Sensation And Perception Flashcards
Perception
The process by which the brain selects, organises and interprets sensations
Sensation
The process by which the sense organs gather information about the environment
Transduction
The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses
Psychophysics
Branch of psychology that studies the relationship between attributes of the physical world and the psychological experience of them
Sensory Receptors
Specialised cells in the nervous system that transform energy in the environment into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain
Absolute Threshold
The minimum amount of physical energy (stimulation) needed for an observer to notice a stimulus
Signal Detection Theory
The theory that experiencing a sensation means making a judgement about whether a stimulus is present or absent
Response Bias
In signal detection theory, the participants readiness to report detecting a signal when uncertain; also called decision criterion
Difference Threshold
The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect
Just Noticeable Difference (jnd)
The smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect
Weber’s Law
The perceptual law proposedby Ernst Weber that states that for two stimuli to be perceived as differing in intensity, the second must differ from the first by a constant proportion
Fechner’s Law
The law of psychophysics proposed by Gustav Fechner, that the subjective magnitude of a sensation grows as a proportion of the logarithm of the stimulus
Steven’s Power Law
A law of sensation proposed by S. S. Stevens, which states that the subjective intensity of a stimulus grows as a proportion of the actual intensity raised to some power
Sensory Adaptation
The tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that continue without change
Phantom Limbs
Misleading ‘sensations’ from missing limbs
Gate-control Theory
Theory that emphasises the role of the central nervous system in regulating pain
Kinaesthesia
That sense that provides information about the movement and position of the limbs and other parts of the body; receptors in joints transduce information about the position of the bones, and receptors in the tendons and muscles transmit messages about muscular tension
Proprioceptive Senses
Senses that provide information about body position and movement; the two proprioceptive senses are kinaesthesia and vestibular sense
Vestibular Sense
The sense that provides information about the position of the body in space by sending gravity and movement
Perceptual Organisation
The process of integrating sensations into meaningful perceptual units
Percepts
Meaningful perceptual units, such as images of particular objects
Form Perception
The organisation of sensations into meaningful shapes and patterns
Figure-ground Perception
A fundamental rule of perception described by Gestalt Psychology that states that people inherently differentiate between figure (the object they are viewing/sound they are listening) and ground (background).
Similarity
A Gestalt rule of perception which states that the brain tends to group similar elements within a perceptual field
Proximity
A Gestalt rule of perception which states that, other things being equal, the brain groups objects together that are close to each other
Good continuation
A Gestalt rule of perception which states that, if possible, the brain organises stimuli into continuous lines or patterns rather than discontinuous elements
Simplicity
A Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive the simplest pattern possible
Closure
A Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete
Recognition by Components
The theory that asserts that we perceive and categorise objects in our own environment by breaking them down into component parts and then matching the components and the way they are arranged against similar ‘sketches’ stored in memory
Perceptual Illusions
Perceptual misinterpretations produced in the course of normal perceptual processes
Depth Perception
The organisation of perception in three dimensions; also called distance perception
Binocular Cues
Visual input integrated from two eyes that provides perception of depth
Monocular Cues
Visual input from a single eye alone that contributes to depth perception
Binocular Cells
Neurons that receive information from both eyes
Motion Parallax
A monocular depth cue involving the relative movements of retinal images of objects; nearby objects appear to speed across the field of vision, whereas distant objects barely seem to move
Motion Perception
The perception of movement in objects
Motion Detectors
Ganglion cells that are particularly sensitive to movement
Perceptual Constancy
The organisation of changing sensations into precepts that are relatively stable in size, shape and colour
Size Constancy
The perception that the shape of objects remains unchanged in spite of the fact that different impressions are made on the retina each time the object is encountered
Colour Constancy
The tendency to perceive the colour of objects as stable despite changing illumination
Shape Constancy
The perception that an objects shape remains constant despite the changing shape of the retinal image as the object is viewed from varying perspectives
Muller-Lyer Illusion
A perceptual illusion in which two lines of equal length appear different in size
Direct Perception
A theory which states that sensory information intrinsically carries meaning
Visual Cliff
A clear table with a checkerboard directly beneath it on one side and another checkerboard that appears to drop off like a cliff on the other, used especially with human infants in depth perception studies
Bottom-up Processing
Perceptual processing that begins with raw sensory data that feed ‘up’ to the brain; what is perceived is determined largely by the features of the stimuli reaching the sense organs
Top-down Processing
Perceptual processing that starts with the observers expectations and knowledge
Perceptual Interpretation
The process of generating meaning from sensory experience
Shemas
Integrated pattern of knowledge stored in memory that organises information and guides the acquisition of new information
