Sensation & Perception Flashcards
Sensation
The process by our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment (PNS)
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful events (CNS)
Sensory adaptation
Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current (unchanging) conditions [stop noticing]
Habituation
Decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentation [stop reacting]
Psychophysics
Methods that ensure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to the stimulus
Sensitivity
How responsive to faint stimuli
Acuity
How well we can distinguish two very similar stimuli
Absolute threshold
Minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Just noticeable difference (JND)
Minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
Weber’s law
Magnitude needed to detect physical change in a stimulus is proportional to the absolute magnitude of that stimulus
Signal detection theory
Psychological theory predicting how and when we detect a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)
Perceptual set
Readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way
Myopia (nearsightedness)
Faraway objects are focused in front of retina
Hyperopia (farsightedness)
Nearby objects are focused beyond retina
Cones
Center of retina, cells sensitive to fine detail and color