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Biological Psychology > Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

Visual Acuity

A

The ability to see fine detail; the smallest line of letters a person can read at 20ft

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2
Q

Snellen Chart

A

measure of visual acuity

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3
Q

visual light

A

the proportion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see

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4
Q

How are these properties of light waves perceived: wavelength, amplitude, purity

A

wavelength - colour
amplitude - brightness
purity (number of wavelengths) - saturation/richness of colour

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5
Q

Light enters the eye through the…

A

cornea

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6
Q

What is the function of the iris

A

controls the size of the pupil and thus the ammount of light that enters

dim - light = contract - reduces light entering
light - dim = pupils enlarge = dark adaptation

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7
Q

the retina

A

light sensitive tissue at back of eye

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8
Q

function of the lens

A

focus light on retina
muscles control shape
FLATTER for distant objects
ROUNDER for near objects

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9
Q

what are hyperopia and myopia

A 
hyperopia = long signtedness - images focussed behind the retina
myopia = short sightedness - images focused in front of retina
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10
Q

what are cones

A

photoreceptor cells which detect colour

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11
Q

what are rods

A

photoreceptor cells which detect light

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12
Q

proportion of rods : cones

A

120 million : 6 million

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13
Q

fovea

A

area of the retina where vision is clearest - no rods at all - high concentration of cones

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14
Q

describe the 3 layers of the retina and their functions

A

inner layer - photoreceptor cells (rods, cones)
2nd layer - bipolar cells - transmit neural signals from photoreceptor cells to outermost layer
3rd layer - retinal ganglion cells - organise signals and send them to the brain

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15
Q

blind spot

A

area of retina with no rods or cones - optic nerve leaves through here

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16
Q

receptive field

A

region of the sensory surface that, when stimulated, causes a change in the firing rate of that neuron

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17
Q

most receptive fields contain

A

central excitatory zone surrounded by a doughnut shaped inhibitory zone (on centre cell)

central inhibitory zone surrounded by an excitatory zone (off centre cell)

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18
Q

what is colour

A

our perception of wavelength
shortest = blue
longest = red

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19
Q

how do cones percieve colour?

A

they contain 3 pigments
red - long wavelengths
green - medium wavelengths
blue - short wavelengths

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20
Q

What did Thomas Young propose

A

colour perception relies on 3 components of the retina

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21
Q

What did Von Helmholtz do

A

developed Young’s ideas - suggesting colour perception relies on 3 components of the retina

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22
Q

What did Newton discover regarding light

A

white light is made up of all visible colours

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23
Q

what is additive colour mixing

A

creating colours by combining various ammounts of primary colours

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24
Q

There are 3 types of cones, give the functions of:
S cones
M cones
L cones

A

respond to:
S - short wavelengths
M - medium wavelengths
L - long wavelengths

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25
Q

how does colour blindness occur?

A

when one or more type of cone (S,M,L) is missing

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26
Q

which chromosome is colour blindness linked to?

A

X - hence it affects more men than women

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27
Q

how does colour afterimage occur?

A

starring too long at one colour - causes fatigue to the cones that respond to that colour - a form of sensory adaptation

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28
Q

The optic nerve

A

travels from each eye to the lateral geniculate nucleus located in the thalamus

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29
Q

where does the visual signal travel to after the thalamus

A

primary visual cortex

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30
Q

what happens at the primary visual cortex

A

the visual info is mapped into a representation of the visual scene

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31
Q

initial processing region V1

A

responsible for visual organisation

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32
Q

where are the specialised brain areas for vision located?

A

in the occipital lobe and the temporal lobes

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33
Q

name the two distinct pathways projecting from the occipital cortex to other visual areas

A

The ventral stream

The dorsal stream

34
Q

What is the ventral stream (the what pathway)

A

a pathway which travels across the occipital lobe into the lower regions of the temporal lobes - includes areas which identify an objects SHAPE

35
Q

what is the dorsal stream (the where pathway)

A

pathway which travels up from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobes - areas which identify and objects location

36
Q

what is visual form agnosia

A

the inability to recognise objects by sight - damage to ventral stream

37
Q

what is optic ataxia

A

damage to dorsal stream - difficulty detecting where objects are i.e. difficulty using vision to guide reach

38
Q

what is an illusory conjunction

A

a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined

39
Q

feature integration theory

A

proposal that attention binds individual features together to comprise a composite stimulus

40
Q

where are images binded together?

A

parietal lobe in the dorsal stream

41
Q

modular view

A

specialised brain areas, or modules, detect and represent faces, houses, body parts

42
Q

which region of the brain responds selectively to face

A

the temporal lobe (sub-section)

43
Q

what is the principle of conceptual constancy

A

even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant - explains why you recognise a friend even if they change clothes

44
Q

What do Gestalt perceptual grouping rules describe

A

how the features and regions of things fit together

45
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

Simplicity AKA Pragnanz

A

the visual system tends to select the simplest interpretation

46
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

closure

A

we tend to fill in missing elements of a visual scene

47
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

Continuity

A

edges/ contours with similar orientation have ‘good continuity’

48
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

Similarity

A

regions that are in colour, lightness, shape or texture are perceived as being the same object

49
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

Proximity

A

objects that are close together are grouped

50
Q

Gestalt perceptual grouping rule:

common fate

A

elements that move together are perceived as part of the same object

51
Q

What are the two theories of object recognition

A

Image based - an object which has been seen before is stored in memory as a template

Parts based - the brain deconstructs viewed objects into a collection of parts

52
Q

Describe Bruce and Young model of face recognition

A

suggests that many of the different components of object recognition must be active during facial recognition

53
Q

What is the region MT (middle temporal region) in the temporal lobe specialised for?

A

the perception of motion

54
Q

When people experience waterfall illusions what area do fMRI scans show greater activity in?

A

MT (middle temporal) region of the temporal lobe

55
Q

describe the phi phenomenon

A

the brain integrates images or flashing lights into a single moving object

56
Q

describe apparent motion

A

the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations

57
Q

what are sound waves

A

changes in air pressure unfolding over time

58
Q

describe pure tone and give example

A

a simple sound wave that first increases air pressure and then creates a relative vacuum - eg plucking a guitar string, or strumming a minge

59
Q

normal conversation level (dB)

A

40dB

60
Q

threshold dB level for hearing damage

A

85dB

61
Q

what provides the most info needed to identify sound

A

frequency

62
Q

how do we identify the location of sound

A

changes in frequency
difference in loudness from one ear to the other
delay in sound from one ear to the other

63
Q

what is visual orienting

A

a behavioural response that moves the eyes towards a target

64
Q

name the 3 parts of the human ear

A

outer ear
middle ear
inner ear

65
Q

waddup at the outer ear?

A

collects sound waves and funnels them towards the middle ear. consists of:
the pinna (visible)
the auditory canal
the eardrum

66
Q

describe the eardrum

A

airtight flap of skin that vibrates in response to sound

67
Q

the middle ear

A

transmits vibrations to the inner ear - 3 ossicle bones -hammer, anvil and stirrup - fit together to form a lever that transmits and intensifies vibrations to the inner ear

68
Q

inner ear

A

transduces vibrations into neural impulses - contains the cochlea + basilar membrane + tiny hair cells

69
Q

what is the cochlea

A

fluid tube that is the organ of auditory transduction

70
Q

what is the basilar membrane

A

structure that ripples when vibrations reach the cochlea fluid

71
Q

what is the role of the tiny hair cells in the inner ear

A

release neurotransmitter molecules which initiate a signal

72
Q

Where in the brain is pitch percieved

A

area A1 - the primary auditory cortex

73
Q

young adult hearing range

A

20 - 20 000 Hz

74
Q

what frequencies is the ear most sensitive to

A

1 000 - 3 500 Hz

75
Q

what are the two mechanisms of encoding sound frequencies?

A

the place code - high frequencies - different frequencies are registered at different locations on the cochlea/basilar membrane: low - top, high - bottom

temporal code - low frequencies below 200Hz - registers firing rate of indavidual neurons

76
Q

what is multisensory integration

A

the perceptual representation of events from more than one sensory moduality

77
Q

Feature Integration Theory

A

Treisman et al., 1980
visual features initially processed separately and preattentively
information gets forwarded to a “master map”
attention on master map binds features

78
Q

organ of corti

A

four rows of hair cells embedded in the basilar membrane
– vibraton bends the hair cells, opening potassium and calcium channels; this depolarizes the cells and sets off signals in the neurons

79
Q

Travel time for sound from the eardrum to the auditory cortex:

A

approx 20 ms

80
Q

Auditory pathway: from cochlea to cortex

A

The first relay: ipsilateral cochlear nuclei in the
brain stem receive input from the auditory nerve

The second relay in the brain stem is in the
superior olivary nucleus

The third relay takes place in the midbrain

A final relay - in the thalamus

81
Q

Relative pitch

A

a musician’s ability to iden8tify the intervals

between given tones

Biological Psychology (7 decks)

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