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Biological Psychology > Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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
how does colour blindness occur?
when one or more type of cone (S,M,L) is missing
26
which chromosome is colour blindness linked to?
X - hence it affects more men than women
27
how does colour afterimage occur?
starring too long at one colour - causes fatigue to the cones that respond to that colour - a form of sensory adaptation
28
The optic nerve
travels from each eye to the lateral geniculate nucleus located in the thalamus
29
where does the visual signal travel to after the thalamus
primary visual cortex
30
what happens at the primary visual cortex
the visual info is mapped into a representation of the visual scene
31
initial processing region V1
responsible for visual organisation
32
where are the specialised brain areas for vision located?
in the occipital lobe and the temporal lobes
33
name the two distinct pathways projecting from the occipital cortex to other visual areas
The ventral stream The dorsal stream
34
What is the ventral stream (the what pathway)
a pathway which travels across the occipital lobe into the lower regions of the temporal lobes - includes areas which identify an objects SHAPE
35
what is the dorsal stream (the where pathway)
pathway which travels up from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobes - areas which identify and objects location
36
what is visual form agnosia
the inability to recognise objects by sight - damage to ventral stream
37
what is optic ataxia
damage to dorsal stream - difficulty detecting where objects are i.e. difficulty using vision to guide reach
38
what is an illusory conjunction
a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined
39
feature integration theory
proposal that attention binds individual features together to comprise a composite stimulus
40
where are images binded together?
parietal lobe in the dorsal stream
41
modular view
specialised brain areas, or modules, detect and represent faces, houses, body parts
42
which region of the brain responds selectively to face
the temporal lobe (sub-section)
43
what is the principle of conceptual constancy
even as aspects of sensory signals change, perception remains constant - explains why you recognise a friend even if they change clothes
44
What do Gestalt perceptual grouping rules describe
how the features and regions of things fit together
45
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: Simplicity AKA Pragnanz
the visual system tends to select the simplest interpretation
46
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: closure
we tend to fill in missing elements of a visual scene
47
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: Continuity
edges/ contours with similar orientation have 'good continuity'
48
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: Similarity
regions that are in colour, lightness, shape or texture are perceived as being the same object
49
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: Proximity
objects that are close together are grouped
50
Gestalt perceptual grouping rule: common fate
elements that move together are perceived as part of the same object
51
What are the two theories of object recognition
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
Describe Bruce and Young model of face recognition
suggests that many of the different components of object recognition must be active during facial recognition
53
What is the region MT (middle temporal region) in the temporal lobe specialised for?
the perception of motion
54
When people experience waterfall illusions what area do fMRI scans show greater activity in?
MT (middle temporal) region of the temporal lobe
55
describe the phi phenomenon
the brain integrates images or flashing lights into a single moving object
56
describe apparent motion
the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations
57
what are sound waves
changes in air pressure unfolding over time
58
describe pure tone and give example
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
normal conversation level (dB)
40dB
60
threshold dB level for hearing damage
85dB
61
what provides the most info needed to identify sound
frequency
62
how do we identify the location of sound
changes in frequency difference in loudness from one ear to the other delay in sound from one ear to the other
63
what is visual orienting
a behavioural response that moves the eyes towards a target
64
name the 3 parts of the human ear
outer ear middle ear inner ear
65
waddup at the outer ear?
collects sound waves and funnels them towards the middle ear. consists of: the pinna (visible) the auditory canal the eardrum
66
describe the eardrum
airtight flap of skin that vibrates in response to sound
67
the middle ear
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
inner ear
transduces vibrations into neural impulses - contains the cochlea + basilar membrane + tiny hair cells
69
what is the cochlea
fluid tube that is the organ of auditory transduction
70
what is the basilar membrane
structure that ripples when vibrations reach the cochlea fluid
71
what is the role of the tiny hair cells in the inner ear
release neurotransmitter molecules which initiate a signal
72
Where in the brain is pitch percieved
area A1 - the primary auditory cortex
73
young adult hearing range
20 - 20 000 Hz
74
what frequencies is the ear most sensitive to
1 000 - 3 500 Hz
75
what are the two mechanisms of encoding sound frequencies?
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
what is multisensory integration
the perceptual representation of events from more than one sensory moduality
77
Feature Integration Theory
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
organ of corti
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
Travel time for sound from the eardrum to the auditory cortex:
approx 20 ms
80
Auditory pathway: from cochlea to cortex
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
Relative pitch
a musician's ability to iden8tify the intervals | between given tones

Biological Psychology (7 decks)

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