Chapter Four Flashcards
Sensation
simple stimulation of a sense organ
Perception
organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
Transduction
occurs when sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervoous system
absolute thresholds
the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of trials
Psychophysics
methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus
Just Noticeable Difference
the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected, also know as the difference threshold
Weber’s Law
the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity
Sensory Adaptation
Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions
Signal Detection Theory
the response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s decision criterion
Visual Acuity
the ability to see fine detail
Brightness
Amplitude of the wave
Colour Perception
Length of the wavelength
Purity
Complexity of the wavelength
