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Psych 104 > Chapter 5: Sensation & Perception > Flashcards

Chapter 5: Sensation & Perception Flashcards

1
Q

What’s Sensation

A

Stimulation of the sense organs

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2
Q

Perception

A

The selection, organization and interpretation of sensory input

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3
Q

Psychophysics

A

Study of how physical stimuli are translated to psychological experiences
Invented by Fechner

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4
Q

Stimulus

A

Detectable input from environment

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5
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

The minimum amount of stimulation that an organism can detect
- stimulus that is detected 50% of the time

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6
Q

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

A

smallest difference in amount of stimulation that can be detected
aka Difference Threshold

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7
Q

Weber’s Law

A

The size of JND is a constant (Weber Fraction)
constants differ depending on sensory inputs

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8
Q

Scaling

A

humans are used to measuring things on absolute scales i.e. distance in meters
In Perception, measuring is relative

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9
Q

Fechner’s Law

A

subjective sensation is proportional to logarithm of stimulus intensity
- as the stimulus intensity increases, smaller increases are perceived in sensation
- think of a log graph

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10
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

Detection of stimuli involves decision and sensory processes which are influenced by a variety of factors

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11
Q

Types of Signal Detection

A

Hit: Stimulus present and detected
False Alarm: stimulus absent but detected
Miss: stimulus present and undetected
Correct Rejection: Stimulus absent and undetected

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12
Q

Subliminal Perception

A

registration of sensory input without conscious awareness
i.e arrow in FEDEX logo

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13
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A
  • gradual decline in sensitivity from prolonged stimulation
  • aware of changes in environment rather than constants
  • i.e. noseblind to smells in my house
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14
Q

Sound waves

A
  • vibrations of molecules travelling through a medium like air
  • components: amplitude, frequency, wavelength and purity
    think of physics
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15
Q

Frequency

A
  • measured in hertz
  • Pitch depends on frequency
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16
Q

Wavelength

A
  • measured in distance (metres)
  • pitch also depends on wavelength
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17
Q

Amplitude

A
  • measured in decibels
  • loudness depends on amplitude
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18
Q

Purity

A
  • timbre depends on purity
  • more timbre = less purity
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19
Q

Human ear

A

Three major parts: outer, middle and inner ear
- sound travels in different medium for each

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20
Q

Outer Ear

A
  • Ear canal and pinna
  • sound travels through air
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21
Q

Middle Ear

A
  • Malleus, Incus, Stapes (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
  • sound travel through bone
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22
Q

Tympanic membrane (Eardrum)

A

separates outer ear from middle ear

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23
Q

Inner Ear

A
  • Semicircular Canals and Cochlea
  • Soundwaves travel through fluid
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24
Q

Basilar Membrane

A

High frequency in the outer region of cochlea and lower in the inner region
- according to place theory
- think of low frequency as having longer wavelengths so deeper in the cochlea

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25
2 Theories of Hearing
Place Theory vs Frequency Theory
26
Place Theory
- perception of pitch corresponds to vibration of different parts of the basilar membrane
27
Frequency Theory
- perception of pitch corresponds to rate or frequency at which the whole basilar membrane vibrates
28
Auditory Localization
- location source of a sound in space - ears set apart help with localization - depends on loudness and timing of sound arriving at each ear
29
2 major types of Deafness
Conductive (Damage to ear) and Nerve Deafness (damage to nerves or hair cells)
30
Benefits of Music
- Musician brains have larger motor, auditory areas of cerebellum - music training and language abilities - music can enhance spatial abilities
31
Gustatory System
- sense of taste - stimuli are chemical substances - receptors are found in taste buds
32
What are the major categories of taste
Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter and Umami
33
Taste Preferences
- most are learned and not innate - i.e. grow to like coffee or beer
34
Perception of Flavour
- combination of taste, smell and texture
35
Olfactory System
- sense of smell - humans suck at smelling - stimuli are also chemical substances - receptors are olfactory cilia
36
Buck & Axel
- clarified mechanisms involved in odour recognition - gene set of 1000 different genes
37
Pheromones
Chemical messages that's sent by one organism to another of the same species - typically imperceptible i.e. female pheromones that attract men
38
Tactile System
- Sense of Touch - physical stimuli are mechanical, thermal and chemical energy - 6 types of sensory receptors
39
Perceiving Pain
- can be influenced greatly by expectations, personality, mood - attention also interacts with pain perception
40
Gate Control Theory
- Melzack & Wall - pain is blocked by a "gate" in spinal cord - gate is not actually real but a patter of neural activity
41
Blocking Pain
Endorphins and serotonin modulate pain perception
42
Kinesthetic System
Monitors positions of various parts of the body - tells you what your body is doing
43
Vestibular System
- responds to gravity - orientation and balance - semicircular canal largest part
44
Visual System
stimulus is light
45
Light Waves
Amplitude: perception of brightness Wavelength: perception of colour - think of physics again
46
Visible Wavelength
~350 - ~750 nm
47
Eye
Channels light to neural tissue
48
Retina
receives light and send info to the brain
49
Cornea
protective layer where light enters from
50
Lens
- Light passes through here - accommodates depends on brightness - close object: lens gets rounder - far object: lens gets flatter
51
Iris
coloured ring of muscle around pupil - regulates size of pupil
52
Pupil
- black hole in the middle of eye - centre of iris
53
Visual Receptors: "Co"nes
- daylight and "co"lour vision - Concentrated in "C"enter of retina and less dense around the edges
54
Visual Receptors: Rods
- night and peripheral vision - density greatest just outside fovea
55
Fovea
- small spot in the centre of retina that purely contains cones - vision focuses the most
56
Dark Adaptation
eye gets more sensitive to dark places most adaptation happens in first 10 min
57
Seeing Colour
Wavelength = hue Amplitude = brightness Purity = saturation
58
Additive Colour Mixing
superimposes light - composed of RGB
59
Subtractive colour mixing
Removes some wavelengths of light - RGY
60
3 theories of Vision
Trichromatic, Opponent-Process and Dual-Process Theory
61
Trichromatic Theory
eye has 3 types of receptors (Red, green and blue) - colours made by additive mixing - colourblind people doesn't have one of the receptors
62
Opponent-Process Theory
- 3 types of receptors responsible for 2 wavelengths - Red or Green, Blue or Yellow, Black or White - explains afterimages
63
Dual-Process Theory
combines trichromatic and opponent-process theories - 3 types of cones & each type sensitive to different wavelengths
64
Depth Perception
- visual cues indicating how far/near objects are - cues are monocular or binocular
65
Monocular depth cues (one eye)
Motion Parallax: motion of objects across Retina Pictorial Depth Cues: i.e. 3D drawings
66
Binocular Depth Cues (differing views of 2 eyes)
Retinal Disparity: different locations in right and left retinas Convergence: eyes converge as objects gets closer i.e. crossing your eyes
67
Bottom-up Processing
recognize signifying characteristics i.e. striped shirt, glasses, hat, cane = Waldo
68
Top-down Processing
- uses context clues - strong when a something is viewed for a fraction of a second - stimulus is incomplete or ambiguous
69
Gestalt Psychology
- humans organize what we see - whole is greater than sum of its parts - humans see faces in everything
70
Gestalt Laws of Organization
Law of Similarity, Proximity, Closure and Continuity
71
Perceptual Constancies
Shape, Size and Brightness constancy
72

Psych 104 (4 decks)

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