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Sensation & Perception Flashcards

1
Q

What is sensation?

A

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Definition from Myers, 2010, p. 189.

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2
Q

What is perception?

A

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, which enables us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Definition from Myers, 2010, p. 189.

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3
Q

What does bottom-up processing refer to?

A

Processing that begins with incoming sensory information and continues upward to the brain for perception, interpretation, and storage.

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4
Q

What is top-down processing?

A

Processing that begins with the brain’s use of preexisting knowledge and expectations to interpret incoming sensory information.

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5
Q

True or False: Bottom-up processing is concept-driven.

A

False.

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6
Q

True or False: Top-down processing relies on incoming sensory data.

A

False.

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7
Q

Fill in the blank: Bottom-up processing is also known as _______.

A

[data-driven]

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8
Q

Fill in the blank: Top-down processing is also known as _______.

A

[concept-driven]

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9
Q

What are the physical stimuli for vision?

A

Light waves absorbed by photoreceptors in the retina

Photoreceptors are light-sensitive receptors that play a crucial role in vision.

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10
Q

What are the two types of photoreceptors?

A

Cones and rods

Cones are responsible for color perception and visual acuity, while rods are important for peripheral vision and dim light.

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11
Q

What do cones work best in?

A

Bright light

Cones are responsible for sharpness and precise detail in vision.

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12
Q

What are rods primarily responsible for?

A

Peripheral vision and vision in dim light

Rods do not perceive color.

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13
Q

What are the main theories of color vision?

A

Trichromatic theory and opponent process theory

These theories explain how color is perceived and processed in the visual system.

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14
Q

What does trichromatic theory propose?

A

The retina contains three types of color receptors: red, blue, and green

This theory applies to the initial level of processing in the retina.

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15
Q

How many types of opponent-process cells are proposed in opponent-process theory?

A

Three types: red/green, blue/yellow, and white/black

This theory applies to processing beyond the retina.

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16
Q

What does opponent-process theory explain?

A

Red/green and blue/yellow colorblindness; negative afterimages

Negative afterimages occur when a person stares at an object of one color and sees its complementary color afterward.

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17
Q

Fill in the blank: Trichromatic theory applies to the _______ level of processing in the retina.

A

Initial

This indicates that trichromatic theory is concerned with the first stage of color perception.

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18
Q

True or False: Rods are more sensitive to light than cones.

A

True

This sensitivity allows rods to function well in low-light conditions.

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19
Q

What phenomenon occurs when a person stares at an object of one color and then looks away?

A

Negative afterimage

This effect illustrates the workings of opponent-process cells.

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20
Q

What is the most frequent type of color blindness?

A

Red-green color blindness

This type is often due to a genetic mutation but can also result from injury or disease.

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21
Q

What causes red-green color blindness?

A

A recessive gene on the X chromosome

This genetic form is more common in males.

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22
Q

Why is red-green color blindness more common in males?

A

Males have only one X chromosome

They inherit this X chromosome from their mothers, making it sufficient to inherit a single mutated gene.

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23
Q

How do females inherit red-green color blindness?

A

From both parents

Females have two X chromosomes, so they need the mutated gene from both parents to be color blind.

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24
Q

What causes blue-yellow color blindness?

A

An autosomal dominant gene

This type affects males and females equally.

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25
What is depth perception?
The ability to perceive depth ## Footnote It depends on a combination of binocular and monocular cues.
26
What are binocular cues?
Cues that depend on both eyes ## Footnote They are responsible for depth perception of objects that are relatively close.
27
What are examples of binocular cues?
* Retinal disparity * Convergence ## Footnote These cues help in perceiving depth by using both eyes.
28
What is retinal disparity?
The difference in views from two eyes ## Footnote The closer an object, the greater the disparity.
29
What is convergence in terms of depth perception?
The tendency of the eyes to turn inward as an object gets closer ## Footnote This helps in judging the distance of nearby objects.
30
What are monocular cues?
Cues that depend on one eye ## Footnote They are responsible for depth perception of objects at greater distances.
31
What are examples of monocular cues?
* Relative size of objects * Overlap (interposition) of objects * Linear perspective * Texture gradients * Relative motion of objects (motion parallax) ## Footnote These cues help in depth perception when using one eye.
32
How does the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) define pain?
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage ## Footnote Raja et al., 2020, p. 1976
33
What are nociceptors?
Pain receptors in the skin, muscles, joints, and internal organs that detect damaging stimuli
34
What types of stimuli do nociceptors detect?
Thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli
35
What does gate control theory propose?
Transmission of pain signals to the brain depends on a 'gate' in the spinal cord that can be opened or closed by different types of nerve fibers
36
What are the two types of nerve fibers distinguished in gate control theory?
* Small unmyelinated fibers * Larger myelinated fibers
37
What is the role of small unmyelinated fibers in pain transmission?
They are responsible for transmitting most pain signals to the brain
38
How do larger myelinated fibers influence pain transmission according to gate control theory?
They transmit non-pain signals that can close the 'gate' to pain signals
39
What can relieve pain according to the gate control theory?
* Applying heat or cold * Distraction (e.g., watching a movie, playing a game) * Guided imagery * Hypnosis
40
True or False: Pain can only be transmitted through small unmyelinated fibers.
False
41
Fill in the blank: According to IASP, pain is associated with _______.
[actual or potential tissue damage]
42
What is synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a condition in which sensations in one sensory modality spontaneously trigger an associated sensation in another modality. ## Footnote Source: Freberg, 2010, p. 222
43
What is the most common type of synesthesia?
The most common type is grapheme-color synesthesia, in which numbers or letters are associated with specific colors.
44
What factors seem to contribute to synesthesia?
Synesthesia seems to have a genetic component and is due to increased cross-activation and cross-connectivity between the brain’s sensory areas.
45
Fill in the blank: Synesthesia involves sensations in one sensory modality that trigger an associated sensation in _______.
[another modality]
46
True or False: Synesthesia can only involve visual and auditory senses.
False
47
What is grapheme-color synesthesia?
Grapheme-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia where numbers or letters are associated with specific colors.
48
What evidence supports the idea that synesthesia has a genetic component?
There is evidence suggesting that synesthesia is due to increased cross-activation and cross-connectivity between the brain’s sensory areas.
49
What is Psychophysics?
Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between the magnitude of physical stimuli and psychological sensations. ## Footnote Explanations for this relationship are provided by Weber’s law, Fechner’s law, and Stevens’s power law, and signal detection theory.
50
What does Weber’s Law predict?
Weber’s law predicts that the just noticeable difference (JND) for a stimulus is a constant proportion, regardless of the intensity of the original stimulus. ## Footnote For example, the proportion is always 2% for weight.
51
What is the constant proportion of JND for weight according to Weber’s Law?
2% ## Footnote This means that to notice a change in weight, a second object must be at least 2% lighter or heavier than the first object.
52
To what types of stimuli does Weber’s Law apply?
Weber’s law applies only to some stimuli and to intensities in the mid-range. ## Footnote It is not universally applicable.
53
What is Fechner’s Law also known as?
Fechner's law is also known as the Fechner-Weber law. ## Footnote This name reflects its relationship to Weber’s law.
54
What does Fechner’s Law predict?
Fechner’s law predicts a logarithmic relationship between psychological sensation and the magnitude of a physical stimulus. ## Footnote This means the JND grows to an increasingly greater degree with each linear increment in intensity.
55
How does Fechner’s Law compare to Weber’s Law for extreme intensities?
Fechner’s law is more accurate than Weber’s law for stimuli at extreme intensities. ## Footnote Both laws work for only some stimuli.
56
Fill in the blank: The just noticeable difference (JND) grows to an increasingly greater degree with each _______ in intensity.
linear increment
57
True or False: Weber’s Law applies universally to all types of stimuli.
False ## Footnote Weber’s Law applies only to some stimuli.
58
What is Stevens's Power Law?
Stevens's power law proposes an exponential relationship between psychological sensation and the magnitude of a physical stimulus.
59
How does Stevens's Power Law compare to Weber’s and Fechner’s laws?
Stevens's power law is more accurate than Weber’s and Fechner’s laws.
60
What does the exponent in Stevens's Power Law signify?
The exponent varies for different stimuli.
61
What method did Stevens use to develop his law?
Stevens used the method of magnitude estimation.
62
In the method of magnitude estimation, what do participants do?
Participants assign numbers to stimuli based on the sensations they elicited.
63
If a subject assigns a 3 to one weight and believes the next weight is twice as heavy, what number would they assign to the second weight?
6.
64
What key finding did Stevens discover regarding physical stimuli and psychological sensation?
The relationship differs for different stimuli.
65
Fill in the blank: Stevens's power law is based on an _______ relationship between psychological sensation and physical stimulus magnitude.
exponential
66
What is Signal Detection Theory (SDT)?
A theory that describes how perception of a stimulus is influenced by both sensory and decision-making processes.
67
When was Signal Detection Theory originally applied to psychophysics?
In the 1960s.
68
What areas of psychology has SDT been applied to?
* Recognition memory * Attention * Speech perception * Clinical diagnosis
69
What does SDT assume about the perception of a stimulus?
It assumes that perception is the outcome of both sensory and decision-making processes.
70
What causes uncertainty in the decision-making process according to SDT?
The presence of background noise.
71
What are some examples of background noise in perception?
* Random neural activity in the perceptual system * Levels of motivation and fatigue * Distractions in the environment
72
What is sensitivity in the context of SDT?
The perceiver’s ability to distinguish between the stimulus and noise.
73
What is the decision criterion also referred to as?
Decision bias and response bias.
74
What does the decision criterion refer to?
The perceiver’s willingness or tendency to say that a stimulus is present in ambiguous situations.
75
How does a perceiver’s sensitivity affect accuracy in perceiving a stimulus?
The greater a perceiver’s sensitivity, the greater the potential for accuracy.
76
What can affect a person's accuracy in perceiving a stimulus besides sensitivity?
The person's decision criterion.
77
True or False: Two people with the same sensitivity will always make the same decisions about stimulus presence.
False.
78
Fill in the blank: The decision criterion refers to a perceiver's tendency to say that a stimulus is present in __________ situations.
ambiguous
79
What is a typical SDT experiment?
Subjects are exposed to numerous trials with a noisy background presented alongside a weak signal or no signal and asked to detect it.
80
What is a 'hit' in the context of SDT?
A 'hit' occurs when the stimulus is present and the person says it is present.
81
What is a 'false alarm' in the context of SDT?
A 'false alarm' occurs when the stimulus is not present but the person says that it is.
82
What is a 'miss' in the context of SDT?
A 'miss' occurs when the stimulus is present but the person says it is not present.
83
What is a 'correct rejection' in the context of SDT?
A 'correct rejection' occurs when the stimulus is not present and the person says it is not present.
84
What can data from an SDT experiment be used to estimate?
Data can be used to estimate a person's sensitivity and the effects of their decision criterion on correct decisions.
85
What does d' (d-prime) represent in SDT?
d' (d-prime) is an estimate of sensitivity.
86
What is a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve?
An ROC curve indicates how often false alarms and hits occur for different levels of sensitivity.
87
Fill in the blank: A 'hit' occurs when the stimulus is present and the person says it is _______.
present
88
Fill in the blank: A 'false alarm' occurs when the stimulus is not present but the person says it is _______.
present
89
True or False: A 'miss' occurs when the stimulus is present and the person correctly identifies it.
False
90
True or False: A 'correct rejection' occurs when the stimulus is present and the person says it is not present.
False
91
What effect does the decision criterion have in an SDT experiment?
It affects the likelihood of false alarms and hits for different levels of sensitivity.

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