the nervous system
Bottom-up processing
-when sensory evidence obtained from the environment is brought to the system for processing
-data driven
Top-down processing
-when expectations and stored memories affect perception
-conceptually driven
Ambiguity
stimuli that have more than one potential interpretation
Psychophysics
relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions that they produce
Absolute threshold
smallest level of stimuli that can be detected
difference threshold
smallest variance between two stimuli that can be detected
method of limits
gradually increasing of decreasing a stimulus until the subject cannot perceive it, threshold is the crossover point
method of constant stimuli
minimum amount of physical energy that must be present in a stimulus to produce sensory experience at least 50% of the time
signal detection theory
-procedure for separately evaluating sensory processes and decision-making behavior
-tells if participants have bias
categories in signal detection theory
hit, miss, false alarm, correct rejection
when false alarm rate is too high then there is
bias
Sensory addaptation
when the environment does not change for a long time we become accustomed to that sensory input and less sensitive to it
what does sensory adaptation allow for
more rapid reaction to new sources of sensory information
