Sensation & Perception Flashcards
Perception
How we recognize, interpret, and organize our sensations
Detection thresholds
The act of sensing a stimulus
Psychophysics
Deals with the facts of physical stimuli on sensory response
Absolute threshold
Minimal amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus
Signal detection theory
As for possible outcomes in detection
Hit
Signal was present, reported sensing it
Miss
Signal was present, did not sense it
False alarm
Signal was absent, reported sensing it
Correct rejection
Signal was absent, did not report it
Webbers law
The greater the magnitude of the stimulus, the larger the difference must be to be noticed
Just noticeable difference, difference threshold
Minimum amount of distance between two stimuli that can be detected
Subliminal perception
Preconscious processing that occurs when presented with stimuli so rapidly we cannot consciously be aware of them
Tip of the tongue phenomenon
Preconscious information processing, trying to recall something that we already know but is not easily available for conscious awareness
Receptor cells
Detect specific types of energy
Receptive field
Area from which are receptor cells receive input
Transduction
When receptors convert the input into neural impulses which are sent to the brain
Contralateral shift
Or is that the level of the thousand Miss, sensory input from one side of the body travels to the opposite side of the brain
Sensory coding
Receptors convey such a range of information to the brain
Single cell recording
Firing rate and pattern of a single receptor cell can be measured in response to varying sensory input
Visual sensation
I receives the light input from the outside world
Distal stimulus
Object as it exists in the environment
Proximal stimulus
Image of that object on the retina
Cornea
The protective layer on the outside of the eye
Lens
Underneath the cornea and is responsible for accommodations
Retina
At the back of that I and serves as the screen onto which the proximal stimulus is projected covered with rods and cones
Rods
Located in retina sensitive in low light, helps night vision
Cones
In the center of the retina or fovea, sensitive to bright light and color vision
Serial processing
Brain computes information step-by-step in a methodological and linear matter
Parallel processing
Brain computes multiple pieces of information simultaneously
Feature detector
Different parts of the pattern that helps us distinguish items
Sensation
Relationship between physical stimulation and physiological effects
Young – Helmholtz or trichromatic theory
Cones and retina are activated by light waves of blue, red, and green these colors allow us to see all colors
Opponent process theory
Bonus response to opposite pairs of receptor sets: Black/white, red/green, blue/yellow
Colorblindness
Usually occurs in males
Auditorium input
Soundwaves enter by the ear and move into the ear canal
Vestibular sacs
Sensitive to tilting responsible for balance
Place theory
Soundwaves generate activity at different places along the basilar membrane
Frequency theory
We sense pitch their frequency
Deafness
Occurs from damage to the ear structure or the neural pathway
Conductive deafness
Injury to the outer or middle your structures
Sensorineural/nerve deafness
Impairment of some structures from the cochlea to auditory cortex
Olfaction
The sense of smell, Chemical sense
Gustation
The sense of taste, a chemical sense
Cutaneous/ Tactile receptors
Provide information about pressure, pain, and temperature
Cold fibers
Respond to cold stimuli
Warm fibers
Respond to warm stimuli
Vestibular sense
Involves the sensation of balance
Kinesthesis
Found in joints and ligaments, transmits information about the location imposition of limbs and body parts
Adaptation
And unconscious temporary change in response to environmental stimuli
Habituation
Process where we become accustomed to a stimulus and notice it less overtime
Dishabituation
A change in the stimulus even small change causes us to notice it again
Attention
Processing through cognition of selective portion of the massive amount of information coming from all the senses contained in memory
Selective attention
Attempting to attend to one thing while ignoring another
Cocktail party phenomenon
Ability to carry-on and follow a single conversation in a room full of conversation
Filter theories
Stimuli must pass through some form of screener filter to enter into attention
Attentional resources theories
We have a fixed amount of attention, this resource can be divided up as is required in a given situation
Divided attention
Trying to focus on more than one task at a time it is difficult
Perceptual process
How are mine interprets stimuli
Bottom up processing
Recognition of an object by breaking it down into its component parts, big knowledge meant of the raw data, taking it in sensing it
Top-down processing
Brenly was a particular stimulus or experience
Visual perception
We need to perceived ups, size, shape, and motion
Binoculars depth cues
Is only require one eye
Eleanor Gibson and Richard walk
Developed the visual cliff test with infants
Gestalt approach
Where the ground is the field against which the figure stands out
Proximity
To see objects near to each other as forming groups
Similarity
The tendency to preferred to group like objects together
Symmetry
Tendency to perceive forms that make up mirror images
Continuity
Perceive items fluid or continuous forms rather than jagged or irregular ones
Closure
Tendency to close up objects that are not complete
Law of Pragnanz
The minimum tendency, meaning that we tended to see objects in the simplest forms
Feature detectors approach
Organisms respond to specific aspects of a particular stimulus
Consistency
Stimulus remain the same size, shape, brightness, weight, and or volume even though it does not appear to be so- constancy is innate
Motion detection
Can occur by recording the change in position of the object as it moves across the retina
Or
How we move I had to follow the stimuli
Apparent motion
Are seen in for you phenomenon, stroboscopic movement, and autokinetic effect
The phenomenon
When blinking lights on the roadside arrow give the appearance of movement
Video of Halloween lights on house
Stroboscopic movement
One still pictures move it a facet of pace to apply movement
Autokinetic effect
Late that appears to twinkle darkness
