Chapter 1 Flashcards
the ability to detect a stimulus and, perhaps, to turn that detection into a private experience
Sensation
the act of giving meaning to a detected sensation
Perception
in reference to philosophy, private conscious experiences of sensation or perception
Qualia
A pattern of light striking the eye and making photoreceptors activate is _______, whereas recognizing the pattern of light as a cat is ______.
sensation; perception
Which conceptual approach to understanding sensation and perception might measure the lowest volume that you can hear at different frequencies?
thresholds
When we are studying thresholds we are seeking to determine…?
the limits of perception, relating the physical magnitude of stimulus to our psychological ability to perceive it
Which conceptual approach to understanding sensation and perception studies how people make difficult perceptual decisions?
Signal detection theory
Which conceptual approach to understanding sensation and perception might measure your brain activity while taking a hearing test?
Neuroimaging
Founder of experimental psychology
Gustav Fechner
the idea that the mind has an existence separate from the material world of the body
Dualism
the idea that the only thing that exists is matter, and that all things, including the mind and consciousness, are the results of interaction between bits of matter
Materialism
the idea that the mind exists as a property of all matter - that is, that all matter has consciousness
Panpsychism
the science of defining quantitative relationships between physical and psychological (subjective, perceptual) events
Psychophysics
the minimum distance at which two stimuli (e.g., two simultaneous touches) are just perceptible as separate
Two - Point Touch Threshold
the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the minimum change in a stimulus that enables it to be correctly judged as different from a reference stimulus
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the minimum change in a stimulus that enables it to be correctly judged as different from a reference stimulus
Difference Threshold
the constant of proportionality in Weber’s law
Weber Fractions
the principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the JND is a constant fraction of the comparison stimulus
Weber’s Law
ΔI
Detectable Difference
K
Constant Proportion
I
The level of the Stimulus
a principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity
Fechner’s Law
the minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Absolute Threshold
a psychophysical method in which many stimuli, ranging from rarely to almost always perceivable (or rarely to almost always perceivable different from a reference stimulus), are presented one at a time. Participants respond to each presentation: “yes/no”, “same/different”, and so on
Method of Constant Stimuli
A psychophysical method in which the particular dimension of a stimulus, or the difference between two stimuli, is varied incrementally until the participant responds differently.
Method of Limits
A psychophysical method in which the participant assigns values according to the perceived magnitudes of the stimuli.
magnitude estimation
A principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation is proportional to the stimulus magnitude raised to an exponent.
Stevens’s power law
The ability to match the intensities of sensations that come from different sensory modalities. This ability allows insight into sensory differences. For example, a listener might adjust the brightness of light until it matches the loudness of a tone.
cross-modality matching
A psychophysical theory that quantifies the response of an observer to the presentation of a signal in the presence of noise. Measures obtained from a series of presentations are sensitivity (d ʹ) and criterion of the observer.
signal detection theory
In reference to signal detection theory, an internal threshold that is set by the observer. If the internal response is above criterion, the observer gives one response (e.g., “yes, I hear that”). Below criterion, the observer gives another response (e.g., “no, I hear nothing”).
criterion
- The ability to perceive via the sense organs. 2. Extreme responsiveness to radiation, especially to light of a specific wavelength. 3. The ability to respond to transmitted signals. 4. In reference to signal detection theory, a measure that defines the ease with which an observer can tell the difference between the presence and absence of a stimulus or the difference between Stimulus 1 and Stimulus 2.
sensitivity
n reference to studies of signal detection, the graphical plot of the hit rate as a function of the false-alarm rate. If these are the same, points fall on the diagonal, indicating that the observer cannot tell the difference between the presence and absence of the signal. As the observer’s sensitivity increases, the curve bows upward toward the upper left corner. That point represents a perfect ability to distinguish signal from noise (100% hits, 0% false alarms).
receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve
A doctrine, formulated by Johannes Müller, stating that the nature of a sensation depends on which sensory fibers are stimulated, rather than how they are stimulated.
doctrine of specific nerve energies
The junction between neurons that permits information transfer.
synapse
A chemical substance used in neuronal communication at synapses.
neurotransmitters
A set of methods that generate images of the structure and/or function of the brain. In many cases, these methods allow us to examine the brain in living, behaving humans.
neuroimaging
A technique that, using many electrodes on the scalp, measures electrical activity from populations of many neurons in the brain.
electroencephalography (EEG)
A measure of electrical activity from a subpopulation of neurons in response to particular stimuli that requires averaging many EEG recordings.
event-related potential (ERP)
A technique, similar to electroencephalography, that measures changes in magnetic activity across populations of many neurons in the brain
magnetoencephalography (MEG)
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
An imaging technology that uses the responses of atoms to strong magnetic fields to form images of structures like the brain. The method can be adapted to measure activity in the brain, as well.
A variant of magnetic resonance imaging that makes it possible to measure localized patterns of activity in the brain. Activated neurons provoke increased blood flow, which can be quantified by measuring changes in the response of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to strong magnetic fields.
functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI
The ratio of oxygenated to deoxygenated hemoglobin that permits the localization of brain neurons that are most involved in a task.
blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal
An imaging technology that enables us to define locations in the brain where neurons are especially active by measuring the metabolism of brain cells using safe radioactive isotopes.
Positron emission tomography (PET)
