chapter 4

Question 1

what is sensation

Answer 1

the brain receives input from sensory organs

Question 2

what is perception

Answer 2

the brain makes sense of the input from sensory organs

Question 3

transduction examples

Answer 3

e.g., change in air pressure to sound
e.g., change in lightwaves as colour

Question 4

what is psychophysics?

Answer 4

● branch of psychology that deals with the relationships
between physical stimuli and sensory response

Question 5

what is absolute threshold?

Answer 5

minimal intensity needed to
just barely detect a stimulus 50% of the time

Question 6

infrasounds are….

Answer 6

too low – we can’t hear these sounds
● but we can feel them

Question 7

what is webers law?

Answer 7

shout in loud room, whisper in quiet room.

Question 8

what is an example of sensory adaptation?

Answer 8

when your computer makes a weird noise but you start to not notice it.

Question 9

rods and cones?

Answer 9

● rods:
● shades of grey
● operate in low light
● not as detailed

cones:
● colour
● operate in normal light

Question 10

where is the fovea

Answer 10

center of eye

Question 11

process of seeing

Answer 11

● 1. light hits rods & cods
● 2. activates bipolar cells

● 3. activates RGC - retinal ganglion cells
● 4. bundled RGC - forms optic nerve
● 5. goes to thalamus