Module 1.6A Flashcards
Basics of Sensation
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energy from our environment.
Sensory Receptors
Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli.
Perception
The process by which our brain organizes and interprets information, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful.
Bottom-up processing
Information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
Top-down processing
Information processing is guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectations.
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of physical energy, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses the brain can interpret.
Psychophysics
The study of relationships between physical characterized of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experiences of them.
Absolute Threshold
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
Signal Detection Theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and altertness.
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Difference Threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli is required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as the just noticeable difference.
Weber’s Law
The principle that, to be percieved as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant monimum percentage (Rather than a constant amount).
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished sensititvity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
