Module 4.1- Sensation and Perception at a Glance Flashcards
sensation
the process of detecting external events by sense organs and turning those stimuli into neural signals
perception
involves attending to, organizing and interpreting stimuli that we sense
what 2 things are brains designed for?
brain is designed to detect patterns, and to make the external environment coherent
transduction
when specialized receptors transform the physical energy of the outside world into neural impulses
translating the physical energy from the outside world into neural energy
transduction
the doctrine of specific nerve energies
the theory that the different senses are separated in the brain
who proposed the doctrine of specific nerve energies?
German physiologist Johannes Müller
______ influences how we response to stimuli
experience
orienting response
we quickly shift our attention to stimuli that signal a change in our sensory world
sensory adaptation
The reduction of activity in sensory receptors with repeated exposure to a stimulus
what are the 3 stimulus thresholds?
1) Psychophysics
2) Absolute Threshold
3) Difference Threshold
Psychophysics
the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience
who developed psychophysics
William Gustav Fechner
Absolute Threshold
the minimum amount o energy or quantity of a stimulus required for it to be reliably detected at least 50% of the time it is presented
what are the 5 absolute sensory thresholds?
vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste
difference threshold
the smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliably detected at least 50% of the time
Signal Detection Theory
a theory stating that whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both sensory experience and judgement made by the subject
what are the 4 possible outcomes of the signal detection theory?
Hit, False Alarm, Correct Rejection and Miss
Subliminal Perception
perception below the threshold of conscious awareness
what did merikle and skanes test?
tested subliminal weight loss tapes
how did merikle and skanes test subliminal weight loss tapes?
they assigned participants to:
1) experimental condition (subliminal weight loss tape)
2) placebo condition (subliminal dental anxiety prevention tape
3) waiting list
what were the 4 conditions Greenwald used of subliminal self-help tapes?
1) memory improvement (labeled correctly)
2) Self-esteem improvement (labeled correctly)
3) Memory improvement (labeled “memory improvement”)
true or false: Greenwalds 4 conditions of subliminal self-help tapes showed that the cassette’s label was a better predictor of improvement than the cassette’s content
True
priming
when a previously viewed word makes a related word come to mind
what 2 things does priming influence?
1) word selection
2) preferences
gestalt psychology
an approach to perception that emphasizes that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
what did vokey and rea study?
studied participants ability to comprehend messages played backwards
what percentage of accuracy did Vokey and Rea get on participants accuracy on judging the sex of the speaker
98.9%
what percentage of accuracy did Vokey and Rea get on participants accuracy on judging if the speaker was the same across audio clips
78.5%
what percentage of accuracy did Vokey and Rea get on participants accuracy on judging if the clip was in English, French or German
46.7%
what 5 things were used in the comprehension study?
nursery passages, christian passages, satanic messages, pornographic statements, advertising messages
what are the 2 types of processing?
1) bottom-up processing
2) top-down processing
bottom-up processing
when we perceive individual bits of sensory information (e.g., sounds) and use them to construct a more complex perception (e.g., a message)
top-down processing
when our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or by our prior knowledge
divided attention
paying attention to more than one stimulus or task at the same time
selective attention
focusing on one particular event or task so that you can accurately sense and perceive the information it might provide (e.g., watching the road while driving)
inattentional blindness
a failure to notice clearly visible events or objects because attention is directed elsewhere
