Ch. 5: Sensation & Perception (§5.1-§5.8)

Question 1

Psychophysics

Answer 1

Study of correspondence between physical stimulation and psychological experience

Question 2

Objectivist view (“blank slate” view)

Answer 2

Our senses provide us with a true, complete, and
accurate representation of the world.

Question 3

Subjectivist view (Gestalt)

Answer 3

There is no inherent organization to the world, but
our brain organizes our perceptions, and
consequently we believe the world is organized.

Question 4

Synthetic view

Answer 4

Combines both views: Our brain manipulates the
outside world but within limits (otherwise we could
not survive)

Question 5

Sensation

Answer 5

(Phase 1)
Process by which stimulation of sensory receptor gives rise to neural impulses that result in experience, or awareness, of conditions inside or outside the body. aka “The detection of physical stimuli and the transmission of this information to the brain.” Traditional Five:
– Sight
– Hearing
– Touch
– Smell
– Taste

Question 6

Perceptional organization

Answer 6

(Phase 2)
The processes that put sensory information together to give the perception of a coherent scene

Question 7

Identification and recognition

Answer 7

(Phase 3)
Processes of assigning meaning, which involves higher level cognitive processes

Question 8

Photoreceptors

Answer 8

On the retina (back of the eye)
- Rods for Dim Illumination (120 million)
- Cones for Color Vision (6 million)

Question 9

Fovea

Answer 9

Small region of densely packed cones at center of retina

Question 10

Top-down Processing

Answer 10

(conceptually driven)
Individual factors influence the way a perceived object is interpreted and classified.
The interpretation of sensory information based on knowledge, expectations, and past experiences.
Mental processes built on expectations, beliefs, knowledge, memory, and language are used for the identification and recognition of sensations.

Question 11

Bottom-up Processing

Answer 11

(data driven)
Perceptual analyses based on sensory data.
Perception based on the physical features of the stimulus.
Environmental stimulation is processed into sensations and then perceptually organized into a coherent whole.

Question 12

Attention

Answer 12

State of focused awareness on a subset of available perceptual information

Question 13

Goal-directed (attention)

Answer 13

Reflects choices made as function of personal goals

Question 14

Stimulus-driven (attention)

Answer 14

Reflects choices made as function of features of stimuli in environment

Question 15

Illusions

Answer 15

experience of a stimulus pattern in manner that is demonstrably incorrect but shared by others in the same perceptual environment. (contrary to hallucinations which are individual and not shared with others)

Question 16

Ambiguity

Answer 16

Property of perceptual object that may have more than one interpretation

Question 17

Figure and Ground (of an image)

Answer 17

The figure is on the foreground of an image and catches the attention while the ground on the other hand functions as a backdrop and lacks any points of discernible interest

Question 18

Gestalt Psychology

Answer 18

A school of psychology that maintains that psychological phenomena can be understood only when viewed as organized, structured wholes, not when broken down into primitive perceptual elements

Question 19

”Prägnanz” (law of simplicity)

Answer 19

The tendency to order our experience in a manner that is regular, orderly,
symmetrical, and simple. For example based on similarity, proximity, continuity, and closure.

Question 20

perception

Answer 20

The detection of physical stimuli and the transmission of this information to
the brain.

Question 21

transduction

Answer 21

The process by which sensory stimuli are converted to neural signals the
brain can interpret.

Question 22

Weber’s law

Answer 22

states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is based on a proportion of the original stimulus rather than on a fixed amount of difference. That is, the more intense the stimulus, the bigger the change needed for you to notice.

Question 23

absolute threshold

Answer 23

The minimum intensity of stimulation necessary to detect a sensation half
the time.

Question 24

difference threshold

Answer 24

The minimum amount of change required to detect a difference between two stimuli.

Question 25

signal detection theory (SDT)

Answer 25

A theory of perception based on the idea that the detection of a stimulus requires a judgment—it is not an all-or-nothing process. (hit, miss, false alarm, correct rejection)

Question 26

sensory adaptation

Answer 26

A decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation.

Question 27

synesthesia

Answer 27

when you hear music, but you see shapes. Or you hear a word or a name and instantly see a color. Synesthesia is a fancy name for when you experience one of your senses through another.

Question 28

Trichromatic theory

Answer 28

color vision results from activity in three types of cones that are sensitive to different wavelengths. One type of cone is most sensitive to short wavelengths (blue–violet light), another type is most sensitive to medium wavelengths (yellow–green light), and the third type is most sensitive to long wavelengths (red–orange light

Question 29

Opponent-process theory

Answer 29

According to this theory, red and green are opponent colors, as are blue and yellow. When we stare at a red image for some time, we see a green afterimage when we look away; when we stare at a green image, we see a red afterimage. In the former case, the receptors for red become fatigued when you stare at red. The green receptors are not fatigued and therefore the afterimage appears green

Question 30

object constancy

Answer 30

Correctly perceiving objects as constant in their shape, size, color, and
lightness, despite raw sensory data that could mislead perception.

Question 31

binocular depth cues

Answer 31

Cues of depth perception that arise from the fact that people have two eyes.

Question 32

monocular depth cues

Answer 32

Cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone.

Question 33

binocular disparity

Answer 33

A depth cue; because of the distance between the two eyes, each eye
receives a slightly different retinal image.

Question 34

convergence

Answer 34

A cue of binocular depth perception; when a person views a nearby object,
the eye muscles turn the eyes inward.

Question 35

motion parallax

Answer 35

A monocular depth cue observed when moving relative to objects, in which
the objects that are closer appear to move faster than the objects that are
farther away.