Ch 4, 5, 10 Flashcards
sensation & perception, consciousness, development
sensation
simple stimulation of a sense organ; raw materials of perception
perception
organization, identification, & interpretation of sensations to create mental representation; sensation & prior knowledge
transduction
process of physical signals from environment translated into neural signals sent to CNS
3 steps of sensation
- RECEPTION: stimulation of sensory receptor cells by energy
- TRANSDUCTION: transforming cell stimulation into neural impulses
- TRANSMISSION: delivering neural info to brain for processing
Our perception of the world is a ____ portion of sensory signals from environment
very small
bottom-up processing
take in sensory info from environment, then attempt to understand; neural processing that starts with physical sensation
top-down processing
use prior knowledge, which influences what we sense as we try to navigate the world around us
parallel processing
brain’s capacity to perform multiple activities at the same time; building perceptions out of sensory details processed simultaneously in different areas of the brain
sensory adaptation
sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as organism adapts to current (unchanging) conditions (ex: not noticing smell after an hour)
psychophysics
methods that systematically relate physical characteristics of stimulus to observer’s perception
absolute threshold
the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the trials; simplest measurement in psychophysics
sensitivity
how responsive an individual is to faint stimuli
acuity
how well one can distinguish two very similar stimuli
just noticeable difference (JND)
minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
Weber’s law
for every sense domain, the change in a stimulus that is just noticeable is a CONSTANT PROPORTION despite variation in intensities
1oz vs. 2oz, probably notice the difference; 20lb vs. 20lb 1 oz, probably detect no difference at all
signal detection theory (SDT)
response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s decision criterion (ex: hearing phone ring if you’re expecting a call)
Gestalt principles of organization
figure-ground
proximity
similarity
closure
good continuation
common fate
figure-ground
certain info given priority over background info
proximity
close objects grouped together
similarity
physically similar objects grouped together
closure
tendency to perceive whole objects despite pieces of whole object missing –> coherent message
good continuation
tendency to see continuously flowing lines even though lines cross or are interrupted
common fate
objects that move together will be grouped together
visible light
portion of electromagnetic spectrum visible to humans; very narrow band of spectrum (400-700nm wavelength)
wavelength
distance between peaks of light waves; determines hue/color
amplitude (visual)
height of peaks of light waves; determines amplitude/brightness
purity
degree to which a light source is emitting just one wavelength, or a mixture of wavelengths; determines saturation
In what order does light pass through the eye and into the brain?
cornea –> pupil –> lens –> retina (rods&cones&other layers) –> optic nerve –> optic chiasm –> thalamus (LGN) –> occipital lobe (VSC)
cornea
outermost, smooth, transparent outer tissue of eye; bends light wave to send it through pupil & helps focus on objects
pupil
hole in iris; contracts & expands depending on amount of light in environment
iris
translucent, donut-shaped muscle that controls size of pupil/amount of light that enters eye
lens
flexible area behind pupil which changes shape to refract light onto retina via accommodation (flatter for far away objects, rounder for nearby objects)
retina
thin layer of tissue containing photoreceptors; lines back of eyeball
accommodation (visual)
process by which eye maintains clear image on retina
Improper accommodation can result in _________
myopia & hyperopia
myopia
eyeball too long, images focused in FRONT of retina; nearsightedness
hyperopia
eyeball too short, images focused BEHIND retina; farsightedness
Types of photoreceptors in retina
rods & cones
photoreceptors
light-sensitive pigments that transduce (translate) light into neural impulses
cones
detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions, and allow focus on fine detail (visual acuity); less numerous than rods
rods
shades of gray, active under low-light conditions for night vision, function in peripheral vision; more sensitive & numerous than cones
fovea
area of retina where vision is clearest; concentrated with cones (no rods); decreases sharpness of vision in reduced light
Why are objects in peripheral vision less clear than objects in direct vision?
Light reflecting off peripheral objects falls outside of fovea
Photoreceptor cells form _______ layer of retina
innermost
bipolar & retinal ganglion cells
transparent layer of neurons above photoreceptor cell layer
bipolar cells
collect electrical signals from photoreceptors & transmit info to RGCs
retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)
organize signals sent by bipolar cells & send to brain
optic nerve
formed by bundled axons of RGCs, passes through eye and creates blind spot
The optic nerve leaves the eye through a ____ called the _______
hole, blind spot
blind spot
location in visual field that produces no sensation on the retina; has no photoreceptors
area V1
where visual info goes after LGN; part of occipital lobe containing primary visual cortex
Light is seen as white in color if _________
it contains about the same number of many different wavelengths
The perception of color is ______
created by our brain
L-cones
sense long wavelengths (red)
M-cones
sense medium wavelengths (green)
S-cones
sense short wavelengths (blue)
color vision deficiency
genetic disorder where 1 or more cone types are missing
Staring at a color for too long ______ the cones that respond to that color
fatigues
How does the brain compensate for missing visual info at the optic nerve?
uses info from other eye & previous knowledge
optic chiasm
where neural impulse goes after optic nerve; X-shaped, reorganizes axons from each eye for more sophisticated processing
lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
where neural impulse goes after optic chiasm; located in thalamus of each hemisphere
visual striate cortex (area V1)
where neural impulse goes after LGN; located in occipital lobe; features of visual world assembled & identified
ventral stream
lower stream; travels across occipital lobe into lower levels of temporal lobes, includes brain areas that represent an object’s shape and identity; “what” pathway;
dorsal stream
upper stream; travels up from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobes and includes brain areas that identify where an object is and how it is moving; “where” pathway
Ventral & dorsal visual streams work ______ but are ____________
together; functionally distinct
perception for identification
ventral stream
perception for action
dorsal stream
When ventral stream damaged, _______ was impaired, but _______ was not
ability to identify objects by sight/visual representation; ability to identify them by touch/memory
How are V1 neurons selective?
some fire when perceiving vertical edge; others horizontal; others still fire in response to different angles
What is an afterimage and why does it occur?
Cones responding to color being looked at grow fatigued, other cones respond
color
transduced info from eyes that allows for perception of color from wavelengths in air
Why does something appear red?
pigments absorb those wavelengths, reflects red onto retina
trichromatic theory
color info identified by comparing activation of red, green, and blue cones; doesn’t account for full color spectrum
opponent process theory
asserts that cells fire in opposing fashion: red-green, blue-yellow, black-white
About ____ people are colorblind
1 in 50
binding problem
how brain links features together so that we see unified objects in our visual world rather than free-floating or miscombined features
illusory conjunction
perceptual mistake where brain incorrectly combines features from multiple objects
color afterimage
caused by staring at a color for too long, so when you look at another color using those cones, they are fatigued so only the other cones react and you perceive the color differently
attention
active and conscious processing of particular information; helps bind features together
When does illusory conjunction occur?
when it is difficult for participants to pay full attention to features that need to be glued together
perceptual constancy
even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant; system organizes sensory info into meaningful objects, gives info abt novel features, strips away distracting/unnecessary sensory info (ex: recognizing an actor in different roles when they look completely different)
conceptual knowledge
when we perceive an object, we don’t merely recognize what it looks like, but we understand its characteristics & significance to our behavior
modular view of object recognition
specialized brain areas/modules detect and represent faces or houses, body parts, other objects
distributed representation of object recognition
pattern of activity across multiple brain regions identifies any viewed object
perceptual organization
process of grouping and segregating features to create whole objects organized in meaningful ways; Gestalt principle
simplicity
tend to select the simplest or most likely interpretation of object’s shape
closure
system tends to fill in missing elements of visual scene, so we perceive interrupted edges as complete objects (coherent message)
continuity/good continuation
tend to group together edges or contours that have the same orientation
similarity
regions similar in color, lightness, shape, or texture are perceived as belonging to same object
proximity
objects that are close together tend to be grouped together
common fate
elements of visual image that move together are perceived as parts of single moving object
figure-ground
certain info given priority over background info; can separate figure from background (ex: black text on white paper); smaller regions likely to be figures, movement can help
monocular depth cues
aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only one eye
relative size
object smaller when farther away, larger when up close
linear perspective
parallel lines seem to converge as they recede into distance (train tracks, hallway)
texture gradient
textures (like ground) look more detailed up close, smooth & uniform farther away
interposition
object blocking another object is closer by than the blocked object
relative height
closer objects tend to be lower in FOV, farther objects tend to be higher
binocular depth cues
require info from both eyes to compare each image & understand depth; retinal disparity
binocular/retinal disparity
difference in the retinal images of the two eyes that provides information about depth
Why does retinal disparity occur?
eyes are slightly separated, each registers slightly different view; brain uses disparity to perceive how far away objects are
If images fall in similar places on retinas, there is ____ disparity and the image is perceived as ____
less; farther
If images fall in different places on retinas, there is ____ disparity and the image is perceived as ____
more; closer
How does the brain compensate when both the object observed and the observer are moving?
“subtracts” observer’s movement from motion in retinal image
MT
region at back of temporal lobe, part of dorsal stream; specialized for perception of visual movement
apparent motion
perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations
biological motion perception
our ability to perceive biological motion critical for identifying individuals and socially relevant features, such as their emotional state, personality characteristics, and whether they are engaging in deceptive actions
posterior-superior temporal sulcus (STS)
area strongly linked to biological motion perception; works with temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)
STS & TMJ play key role in _______
social abilities
change blindness
when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene (ex: door experiment, ppl switched places and 50% of participants didn’t notice)
inattentional blindness
failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention (ex: did you notice the gorilla?)
sound waves
changes in air pressure unfolding over time; vibrate air molecules
frequency
repetition rate, how fast waves travel; pitch
frequency measurement
hertz (Hz)
Frequency is perceived as _____
pitch
Low frequency = ____ ______
low pitch
amplitude
intensity of sound waves; loudness
amplitude measurement
decibels (dB)
Amplitude is perceived as _____
loudness
What is the amplitude of leaves rustling?
10 dB
What is the amplitude of human conversation?
60 dB
What is the amplitude of a rock concert?
130 dB
In causing hearing damage, what does amplitude depend on?
exposure
Amplitude is relative to the threshold of _______, which is ____dB
human hearing; 0 dB
High amplitude = ____ ______
loud noise
complexity
mixture of frequencies; combines amplitude & frequency
Complexity is perceived as ______
timbre
outer ear function
collecting sound waves and funneling them into middle ear
pinna
outer ear, collects sound waves & funnels them into auditory canal
structures of outer ear
pinna, auditory canal
auditory canal
moves sounds toward eardrum
tympanic membrane
eardrum, flap of tissue that vibrates with sound waves & passes vibrations to ossicles
ossicles
3 tiniest bones in human body (anvil, hammer, stirrup); pick up vibrations from eardrum, amplify, and vibrate oval window
middle ear structures
tympanic membrane, ossicles
middle ear function
transmits vibrations to inner ear
inner ear function
transduces vibrations into neural impulses & sends to brain
inner ear structures
cochlea, basilar membrane, hair cells/neurons, auditory nerve
oval window
membrane separating middle & inner ear/cochlea; vibrates with amplified sound waves from ossicles
cochlea
snail-shaped structure of inner ear; fluid-filled, contains basilar membrane & cells that transduce vibrations into neural impulses
semicircular canals
“antennae” on cochlea; help with balance & proprioception
basilar membrane
structure in inner ear, moves up & down in time with vibrations transmitted through the oval window
inner hair cells
hairlike neurons inside cochlea & on basilar membrane, move with cochlear fluid like seaweed to create action potentials & transduce vibrations into electrical signals
cochlear fluid
fluid filling cochlea, moves with vibrations & stimulates hair cells
auditory nerve
receives electrical signals generated by hair cells & transmits them to brain
area A1
primary auditory cortex in temporal lobe
apparent motion
perception of movement as result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different location; techniques used by animators & filmmakers
Low frequencies move ____ of basilar membrane, which is ____ and _______
apex; wide; floppy
The _____ of the basilar membrane is located farthest from oval window
apex