Chapter 5: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
sensation
the act of using our sensory systems to detect environmental stimuli
perception
the conscious recognition and identification of a sensory stimuli
sensory receptor cells
specialized cells that convert a specific form of environmental stimuli into neural impulses
sensory transduction
the process of converting a specific form of environmental stimuli into neural impulses
absolute threshold
the minimal stimulus necessary for detection by an individual
difference threshold/just noticeable difference
the minimal difference between two stimuli necessary for detection of a different between the two
sensory adaption
the process whereby repeated stimulation of a sensory cell leads to a reduced response
olfactory adaptation
occurs when a change in sensitivity to a particular odour reaches a point where the odour cannot be distinguished after a prolonged exposure to it
how can sensory adaption be overcome?
by providing a stronger stimulus
bottom-up processing
perception that proceeds by transducing environmental stimuli into neural impulses that move into successively more complex brain regions
top-down processing
perception processes led by cognitive processes, such as memory or expectations. involves previously acquired knowledge
perceptual set
readiness to interpet a certain stimulus in a certain way AKA “perceptual expectation”
perceptual sets or expectations come into ambiguous stimuli which is:
stimuli that can be interpreted in different ways
perception involves:
bottom-up and top-down processing occurring at the same time
kinesthetic sense
provides info about body’s movement, posture, and position
vestibular sense
provides info about the head’s position and movement in space, stabilizing gaze as well as maintaining balance and posture
proprioceptive feedback
unconscious awareness of the self and spatial orientation arising from stimulation within the body
chemical senses
involve responses to particular chemicals: includes olfactory and gustatory sense
olfactory sense
our sense of smell
gustatory sense
our sense of taste
odorants
airborne chemicals that are detected as odours
olfactory receptor neurons
sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals from odorants into neural impulses that travel to the brain
odorants bind to specific receptors on:
olfactory receptor neurons in a “lock-and-key” model
continuous binding of certain odorants will result in:
the fatigue of the olfactory receptor neurons, cell will stop responding to odorant until recovered
if a stimulus is continuously present, the only way the olfactory receptor neuron will respond again is if…
the stimulus increases in magnitude
papillae
bumps on the tongue that contain clumps of taste buds
taste buds
clusters of sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals from food into neural impulses that travel to the brain
what are the five major kinds of taste receptors?
sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami; all use a slightly different mechanism for transduction of the food chemicals into neural impulses
taste buds are not evenly distributed:
most are located on the top of the tongue