Sensation and Perception (6-8%) Flashcards
Subliminal Threshold
advertising aimed at influencing someone without the persons conscious awareness
sub-below
limen- threshold
ex; movie theater, KFC sandwich
BInocular Fusion
combination of two images into one
-vision from both eyes
-depth perception
Sound Intensity
measured in decibels
Gestalt’s Ideas
similarity, proximity, continuity, closure
Perceptual Inference
perceptions not based entirely on current sensory information but experience
(top-down processing)
ex; dog barking when you knock
-is largely automatic and unconscious and depends on active involvement and prior experience
Psychophysics
study of the relationship between sensory experiences and stimuli
Stimulants
any aspect of change in the environment that causes an organism to respond
ex; light, sound waves, chemicals
Sensation
initial electrical activity produced by a stimulus
-anytime a stimulus activates one of your sense receptors
ex; colors, forms, sounds, smells, tastes
Sensory Transduction
when sensory cells located in the sense organs detect a stimulus, they convert energy of the stimulus into electrical impulses that travel along nerves to the brain
-when an outside stimulus changes to an electrical impulse
Perception
organization of sensory information into meaningful stimuli based on past experiences
-meaningful
ex; I smell the pizza…this is good
Thalamus
directs info to correct area of cerebral cortex
Threshold
amount of a stimulus necessary for a person to sense it at all
ex; how much energy to hear a sound
Absolute Threshold
the minimum amount of physical energy required to produce a sensation (can be detected correct 50% of the time)
Difference Threshold
minimum amount of energy change required to produce a change in sensation
Weber’s Law
the larger or stronger a stimulus begins, the larger the change required for an observer to notice
-measures difference threshold
Sensory Adaptation
senses are turned to change and are most responsive to increases and decreases of stimulation
-senses get used to constant level of stimulation
ex; smell of own home
False Positive (motivation in senses)
individuals make an unconscious decision to notice a stimulus
ex; making body think there is a deer
False Negative
not perceiving a stimulus that is present
Signal Detection Theory
studies the relations between motivation, sensitivity, and decision making
-threshold will change based on the criteria
-says there is no absolute threshold because of variables like noise or exhaustion
Vision (visual spectrum)
light is the stimulus for vision
light is a wave form of radiant energy
most studied of all senses
Characteristics of Light
hue(color)- wavelength
amplitude(brightness)- height of the waves
saturation(purity)- complexity of waves
Process of Vision
enters cornea, then pupil, iris, lens, retina, rods and cones, fovea, bipolar to ganglion, axons, optic nerve, occipital lobe
Cornea
protective covering of the eye
Pupil
opening in the eye
Iris
opens and closes the pupil to allow more or less light
Lens
focuses/magnifies
Retina
back of inner eye that contain 2 types of light sensitive receptors
Rods
only exist on the outer part of the retina, night vision, movement, many more rods (75 to 150 million)
to see in low light conditions
Cones
work best in the daylight, middle of retina, (6 to 7 million), and color
Fovea
greatest visual acuity in bright light because the fovea is made of only cones
-most bright light
Ganglion Cells
rods and cones are connected to the ganglion cells by bipolar cells
-neurons in retina that gather information from the bipolar cells are called ganglion cells, their axons create the optic nerve
Order of Cells
ganglion, bipolar, cones, rods
Blind Spot
is where the optic nerve leaves the eye (no rods or cones)
Optic Chiasm
where the nerves cross each other in the eye
Monocular
single eye vision
Trichromatic Theory
one cone for blue, one cone for red, one cone for for green, these combine to produce all colors
how we see color
Opponent Process Theory
visual system treat pairs of colors as opposing; explains after images
-if you are staring at something red the look away you see green
-or see an image somewhere else
Characteristics of Sound Waves
amplitude(loudness)- height of waves
frequency(pitch)- how many waves in a time period
timbre(purity)- complexity of a wave- telling one voice from another
Process of Sound
pinna, auditory canal, ear drum, ossicles, oval window, cochlea, cilia, auditory nerve, cochlear nerve, temporal lobe
Pinna
acts as funnel for sound waves which then enter the auditory canal
Ear Drum/Ossicles
contains the 3 ossicles (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Oval Window
a membrane that forms the barrier between the fluid, inner ear and the rest of the ear
Cochlea
sound waves are transferred into the fluid in the cochlea that is lined by the basilar membrane which is lined with sense receptors called cilia
Transduction Points
retina and cochlea
Cilia
sense receptors from the beginning of the auditory nerve which then sends info to the temporal lobes
-hair like
Place Theory
we hear different frequencies of sound because of where the cilia are located in the cilia
Frequency Theory
we sense pitch because the hair like cells fire at different rates in the cochlea
Conduction Deafness
obstruction of the auditory canal or damage to the ear drum or ossicles
-outer ear
-ear plugs causing on purpose
-corrected by hearing aids
Nerve Deafness
caused by repeated exposure to loud noises
-inner ear
Sound Localization
sound reaches one ear faster and louder than the other ear and tells us where the sound is coming from
-hard to determine when the sound is directly behind you
Vestibular System
the body’s sense of balance in the inner ear
-3 semicircular canals tell your body how it is moving
Olfactory Nerve
chemical molecules hit the smell receptors in the inner nose and are transported to the brain
Olfactory Bulb
connects to the amygdala and then to the hippocampus
-explains why smell triggers memory
Pheromones
chemicals that produce odor used as a method of communication between organisms
Taste Buds
tongue has around 9,000 taste buds on it
-taste buds are in mouth and throat and are housed in papillae
-regenerate every 7-10 days
-much of taste comes from our sense of smell
Umami
savory associated with some meat, vegetables and cheese
5 Taste Sensations
sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami
Tasters
taster; normal taste
non taster; does not respond to taste like a taster food all seems bland
super taster; all food has a very string flavor
-comes from genetics
Infants Avoid
infants avoid sour or bitter food
-evolutionary psychology believes this protects them from potential poisons in the environment
Skin Senses
pressure(pain) and temperature come from receptors in skin
-some receptors are highly concentrated (fingertips)
-others have few receptors (middle of your back or calf)
Pain
makes it possible for you to prevent damage to your body
-emergency system that demands immediate action
Gate Control Theory
experience of pain depends on whether the message gets past the neurological “gate” in the spinal cord
-thoughts and feelings can affect our reaction to pain
Phantom Pain (neuromatrix theory)
brain can generate pain on its own external stimulation
-about 1/3 of amputees report phantom limb pain
Kinesthesis
sense of movement and body position
-works with vestibular and visual senses to maintain posture and balance
-receptors located in muscles, tendons, joints
-walk without looking at feet
-allows movement without looking at limbs
Vertigo
perceptual disability where people have a hard time connecting a letter with a appropriate sound
-sometimes reversed
-trouble with left and right physical coordination
Gestalt Psychology
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
-fill in gaps to make sense of our world
Top-Down Processing Theory
what we already know affects what we perceive
Bottom-Up Processing
states the mind constructs perception mechanically from raw sensations
-horizontal and vertical lines, curves, motion and so on builds a picture in our minds
-infants
Figure-Ground Perception
ability to discriminate between figure and its background
Held Hein Experiment
knows the importance of playing an active role in experiencing one’s environment
-ongoing visual experience especially in the early formative years is critical for normal development of the visual system(other senses too)
ex; cat in box
Depth Perception (convergence)
the ability to recognize distances and 3D
-develops in infancy (visual cliff)
-need both eyes
Motion Parallax
when you move your head from side to side or walk around the apparent movement of a stationary object relative to another
-relative motion
ex; objects in the nearby field seem to be moving faster than objects that are farther away
Visual Cues
interposition (closest covers another), texture density/gradient, atmospheric perspective
Constancy
perceiving objects in the same way regardless of their distance, angle, lighting
Muller-Lyer Illusion
this illusion happens because of your perceptual experiences throughout your life dealing with corners
Illusion
misrepresentation of physical stimuli
Cocktail Party Effect
your ability to follow one voice in a loud area
-you hear someone say your name and immediately perceive it
Extra Sensory Perceptions/Telepathy
perceiving information about the world through means other than senses
