Chapter 7: Taking Action Flashcards
ecological approach to perception
The best way to study perception is where people move through and interact with the enviornment
ecological validity
an experiment that matches its stimuli, conditions and procedures to those present in the natural world
focus of expansion
the absense of flow at the destination point, where you end up if the flow of movement is not changed
gradient flow
the different speed of flow (fast near the object and slower farther away) in optic flow, used to detrime their speed of movement
invariant information
information that remains constant regardless of what the observer is doing or how the observer is moving
optic flow
when the movement of an observer creates movement of objects and the scene relative to the observer
landmarks
objects on the route that serve as cues to indicate where to turn
self-produced information
When a person makes a movement , that movement creates information, and this information in turn is used to guide further movement
spatial updating
the process by which peopel and animals keep track of their position within a surrounding enviornment while they move
topographical agnosia
a condition defined by an inability to recognize landmarks in real-world enviornments
visual direction strategies
observers keep thier body pointed toward a target
wayfinding
the kind of navigation in which we take a route that usually involves making turns
affordances
information that indicates how an object can be used
border cells
firw when an animal is near the edge of the enviornment
cognitive maps
map in ur brain, rats do it in Tolman’s experiemnt to map the spatial layout of th emaze
grid cells
cells that aid in the coding of cognitive maps, found in the entorhinal cortex, might code distance and direction
head direction cells
fire depending on the direction the animal is facing
place cells
ells taht only fire when an animal is in a certain place in the enviornment
place field
the area of the enviornment within which a place cell fires
parietal reach region
contains neurons that control not only reaching but also grasping
visuomotor grip cells
a neuron that initially responds when the monkey sees a specific object and thenalso responds as the monkey is forming its hand to grasp the same object
mirror neurons
neurons that respond both when a monkey observes someone else grapsing an object such as food on a tray
mirror neuron system
there are mirror neurons that spread throughout the frontal, parietal, and temporal libes.
audiovisual mirror neurons
respond whne a monkey performs a hand action and when its hears the sound associated with the action
action specific perception hypothesis
statesmthat people percieve their enviornment in terms of thier ability to act on it (largely related to sports research)
