Chapter 2: Perception Flashcards
These are experiences resulting from stimulation of the senses.
Perception.
This is a conscious outcome of sense organs and projection regions.
Sensation.
The means by which information is acquired from the environment via the senses is transformed (organized) into conscious experience of objects, events, sounds, tastes, etc.
Perception.
It is a mental representation of a stimulus that is perceived.
Percept.
This refers to the fact that perceptions are built from sensory input.
Bottom-up processing.
This refers to how we interpret sensations influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts.
Top-down processing.
Sensation is a ________ process.
Physical.
Perception is a _____________ process.
Psychological.
This refers to the phenomenon wherein we don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged period of time.
Sensory adaptation.
The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background.
Signal detection theory.
Four (4) bottom-up theories.
- Direct perception
- Template theories
- Feature theories
- Recognition-by-components theory
The theory that says that the information in our sensory receptors, including the sensory context, is all we need to perceive anything.
Direct perception (Direct perception theory).
These theories suggest that we have stored in our mind myriad sets of templates.
Template theories.
These are highly detailed models for patterns we potentially might recognize.
Templates.
The four (4) kinds of “demons” in Oliver Selfridge’s Pandemonium Model.
- Image demons
- Feature demons
- Cognitive demons
- Decision demons
He proposed the Recognition-by-Components theory.
Irving Biederman.
The constructs in the Recognition-by-Components theory that can be decomposed and recomposed into alternative arrangements.
Geons.
The absorption of physical energy by receptors.
Reception.
The translation of physical energy into electrochemical activity.
Transduction.
The relationship between aspects of the physical stimulus and resultant nervous system activity.
Coding.
A curved, transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus.
Lens.
The light-sensitive lining of the eyes.
Retina.
They provide tremendous spatial resolution and are also directly involved in our ability to perceive color. Works best in light.
Cones.
These are specialized photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions.
Rods.
This is the transparent covering over the eye.
Cornea.
The range of the visible spectrum in humans.
380 to 740 nanometers (380-740nm).
This occurs when our perception of an object remains the same even when our proximal sensation of the distal object changes.
Perceptual constancy.
This is the perception that an object maintains the same size despite changes in the size of the proximal stimulus.
Size constancy.
This is the perception that an object maintains the same shape despite changes in the shape of the proximal stimulus.
Shape constancy.
This is the distance from a surface, usually using your own body as a reference surface.
Depth.
These can be represented in just two dimensions and observed with just one eye.
Monocular depth cues.
This is based on the receipt of sensory information in three dimensions from both eyes.
Binocular depth cues.
The term used to refer to how the eye combines two images being viewed by individual eyes.
Stereoscopic vision.
It it used to refer to the tendency of people to segment the visual world into figure and ground.
Figure-ground relationship.
A Gestalt principle for organizing sensory stimuli into meaningful perception.
Proximity.
It means to group things in our visual fields.
Similarity.
This suggests that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth-flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines.
Law of continuity.
This states that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts.
Principle of closure.
A general term for the condition in which people have trouble to perceive sensory information.
Agnosia.
A condition in which an individual is unable to pay attention to more than one object at a time.
Simultagnosia.
A condition also known as “face-blindness.”
Prosopagnosia.
A condition in which an individual has no color vision at all.
Rod monochromacy / Achromacy.
A condition in which only two of the mechanisms for color perception work, and one is malfunctioning.
Dichromacy.
A condition in which one has trouble seeing greens.
Deuteranopia.
A condition in which one confuses blues and greens, but yellows also seem to disappear or to appear as light shades of reds.
Tritanopia.
