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psych 101 > chaptor 5 > Flashcards

chaptor 5 Flashcards

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1
Q

what is sensation?

A

the stimulus-detection process by which our organs translate stimuli into nerve impulses

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2
Q

What is perception?

A

it is making sense of what our senses tell us; the active process of organization of input and giving it meaning

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3
Q

What is the absolute threshold?

A

the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected correctly 50% of the time

the lower it is the greater the sensitivity

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4
Q

what is signal detection theory concerned with?

A

with the factors that influence sensory judgements

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5
Q

Explain how a signal detection experiment might be designed.

A

say after a flashing light there may or not be a beep

there are 4 possible outcomes

           stimulus
           present       absent yes detected   hit           false alarm

not
detected miss correct
rejection

this demonstrates that stimuli are a perception

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6
Q

what is the difference threshold?

A

the smallest difference between two stimuli that people can perceive 50% of the time

also called just noticeable difference

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7
Q

What is Weber’s law?

A

states that “the difference threshold is proportional to the magnitude of stimulus for which comparison is being made

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8
Q

what is the cornea?

A

a transparent protective structure at the front of the eye

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9
Q

What is the pupil?

A

adjustable opening that controls amount of light that can enter

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10
Q

What is the lens?

A

Elastic structure for focusing.

becomes thinner to focus on distant objects, thicker for near

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11
Q

what is the retina?

A

site where photoreceptors transduce light energy into electrical impulses

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12
Q

what is myopia?

A

nearsightedness; difficulty seeing far away objects

eyeball is longer, lens focuses light in front of retina

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13
Q

What is hyperopia?

A

farsightedness, difficulty seeing close up objects

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14
Q

what are cones for?

A

colour and detail

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15
Q

what type of light do cones function best in?

A

high illumination

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16
Q

Where are cones concentrated and what is this area called?

A

in the center of the retina

called the FOVEA

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17
Q

What are rods for?

A

light sensitivity (night vision)

500 x more sensitive than cones

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18
Q

where are rods found?

A

periphery off retina

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19
Q

explain how rods and cones synapse to the optic nerve

A

rods and cones have a synaptic connection to bipolar cells

bipolar cells synapse to ganglion cells

axions of ganglion cells form optic nerve

optic nerve creates a blindspot

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20
Q

What does dual vision refer to?

A

some animals see in daylight, some at night

humans visual system is adapted for both

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21
Q

What does dark adaptation mean?

A

progressive improvement in brightness sensitivity in low illumination

22
Q

how long does it take for a rod and cone to adapt to its maximum?

A

cone: 10 minutes
rod: 30 minutes

23
Q

what type of wavelengths are red not sensitive to?

A

red light

24
Q

what is trichromatic theory?

A

three types of colour receptors in retina

cones must be sensitive to blue green and red

visual system combines activity from these cells

colours are perceived by an additive mixture of impulses

25
Q

What does trichromatic theory (young-helmoltz) not account for?

A

red green colour individuals should not be able to perceive yellow (red+green = yellow)

afterimages; stare at red look away and you’ll see green

26
Q

What is opponent process theory (hering)

A

three cone types:
red or green
blue or yellow
black or white

explains afterimages; neural processes become fatigued and have a rebound effect responding to its opposite reaction

27
Q

What is dual process theory?

A

combines trichromatic and opponent process

3 types of cones sensitive to blue, green, and red wavelengths stimulate opponent process reactions

current view

28
Q

what is a trichromat?

A

someone with regular colour vision

29
Q

what is a dichromat?

A

deficient in one system, red-green colour blind

30
Q

what is a monochromat?

A

sensitive to black and white only

31
Q

what is a feature detector?

A

a group of neurons that fire selectively in response to stimuli that have specific characteristics such as bars, slits, edges

others respond to colour, depth, and movement

32
Q

What is parallel processing?

A

separate modules of the brain simultaneously analyzing different aspects of the information and constructing a unified image of its properties

33
Q

Explain the process of constructing a visual scene

A

stimulus travels to thalamus (the switchboard) then to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe

then FEATURE DETECTORS fire and analyze the data using PARALLEL PROCESSING to create a unified image

information is then rerouted from visual cortex to VISSUAL ASSOCIATION CORTEX to integrate memories and knowledge to recognize and respond

34
Q

what are the 2 kinds of processing functions

A

BOTTOM UP:
stimulus -> breakdown/analysis -> recombining into a whole

TOP DOWN:
concept, expectation -> guides analysis -> interpretation of incoming stimuli

top-down shows that our higher brain processes (experiences, beliefs, expectations) can affect our perception

35
Q

What are the two processes of attention?

A

focusing on certain stimuli

filtering out other incoming information

36
Q

What are shadowing experiments and what do they show us?

A

experiments where there are two stimuli and ppl are told to focus on one. can recall details about the one they focused on but not the other

shows that we can’t attend completely to more than one thing at a time, but we can shift are attention rapidly back and forth between two messages

37
Q

explain what the gestalt principle of perceptual organization is.

A

suggests perception is governed by how things are grouped together

38
Q

What are the 4 laws of gestalt laws of organization?

A

SIMILARITY: similar items belong together

PROXIMITY: elements that are close together belong together

CLOSURE: close open edges; perceive boundaries

CONTINUITY: elements linked to form a continuous line (rather than a series of individual items)

39
Q

explain perception in terms of a hypothesis.

A

perception is essentially a hypothesis about the meaning/nature of stimuli based on knowledge and experience

40
Q

What is the perceptual set?

A

it is our set of expectations that influence our perception

“readiness to perceive stimuli in a particular way”

creates context in top down processing

41
Q

What is a perceptual constancy?

A

being able to recognize stimuli under varying conditions

42
Q

Give some examples of perceptual constancy

A

SHAPE constancy: when a door opens the shape changes, but we still recognize it as the same object

SIZE constancy: as we walk away from a car, it decreases in size but remains the same object

BRIGHTNESS constancy: colours become brighter or darker in different light but we still perceive the same object

43
Q

what are the two cues that the brain uses to translate 2D images into a 3 dimensional world?

A

MONOCULAR cues:

  • light and shadow
  • linear perspective (parallel lines converge in distance
  • interposition (closer objects in front of others)
  • height in horizontal plane (further objects are higher in the plain)
  • texture (less detailed with distance)
  • clarity (hazier with distance)
  • relative size
  • motion parallax (nearby objects move faster

BINOCULAR cues:

  • binocular disparity (two images being compared)
  • convergence (eye muscle provides feedback signals to the brain based on position)
44
Q

What is an illusion?

A

an incorrect perception

45
Q

What is the primary and secondary cue for movement?

A

the movement of stimulus across the retina

also the relative movement of an object against a background

46
Q

What is the phy phenomenon and what is its application?

A

when a light is flashed and then a few milliseconds later it flashes again nearby

this is used in motion pictures

47
Q

What is the ponzo illusion?

A

an illusion that uses convergence of an object to make parallel lines of the same size appear to be different lengths

example: two lines parallel and equal set on a train track as it runs to the horizon

48
Q

What is the Muller-Lyer illusion?

A

> —–<

which line is longer?
note actually need the point where the two arrow lines converge to touch the horizontal lines

49
Q

What are the two factors that interplay in perceptual development?

A

BIOLOGY: genes that determine our development

EXPERIENCE: ex can adapt to an upside down environment

50
Q

What is a critical period in perceptual development?

A

a time period during which certain experiences must occur in order for perception to develop normally

if normal development doesn’t occur, permanent perceptual problems will exist

eg: kittens reared in a striped environment show no response to certain orientations as a normal cat would
eg: people who have restored vision late in life can’t perceive there environment

psych 101 (7 decks)

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