Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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0
Q

Perception

A

A process that makes sensory patterns meaningful. It is perception that makes these words meaningful, rather than just a string of visual patterns. To make this happen, perception draws heavily on memory, motivation, emotion, and other psychological processes.

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1
Q

Sensation

A

The process by which stimulation of a sensory receptor produces neural impulses that the brain interprets as a sound, a visual image, an odor, a taste, a pain, or other sensory image. Sensation represents the first steps in processing of incoming information.

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2
Q

How does stimulation become sensation?

A

The brain senses the world indirectly because the sense organs convert stimulation into the language of the nervous system: neural messages.

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3
Q

Transduction

A

Transformation of one form of energy into another- especially the transformation of stimulus information into nerve signals by the sense organs. Without transduction, ripe tomatoes would not appear red.

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4
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

Loss of responsiveness in receptor cells after stimulation has remained unchanged for a while, as when a swimmer becomes adapted to the temperature of the water.

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5
Q

Sensory habituation (perceptual adaptation)

A

Perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on them

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6
Q

Cocktail-party phenomenon

A

The involuntary switch of attention when someone says your name

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7
Q

Absolute threshold

A

The amount of stimulation necessary for a stimulus to be detected. In practice, this means that the presence or absence of a stimulus is detected correctly half the time over many trials.

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8
Q

Subliminal messages

A

Stimuli below the absolute threshold

Some claim it can change behavior

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9
Q

Difference threshold

A

The smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed and the difference be detected half the time.

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10
Q

Just noticeable difference (JND)

A

Same as the difference threshold

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11
Q

Weber’s Law

A

This concept says that the size of a JND is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus; the JND is large when the stimulus intensity is high and is small when the stimulus intensity is low.

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12
Q

Fechner’s Law

A

The magnitude of a stimulus can be estimated by the formula S=klogR, where S=sensation, R=stimulus, and k=a constant that differs for each sensory modality (sight, touch, temperature, etc.)

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13
Q

Steven’s power law

A

A law of magnitude estimation that is more accurate than Fechner’s law and covers a wider variety of stimuli. It is represented by the formula S=kI^a, where S=sensation, k=a constant, I=stimulus intensity, and a=a power exponent that depends on the sense being measured.

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14
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Explains how we detect “signals”, consisting of stimulation affecting our eyes, ears, nose, skin, and other sense organs. Signal detection theory says that sensation is a judgement the sensory system makes about incoming stimulation. Often, it occurs outside of consciousness. In contrast to older theories from psychophysics, signal detection theory takes observer characteristics into account.

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15
Q

Response criteria (receiver operating characteristics)

A

Factors influencing signal detection (how motivated we are to detect certain stimuli, what we expect to perceive)

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16
Q

False positive

A

When we think we perceive a stimulus that is not there

False alarm

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17
Q

False negative

A

Not perceiving a stimulus that is present

Miss

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18
Q

Hit

A

Correctly detecting a stimulus that is there

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19
Q

Correct rejection

A

not perceiving a stimulus that is not there

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20
Q

How are the senses alike? And how are they different?

A

The senses all operate in much the same way, but each extracts different information and sends it to its own specialized processing region in the brain.

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21
Q

Energy senses

A

Vision, hearing, and touch

Gather light, sound waves, pressure

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22
Q

Chemical senses

A

Taste and smell

Gather chemicals

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23
Q

Vision

A

The dominant sense in human beings

Involves gathering light with the eyes

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24
Q

Cornea

A

Protective covering of the eye that helps focus the light

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25
Q

Pupil

A

Light goes through this
Controlled by the iris
Opens to let more light in
Smaller to let less light in

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26
Q

Lens

A

During accommodation, focuses the light that enters the pupil
Curved and flexible to focus the light

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27
Q

Photoreceptors

A

Light-sensitive cells (neurons) in the retina that convert light energy to neural impulses. The photoreceptors are as far as light gets into the visual system.

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28
Q

Feature detectors

A

Groups of neurons in the visual cortex that respond to different types of visual images
Some for lines, curves, motion, and many other features

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29
Q

Pathway of light in eye

A

Cornea –> aqueous humor –> pupil (manipulated by iris) –> lens focuses –> vitreous humor –> retina (fovea for clear sight) –> optic nerve

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30
Q

Retina

A

The thin, light-sensitive layer at the back of the eyeball. The retina contains millions of photoreceptors and other nerve cells.

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31
Q

Transduction of light in the retina

A

Incoming light –> photoreceptors –> bipolar cells synthesize –> ganglion cells –> optic nerve –> cortex

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32
Q

Rods

A

Photoreceptors in the retina that are especially sensitive to dim, black-and-white light but not to colors.

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33
Q

Cones

A

Photoreceptors in the retina that are especially sensitive to colors but not to dim light.

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34
Q

Fovea

A

The tiny area of sharpest vision in the retina.

An indentation at the very center of the retina that contains the highest concentration of cones.

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35
Q

Bipolar cells

A

Combine impulses from receptor cells and transmit to ganglion cells

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36
Q

Ganglion cells

A

Integrate several bipolar cells into a single fire

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37
Q

Horizontal cells

A

Connect receptors to each other

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38
Q

Amacrine cells

A

Link bipolar cells to other bipolar cells and ganglion to other ganglion cells

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39
Q

Optic nerve

A

The bundle of neurons that carries visual information from the retina to the brain.
Made up of the axons of ganglion cells and sends impulses to the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus.

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40
Q

Blind spot

A

The point where the optic nerve exits the eye and where there are no photoreceptors. Any stimulus that falls on this area cannot be seen.

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41
Q

Optic chiasma

A

Each optic nerve comes together and is subdivided into inner/outer vision bundles. Inner bundles cross over to the other hemisphere
The spot where the nerves cross each other

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42
Q

Optic tract

A

Bundles from both eyes travel to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe in the back of the brain

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43
Q

Brightness

A

A psychological sensation caused by the intensity of light waves.

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44
Q

Occipital lobe

A

Contains the visual cortex

Receives the impulses from the cells of the retina, which activate feature detectors

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45
Q

How visual stimulation goes from the eyes to the brain

A

Lens of eye reverses image on retina –> left side of each retina = right visual field, and vice versa –> optic nerve –> optic chasma (left side of retina crosses over to left hemisphere, right to left) –> optic tract –> lateral geniculate nucleus –> visual association cortex –> primary visual cortex

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46
Q

Wavelength influences

A

Color

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47
Q

Intensity (amplitude) influences

A

Brightness

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48
Q

Color

A

Also called hue. Color is not a property of things in the external world. Rather, it is a psychological sensation created in the brain from information obtained by the eyes from the wavelengths of visible light.

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49
Q

Electromagnetic spectrum

A

The entire range of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves, X rays, microwaves, and visible light.

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50
Q

Visible spectrum

A

The tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum to which our eyes are sensitive. The visible spectrum of some creatures may be slightly different than our own.

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51
Q

Long wavelengths create

A

Red

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52
Q

Short wavelengths create

A

Blue

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53
Q

Trichromatic theory

A

The idea that colors are sensed by three different types of cones sensitive to light in the red, blue, and green wavelengths. The trichromatic theory explains the earliest stage of color sensation.

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54
Q

Opponent-process theory

A

The idea that cells in the visual system process colors in complementary pairs, such as red or green or as yellow or blue. The opponent-process theory explains color sensation from the bipolar cells onward in the visual system. If one sensor is stimulated, its pair is inhibited from firing.

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55
Q

Afterimages

A

Sensations that linger after the stimulus is removed. Most visual afterimages are negative afterimages, which appear in reversed colors.

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56
Q

Color blindness

A

Typically a genetic disorder (although sometimes the result of trauma) that prevents an individual from discriminating certain colors. The most common form is red-green color blindness.

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57
Q

Hearing

A

The energy sense that uses sound waves that are collected by the ears

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58
Q

Sound waves

A

Vibrations in the air that are collected by the ears

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59
Q

Amplitude

A

The physical strength of a wave. This is usually measured from peak (top) to valley (bottom) on a graph of the wave. In hearing, determines loudness (dB)

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60
Q

Frequency

A

The number of cycles completed by a wave in a given amount of time, usually a second. In hearing, determines pitch (MHz)

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61
Q

Tympanic membrane

A

The eardrum.

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62
Q

Cochlea

A

The primary organ of hearing; a coiled tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are transduced into nerve messages.

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63
Q

Basilar membrane

A

A thin strip of tissue sensitive to vibrations in the cochlea. The basilar membrane contains hair cells connected to neurons. When a sound wave causes the hair cells to vibrate, the associated neurons become excited. As a result, the sound waves are converted (transduced) into nerve activity.

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64
Q

Organ of Corti

A

Neurons activated by movement of the hair cells

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65
Q

Pitch

A

A sensory characteristic of sound produced by the frequency of the sound wave.

66
Q

Pitch theories

A

Describe the processes involved in hearing pitch

Place theory and frequency theory

67
Q

Place theory

A

Hair cells in the cochlea respond to different frequencies of sound based on where they are located in the cochlea
Higher pitches

68
Q

Frequency theory

A

Hair cells fire at different rates in the cochlea

Lower tones

69
Q

Loudness

A

A sensory characteristic of sound produced by the amplitude (intensity) of the sound wave.

70
Q

Timbre

A

The quality of a sound wave that derives from the wave’s complexity (combination of pure tones). Timbre comes from the Greek word for “drum,” as does the term tympanic membrane, or eardrum.

71
Q

Conduction deafness

A

An inability to hear resulting from damage to structures of the middle or inner ear.

72
Q

Nerve deafness (sensorineural deafness)

A

An inability to hear, linked to a deficit in the body’s ability to transmit impulses from the cochlea to the brain, usually involving the auditory nerve or higher auditory processing centers.

73
Q

Stimulus for vision

A

Light waves

74
Q

Sense organ for vision

A

Eye

75
Q

Receptor for vision

A

Rods and cones of retina

76
Q

Vision sensations

A

Colors, brightness, patterns, motion, texture

77
Q

Stimulus for hearing

A

Sound waves

78
Q

Sense organ for hearing

A

Ear

79
Q

Receptor for hearing

A

Hair cells of the basilar membrane

80
Q

Hearing sensations

A

Pitch, loudness, timbre

81
Q

Stimulus for skin senses

A

External contact

82
Q

Sense organ for skin senses

A

Skin

83
Q

Receptor for skin senses

A

Nerve endings in skin

84
Q

Skin sensations

A

Touch, warmth, cold

85
Q

Stimulus for smell

A

Volatile substances

86
Q

Sense organ for smell

A

Nose

87
Q

Receptor for smell

A

Hair cells of olfactory epithelium

88
Q

Smell sensations

A

Odor (musky, flowery, burnt, minty, etc.)

89
Q

Stimulus for taste

A

Soluble substances

90
Q

Sense organ for taste

A

Tongue

91
Q

Receptor for taste

A

Taste buds of tongue

92
Q

Taste sensations

A

Flavors (sweet, sour, salty, bitter)

93
Q

Stimulus for pain

A

Many intense or extreme stimuli: temperature, chemicals, mechanical stimuli, etc.

94
Q

Sense organ for pain

A

Net of pain fibers all over the body

95
Q

Receptor for pain

A

Specialized pain receptors, overactive or abnormal neurons

96
Q

Pain sensations

A

Acute pain, chronic pain

97
Q

Stimulus for kinesthetic and vestibular senses

A

Body position, movement, and balance

98
Q

Sense organ for kinesthetic and vestibular senses

A

Semicircular canals, skeletal muscles, joints, tendons

99
Q

Receptor for kinesthetic and vestibular senses

A

Hair cells in semicircular canals; neurons connected to skeletal muscles, joints, and tendons

100
Q

Kinesthetic and vestibular sensations

A

Position of body parts in space

101
Q

Vestibular sense

A

The sense of body orientation with respect to gravity. The vestibular sense is closely associated with the inner ear and, in fact, is carried to the brain on a branch of the auditory nerve

102
Q

Kinesthetic sense

A

The sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other (also called kinesthesis)

103
Q

Olfaction

A

The sense of smell

104
Q

Pheromones

A

Chemical signals released by organisms to communicate with other members of their species. Pheromones are often used by animals as sexual attractants. It is unclear whether or not humans employ pheromones.

105
Q

Gustation

A

The sense of taste- from the same word root as “gusto”- also called the gustatory sense

106
Q

Skin senses

A

Sensory systems for processing touch, warmth, cold, texture, and pain

107
Q

Touch

A

Activated when skin is indented, pierced, or experiences a change in temperature

108
Q

Gate-control theory

A

An explanation for pain control that proposes we have a neural “gate” that can, under some circumstances, block incoming pain signals
Some messages have higher priority than others

109
Q

Fast twitch fibers vs slow twitch fibers

A

Fast: stimulate by shaking
Block slow fibers
Release endorphins
Slow: pain!

110
Q

Ways to control pain

A
  1. Gate control theory (shaking, stimulating fast fibers)
  2. Attention
  3. Hypnosis
  4. Placebo
111
Q

Placebo effect

A

A response to a placebo (a fake drug), caused by subjects’ belief that they are taking real drugs.

112
Q

What is the relationship between sensation and perception?

A

Perception brings meaning to sensation, so perception produces an interpretation of the world, not a perfect representation of it.

113
Q

Percept

A

The meaningful product of perception- often an image that has wen associated with concepts, memories of events, emotions, and motives

114
Q

Feature detectors

A

Cells in the cortex that specialize in extracting certain features of a stimulus

115
Q

Binding problem

A

Refers to the process used by the brain to combine (or “bind”) the results of many sensory operations into a single percept. This occurs, for example, when sensations of color, shape, boundary, and texture are combined to produce the percept of a person’s face. No one knows exactly how the brain does this. Thus the binding problem is one of the major involved mysteries in psychology.

116
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Perceptual analysis that emphasizes characteristics of the stimulus, rather than our concepts and expectations. “Bottom” refers to the stimulus, which occurs at step one of perceptual processing.

117
Q

Top-down processing

A

Perceptual analysis that emphasizes the perceiver’s expectations, concept memories, and other cognitive factors, rather than being driven by the characteristics of the stimulus. “Top” refers to a mental set in the brain- which stands at the “top” of the perceptual processing system

118
Q

Proximal stimuli

A

Retinal images

119
Q

Distal stimuli

A

Physical objects in the world

120
Q

Perceptual constancy

A

The ability to recognize the same object as remaining “constant” under different conditions, such as changes in size, shape, orientation, and color

121
Q

Size constancy

A

We keep a constant size in mind for object and know that it does not grow or shrink as it moves close or farther away

122
Q

Shape constancy

A

We know the shape of an object is constant despite being viewed from different angles

123
Q

Brightness constancy

A

We perceive objects as being a constant color even as the light reflecting off the object changes

124
Q

Stroboscopic effect

A

Images in a series of still pictures presents at a certain speed will appear to be moving
Used in movies or flip books

125
Q

Phi phenomenon

A

Series of lightbulbs turned on and off at a particular rate will appear to be one moving light

126
Q

Autokinetic effect

A

If a spot of light is 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

127
Q

Illusion

A

You have experienced an illusion when you have a demonstrably incorrect perception of a stimulus pattern, especially one that also fools others who are observing the same stimulus. (If no one else sees it the way you do, you could be having a delusion or a hallucination).

128
Q

Ambiguous figures

A

Images that are capable of more than one interpretation. There is no “right” way to see an ambiguous figure.

129
Q

Hallucination

A

A misperception experienced only by the individual

130
Q

Explanation for Müller-Lyer illusion

A

Brain thinks it is seeing the inside and outside corners of a building in perspective – learned?

131
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

From a German word that means “whole” or “form” or “configuration”. (A gestalt is also a percept.) The gestalt psychologists believed that much of perception is shaped by innate factors built into the brain.

132
Q

Figure

A

The part of a pattern that commands attention. The figure stands out against the ground.

133
Q

Ground

A

The part of a patter that does not command attention; the background.

134
Q

Closure

A

The gestalt principle that identifies the tendency to fill in gaps in figures and to see incomplete figures as complete.
Like top-down processing

135
Q

Laws of perceptual grouping

A

The gestalt principles of similarity, proximity, continuity, and common fate. These “laws” suggest how our brains prefer to group stimulus elements together to form a percept (gestalt).

136
Q

Law of similarity

A

The gestalt principle that we tend to group similar objects together in our perceptions.

137
Q

Gestalt rules

A

Principles that govern how we perceive groups of objects

Normally perceive objects as groups, not isolated elements

138
Q

Law of proximity

A

The gestalt principle that we tend to group objects together when they are near each other. Proximity means nearness.

139
Q

Law of continuity

A

The gestalt principle that we prefer perceptions of connected and continuous figures to disconnected and disjointed ones

140
Q

Law of common fate

A

The gestalt principle that we tend to group similar objects together that share a common motion or destination

141
Q

Law of Prägnanz

A

The most general gestalt principle, which states that the simplest organization, requiring the least cognitive effort, will emerge as the figure. Prägnanz shares a common root with pregnant, and so it carries the idea of a “fully developed figure”. That is, our perceptual system prefers to see a fully developed gestalt, such as a complete circle– as opposed to a broken circle.

142
Q

Depth cues

A

Allow us to differentiate between what is near and what is far
Divided into monocular and binocular cues

143
Q

Binocular cues

A

Information taken in by both eyes that aids in depth perception, including binocular convergence and retinal disparity.

144
Q

Convergence

A

Binocular depth cue
Point at which one pencil becomes two pencils
The more the eyes converge, the closer the object must be

145
Q

Binocular disparity

A

Binocular depth cue
Hole in hand
Far away object projects similar images into retina
The closer it is, the more disparity

146
Q

Monocular cues

A

Information about depth that relies on the input of just one eye–includes relative size, light and shadow, interposition, relative motion, and atmospheric perspective.

147
Q

Learning-based inference

A

The view that perception is primarily shaped by learning (or experience), rather than by innate factors.

148
Q

Perceptual set

A

Readiness to detect a particular stimulus in a given context– as when a person who is afraid interprets an unfamiliar sound in the night as a threat.

149
Q

Motion parallax

A

Monocular depth cue

Objects in the distance appear to move more slowly

150
Q

Pictorial cues

A

Monocular depth cues

Interposition, linear perspective, relative size, texture gradient, atmospheric perspective, shadow

151
Q

Interposition

A

Pictorial cue

Objects that block the view to other objects just be closer

152
Q

Linear perspective

A

Pictorial cue

Objects in distance seem to converge

153
Q

Relative size

A

Pictorial cue

Objects in distance look smaller

154
Q

Texture gradient

A

Pictorial cue

Can see details in texture close to us but not far away

155
Q

Atmospheric perspective

A

Pictorial cue

Smog

156
Q

Shadow or shading

A

Pictorial cue

Shading implies where the light source is, showing depth and position of objects

157
Q

Explanation for Ponzo illusion

A

Experience with structures featuring parallel lines that seem to converge in the distance – people in Guam, for instance, do not experience the illusion

158
Q

Gustav Fechner

A

1801-1887

Contributed to Weber’s law on JND

159
Q

David Hubel

A

1926-present
Discovered that groups of neurons in the visual cortex respond to different types of visual images
(Feature detectors)

160
Q

Ernst Weber

A

Psychophysicist who created Weber’s law, which computes the JND
Also discovered that each sense varies according to a constant
(For hearing it is 5%, for vision 8%)

161
Q

Torsten Wiesel

A

(1924-present)
Discovered that groups of neurons in the visual cortex respond to different types of visual images
(Feature detectors)

162
Q

Eleanor Gibson

A

Visual cliff experiment to determine when human infants can perceive depth