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Psychology 1A > Perception & Sensation > Flashcards

Perception & Sensation Flashcards

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0
Q

What is Bottom-Up processing?

A

Taking individual elements of a stimulus to combine them into a unified perception

Example - how you read letter shapes on a page to form a word

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1
Q

What is perception?

A

The creation of experience

Involves organising raw sensory data and giving it meaning

Active process

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2
Q

What is Top-Down processing?

A

Sensory information is interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts, ideas and expectations

Example - making use of higher order knowledge including what you have learnt about the meaning of words & sentence construction when reading a word

Important route to producing idiosyncratic unique perceptual experiences

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3
Q

Why is attention important in perception?

A

Because we encounter an enormous volume of sensory data at any one time, much of which is irrelevant to our goals

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4
Q

Give an example of Top down processing

A

Led zeppelin songs playing backwards

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5
Q

What does Selective Attention allow us to do?

A

Focus on certain stimuli and filter out other information

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6
Q

Describe Cherry’s (1953) Cocktail Party Effect

A
  • when you hear someone mention your name at a party in a crowded room, you attend to what they say and are able to filter out all other conversations
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7
Q

What is Inattentional Blindness? (Mack 2003)

A

Refers to the failure of unattended stimuli to register in our consciousness

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8
Q

Describe Haines (1991) and Simon & Chabris (1999) research into Inattentional Blindness

A

Haines - experienced pilots in simulators were so intent on landing instruments that they directed their place onto runways which already had aircraft on them

Simon & Chabris - research P’s had to count the number of passes during a videotaped basketball game so they failed to notice a wan walking through the group in a gorilla costume despite remaining in clear sight for a reasonable period of time

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9
Q

Relevant application of Inattentional Blindness nowadays

Golden et al

A
  • cell phone usage significantly reduces driving performance
  • could extend to listening to music, tuning the radio, conversations with other passengers in the vehicle
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10
Q

What are external factors?

A
  • stimulus factors

- intensity, movement, size, novelty

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11
Q

What are internal factors?

A
  • personal factors

- interests, motives

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12
Q

Examples of internal factors that draw our attention

Jiang et al 2006 and Hansen & Hansen 1988

A

Jiang - gave P’s a test where 2 different images (both erotic pictures of either men or women) were presented to each spatial field - results as to be expected, straight men saw the woman, straight woman saw the man

Hansen - presented slides showing groups of 9 people where half of the pictures consisted of the group being angry or happy whilst the other half contained a one face who’s emotion was different to the rest of the group. P’s had to judge whether there was a discrepant face and P’s were much quicker at seeing the angry discrepant faces rather than the happy discrepant faces

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13
Q

What is figure-ground segregation?

A

Is the tendency to organise stimuli into a central or foreground figure and background set up

Eg spotty dog picture

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14
Q

What do Gestalt principles believe?

A

The whole is much better than the sum of its individual parts

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15
Q

Gestalt Principle - similarity

A

When parts of a configuration are perceived as similar, they will be perceived as belonging together

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16
Q

Gestalt Principle - proximity

A

Elements that are near each other are likely to be perceived as belonging together

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17
Q

Gestalt Principle - closure

A

People tend to close the open edges of a figure or fill in the gaps in an incomplete figure so that the identification of the form is more complete than what is actually there

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18
Q

Gestalt Principle - continuity

A

People link individual elements together so that they form a continuous line or pattern that makes sense

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19
Q

What are perceptual schemas?

A
  • when we recognise stimuli
  • a mental representation or image containing the critical and distinctive features of a person, object, event or other perceptual phenomena
  • provide mental templates that allow us to classify and identify sensory input in a top-down fashion
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20
Q

What is a perceptual set?

A

A readiness to perceive stimuli in a particular way

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21
Q

What are perceptual constancies?

A

Allow us to recognise familiar stimuli under varying conditions

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22
Q

Why is perception of depth so important?

A

Allows us to interact with the world

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23
Q

What are monocular cues?

A

Cues from one eye

Don’t rely on binocular vision

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24
Q

What are binocular cues?

A

Cues from both eyes

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25
Q

Monocular Cues - Relative Size

A
  • powerful cue
  • simple but important cue to depth
  • if we see 2 objects that we know are of a similar size, the one that looks smaller will be judged to be further away
  • big things are nearer to us, smaller things are far away from us
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26
Q

Examples of relative size monocular cues

A

Visual illusions like people’s faces and bank notes or people’s bodies with album covers

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27
Q

Monocular Cues - Occlusion

A

Occluding that something is similar to another one and that something is nearer to you

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28
Q

Describe what absence of occlusion entails

A

Effective as it can create ambiguity about an image

Examples - pictures with the leaning tower of Pisa and pretending that you are holding a pyramid

  • these images hinge on the scene being viewed from a particular perspective
  • they generate a false impression of depth which relies on the image being viewed from a specific angle
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29
Q

Monocular Cues - Relative Height

A

Things higher up in our visual field seem further away

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30
Q

Monocular Cues - Linear Perspective

A
  • tendency for parallel lines to converge as they recede into the distance
  • key impression of depth for 2D images
  • example drawing a room
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31
Q

Example of Linear Perspective

A

Ames Room

  • plays with our cues on linear perspective by distorting the grid like pattern on the ground
  • person in one corner is considerably further away than the person in the other corner
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32
Q

Monocular Cues - Texture Gradient

A
  • tendency for us to perceive continuity in texture details
  • things are occupying a similar physical space as other objects around us
  • however the continuity gets broken once the image is moved from the particular point where you view the image from

Example - art student who painted a car to blend in with a car park and wall

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33
Q

Monocular Cues - Shadows

A
  • example of top down processing

Example - image of a ‘levitating’ car found on a satellite image which turned out to be a white car parked to a next to a black car

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34
Q

Monocular Cues - Clarity

A

Things close to us are rich in detail

Things far away lack clarity and rich detail

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35
Q

Monocular Cues - Motion Parallax

A
  • tendency for things near us / far away to move across the retina at different speeds
  • eg on a train, things closer to you seem to move faster than the things far away
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36
Q

Binocular Cues - Binocular Disparity

A
  • left & right eyes receive different information as they operate a different space in the world
  • the information from both eyes allows us to create an impression of depth

Eg closing one eye and trying to squish someone’s head and then opening the other eye - the image is different

37
Q

Binocular Cues - Convergence

A
  • produced by feedback from the muscles that turn your eyes inward to view a close object
  • eg holding a finger close to your face and then moving it towards your face - messages sent to the brain by the eye muscles provide the brain with a depth cue
  • when the brain focuses on things far away or near, it gives very different information to the muscles
38
Q

How do we perceive motion?

A

By the speed at which objects move across the retina

39
Q

What is Stroboscopic motion?

A

The tendency to perceive a sequence of flashing bulbs as the images of the bulbs themselves are moved slightly

Basically when a sequence of static images creates an impression of motion - Wertheimar (1912)

Eg cinematography works on the same principle

40
Q

What is sensation?

A

The stimulus detection process by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into nerve impulses that are sent to the brain

41
Q

How can we measure perception?

A

1) the phenomenological approach

OR

2) the techniques of psychophysics

42
Q

What is the Phenomenological Approach?

A
  • just describing what you sense

- not very scientific however

43
Q

What are Psychophysics? (Fechner 1860)

A 
Psycho = related to the mind & brain 
Physics = the scientific study of matter or energy

So in this area of research, we try to relate a precisely defined physical stimulus with a precisely measured behavioural response

44
Q

Describe “Light”

A

The agency that causes a visual sensation when it falls on the retina of the eye…..it forms a narrow section of the electromagnetic spectrum

45
Q

Describe “Electromagnetic Radiation”

A

Waves of energy that are caused by the acceleration of charged particles

46
Q

What do we need to measure about Light?

A

The Wavelength - visible light, what we use for our vision

It’s intensity (related to brightness) - dark to light colour means the number of photons increases (it gets brighter)

47
Q

What is the absolute threshold?

A

The smallest amount of stimulus energy necessary for an observer to detect a stimulus

ie what is the dimmest light that we can see

48
Q

What is the method of constant stimuli?

A
  • Pre-determined set of stimuli
  • fit a psychometric function to the data

Accurate measure but it is slow

49
Q

What is signal detection theory? (Green and Swets)

A

Concerned with the factors that influence sensory judgements

Need to take into account observer’s decision criterion - a standard of how certain a participant must be that a stimulus is present before they say that they can detect it

50
Q

What are the two difference thresholds?

A

1) Just Noticeable Difference

2) Weber’s Law

51
Q

What is Just Noticeable Difference?

A

the smallest difference between 2 stimuli that a person can detect

for example line length

52
Q

What is Weber’s Law?

A

The ratio of JND (Δl) to the standard stimulus (l) is constant:

Δl/l = k

53
Q

What is sensory adaptation?

A

Sensory neurons are engineered to respond to a constant stimulus by decreasing their activity

  • when sensory adaptations become involved
  • they can enhance sensitivity and reduce sensitivity
54
Q

Describe sensory adaptations that enhance sensitivity

A

More sensitive to light after half an hour in the dark

More sensitive to sound in the quietness of the night

More sensitive to taste after drinking plain water

The absence of sensory stimulation increases sensitivity

55
Q

Describe sensory adaptations that reduce sensitivity

A

Can’t see stars in the daytime

Can’t hear very well after loud music concerts

Can’t taste much after eating a hot curry

Hot baths and cold swimming pools feel okay after you have been in them for a while and have become accustomed to the temperature

A strong persistent stimulation decreases sensitivity

56
Q

Why do we have sensory adaptation?

A
  • evolutionary advantage
  • allows us to cope with a wide variety of environments
  • survival of the fittest - whose senses can fit the environment the best
  • focus our sensory information on the most interesting stuff
57
Q

Example of Sensory Adaptation - Retinal Stabilisation

A
  • stabilised images on the retina fade quickly
  • normally our eyes are in constant motion to prevent this from happening
  • this adaptation series to reduce visual clutter and to help us concentrate on changes
58
Q

What is the main function of the senses?

A

To detect various forms of energy

59
Q

State what forms of energy each sense detects

A

Vision - electromagnetic radiation

Hearing - mechanical vibrations

Touch - mechanical perturbations of the skin

Smell - chemical properties of gases

Taste - chemical properties of solids and liquids in contact with the tongue

60
Q

Describe the process of light coming into the eye

A
  • light comes in and hits the cornea (membrane sitting over the eye)
  • cornea does most of the focusing of the light - the coarse control
  • lens focuses on fine control of the light
  • pupil - basically a gap that allows light to pass through it
  • lens - the ciliary muscles either stretch or squish the pupil
  • fovea - most of the looking, where you have your best vision in terms of perception
  • image is projected onto the retina
  • the optic nerve then carried messages regarding the image to the brain
61
Q

What do photoreceptors do?

A

Turn light into electricity in a process called photo transduction

62
Q

What are the two different types of Photoreceptors?

A

Rods & Cones

63
Q

Describe Phototransduction

A

Photoreceptors send signals to bipolar cells which then send signals to retinal ganglion cells

The axons of the retinal ganglion cells from the optic nerve send signals to the brain

64
Q

What is the Amplitude of Accomodation?

A

The ability to focus from near to far and back again

At the age of 18, this part of the body starts to die as it stiffens up and is less able to work effectively

65
Q

Describe the features of the Blind spot

A
  • no photoreceptors

- basically where all the information from the eye goes to get to the optic nerve

66
Q

Describe Duplex Theory

A

Rods and Cones differ in structure, number and distribution across the retina

Rods:
120 million in one adult human eye,
Sacrifice acuity for sensitivity
More common in periphery vision

Cones:
6 million in one adult human eye
Sacrifice sensitivity for acuity
Commonest in central vision

67
Q

What type of vision are Rods neural substrates for?

A

Night vision / Scotopic Vision

68
Q

What type of vision are Cones neural substrates for?

A

Day vision / photopic vision

69
Q

What does frequency stand for?

A

PITCH

low frequency = low pitch

high frequency = high pitch

70
Q

What does amplitude stand for?

A

LOUDNESS

  • higher waves = loud noise
  • low waves = soft noise
71
Q

Describe transduction in the ear

A
  • sound waves travel down the external auditory canal and vibrate the eardrum
  • the middle ear transfers these vibrations & amplifies them
  • these vibrations are picked up by the hair cells in the fluid-filled cochlea
  • the cochlea transform the vibrations into electrical signals which a then passed down the auditory nerve
72
Q

Describe the Place Theory of Audition (Von Bekesy)

A
  • frequency is encoded according to the position on the basilar membrane
  • high frequencies - encoded near the tip of the cochlear spiral
  • low frequencies - encoded near the centre of the cochlear spiral

-

73
Q

Describe transduction on the tongue

A

Chemicals are dissolved in water to stimulate taste buds on the tongue

Taste buds sit under proses in the tongue

Turn these dissolved chemicals into electrical signals which are then sent to the brain

Sweet = sucrose
Sour = acid
Salty = sodium
Bitter = quinine 
Umami = glutamate
74
Q

Describe transduction in the nose

A

Molecules carried in the air stimulate specific odour receptors in the olfactory epithelium

About 350 different receptor classes

Electrical signals pass directly to the olfactory bulb in the frontal lobe

75
Q

What are mechanoreceptors?

A

Receptors in the skin

76
Q

What are Basket Cells?

A

Light touch to hair

77
Q

What are the uses of colour vision?

A

Object detection, discrimination, recognition

Often used as an identifier - evolutionary advantage a detecting fruit against foliage

78
Q

What is Achromatopsia?

A

True colour blindness

See the world as grey

79
Q

What are the attributes of colour?

A

Hue, Brightness, Saturation

Represented using colour circles, disks and solids

80
Q

What is Subtractive colour mixing?

A

Mixing paints

Looking through coloured filters

Taking colour away

81
Q

What is Additive colour mixing?

A

Mixing colour lights - adding colour

Television

Pointillist painting - little tiny dots of colour

82
Q

Describe Young-Helmholtz’s Theory of Trichromacy

A

There are 3 types of cone photoreceptors

Long, medium and short wavelength preferring

Red - lots of L, not very much M & S
Blue - lots of S, not very much M & L
Yellow - about even in L and M, not much S

83
Q

What are the issues with Trichromacy?

A

Complementary colours - reddish green or yellowish blue

Simultaneous Colour Contrast - a grey square surrounded by blue looks yellowish and vice versa

Negative after images - a red stimulus gives a green after image and vice versa

84
Q

How does the Trichromacy theory work?

A
  • believed that any colour in the visible spectrum could be produced by some combination of the wavelengths that correspond to the colours blue, green and red
  • each of the receptor classes works by sending messages to the brain, based on the extent to which they are activated by the light energy’s wavelength
  • the visual system then combines the signals to recreate the original hue
  • if all 3 cones are equally activated pure white is perceived
85
Q

Why does the Trichromacy theory not work all the time?

A

According to the theory, yellow is produced by the activity of red and green receptors but people with colour blindness have no problems with perceiving the colour yellow despite being unable to perceive the colours red and green

86
Q

Describe the Opponent-Process theory (Hering)

A

Each of the 3 cones responds to 2 different wavelengths

Blue - yellow, red - green and black - white

As you stare at one colour, the neural process that registers it becomes fatigued but when you gaze onto a white surface which reflects the wavelengths, a rebound opponent reaction occurs as each receptor responds with its opposing colour reaction.

87
Q

Give an examples of colour blindness

A

Sacks’ colour blind artist

88
Q

What are trichromats?

A

People with normal colour vision

Sensitive to all three colour systems

89
Q

What are dichromats?

A

A person who is colour bind in one colour system

Either blue - yellow or green - red

90
Q

What are monochromats?

A

A person who is sensitive only to the black - white system

Totally colour blind

91
Q

What is Synathesia?

A
  • a merging of the senses
  • experience unusual perceptions (colours, tastes) whilst going about everyday life
  • synaesthetic perceptions of colour can be triggered by sound, taste, smell, touch, letters, numbers, words, music
  • thought it is to do with un-pruned neural connections or reduced neural inhibition

Psychology 1A (6 decks)

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