Chapter 2 Flashcards
Perception
Uses previous knowledge to gather and interpret the stimuli recognized by the senses
The mental outcome of the sensory transformation
Relies on bottom up and top down processing
Distal vs proximal stimulus
Distal: the actual object that is “out there” in the environment
Proximal: the information registered on your sensory receptors
Object recognition depends primarily on what characteristic?
Shape
Not colour or texture
Iconic memory
Visual sensory memory
Preserves an image of a visual stimulus for a brief period after the stimulus has disappeared
Illusory (subjective) contours
In these we see edges even though they are not physically present in the stimulus
Templates
Specific patterns that you have stored in memory
Used for object recognition
Feature-Analysis theory
Visual stimulus is composed of a number of distinctive features
Recognition by components theory
A specific view of an object can be represented as an arrangement of geons
An arrangement of 3 geons gives people enough information to classify an object
Viewer-centered approach
Proposes that we store a small number of views of 3D objects, rather than just one view
Bottom-up processing
Emphasizes that the stimulus characteristics are important when you recognize an object
Physical stimuli are registered on the sensory receptors and then passed up to higher levels
Top-down processing
Emphasizes how a person’s concepts/expectations/memory can influence object recognition
Word superiority effect
We can identify a single letter more accurately and more rapidly when it appears in a meaningful word than alone or in a string of random letters
Change blindness
We fail to detect a change in an object or a scene
From over using top down processing
Inattentional blindness
When we are paying attention to some events in a scene, we may fail to notice when an unexpected but completely visible object suddenly appears
From over using top down processing
How do we recognize faces?
On a holistic basis (overall shape and structure)
What location in the brain is responsible for face recognition
In the temporal cortex
The inferotemporal cortex
Phoneme
Basic unit of spoken language
Between 40 and 45 in English
Coarticulation
The phoneme you produce varies slightly from time to time, depending on the surrounding phonemes
Phonemic restoration
The ability to fill in a missing phoneme, using contextual meaning as a cue
McGurk effect
Refers to the influence of visual information on speech perception, when individuals must integrate both visual and auditory information
Where in the brain do people integrate both visual and auditory information
In the superior temporal sulcus
Law of Pragnanz
We interpret stimuli in the simplest way possible
We have an inherent tendency to group parts so that they “belong” together
We do this automatically
5 Laws of Gestalt theory
Proximity Similarity Good continuation Closure Common fate
Canonical view
The view we are most used to seeing of an object
We are faster to recognize a canonical view of something over a non-canonical view
Conceptually driven recognition:
- Basic level
- Superordinate level
- Subordinate level
- Level we prefer to categorize things on. This is the level you usually use when talking to kids (ex: dog)
- Broader category to which the thing belongs (ex: animal)
- More specific level (ex: golden retriever)
What area of the brain is damaged to get prosopagnosia?
Fusiform face area/gyrus
Phonetic module
Idea that speech is in a module
Speech is separate from all other cognitive abilities
Voice onset time
How long until the vocal cords start to vibrate
The bears/beans study emphasizes what type of processing?
Top-down AND bottom up!!
