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Sensation & Perception Flashcards

1
Q

Sensation

A

Information coming to the brain from the five senses.

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2
Q

Perception

A

How the brain interprets the sensations’ information.

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3
Q

Processing- Two types

A

The connection between sensation and perception.
1. Top-down: Using models, ideas, etc to interpret sensory information (Have I seen that before?).
2. Bottom-up: Taking sensory information nd assembling/integrating something into schemas (What am I seeing?).

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4
Q

Perceptual set

A

Top-down processing. What we expect to see/hear/smell/taste/feel affects what we sense. Groups things together and eliminates other options as to what something could be. Similar to stereotyping when it comes to people.

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5
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

The whole/sum is greater than its parts. What we perceive is greater than just what we sense. Gestalt refers to the total/whole/sum.

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6
Q

Figure-group perception

A

When multiple things grab our attention, we pick one thing to focus on and the others fade into the background. It’s interchangeable with the reversibility of figure-ground.

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7
Q

Selective attention

A

Where our awareness focuses is like a flashlight beam. Per second, the five senses take in 11 million pieces of information, but we’re only conscious of about 40 of them.

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8
Q

Cock-tail party phenomenon

A

Even in a crowded room full of many different conversations, you can still focus on the one with the person right in front of you.

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9
Q

Tunnel vision

A

Not seeing everything in front of you because of selective attention. You can only focus on one point/thing, and each added sense coming in only narrows this.

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10
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

Conscious awareness that misses things as our focus changes, it narrows the scope of what we’re paying attention to. Doesn’t matter what sense it is, can be effected by all of them.

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11
Q

Change blindness and deafness

A

Blindness- When you miss or ignore a change outside of your attention.
Deafness- Not noticing auditory changes.

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12
Q

Psychophysics

A

The relationship between physical stimuli and mental responses.

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13
Q

Transduction

A

The process of energy changing form, which is how sensory information gets into our brain by changing the sensory information into neural impulses (electricity).

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14
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Required for us to notice something.
1. How strong is the stimulus?
2. Are you paying enough attention to it?

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15
Q

Absolute threshold

A

Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

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16
Q

Subliminal

A

When the absolute threshold isn’t met, meaning you can’t detect a stimulus 50% of the time,

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17
Q

Difference threshold and Weber’s Law

A

Difference threshold- The minimum stimulus difference you detect 50% of the time.
Weber’s Law- The science behind the difference threshold. Two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percent in order for humans to notice a difference.
Ex. Someone benches 200 lbs but doesn’t notice the change to 201 lbs. They do, however, notice 204 lbs from the 200 lbs because the difference is great enough.

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18
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

AKA habituation. Becoming less aware of an unchanging stimulus over time. Also known as habituation when referring to physical stimuli.
Adaptation-level phenomenon is getting used to a psychological stimulus like happiness.

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19
Q

Schema

A

How we categorize sensations into perception.
Schema theory/cycle of perception- Perception selects a target in the environment —> schema changes —> schema directs perception —> so on and so forth.

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20
Q

Environmental influences on perception

A
  1. Expectations- French fries in McDonald’s bag are rated as better than ones sitting on a napkin.
  2. Context- If you’re holding a gun, you’re more likely to assume someone else also has a gun, like with projection.
  3. Motivation- A person serving a volleyball perceives the ball as bigger than someone watching because of the pressure.
  4. Emotion- When we’re angry, we’re more likely to assume others are also angry/interpret emotions as such more often, like with projection.
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21
Q

Quantitative

A

Numbers like the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, etc.

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22
Q

Qualitative

A

Can be written, explain the numbers, somehow usually involves the five senses.

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23
Q

Accomidation

A

Process whereby the lens changes thickness and curvature to focus light.

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24
Q

Retina

A

Anatomy of vision.
It’s like a movie screen located in the upper back of the eye. It’s made up of millions of ganglion cells known as rods and cones.

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25
Cones and rods
Anatomy of vision, the retina. Ganglion cells, there are millions of them making up the retina. Cones- Are for detailed, colored vision. Rods- Are for dark and peripheral vision. There are far more rods than cones.
26
Cornea
Anatomy of vision. Basically protects your eye, sits over the very front of the eye.
27
Pupil
Anatomy of vision. Lets in or blocks light like a lampshade, in the center front of the eye.
28
Fovea
Anatomy of vision. The central focus point at the back of the eye and above the optic nerve.
29
Optic nerve
Anatomy of vision. Carries vision to the back of the brain (occipital lobe and visual cortex). It's below the fovea and is a blind spot. Connects the eye to the visual cotex in the occipital lobe.
30
Contralateral vision
The left side of the brain sees from the right eye, and the right side sees from the left eye. The two retinal images are flipped and combined in the occipital lobe for 3D vision.
31
Blindsight
Someone's performance shows that they can "see", but report not seeing anything. The vision structures function normally, but the visual cortex is damaged or isn't connected properly.
32
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (3-color) Theory
Human cones are only sensitive to the specific colors of red, green, and blue (not just the primary colors) and can only see in variations of these colors.
33
Opponent-process theory
Certain color combinations don't exist, as in humans could never see them. Ex. Black-white, red-green, blue-yellow, etc. We can never see both at the same time.
34
Afterimage
Explained by the opponent-process theory. An image continues to appear in our eyes after a period of exposure. If you stare at something, certain cones for certain colors wear out over time, so when you look away, the other cones fire off, leaving those colors "behind."
35
Dichromatic
Color blindness. Only seeing two of the three colors. Ex. Dogs and horses don't see red.
36
Monochromatism
Color blindness. Is extreamly rare. Only seeing in shades of gray.
37
Feature detectors
Nerve cells in the visual cortex detect features like angles, lines, edges, and movements. Uses parallel processing. It helps us identify things like faces, houses, shoes, art, etc.
38
Parallel processing
Used to recognize images with color, motion, form, and depth all at once, like with feature detectors.
39
How are sound waves heard?
They first vibrate through the eardrum and are carried into the middle and inner ear. The vibrations are sent to the vestibulochlear nerve for interpretation, going to the auditory center in the temporal lobe right above the ear. This all uses transduction and neural impulses.
40
How do you determine the pitch and volume of a sound wave?
Pitch- The frequency determines pitch, many waves meaning high pitch, less waves meaning lower pitch. Volume- The amplitude determines volume, a high amplitude meaning loud and lower meaning soft.
41
Stereophonic hearing
With two ears, we can basically hear in 3D to see where a sound is coming from.
42
Prosopagnosia and phonagnosia
Caused when feature detectors or the auditory cortex malfunction. Prosopagnosia- Face blindness Phonagnosia- Voice blindness
43
The primary organ of touch and the 4 basic sensations-
Primary organ- Skin 4 basic sensations- Pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.
44
The gate-control theory of pain
Experiences of pain in part depend on whether the pain gets past a neurological "gate" that can be blocked (pain is lessened) with distractions, placebo, drugs, etc. The primary gate is in the spinal cord, and the natural pain relievers are endorphins.
45
Substance P
The neurotransmitter that carries the sensation of pain.
46
Endorphines and their effects on different people-
Pain-killing neurotransmitters that some people genetically produce less of, so they quite literally feel pain more. Vice versa, with producing more and feeling less pain, also obviously happens.
47
How does pain psychologically affect us?
Distraction- Pain can be reduced when your attention is split. Expectation- Pain can be increased by knowing something is coming and anticipating that it will hurt.
48
Social-cultural influences on pain-
1. Presence of others- Can increase or decrease how much pain we show or feel. 2. Empathy- Seeing others in pain can increase our own pain sensation. 3. Cultural expectations- Ex. Men are expected not to show emotions/pain in some cultures.
49
Similarity
Parallel processing. Organizing/categorizing things by their similarities.
50
Proximity
Parallel processing. Grouping things based on how close they are to each other.
51
Closure
Parallel processing. When your brain fills in the blanks, like if the image of a circle is incomplete but we still see the circle.
52
Depth perception
Cues that allow us to see in 3D.
53
Retinal disparity
Depth perception. The idea that each eye sees a slightly different image that allows us to judge how close an object is. Seeing two different images that combine to become 3D.
54
Binocular cues
Depth perception. Some things the brain does need both eyes to be used.
55
Convergence
Depth perception. As an object gets closer, your eyes turn inwards (like going cross-eyed) in order to see it.
56
Monocular cues
Depth perception. Only needing one eye for the brain to do something.
57
Relative clarity
Depth perception. Hazy object appear to be further away.
58
Linear perspective
Depth perception. Two parallel lines are perceived as getting closer as the view's distance increases.
59
Texture gradients
Depth perception. Objects appear smoother with less details as you move away.
60
Interposition
Depth perception. An object partially covered by another is further away.
61
Relative size
Depth perception. With two similar objects, the "smaller" one is perceived as further away.
62
Pi-Phenomenon
Optical illusion where apparent motion is caused by flashing lights.
63
Congenital analgesia
A genetic disorder where you feel no pain.
64
Taste sense
Gustation. Primary organ is the taste buds. Is heavily influenced by chemical sensations based on where a substance touches your tongue.
65
Smell sensation
Olfaction. Primary organ is the olfactory membrane, connected to the brain via the olfactory nerve and lines the nasal cavity. Effected by expectations like culture and taste.
66
What sense is considered "intimate"?
Smell, because to smell something you need to be standing/breathing in a cloud of its molecules.
67
What makes you more or less sensitive to smell?
Younger people and women are more sensitive "smellers," while older people and men are less sensitive.
68
What sense is most closely related to memory?
Smell because of physiological reasons where the olfactory nerve is in the brain and orthonasal olfaction.
69
Pheromones
Chemicals that alter your behavior when smelled. For humans most are secreted in sweat and communicate health.
70
Kinesthetic sense
Keeps the brain aware of your body position and movement, relates to balance too.
71
Vestibular sense
Monitors head position and coordinates movements very quickly. The fluid in your ears communicated through the vestibular nerve to the cerebellum.
72
Cochlear nerve
In the inner ear, below the vestibular nerve, and part of the vestibular system for hearing, carrying auditory information to the brain as part of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
73
Perceptual consistency
Mentally perceiving objects and keeping their physical properties the same even when we see them differently (color or shape/size consistency,etc). You know something is true even when it's not picked up by the senses.
74
What ability are you born with, and what do you have to learn, in relation to perception?
You are born with the ability to recognize color, motion, and shape, but must learn how to adapt to a sense of our environment if it changes.
75
Perceptual adaptation
Our brains adapt to normalize our perception as much as possible, even if we undergo brain damage or sensory damage.
76
Synesthesia
Two or more senses are activated simultaneously and is very rare. Someone can "hear" colors or "see" music notes, etc.
77
Placebo effect
Hallucination created by the brain. Creates a therapy effect through expectation.
78
Phantom limb sensation
Hallucination created by the brain. "Pain" in a limb that has already been amputated.
79
Tinnitus
Hallucination created by the brain. The ringing sound in silence.
80
Phantom sights
Hallucination created by the brain. A non-threatening visual hallucination.
81
Gestalt visual organization
Humans tend to organize individual characteristics that we see (color, form, movement, etc) into a whole idea (a gestalt).
82
Gestalt
Achieved by grouping together/filling in the blanks when needed. Uses the gestalt principles.
83
Gestalt principles
Closure, similarity, common fate, figure/ground and focus, proximity, and continuity.
84
How many olfactory receptors do humans have?
About 6 million, which makes us basically "nose-blind" compared to the 300 million in most animals, for example dogs.
85
Olfactory nerves
They're right below the frontal lobe, below/in front of the corpus callosum (middle of he brain when looking at a split diagram), and above/in front of the amygdala. The olfactory tract connects the nerves to the corpus callosum.
86
Vestibular nerve
Controls balance and is above the cochlear nerve in the ear.
87
Optic nerve

AP Psychology (25 decks)

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