Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
What is sensation?
When you recognize a stimulus
What is perception?
Messages drive, figure out overall meaning
What is agnosia?
Inability to recognize familiar objects despite clear vision
What is the just noticeable difference?
The smallest difference between 2 stimuli that is detectable 50% of the time
What is Weber’s law?
Just noticeable difference is fixed so once you detect it, you always know it
Give an example of Weber’s law
Cost is fixed when buying clothes, so you may not buy clothes if it’s a higher %
What is an absolute threshold?
Smallest detectable amount of stimulus
Give an example of absolute threshold
We can see 1 candle 30 miles away on a clear night
What is priming?
A word or concept that makes response think of a related concept
Give an example of priming
The word salt makes you think of the word pepper
What is habituation?
The brain stops paying attention to constant auditory stimuli
Given an example of habituation
We stop noticing the ac noise when we are in a room
What is sensory adaptation?
Sensory receptors become less responsive to unchanging stimuli
Give an example of sensory adaptation
The eyes adjusting to a dark room
What is brightness?
The amplitude of a wave
What is color?
The length of the wave (red is long)
What is saturation?
The purity of color (shades)
Function of cornea
Clear outer membrane of the eye, prevents damage
Function of pupil
Controls amount of light entering the eyes (pupil dilation)
Function of lens
Focuses light to the back of the eye
Function of retina
Contains photoreceptors which receives light
Function of rods
Active to low light conditions, unresponsive to color
Rods adjust to what
Darkness (Roddy Rich, dark)
Function of cones
Responsible for color vision and details (mint chocolate chip ice cream Cones are green)
Cones adjust to what
Light after being in the dark
What is colorblindness?
When individuals are missing one cone
What is the trichromatic theory?
White light that contains all wavelengths