Ch.6 Perceptions Flashcards
Absolute threshold
Is the intensity level of a stimulus such that a person will have a 50% chance of detecting it
Threshold
Refers to the point above which a stimulus is perceived and below which it is not perceived
Subliminal stimulus
An intensity that gives a person less than a 50% chance of detecting a stimulus
A just noticeable difference
Refers to the smallest increase or decrease in the intensity if a stimulus that a person is able to detect
Weber’s Law
States that the increase in intensity if a stimulus needed to produce a just noticeable difference grows in proportion to the initial stimulus
Structuralists
Believed that you add together hundreds of basic elements to form complex perceptions
Gestalt psychologists believed that
Our brains follow a set of rules that specify how individual elements are to be organized into a meaningful pattern or perception
Rules of organization
- identified by gestalt psychologists
- specify how our brains combine and organize individual pieces or elements into a meaningful perception
Figure ground rule
States that in organizing stimuli we tend to automatically distinguish between a figure and a ground: the figure with more detail, stands out against the background
The similarity rule
States that we group together elements that appear similar
Closure rule
States that in organizing stimuli we tend to full in any missing parts if a figure and see the figure as complete
Proximity rule
States that in organizing stimuli we group together objects that are physically close to one another
Simplicity rule
States that stimuli are organized in the simplest way possible
Continuity rule
States that in organizing stimuli we tend to favor smooth or continuous paths when interpreting a series of points or lines
Perceptual constancy
Refers to our tendency to perceive sizes, shapes, brightness and colors as remaining the same even though their physical characteristics are constantly changing
Size constancy
Refers to our tendency to perceive objects as remaining the same size even when their images on our retina are continually growing or shrinking
Shape constancy
Refers to hour tendency to perceive an object as retaining it’s same shape even though when you view it from different angles, it’s shape is continually changing it’s image on the retina
Brightness constancy
Refers to the tendency to perceive. Rightness as remaining the same in changing illumination
Color constancy
Refers to the tendency to perceive colors as remaining stable despite differences in lighting
Depth perception
Refers to the ability of your eye and brain to add a third dimension, depth, to all visual perceptions, even though images projected on the retina are in only two dimensions, height and width
Binocular depth cues
Depend on the movement of both eyes
Convergence
Refers to a binocular cue for depth perception based on signals sent from muscles that turn the eyes. To focus on near or approaching objects, these muscles turn the eyes inward toward the nose. The brain uses the signals sent by these muscles to determine the distance of the object
Retinal disparity
Refers to a binocular depth cue that depends on the distance between the eye. Because of their different positions, each eye receives a slightly different image. The difference between the right and left eyes images is the retinal disparity
Monocular depth cues
Produced by signals from a single eye. Monocular cues most commonly arise from the way objects are arranged
Linear perspective
A monocular depth cue that results as parallel lines converge in the distance
(Highway appears to come together in the distance)
Relative size
Monocular depth cue that results when we expect two objects to be the same size but they are not. In that case, the larger of the two objects will appear closer while the smaller will look to be farther away
Interposition
A monocular depth cue for depth perception that comes into play when objects overlap
(School of fish-fish in front are closer than the fish in the back)
Light and shadow
Brightly lit objects appear closer, while objects in shadows appear to be farther away
Texture gradient
A monocular depth cue in which areas with sharp detail appear to be closer
Atmospheric perspective
Monocular depth cue that is created by the presence of dust, smog, clouds, or water vapor. Clearer objects are perceived as closer while hazy objects are perceived as being farther away
Motion parallax
A monocular depth cue based on the speed of moving objects. We perceive objects that appear to be moving at a fast speed as closer to us than those loving more slowly
Illusion
A perceptual is a perceptual experience in which you perceive an image as being so strangely distorted that in reality it cannot and does not exist. An illusion is created by manipulating perceptual cues so that your brain can no longer correctly interpret space, size, and depth cues.
Impossible figure
A perceptual experience in which a drawing seems to defy basic geometric laws
The two or three pronged figure
Moon illusion
When we see a full moon near the horizon we perceive it as being 50% larger than when we see a full moon high in the sky
Ames room
Shows that our perception of size can be distorted by changing depth cues
Ponzo illusion
Two black bars on a railroad track are the exact same size but we see the top one as being bigger since it appears to be farther away
Müller-Lyer Illusion
We perceive an arrow drawn on the outside or a room as being smaller than the one drawn on the inside corner of another room even though they are the same length
(Page 133)
Subliminal messages
A brief auditory or visual message that is presented below the absolute threshold which means that there is a less than 50% chance the messages will be perceived
Don’t work
Perceptual sets
Learned expectations that are based on our personal, social, or cultural experiences.
Extra sensory perceptions
A group of psychic experiences that involve perceiving or sending information outside normal sensory processes or channels
Telepathy
The ability to transfer ones thoughts to another or to read the thoughts of others
Precognition
Ability to foretell events
Clairvoyance
The ability to perceive events or objects that are out of the sight
Psychokinesis
The ability to exert mind over matter for example by
Moving subjects with out touching them
Ganzfeld procedure
A controlled Mathis for eliminating trickery, error, and bias while testing telepathic communication between a sender and a receiver
Phi movement
The illusion that lights that are actually stationary appear to be moving
Real motion
Your perception of any stimulus or object that actually moves in space
Apparent motion
Refers to an illusion that a stimulus or object is moving in space when really the stimulus or object is stationing a series of stationary images, each of which has a slightly different position or posture than the one before
Virtual reality
Refers to a perceptual experience of being inside an object, moving through an environment, or carrying out some action tang js created or simulated by computer
Consciousness
Refers to different levels of awareness of ones thoughts and feelings.
Continuum of consciousness
Refers to a wide range of experiences, from being acutely aware and alert to bring totally unaware and unresponsive
Controlled processes
Are activities that require full awareness, alertness, and concentration to reach a goal.
Automatic processes
Activities that require little awareness, take minimal attention, and do not interfere with ongoing activities
Example: eating while reading
Daydreaming
An activity that requires a low level of awareness, often occurs dying automatic processes, and involved fantasizing or dreaming while awake
Altered states of consciousness
Result from using any number of procedures-such as meditation, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, or sleep deprivation
