Sensation And Perception Flashcards
Transduction?
The signals are transformed into neural impulses.
Sensory adaption?
Decreasing responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation.
Sensory habituation?
Our perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on them.
Cocktail part phenomenon?
If your are talking to someone and someone from across the room says your name,your attention will probably involuntarily switch across the room.
The colour we perceive depends on several factors:
-light intensity(how much energy the light contains) [determines how bright the object appears]
-light wavelength[determines the particular hue we see]
Within the eye:
The reflected light first enters through your cornea,then the light goes through the pupil. The muscle that controls the pupil,the iris, opens it to let more or less light in. Through a process called accommodation,light that enters the pupil is focused by the lens.
Transduction:
The translation of incoming stimuli into neural signals. This occurs when light activates the neurons in the retina. The Frits layer activated by light are the cone cells(activated by colour),and rods(respond to black and white). The fovea is in the center of the retina and it contains the highest concentration of cones.
Ganglion cells
The axons of ganglion cells make up the optic nerve that sends impulses to a specific region in the thalamus.
Trichromatic theory:
That we have three types of cones in the retina:cones that detect the different colours,blue,red,and green.
Opponent -process theory
States that the sensory receptors arranged in the retina come in pairs:red/green,yellow/blue and black/white.
Hearing summary:
Amplitude is the height of the wave and determines the loudness. Frequency is the the length of the waves and determines pitch. Sound waves are collected in your outer ear(pinna). The wave travels down the ear canal until they reach the ear drum or tympanic membrane. This membrane is attached to s series of the three small bones known as ossicles. The ear drummer connects with the hammer which is connected to the anvil which connects to the stirrup. The vibration on the ear drum is transferred by these three bones to the oval window to the cochlea. The cochlea is filled with fluid,as the window vibrates the fluid moves. The floor of the cochlea is the basilar membrane that is lined with hair. When the fluid moves ,the hair cells move and transduction occurs.
Gate control theory
Explains how we experience pain the way we do. It explains that some pain messages have a higher priority that others. When a higher priority message is sent,the gate swings open for it and shuts for a low priority message,which we will not feel.
Absolute threshold
Is the smallest amount of stimulus we can detect.
Signal detection theory
Investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while perceiving the world
A false positive
Is when we we think we perceive a stimulus that is not there
A false negative
Not perceiving a stimulus that is present
Top-down processing
Perceive by filling in gaps in what we sense.
Perceptual set
A predisposition to perceiving something in a certain way
Bottom-up processing
Is also called feature analysis ,the opposit of top-down processing. Instead of using experience to perceive an object,we use only the features of the object itself to build a complete perception.
Figure ground
What part of a visual image is the figure and what part is the background.
Gestalt rules
Principles that govern how we perceive objects
Proximity
Objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging to the same group
Similarity
Objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.
Continuity
Objects that from a continuous form are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group
Closure
Objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group even if the image contains gaps that the mind needs to fill in.
Stroboscopic effect
Image in a series of pictures presented at a certain speed will appear to be moving.
Phi phenomenon
A series of lightbulbs turned on and off at a particular light will appear to be one moving light
Autokinetic effect
If a spot of light projected steadily onto the same place on a wall of an otherwise dark room and people are asked to stare at it,they will report seeing it move.
Binocular disparity
Each of our eyes sees any object from different angles.
Webers law
Calculates the difference difference threshold
