Chapter 1: Introduction to Perception

Question 1

Action

Answer 1

the final behavioral response, which involves motor activities

Question 2

Bottom-up Processsing

Answer 2

pricessing that is based on the stimuli reaching the receptors

Question 3

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 3

2mm think lyer that contains the machinery for creating perceptions as well as other functions, such as langauge memory and thinking

Question 4

distal stimulus

Answer 4

the stimulus out there in the enviorment

Question 5

Knowledge

Answer 5

any information that the perciever brings to a situation

Question 6

Neural Processing

Answer 6

after receptor processes, how the signal changes as they are transmited through this maze of neurons

Question 7

Occipital Lobe

Answer 7

primary area for vision

Question 8

parietal lobe

Answer 8

the area for the skin senses (touch, temp, and pain)

Question 9

perception

Answer 9

conscious experience that results from stimulation of the senses

Question 10

perceptual process

Answer 10

stimuli to responses: stimulus -> light is reflected and focused -> receptor processes -> neural processing -> perception & recognition -> action

Question 11

primary recieving area

Answer 11

The area of the brain that the electrical signals from each sense first arrive in

Question 12

principle of representation

Answer 12

everything a person percieves is based not on direct contact with stimuli but the representations of stimuli that are formed on the receptors

Question 13

principle of transformation

Answer 13

stimulus and responses created by stimuli are transformed, or changed, between the distal stimulus and perception

Question 14

proximal stimulus

Answer 14

the image of the stimulus on the receptor

Question 15

sensation

Answer 15

involves simple elementary processes that coccur right at the beginning of the sensory system (light stimulates receptors in the eyes)

Question 16

sensory receptors

Answer 16

specialized cells to respond to environmental energy

Question 17

temporal lobe

Answer 17

the area for hearing in the brain

Question 18

top-down processing

Answer 18

refers to processing that is based on knowledge

Question 19

transduction

Answer 19

the transformation fof one form of energy (light energy) to another form (electrical energy)

Question 20

visual pigment

Answer 20

light sensitive chemical that is used to convert light energy into electrical energy

Question 21

grating acuity

Answer 21

the smallest line width at which the subject can still indicate the correct orientation (Apelle, 1972)

Question 22

oblique effect

Answer 22

people see vertical or horizontal lines better than lines oriented obliquely (slanted)

Question 23

physiology-perception relationship

Answer 23

relates physiological responses (steps 3-4) to behavioral responses (steps 5-7) (Furmanski and Engel 2000) (used fMRI and individual measurements (perception))

Question 24

stimulus-perception relationship

Answer 24

relates stimuli to behavioral responses (finding grating acuity)

Question 25

sitmulus physiology relationship

Answer 25

the relationship between stimuli (steps 1-2) and physiology (steps 3-4) (Coppola 1998) measuring the ferret’s visual cortex in the experience using optical brain imaging

Question 26

absolute threshold

Answer 26

the smallest stimulus level that can be detected

Question 27

classical psychophysical methods

Answer 27

Fechner, believed in studying the mind through physical means and proposed methods like the method of limits, adjustment and constant stimuli

Question 28

cognitive influences on perception

Answer 28

how knowledge, memories and expectations influence their perceptions (foundation of top-down processesing)

Question 29

difference threshold

Answer 29

the smallest difference between to stimuli that enables us to tell the difference between them (also studied by Weber)

Question 30

electromagnetic spectrum

Question 31

magnitude estimation

Answer 31

answers the question -> what is the perceptual magnitude of a stimulus (stevens)

Question 32

method of limits

Answer 32

experimenter presents a stimuli in either ascending order or descending order which indicates the absolute threshold and the difference threshold

Question 33

percieved magnitude

Answer 33

the intensity of a stimulus as it is percieved

Question 34

phenomenological report

Answer 34

describing what is out there

Question 35

State and explain each step of the perceptual process

Answer 35

-> distal stimulus out in the world
-> light is reflected and focused (proximal stimulus
-> receptor processes (the signals given from touch, vision, hearing etc.)
->neural processing (the process in which those electrical signals get changed throughout neurons)
-> perception
-> recognition (can go back and forth with perception)
-> action (physical movement in reaction to the perception)

Question 36

Differentiate between “top-down” ad “bottom -up” processing

Answer 36

top-down-> knowledge informs and influences the perception
bottom-up-> perception is influenced by th esenses and what they feel/see/hear

Question 37

Describe how cognitive processes can influence perception

Answer 37

knowledge can change how we percieve a stimuli in a way that makes more sense to us

Question 38

list the five different ways to study perception

Answer 38

1) perceptual magnitude / magnitude estimation
2) identity of the stimulus / recognition testing
3) reaction time
4) description of whats out there / phenomenological report
5) interacting with the object / phsyical tasks and judgemene

Question 39

absolute threshold vs. difference threshold

Answer 39

absolute -> the smallest to register the things
difference-> the smallest to register the difference between the things

Question 40

describe the methods used in method of limits and magnitude estimation studies

Answer 40

a ascending or descending in intensity stimulus is shown and the participant must mark when they percieve it or when they percieve the difference between the stimuli