Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

Refers to the basic processes by which sensory organs and the nervous system respond to stimuli in the environment and to the elementary psychological experiences that result from those processes.

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

The complex organizing of sensory information within the brain and to the meaningful interpretations extracted from it.

Question 3

Sensory receptors

Answer 3

Specialized structures that respond to physical stimuli by producing electrical changes that can initiate neural impulses in sensory neurons

Question 4

Sensory coding

Answer 4

For senses to be useful, they preserve relevant stimuli information to which they are responding.
- This is done in patterns of neural activity they produce.

Question 5

Quantitative variation

Answer 5

Refers to the amount or intensity of energy.

e.g. Sound or light can be either weak or strong

Question 6

Qualitative variation

Answer 6

Refers to the precise kind of energy.

e.g. Different wavelengths of light, frequencies of sound

Question 7

Transduction

Answer 7

Neural process by which a receptor cell produces an electrical change in response to physical stimulation.

Question 8

Coding of stimulus quantity

Answer 8

Stronger stimuli produce larger receptor potentials, which in turn produce faster rates of action potentials in sensory neurons.
- The brain interprets a fast rate of action potentials as a strong stimulus and a slow rate as a weak stimulus.

Question 9

Coding of stimulus quality

Answer 9

Qualitatively different stimuli activate different sets of neurons.

Question 10

Sensory adaption

Answer 10

When the amount of stimulation of a sensory system increases over a period of time, the sensory system adapts by becoming less sensitive.

• Vice versa for when the amount of stimulation decreases.
  e. g. When entering the kitchen you smell a strong odour, but over time you don’t really smell it anymore
• Mediated by sensory cells themselves