Perception & Attention Flashcards
what is sensation?
the stimulus detection process by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into nervous impulses.
what is perception?
active process of organising the stimulus output and giving it meaning ; the interpretation of the sensation (stimulus output).
what are the two processes of perception?
top-down and bottom-up processing
what is involved in top-down processing?
Processing information in context of existing knowledge
e.g. neocortex activation
- our knowledge, expectations and thoughts act on the incoming information and influence our final perception
what is involved in bottom-up processing?
Individual elements are combined to make a unified perception (base senses).
e.g. visual cortex activation
- senses–> nerve impulses—> higher cortical areas
what are the factors affecting perception?
Attention. Experience Current-drive/arousal state Emotions – anxiety increases threat perception. Individual values/morality. Environment Cultural background –
what is figure-ground relations?
human tendency to organise stimuli into foreground and background
what are the Gestalt Laws?
o Continuity
– eye is compelled to follow cues.
o Similarity
– similar things are perceived as being grouped.
o Proximity
– objects near each other are grouped together.
o Closure
– things are grouped if they complete some entity.
how is the visual cortex organised?
V1-8
the more complex the processing, the further from V1
what is visual agnosia?
- basic vision spared, striate cortex mostly intact
- see and respond to visual stimuli but cannot recognise objects unless they feel them
- information from other senses required to recognise
- associated with bilateral lesions to occipital, occipital-temporal or occipital-parietal lobes
what are the 2 types of visual agnosia?
Apperceptive agnosia
Associative agnosia
what areas are damaged in apperceptive agnosia?
V1, V2 and V3 usually
what areas are damaged in associative agnosia?
V3+
what happens in apperceptive agnosia?
- Failure to integrate elements of stimuli.
- Can indicate discrete parts of a word but cannot organise that into a whole word.
E.G. Cannot draw a pencil.
what happens in associative agnosia?
o Failure of retrieval of semantic (logic) information.
o Shape, colour and texture can be perceived.
o Typically, sensory-specific – e.g. if the object is touched then recognised.
E.G. Doesn’t recognise a pencil without touching it.
what is attention?
the process of focusing conscious awareness to provide increased sensitivity to a limited area of experience which requires more intensive processing.
how are the two components of attention?
FOCUS on the aspect FILTERING OUT external useless information
what are the 2 forms of attention?
focussed: ability to respond directly to specific visual, auditory or tactile stimuli
divided: highest level of attention; ability to respond simultaneously to multiple stimuli , tasks, demands
what are the stimuli affecting attention?
o Intensity o Novelty (something new as fuck) o Movement. o Contrast. o Repetition.
what are the personal factors affecting attention?
o Motives – e.g. to eat healthily. o Interests – e.g. interest in learning psychology. o Threats. o Mood. o Arousal.
what does the Cocktail Party Effect describe?
We can focus our attention on one person’s voice despite all the other conversations in the room.
When someone says our name across the room though, you instantly recognise it even though you were not attending to this person.
what are the cognitive process involved in attention?
- external stimuli
- sensory buffers: register information for a few seconds to select what information to focus on
- limited capacity for short term memory
- long term memory
- responses
- unconscious perception of information we don’t attend to e.g. cocktail party effect
when is multi-tasking easiest?
when the skill/task is automatic and the tasks are not too similar
when do incorrect actions occur when multi-tasking?
o Full attention is not given to the task
o High level of stress or anxiety is present
why do medical mistakes occur?
the more automatic a task, the less conscious control available
errors in planning
simple mistakes in tasks
what is Medical Student Syndrome?
Psychological condition where medical trainees experience symptoms of the diseases that they are studying.
some studies don’t prove that medical students have greater chance of suffering from health anxiety than non-medical students
what are the causes of MSS?
high workload
stress
high anxiety
exposure to medical knowledge
why can medical students become preoccupied with a condition?
knowledge learnt affects symptom perception –> selective attention to physical symptoms and misinterpretation–> preoccupation with condition.
how does attention affect perception of bodily symptoms?
Focus of attention contributes to the perception of our own bodily symptoms
Distraction can play a big part in not perceiving own bodily symptoms.
how does being told pain information affecting pain perception?
those told it will be painful will find the stimulus more painful while those told it will be pleasant will find it pleasant to some extent
what is the difference between acute and chronic pain?
Acute pain warns us of damage whilst chronic pain can mean we have healed but pain pathways are sensitised.
what are the factors that make up chronic pain?
tissue damage pain sensation thoughts emotions suffering pain behaviour (positive reinforcement)
what does the Gate Theory of Pain describe?
Pain signals compete to get through “gates”
The gate can be opened or closed by physical and psychological factors
what is mindfulness?
focus attention on something else other than the pain such as breathing and this can reduce chronic pain.
what does the Fear-Avoidance Model of Pain describe?
Pain breeds avoidance which perpetuates stress, low mood and anxiety.
This is a negative reinforcement behaviour with positive effects while healing but negative after healing
