Chapter 5 Sensation and Perception

Question 1

What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception?

Answer 1

Sensation is the bottom-up process by which the physical sensory system receives and represents stimuli. Perception is the top-down mental process of organizing and interpreting sensory input.

Question 2

Using sound as your example, show how these concepts differ: absolute thresholds, subliminal stimulation, and difference threshold.

Answer 2

Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular sound (such as an approaching bike on the sidewalk behind us) 50 percent of the time. Subliminal stimulation happens when, without our awareness, our sensory system processes the sound of the approaching bike (when it is below our absolute threshold). A difference threshold is the minimum difference needed to distinguish between two sounds (such as between the familiar hum of a friend’s bike and the unfamiliar sound of a different bike).

Question 3

In the context of sensation and perception, what does it mean to say that “believing is seeing?”

Answer 3

Because of perceptual set, our experiences, assumptions, and expectations shape our views of reality.

Question 4

Does perceptual set involve bottom-up or top-down processing? Why?

Answer 4

It involves top-down processing, drawing on our experiences, assumptions, and expectations.

Question 5

Some night loving animals such as toads, mice, rats, and bats, have impressive night vision thanks to having many more —- than —– in their retinas.
These creatures probably have very poor —– vision.

Answer 5

rods
cones
color

Question 6

What do we mean when we say that, in perception, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”?

Answer 6

Gestalt Psychologist used this saying to describe our perceptual tendency to organize clusters of sensation into meaningful forms of groups.

Question 7

Sensation

Answer 7

The process by which are sensory receptors and nervous system receive, and represents stimulus energies from our environment.

Question 8

Perception

Answer 8

The process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, transforming it into meaningful objects and events.

Question 9

Bottom up processing

Answer 9

Analysis that begin with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration and sensory information.

Question 10

Top down processing

Answer 10

Information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Question 11

Trance duction

Answer 11

Changing one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming a stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses are brain can interpret.

Question 12

Absolute threshold

Answer 12

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Question 13

Difference threshold

Answer 13

A minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experienced the difference threshold as just noticeable difference.

Question 14

Webers law

Answer 14

The principle that to be perceived, as different to stimuli, must differ by a constant minimum percentage, rather than a constant amount.

Question 15

Sensory adaptation

Answer 15

Reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation.

Question 16

Perceptual set

Answer 16

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Question 17

Wave length

Answer 17

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.

Question 18

Optic nerve

Answer 18

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Question 19

Feature detectors

Answer 19

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus, such as edges, lines, and angles.

Question 20

Parallel processing

Answer 20

The processing of many aspects of a problem or scene at the same time; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

Question 21

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic a.k.a. three color theory

Answer 21

The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors, one more sensitive to red,one to green, one to blue. When stimulated in combination, these cells can produce the perception of any color.

Question 22

Opponent process theory

Answer 22

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are turned on by green and turned off by red; others are turned on by red and off by green.

Question 23

Gestalt

Answer 23

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologist emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces information into meaningful wholes.

Question 24

What do we mean when we say that in perception the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

Answer 24

Gestalt psychologist, use the saying to describe our perceptual tendency to organize clusters of sensation into meaningful forms or groups.

Question 25

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into meaningful groups

Answer 25

Grouping

Question 26

How do we normally perceive depth?

Answer 26

We are normally able to perceive depth, thanks to 1.) binocular cues (that are based on a retinal disparity) and 2.) monocular cues (that include relative height relative size interposition, linear perspective, light and shadow and relative motion.

Question 27

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wave links reflected by the object.

Answer 27

Color constancy

Question 28

Proceeding objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even in illumination and retinal images change

Answer 28

Perceptual constancy

Question 29

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

Answer 29

Perceptual adaptation

Question 30

The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of

Answer 30

Loudness

Question 31

The longer the sound waves are the ___ their frequency is and the _____their pitch.

Answer 31

The longer the sound waves are the lower their frequency is and the lower their pitch.

Question 32

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells to the auditory nerves also called nerve deafness.

Answer 32

Sensorineural hearing loss

Question 33

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system to conduct sound waves to the cochlea.

Answer 33

Conduction hearing loss

Question 34

What has been proven to reduce pain?

Answer 34

Distraction, hypnosis, endorphins

Question 35

A suggestion made during a hypnosis session to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Answer 35

Posthypnotic suggestion

Question 36

How does our system for sensing smell differ from our sensory system for vision touch and taste?

Answer 36

We have two types of retinal receptors, four basic touch senses, and five taste sensations but we have no basic smell receptors. Instead, different combinations of odor receptor send messages to the brain, enabling us to recognize some 10,000 different smells.

Question 37

The sense of body movement in position, including the sense of balance

Answer 37

Vestibular sense

Question 38

Where are the kinesthetic sense in vestibular sense receptors located?

Answer 38

Kinesthetic sense receptors are located in our joints, tendons and muscles. Vestibular sense receptors are located in our inner ear.

Question 39

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

Answer 39

Embodied cognition

Question 40

If an ESP event occurred under controlled conditions, what would be the next step to confirm ESP really exist?

Answer 40

The ESP event would need to be reproduced in other scientific studies.

Question 41

Sensation is to

Answer 41

Bottom up processing

Question 42

Perception is to

Answer 42

Top down processing

Question 43

The process by which we organize and interprets sensory information is called

Answer 43

Perception

Question 44

Subliminal stimuli are

Answer 44

Below our absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Question 45

Another term for difference threshold is the

Answer 45

Just noticeable difference

Question 46

Webers law states that for a difference to be perceived two stimuli must differ by

Answer 46

A constant minimum percentage

Question 47

Sensory adaptation helps us focus on

Answer 47

Important changes in the environment

Question 48

Our perceptual set influences what we perceive. This mental tendency reflects our

Answer 48

Experience, assumptions, and expectations

Question 49

The characteristic of light that determines the color we experience such as blue or green is

Answer 49

Wave length

Question 50

The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of loudness. The amplitude of a light wave determines our perception of

Answer 50

Brightness.

Question 51

Blindspot in your retina is located

Answer 51

The optic nerve leaves the eye

Question 52

Cones are the eyes receptor cells that are especially sensitive to ——- light and are responsible for our ——-vision.

Answer 52

Bright, color

Question 53

The cells in the visual cortex that respond to certain lines, edges and angles are called

Answer 53

Feature detectors

Question 54

The brains ability to process many aspects of an object or problem simultaneously is called

Answer 54

Parallel processing

Question 55

The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic three color theory shows that the eye contains

Answer 55

Three types of color receptors

Question 56

The opponent-process theory accounts for the nervous system having

Answer 56

Opponent process cells

Question 57

Our tendencies to fill in the gaps and to perceive a pattern as continuous are two different examples of organizing principle called

Answer 57

Grouping

Question 58

In listening to a concert, you attend to the solo instrument and perceive the orchestra as accompaniment. This illustrates the organize principle of

Answer 58

Figure ground

Question 59

The visual cliff experiment suggest that

Answer 59

Crawling human events and very young animals perceive depth.

Question 60

Depth perception underlies our ability to

Answer 60

Judge distance

Question 61

Two Examples of ——- depth cues are inter-position in linear perspective.

Answer 61

Monocular

Question 62

Perceiving a tomato as consistently red, despite light shifts is an example of

Answer 62

Perceptual constancy

Question 63

After surgery to restore vision, patient who had been blind from birth had difficulty

Answer 63

Recognizing objects by sight.

Question 64

In experiments, people have worn glasses that turned their visual fields upside down. After a period of adjustment, they learn to function quite well. This ability is called

Answer 64

Perceptual adaptation

Question 65

The Snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are converted into neural activity is called the

Answer 65

Cochlea

Question 66

Of the four skin senses that make up our senses of touch only ——- has its own identifiable receptor cells.

Answer 66

Pressure

Question 67

Your sense of body position and movement

Answer 67

Kinesthesia

Question 68

Your ———- specifically monitors your heads movement with sensors in the inner ear

Answer 68

Vestitubular sense

Question 69

A foods aroma can greatly enhance it’s taste. This is an example of

Answer 69

Sensory interaction