Class 3 - Sensation and Perception, Hearing, Vision, other senses Flashcards
Sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information
Prosopagnosia
face blindness (cannot recognize faces)
Phonagnosia
inability to recognize familiar voice
Bottom-up processing
from body (sensory receptors) to mind (brain’s sensory integration)
Top-down processing
from mind to body; processing that is guided by higher-level mental processes
Selective attention
focusing our conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
failing to notice changes in environment
Psychophysics
studies relationship between characteristics of stimuli and experience of them
Transduction
conversion of one form of energy into another; stimulus energies (light, sounds, smells) into neural impulses our brain can interpret
Absolute threshold
the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Difference threshold
minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; just noticeable difference (jnd)
Signal detection theory
predicting how and when we detect a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes that there is no single absolute threshold
Subliminal
below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Priming
activation (often unconscious) of associations
ex. thing that comes to mind when you heard a word
Weber’s Law
to perceive difference, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant min % (not amount)
Sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another; perceive something in a different way base on what you have been surrounded by
ex. “meteorologies” vs “meaty urologist”
schemas
form through experiences that interpret unfamiliar info
Effect of context of perception
brightness contrast, effected by its own brightness as well as its surrounding’s
Effect of Motivation on Perception
desirable objects seem closer than they are
Effect of Emotion on Perception
emotions effecting our perceptions
ex. hearing sad music –> mourning vs morning / pain vs pane
Extrasensory perception (ESP)
can perception occur apart from sensory input? (controversial )
ex. telepathy (mind communication), precognition (future), clairvoyance (remote events)
Parapsychology
studies paranormal phenomena (ESP, psychokinesis)
Wavelength of light
hue; the dimension of color
Amplitude of wave
height of wave; intensity (amount of energy, influences brightness or loudness)
Cornea
the eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering pupil and iris
Pupil
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enter
Iris
a ring of muscle that forms the eye’s colored portion and controls the size of pupil opening
Lens
transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on retina
Retina
light-sensitive inner surface of the eye; has receptors (rods, cones) and layers of neurons
Accommodation
process by which eye’s lens change shape to focus near/far objects on retina
Eye-Brain pathway
retina –> optic nerve –> thalamus –> visual cortex (occipital lobe)
Rods
retinal receptors for peripheral and twilight vision; detect black, white, gray, movement
Cones
retinal receptors near retina’s center for well-lit conditions; detect details and color
Optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses form the eye to the brain
Blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye (no receptor cells there)
Fovea
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory
retina has 3 types of color receptors, which produce color perception when stimulated in combination
Opponent-process theory
opposing retinal processes enable color vision
ex. some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red
Feature detectors
visual-cortex cells react to certain features
Parallel processing
processing many aspects simultaneously
Gestalt
an organized whole
Gestalt psychologists
emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes
Figure-Ground
visual organization fo objects vs their surrondings
Grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Proximity
we group nearby figures together
Continuity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
Closure
we fill in gaps to create complete, whole projects
Depth perception
ability to see things in 3D through 2D images; allows us to judge distance
Visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals; a cliff stimulated with the use of glass
Binocular cue
a depth cue that depends on the use of two eye
Retinal disparity
a binocular cue for depth perception by comparing retinal images form 2 eyes
Monocular cue
a depth cue that is available to either eye alone
Examples of monocular cue
- relative height (height of objects)
- relative size (size of objects)
- interposition (objects blocking)
- relative motion (motion of objects)
- linear perspective (lines meeting in distance)
- light and shadow (shading produces depth)
Motion perception
assume shrinking objects are retreating and enlarging objects are approaching
Phi phenomenon
illusion of movement when adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual constancy
perceive X as unchanging even if illumination and retinal images change; constancies in color, brightness, shape, and size
Perceptual adaptation
adjust to changed sensory input
Audition
the sense or act of hearing
Frequency of sound waves
number of wavelengths in a given time; creates different pitch
Amplitude of sound waves
height of wave; loudness (measured in decibels)
Ear-Brain pathway
outer ear –> eardrum –> middle ear (hammer/melleus, anvil/incus, stirrup/stapes) –> inner ear –> cochlea –> auditory nerve –> thalamus –> auditory cortex (temporal lobe)
Middle ear
the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea; three bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) concentrate eardrum vibrations on oval window
Inner ear
innermost part of ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, vestibular sacs
Cochlea
a coiled , bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses; oval window –> basilar membrane –> hair cells (electrical signals)
Hearing loss
prolong exposure above 85 decibels
Sensorineural hearing loss
nerve deafness; hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves
Conduction hearing loss
caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
Cochlear implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
Perceiving loudness
from the number of activated hair cells
Perceiving pitch
combine Place theory and Frequency theory
Place theory
pitch of sound links with the place where it cochlea’s (basilar) membrane is stimulated
Frequency theory
temporal theory; the rate of nerve impulses raveling up the auditory nerve matches frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
Perceiving location
use two ears
Touch
mix of 4 skin senses : pressure, warmth, cold, and pain
Pain : biological influences
spinal cord’s fibers, endorphin, brain interpretation; nociceptors detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals
Gate-control theory
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass onto the brain
Pain : psychological influences
attention/focus, learning/experiences, expectations
Memory of pain tend to record…
- pain’s peak moment
2. pain feeling at the end
Pain : social-cultural influences
presence of others, empathy for pain, cultural expectations
Controlling pain
massage, exercise, relaxation, acupuncture, placebo, distraction, virtual reality
Different taste
- sweet
- sour
- salty
- bitter
- umami
Anosmia
inability to smell
Pheromones
behavior altering agents
Kinesthesia
movement sense; system for sensing position and movement of body parts
Vestibular sense
our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance
Sensory interaction
one sense may influence another
ex. smell influence taste
Embodied cognition
influence of bodily sensations/gestures/states on preferences and judgements
Synesthesia
simulation of one sense triggers an experience of another
Taste
Gustation
Smell
Olfaction
