Information Processing

Question 1

What is stimuli?

Answer 1

Stimuli is sensory input. A thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue.

Question 2

What are some examples of stimuli?

Answer 2

1. Sound - alarms
2. Light - LED
3. Chemicals - bitterness
4. Tactile - degree of rise and fall

Question 3

What is information coding?

Answer 3

Use of stimulus attributes to convey meaning.

Question 4

What are examples of information coding?

Answer 4

1. Shape (stop signs)
2. Size (population size)
3. Color (normal)
4. Pitch (high or low)

Question 5

What are the five characteristics of a coding systems?

Answer 5

1) Detectability of codes (thresholds)
2) Discriminability of codes (JNDs)
3) Meaningfulness of codes
4) Standardization of codes
5) Code Redundancy

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Question 6

What are 10 types of “sensing”

Answer 6

1) Vision
2) Hearing
3) Small
4) Touch
5) Temperature
6) Pain
7) Kinesthetic
8) Equilibrium
9) Vibration
10) Sensory Memory (Iconic: Visual; Echoic: Auditory)
11) LImits (detection thresholds; discrimination thresholds; pain)

Question 7

What is the definition of perception?

Answer 7

The process of attaining awareness of sensory information, which includes:

1) interpretation of sensory stimuli
2) pattern recognition
3) preparation for further processing

Question 8

What are the three elements of the perception process?

Answer 8

1) Feature analysis (e.g., text, object perception)
2) Unitization (e.g., combining a set of features)
3) Top-down processing (use of context, expectancy)
(examples: recognizing face of friend; detecting defect in piece of plywood)

Question 9

What is a signal as it relates to information processing?

Answer 9

A stimulus having a special pattern.

Question 10

What is noise?

Answer 10

Anything that obsures stimuli.

Question 11

What is a task?

Answer 11

A piece of work to be done or undertaken.

Question 12

Give an example of signal detection.

Answer 12

Example: steam power plant.

1) task: detect boiler leak
2) stimulus: sound pressure level (SPL)
3) signal: higher than normal SPL

Question 13

Example the stimulus response matrix.

Answer 13

Question 14

What is the definition of Information Theory?

Answer 14

Information theory involves the quantification of information. In human performance, less interest is given in the amount of information in a stimulus that in the amount transmitted by the human operator to the response. It is based on a prescription of optimal behavior. This optimum can be prescribed in terms of the order in which the true-false questions can be answered.

Question 15

Information results in a reduction in uncertainty through what three things?

Answer 15

1) Number of possible events
2) Probability of the events
3) Sequential constraints and context.