Sensation and Perception Flashcards
What is “bottom up” processing
Starts at your toes and goes to brain
Analysis of stimulus begins with the sense receptors and works its way up to the level of the brain and mind
What is top down processing
Starts in head, goes to toes
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as we construct perceptions
Drawing on experience and expectations
What is absolute threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
What is subliminal threshold
When stimuli are below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
What is priming
Using experience to set up for what to expect
Set expectation for something
What is difference threshold
Minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for 50% detection, also called just noticeable difference (JND)
What is webers law
In order for change to be detected, it must by changed a certain %
2 stimuli must differ by constant minimum %
What are the percentages from webers law
Light 8%\
Weight 2%
Tone 3%
What is signal detection theory
Prediction of how and when we detect the presence of faint stimulus (signal) amid background noise
What is transduction
Transforming signals into neural impulses
Information goes from the senses to the thalamus, then to the various areas in the brain
What is sensory adaption
Decreased responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation
What are some energy senses
Vision, hearing, touch
What are chemical senses
Smell and taste
Define vision
Most dominant sense
What is another name for vision
Visual capture
What is phase 1 of vision
Stimulus input: light energy
What are short light wavelengths
High frequency (Blue)
What are long light wavelengths
Low frequency (reddish)
What gives light its intensity
Height of a wave gives us its intensity
What gives light its hue (color)
Length of the wave
What is phase 2 of vision
Getting the light to the eye
What is the cornea
Transparent tissue where light enters eye
What is the iris
Muscle that expands and contracts to change the size of the opening (pupil) for light
What is the lens
Focuses the light rays on the retina
What is blindspot
Where optic nerve leaves eye
What is the fovea
Focal point of retina- tones of cones
What is accommodation
Process by which the eyes lens changes shape
Define nearsidedness
see near but not far
define farsidedness
See far but not near
What is phase 3 of vision
Transduction
What is the 1st step of activation in vision
Light hits, retina activates
Hits cornea and rods (braids together)
What is 2nd step of activation in vision
Hits bipolar cells
Messenger
What is 3rd step os activation in vision
Hits ganglion
Braids together within optic nerve
What Is the final form of activation sent as to the brain
Neural impulse
What are photoreceptors
Cones: color (detail)
Rods: outline (shape, low light)
What are blindspots
Where optic nerve leaves our eye -> no photoreceptors here
What is the order of transduction
Rods/Cones
Bipolar cells
Ganglion cells
Optic nerve
Where is the neural impulse from transduction sent
Cerebral cortexes
What is the Chiasm
Where optic nerves cross
What is phase 4 of vision
In the brain
Goes to the visual cortex located in occipital lobe of cerebral cortex
Feature detectors (occipital and temporal)
Parallel processing (doing all processing)
Is the vision process sequential
No
What is the trichromatic theory
3 types of colors
Red, blue, green
3 cones make millions of colors
What does trichromatic theory explain vs. what does it not explain
Does not explain after images
Does explain color blindness
Where does the trichromatic theory take plave
retina
What are the 3 types of color blindness and define them
Monochromatic: everything is gray
Dichromatic: two types of cones work
Trichromatic: 3 colors work (normal)
What is opponent processing theory
3 sensory receptors
Red/Green, Yellow/ Blue, Black/ White
If one color is stimulated, the other is inhibited
What does opponent processing theory argue
Color processing occurs in our retina and thalamus (opponent process theory)
How does the transduction of the ear drum processed (format)
Eardrum-> hammer -> anvil -> stirrup -> oval window -> cochlea vibrates
What is the cochlea lined with
The cochlea is lined with mucus called basitar membrane
What is the basitar membrane
There are hair cells that turn into neural impulses
The impulses originate from organ of corti (inside cochlea)
What is the organ of corti
Where the impulses originate from
Where are the impulses carried during hearing processes
Impulses are carried via auditory nerve to the thalamus
Where does transduction happen in the ear
organ of corti
What is place theory
Different hairs virbating on the basilar membrane
Explains how we hear high pitched sounds
What is frequency theory
All the hairs vibrate but at different speeds depending on pitch
Volley principle
Explains how we hear perceive low-pitched sounds
What is the volley principle
Neurons cant fire fast enough at frequencies over 1000 Mhz, so they alternate- like a volley of arrows or gunfire
What is deafness
Something goes wrong with the sound and the vibrations on the way to the cochlea
What can people do to help with deafness
You can replace the bones or get a hearing aid to help
What is nerve deafness
Hair cells in cochlea get damaged
Loud noises can cause this type of deafness
No way to replace the hairs
Cochlea implant is possible
What are noriceptors
pain receptors located on our skin
What is gate control theory of pain
Small nerve fibers open “pain gate” in our spine and large nerve fibers close the gate (massage, acupuncture, etc)
What is pain
pain is a biopsychosocial event
nociceptors transmit pain signals to CNS
What are papillae
we have bumps on our tongue
taste buds are located on the papillae and around our mouths
What are the 4 flavors of taste and define them
Sweet: glucose which is converted to energy
Salt: hydration
Sour: vitamin C
Bitter: Warn to not eat
Umami: buttery, savory (protein)
What is the olfactory sense
Smell
Does not go to the thalamus
What is the process of smell (format)
nose -> behind eyes -> bulb -> brain
What is the bulb
Processes smell
What is sensory interaction
taste and smell interact to create flavor
What is synasthesia
one sensation produces another
hearing a sound and sensing a color
Number and taste sensation
What is the vestibular sense
tells us where our body is oriented in space
Our sense of balance
Located in our semi-corcular canals in our ears
What is the kinestetic sense
tells us where our body parts go
receptors located in our muscles and joints
What is perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other
What is gestalt psychology
Focused on how we group objects together
What are the examples of gestalt psychology
proximity
similarity
continuity
closure
Rings from olympics (law of progonaz)
What is perceptual constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in retinal image
Shape constancy (open/shut door)
Size constancy
Brightness constancy/Color constancy
What is perceived motion
stroboscopic (flip book)
Phi Phenomenon (Christmas lights)
What is ESP
Controversial claim the perception can occur apart from sensory input
What are the types of parapsychology and define them
Telepathy: mind-mind communication
Clairvoyance: perception of remote events
Precognition: predicts the future
Telekinesis: moving objects with mind
Does ESP have proof
No
What is the mcGurk effect
Seeing overrides what we are hearing
What is the McGurk effect an example of
Visual capture
What is the Mullar-Lyer illusion
Europeans (westerners) fall victim to this illusion often more than non-westerners
What are examples of perceptual organization
Mullar-lyar illusion and moon illusion/ ebbinghaus illusion
What is perceptual adaptation
visual ability to adjust to an artificially displaced visual field
Prism goggles
drunk goggles
cerebellum
What is sensory interaction
Rubber hand illusion
Seeing is believing
What is the stroop effect
this set is most difficult because we process the word and color simultaneously, but the input you receive is not the same
Define Depth cues
Elenor Gibson and her visual cliff experiment
If you are old enough to crawl you are old enough to perceive depth
We perceive depth by using two cues that researchers have put in 2 categories
What are the 2 cues for depth
Moncular cues and binocular cues
What are monocular cues
one eye
linear perspective (horizon is closer)
interposition ( one object blocks what’s behind)
relative size
texture gradient: closer objects looks from coarse and objects from afar look smooth
Relative clarity: closer objects tend to appear sharper than distant, hazy objects
Relative height: things lower on the horizon are perceived as closer
Light/ shadow
Relative motion: motion paradox
What are binocular cues
we need both of our eyes to use these cues
retinal disparity: as an object comes closer to us, differences in images between our eyes becomes greater
