Sensation and Perception Flashcards

1
Q

Sensation definition

A

Process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimuli

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2
Q

Perception definition

A

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

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3
Q

Bottom-up processing

A
  1. Data-driven
  2. Begins with incoming sensory information and continues to perception
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4
Q

Top-down processing

A
  1. Concept-driven
  2. Using pre-existing interpretation to interpret incoming sensory information
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5
Q

Vision

A

Light waves absorbed by photoreceptors in retina

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6
Q

Two types of photoreceptors

A
  1. Cones - bright lights, visual acuity, colors
  2. Rods - dim lights, peripheral vision
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7
Q

Visual acuity

A

Sharpness and precise detail

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8
Q

Two main theories of color vision

A
  1. Trichromatic theory
  2. Opponent process theory
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9
Q

Trichromatic theory

A
  1. Retina contains red, blue, green cones
  2. Related to initial processing in retina
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10
Q

Opponent process theory

A
  1. Red/green, blue/yellow, white/black cells
  2. Related to processing beyond retina
  3. Explains afterimages, blue/yellow colorblindness
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11
Q

Color Blindness

A
  1. Red/green most common - usually due to genetics but can be due to disease/injury
  2. Blue/yellow - due to genetics
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12
Q

Red/green color blindness (genetic mutation)

A
  1. Recessive gene on X chromosome
  2. More common in males (only have one X and only need one gene) than females (have two X and need gene on both)
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13
Q

Blue/yellow color blindness (genetic mutation)

A
  1. Autosomal (non-sex) dominant gene
  2. Affects males and females equally
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14
Q

Depth perception

A

Depends on binocular and monocular cues

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15
Q

Binocular cues

A
  1. Use both eyes
  2. Depth perception of close objects
  3. Retinal disparity and convergence
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16
Q

Monocular cues

A
  1. Use one eye
  2. Depth perception of far objects
  3. Size, overlap/position, linear perspective, texture, motion parallax
17
Q

Retinal disparity

A
  1. Two eyes seeing objects from two different views
  2. Closer object = greater disparity
18
Q

Convergence

A

Tendency of eyes to turn inward when an object is closer and vice versa

19
Q

Gate control theory

A
  1. Pain perception
  2. Differentiates two types of nerve fibers in spinal cord
  3. “Gate” opens for pain signals (small unmyelinated) but closes for other sensory signals (large myelinated)
20
Q

Two types of nerve fibers in spinal cord (gate control theory)

A
  1. Small unmyelinated - transmit most pain signals to brain
  2. Large myelinated - transmit other sensory signals to brain
21
Q

Synesthesia

A
  1. Sensations in one modality spontaneously trigger sensations in another modality
  2. Most common = grapheme-color
  3. May be genetic, increased cross-activation and cross-connectivity in brain’s sensory areas
22
Q

Grapheme-color synesthesia

A

Letters and numbers associated with colors

23
Q

Psychophysics

A

Study of relationship between magnitude of physical stimuli and psychological sensations

24
Q

Four psychophysics theories

A
  1. Weber’s Law
  2. Fechner’s Law
  3. Stevens’s Power Law
  4. Signal Detection Theory
25
Weber's Law
1. Just noticeable difference (JND) is a constant proportion regardless of object intensity 2. Only applies to some stimuli and mid-range intensities 3. Weight proportion = 2%
26
Fechner's Law (Fechner-Weber Law)
1. Logarithmic relationship (JND grows to increasingly greater degree with each increment in intensity) 2. Only applies to some stimuli and better than Weber's for extreme intensities
27
Stevens's Power Law
1. Exponential relationship, with differing exponents based on stimuli 2. More accurate than Weber's and Fechner's laws 3. Developed from research on method of magnitude estimation
28
Method of magnitude estimation
1. Participants assigned numbers to stimuli based on sensations elicited 2. Relationship between physical stimuli and sensation differs for different stimuli
29
Signal Detection Theory
1. Perception (and accuracy) of a stimulus comes from both sensory and decision-making processes 2. Decision-making always uncertain due to background noise (other neural activity, fatigue, distractions) 3. Decision-making affected by sensitivity and decision criterion
30
Sensitivity
Perceiver's ability to differentiate between stimulus and background noise
31
Decision criterion (decision bias, response bias)
Perceiver's willingness or tendency to say a stimulus is present in ambiguous situations
32
Signal Detection Theory research
1. Participants presented with weak or absent stimulus in a noisy background and then asked whether they detect signal or not 2. d-prime = estimate of sensitivity 3. ROC curve = how often hits and false alarms may occur for different levels of sensitivity, impact of changes in decision criterion
33
Four possible outcomes in Signal Detection Theory experiments
1. Hit = says present (correct) 2. False alarm = says present (incorrect) 3. Miss = says not present (incorrect) 4. Correct rejection = says not present (correct)