Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Sensation vs. Perception

Answer 1

Sensation: the detection of physical energy emitted or reflected by physical objects
Perception: the way the brain organizes and interprets sensory information (into meaningful patterns)

Question 2

How do we have more than 5 senses?

Answer 2

The skin senses heat, cold, pain, itch, etc.

The ear has receptors that sense balance

Skeletal muscles have receptors that sense bodily movement

Question 3

Sense receptors

Answer 3

Cells in sense organs that convert physical energy to electrical energy that can be transmitted as impulses to the brain

Question 4

Doctrine of specific nerve energies (person, date, solves what question?, content)

Answer 4

Johannes Müller, 1826

Solves question of how the brain can different sensations.

Content: signals from sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways, which lead to different areas of the brain

Question 5

Synesthesia. Most common form?

Answer 5

A condition where sensation in one modality evokes a sensation in another.

Most common form: people experience certain colors when seeing specific letters or numbers.

Question 6

Absolute Threshold, Difference Threshold

Answer 6

Absolute Threshold: the smallest amount of energy that someone can detect 50% of the time

Difference Threshold: the smallest difference in simulation that can be detected 50% of the time

50% of the time = reliable

Question 7

Weber’s law

Answer 7

difference thresholds are by a fixed proportion (not a certain amount)

Question 8

Signal-detection theory

Answer 8

A theory that divides detection of sensory signal into a sensory and decision process.

Adjusts for response bias in difference/absolute threshold perception

Question 9

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 9

Reduction or disappearance of sensory responsiveness when simulation is repeated/unchanging

Question 10

Selective Attention, Inattentional Blindness

Answer 10

Selective attention: The ability to focus on some parts of our environment and block out others.

Inattentional blindness: Failure to consciously perceive something that we’re looking at (eg. gorilla)

Question 11

3 Psychological Dimensions of Vision

Answer 11

Hue: wavelength of light (specified by color names)

Brightness: amplitude; intensity of light.

Saturation: range of wavelengths; complexity of light

Question 12

Trace the path of light into the eye.

Answer 12

First enters through cornea, then bends light towards lens behind it. The lens changes its shape, then focuses light based on distance.

Iris controls amount of light into eye, giving color. Surrounds pupil of the eye (the round opening).

Question 13

Visual receptors of eye is located

Answer 13

Retina, at the back of the eye.

Question 14

2 receptors in the retina (how many of each?)

Answer 14

Rods: 80 to 120 million

Cones: 5 to 7 million

Question 15

Fovea. Which type of receptor is present in fovea?

Answer 15

The center of the retina where vision is sharpest. Only cones.

Question 15

Which receptor enables us to see in dim light?

Answer 15

Rods. More sensitive to light.

Question 16

Which receptor enables us to distinguish colors? How?

Answer 16

Cones. They are sensitive to specific wavelengths, while rods cannot distinguish different wavelengths.

Question 17

Dark Adaptation

how long for rods? what about cones?

Answer 17

The process of visual receptors becoming sensitive to dim light.

Rods take 20 mins, cones around 10 min (but not ver sensitive)

Question 18

Ganglion cells

Answer 18

Neurons in the retina that gather info from receptor cells, where optic nerve is formed.

Question 19

Feature-detector cells

Answer 19

Cells in visual cortex that are sensitive to specific features in the environment. (while ganglion are for more simple things like dark/light)

Question 20

Trichromatic Theory (what alternative name?)

Answer 20

Young-Helmholtz theory

There exists 3 types of cones, responding maximally to blue/green/red. These 3 cones make the thousands of colors we see.

Question 21

Opponent-process theory

Answer 21

2nd stage. Color perception where visual system treats pairs of colors as opposing. There exists antagonistic colors. Afterimages of opposing colors give evidence for this.

Question 22

Gestalt Principles in perception

Answer 22

Principles that describe how the brain organizes information into meaningful units

Question 23

Binocular cues

Answer 23

Visual cues that require the use of both eyes

Question 24

Convergence

Answer 24

the turning of eyes inward to focus on a nearby object.

Question 25

Retinal disparity

Answer 25

A slight difference in lateral separation between two objects seen by left and right eye

Question 26

Monocular cues

Answer 26

Visual cues that only need one eye

Question 27

Interposition

Answer 27

First object that is in front of second object is perceived as being closer

Question 28

Linear perspective

Answer 28

Two parallel lines that are converging in a distance imply the distance.

Question 29

Perceptual constancy

Answer 29

When objects are perceived as same even as sensory information change. (size, shape, location, brightness, color)

Question 30

When do perceptual illusions happen?

Answer 30

When we have systematic errors in our perceptual strategies.

Question 31

What is white noise?

Answer 31

All frequencies on the audible sound spectrum

Question 32

How would hearing be without the outer ear?

Answer 32

Still pretty good

Question 33

Sound wave passes through what to strike an oval shaped membrane called what?

Answer 33

Passes through ear canal to strike eardrum.

Question 34

Where do vibrations go after eardrum? Function?

Answer 34

3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup). They enhance the vibration. Stirrup opens up membrane into inner ear

Question 35

Organ of Corti

Answer 35

Structure inside cochlea with hair cells, which are receptors for hearing

Question 36

Cochlea

Answer 36

Snail-shaped in inner ear, filled with fluid, contains organ of Corti

Question 37

How are auditory signals passed on to the brain?

Answer 37

Hair cells brush against membrane, then pass to auditory nerve to carry to brain.

Question 38

Gustation

Answer 38

taste

Question 39

Papillae

Answer 39

tiny elevations on the tongue, containing taste buds

Question 40

Taste buds

Answer 40

nests of taste receptor cells (50 to 150 in each bud)

Question 41

At what age do taste buds decline?

Answer 41

After age 40

Question 42

6 basic tastes (debatable)

Answer 42

sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami, oleogustus

Question 43

gate-control theory

Answer 43

pain messages are blocked by a gate, then the gate is released when some stimulation happens.

Question 44

Phantom pain

Answer 44

pain in a missing limb or body part (eg. rubber arm, amputated arm, etc.)

Question 45

Kinesthesis

Answer 45

Sense of body position and movement of body parts

Question 46

Equilibrium (in sensation)

Answer 46

The sense of balance

Question 47

Semicircular canals

Answer 47

Sense organs in the inner ear that contribute to equilibrium by responding to head rotation.