Sensation & Perception

Question 1

Visual Illusions

Answer 1

• Psychologist often study situations that pose problems making sense of our sensation

Question 2

How do we see?

Answer 2

• Based on light • light enters the pupil • focused by the cornea & the lens form sharp images of the objects on the retina • Rods & Cones

Question 3

Visual Pathways

Answer 3

1. Light through lens 2. Projects to retina 3. Travels up optic nerve 4. Relay station 5. Primary visual cortex 6. Fan out to other areas of the brain

Question 4

Visual Field

Answer 4

• left imagery goes to the left visual field • right imagery goes to the right visual field

Question 5

Transduction

Answer 5

•Transforming light to energy • light must make it through 2 layers of light before reaching the rods & cones

Question 6

Gestalt of of organization

Answer 6

• That we see very complex imagery into a system that isn’t so complex • Simple • Organizational principles • No explanation for why we do these things

Question 7

Figure-ground

Answer 7

• When perceiving a visual field, some objects become predominant & others fade into the background • Depends if you focus on black or white, using 2 colors to make something jump out • Ex: Logos, the old lady/young lady image presented in class

Question 8

Proximity

Answer 8

• Things that are close together get grouped together

Question 9

Similarity

Answer 9

• Group objects by their similarities • Ex: the xo in rows were grouped together instead of reading it across

Question 10

Continuity

Answer 10

• Perceive smoothly flowing or CONTINUOUS forms rather than how the object is put together

Question 11

Closure

Answer 11

• Close up or complete object to make up one entire object

Question 12

Symmetry

Answer 12

• Perceive image as forming mirror images

Question 13

Gestalt 6 principles of perception

Answer 13

1. Figure-ground 2. Proximity 3. Symmetry 4. Closure 5. Continuity 6. Similarity

Question 14

Top-down theory

Answer 14

• Perception beginning w/ a larger object BEFORE going into the details. • Use our prior knowledge to identify everything we come across.

Question 15

Bottom-down process

Answer 15

• Looking at small, basic, individual features • Directs cognition & behavior

Question 16

The Hoffding Function

Answer 16

• Pattern recognition • Ex: The slanted H & A in the words “the cat” was identified based on the surrounding pattern

Question 17

Template thories

Answer 17

• Suggested that we have templates stored in our minds containing models for patterns we might recognize • Also suggested that w/o an exact match we wont be able to recognize anything • How this theory was disapproved: someone you know cuts their hair, but you sill recognize them.

Question 18

Prototype Theories

Answer 18

• Highly representative pattern, but it is not intended as a precise, identical match. • Ex. the police sketches shown in class

Question 19

Feature theories*

Answer 19

• Fundamental to the way we perceive • We attempt to match features of a pattern to features stored in memory, rather than to match a whole pattern to a template or prototype.

Question 20

Local feaures

Answer 20

• Small features • Detailed aspects

Question 21

Global feaures

Answer 21

• Overall features • Overall in shape

Question 22

Hubel & Weisel (1963, 1968,1979)

Answer 22

• Looking at single neurons in visual cortex & mapped those neurons • Simple cell • Feature detectors • Complex cells • Selective adaption • Lights didn’t trigger response instead the light triggered the firing of neurons

Question 23

Simple cell

Answer 23

• Feature detectors

Question 24

Feature detectors

Answer 24

• Features that detect & respond

Question 25

Complex Cells

Answer 25

• Receive input from MOVING LINES

Question 26

Selective Adaption

Answer 26

• show length btwn. firing neuron & perception • The idea that either becomes fatigue or adapt • Produces 2 physiological effects 1. Neurons firing rate decreases 2. Neurons fire less when the stimulus is immediately presented again.

Question 27

Selective Rearing (blackmore & cooper, 1970)

Answer 27

• Basic assumption= If a animal is raised in an environment that only contains certain types of stimuli they become more prevalent.

Question 28

Recognition by components theory

Answer 28

• We perceive objects by perceiving elementary features • Geons (shapes) • 3 demensional • Don’t need many geons to recognize the object • 3 geons=recognized 78% • 6 geons= recognized 98% of the time

Question 29

Constructive Theories

Answer 29

• Focus on prior knowledge & perception • Context affects perception

Question 30

David Marr (1982)

Answer 30

• Top down= complementary • processing task occurs somewhere in the brain • Visual stimuli context dependent so we use our prior experience to make judgements

Question 31

Synesthia

Answer 31

• Person cross experiences stimuli • ex: wine taster experience shape & taste when drinking wine

Question 32

Agnosias

Answer 32

• deficit • Failure of knowledge or recognition

Question 33

Apperceptive Agnosia

Answer 33

• Cannot perceive • Components of objects can be seen, but can’t be made sense of

Question 34

Associate agnosia

Answer 34

• Can copy drawings of objects, but can’t name them

Question 35

What are the two types of agnosias?

Answer 35

• Apperceptive agnosia • Associate agnosias 1. Prosopagnosia

Question 36

Oblique effect

Answer 36

• Can perceive vertical & horizantal lines easier than other orientations

Question 37

Sematic regularities

Answer 37

• Characteristics associated with diff. scenes • ex: when seeing weights by themselves and you visualize the weights at the gym

Question 38

Experience-dependent Plasticty

Answer 38

• When structure of the brain is changed by experience

Question 39

Transduction

Answer 39

Question 40

Rods

Answer 40

• light detecting cells
• used to see in low light condition

Question 41

Cones

Answer 41

• Responsible for color vision

1. Red
2. Green
3. Blue