Intro to Sensation and Perception

Question 1

What is the purpose of perception?

Answer 1

To inform us about property of the environment that are important for our survival.

Question 2

What is the process of perception?

Answer 2

Using information from our senses, our perceptual system creates a model of the environment in our minds.

Question 3

Why is our perception not an exact replica of the environment?

Answer 3

Unlike taking a photo, the brain cannot see an environment and make an exact replica of it therefore, our perceptual system creates a model of the environment in our minds.

Question 4

Name the stimulus, receptor, sensory structure and cortex for vision.

Answer 4

Electromagnetic energy. Photoreceptors.
Eye.
Primary Visual Cortex.

Question 5

Name the stimulus, receptor, sensory structure and cortex for hearing.

Answer 5

Airpressure Waves.
Mechanoreceptors.
Ear.
Auditory Cortex.

Question 6

Name the stimulus, receptor, sensory structure and cortex for touch.

Answer 6

Tissue distortion.
Mechanreceptors and Thermoreceptors.
Skin, Muscle, etc.
Somatosensory Cortex.

Question 7

Name the stimulus, receptor, sensory structure and cortex for balance (proprioception - the sense of our limbs and our bodies within space).

Answer 7

Gravity Acceleration.
Mechanoreceptors.
Vestibular Organs.
Temporal Cortex.

Question 8

Name the stimulus, receptor, sensory structure and cortex for taste and smell.

Answer 8

Chemical Composition.
Chemoreceptors.
Nose, Mouth.
Primary Taste Cortex, Olfactory Cortex.

Question 9

Why is a witness testimony not completely accurate?

Answer 9

We can sometimes see things that are not there or fail to see things that are there due to our brains “filling in the blanks”.