Sensation And Perception (unit 3) Flashcards
Sensation
The process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receives & represents stimulus energies from our environment
Sensory receptors
Sensory nerve endings that responds to stimuli
Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Bottom-up processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Top-down processing
Info processing guided by higher level mental processes, like when we construct perceptions based on past experiences
Selective attention
The focusing of consciousness on a particular stimulus
Transduction
Conversion of one form to another. In sensation the transformation of stimulus energies to neural impulses that the brain can interpret
Psychophysics
The study or relationships between the physical characteristics of a stimuli (such as their intensity) and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting when and how we detect a stimuli, based on past experiences
Subliminal
Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. Just a noticeable difference
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or responce
Webers law
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Sensory adaption
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Extra sensory perception (ESP)
Perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
Precognition
Perceiving future events
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and telekinesis
Clairvoyance
Perceiving remote events, such as a house being on die in another state
Wavelength
Distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next
Intensity (in a light or sound wave)
Amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness.
What is intensity determined by
The waves amplitude (height)
Hue
Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light
Short wavelength=
High frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
Long wavelength=
Low frequency (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds)
Great amplitude=
Bright colors, loud sounds
Small amplitude=
Dull colors, soft sounds
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
Gestalt
The idea that the brain wants to see things in a complete whole
Figure-ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
Depth perception
The ability to see objects in 3D. Allows us to see distance
Binocular cue
A depth cue, such as retinal disparity that depends on the use of two eyes
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue to perceive depth by comparing retinal images from the two eyes
Monocular cue
A depth cue such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
Color constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having constant color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
Perceptual adaption
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input
Interposition
Objects that block other objects are perceived as closer to
Kinethesia
Our movement sense. Our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
Our sense of body movement that enables our sense of balance
Sensory interaction
The principal that one sense may influence another.
Embodied cognition
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures and other states on cognition and judgment
