Ch.1 Flashcards
absolute threshold
minimum stimulus energy required for an observer to detect a stimulus
Action
motor activities such as moving the head or eyes and locomoting through the environment. One of the major outcomes of the perceptual process
Bottum up Processing
processing based on the information in the receptors. data based processing
classical psychophysical methods
method of limits, adjustment, and constant stimuli, described by Fetchner that are used for measuring thresholds.
cognitive influences on perception
how the knowledge, memories, and expectations that a person brings to a situation influence his/her perception
Difference threshold
minimum detectable difference between two stimuli
Environmental stimulus
the stimulus “out there” in the external environment
Frontal Lobe
receiving signals from all the senses, plays an important role in perceptions that involve the coordination of information received through two or more senses. serves function such as language,memory, thought, motor functioning
Knowledge
Any information that the perceiver brings to a situation. Top down processing
Magnitude Estimation
a psychophysical in which the subject assigns numbers to a stimulus that are proportional to the subjective magnitude
method of adjustment
A psychophysical method in which the experimenter or observer adjusts the stimulus intensity in a continuous manner until the observer detects the stimulus
method of constant stimuli
a psychophysical method in which a number of stimuli with different intensities are repeated in a random order
method of limits
psychophysical method in which the experimenter presents sequences of stimuli in ascending and descending order
Neural processing
Operations that transform electrical signals within a network of neurons or that transform the response of individual neurons
Oblique Effect
Enhanced sensitivity to vertically and horizontally oriented visual stimuli compared to obliquely oriented stimuli. This effect has been demonstrated by measuring both perception and neural responding
occipital lobe
a lobe at the back of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for vision
Parietal Lobe
a lobe at the top of the cortex that’s the site of the cortical receiving area for touch and is the termination point of the dorsal(where or how) stream for visual processing.
Perceived magnitude
a perceptual measure of stimuli, such as light or sound, that indicates the magnitude of experience
Perception
Conscious sensory experience
Perceptual process
A sequence of steps leading from the environment to perception of a stimulus, recognition of the stimulus, and action with regard to the stimulus.
Phenomenological method
Method of determining the relationship between stimuli and perception in which the observer describes what he/she perceives
Physiological approach to perception
analyzing perception by determining how a person’s perception is related to physiological process that are occurring within the person. this approach focuses on determining the relationship between stimuli and physiological responding and between physiological responding and perception
Power function
A mathematical function of the form P=KSn, where P is perceived magnitude, K is a constant, S is stimulus intensity and n is an exponent
primary receiving areas
areas of the cerebral cortex that first receive most of the signals initiated by a sense’s receptors. For example, the occipital cortex is the site of the primary receiving area for vision, and the temporal lobe is the site of the primary receiving area for hearing
Principle of representation
a principle of perception that everything a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli but on representations of stimuli on the receptors and in the person’s nervous system
Principle of transformation
principle of perception that stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed/ changed between the environmental stimulus and perception
psychophysical approach to perception
analyzing perception by determining how a person’s perception is related to stimuli in the environment. this approach focuses on determining the relationship between stimuli in the environment and perceptual responding
psychophysics
all methods that are used to determine the relationship between perception will be broadly referred to as psychophysical methods
Rat-man demonstration
demonstration in which presentation of a “ratlike or manlike picture influences an observer’s perception of a second picture, which can be interpreted either as a rat or a man. demonstratio illustrates an effect of top-down processing
reaction time
time between presentation of a stimulus and an observer’s response to the stimulus. reaction time is often used in experiments as a measure of speed of precessing
recognition
ability to place an object in a category that gives it meaning- ex: recognizing a particular red object as a tomato
response to compression
result when doubling the physical intensity of a stimulus less than doubles the subjective magnitude of the stimulus
response criterion
in a signal detection experiment, the subjective magnitude of a stimulus above which the participant will indicate that the stimulus is present
Response expansion
result when doubling the physical intensity of a stimulus more than doubles the subjective magnitude of the stimulus
Sensory receptors
cells specialized to respond to environmental energy, with each sensory system’s receptors specialized to respond to a specific type of energy
signal detection theory
a theory stating that the detection of a stimulus depends both on the participant’s sensitivity to the stimulus and on the participant’s response criterion
Steven’s power law
law concerning the relationship between the physical intensity of a stimulus and the perception of the subjective magnitude of the stimulus. P-KSn.
Temporal Lobe
lobe on the side of the cortex that’s the site of the cortical receiving area for hearing and the termination point for the ventral or what stream for visual processing. a number of areas in the temporal lobe, such as the fusiform face area and the extrastriate body area, serve functions related to perceiving and recognizing objects
top down processing
processing that starts with analysis of high level information such as knowledge a person brings to a situation.
transduction
in the senses the transformation of environmental energy into electrical energy. ex: retinal receptors transduce light energy into electrical energy
visual form agnosia
inability to recognize objects
visual pigment
light sensitive molecule contained in the rod and cone outer segments. the reaction of this molecule to light results in the generation of an electrical response in the receptors
visual search
procedure in which a person’s task is to find a particular element in a display that contains a number of elements
Weber fraction
ratio of the difference threshold to the value of the standard stimulus in weber’s law
Weber’s law
ratio of the difference threshold to the value of the stimulus is constant. according to this relationship, doubling the value of a stimulus will cause a doubling of the difference threshold.
