Sensation, Perception, and Cognition

Question 1

exteroreceptor vs. interoceptors

Answer 1

One detects stimuli from outside, and one detects stimuli from within

Question 2

Mechanoreceptors (ex.?)

Answer 2

respond to mechanical disturbance like pressure (ex. Pacinian corpuscles [onion shaped], auditory hair cells [in cochlea], vestibular hair cells [in semicircular canal])

Question 3

chemoreceptors (ex.?)

Answer 3

respond to particular chemicals (ex. olfactory, gustatory [taste buds] receptors)

Question 4

Nociceptors [referred pain?]

Answer 4

respond to injuries internal and external by producing feeling of pain. Autonomic pain is not specific, so feels dull and regional

referred pain = when pain is felt on the skin from autonomic damage as nerves cross path with somatic afferents from the skin.

Note: DO NOT adapt

Question 5

thermoreceptors (3 categories)

Answer 5

stimulated by changes in temperature. 3 categories included cold-sensitive, warm-sensitive and thermal nociceptors

Question 6

electromagnetic receptors (ex.?)

Answer 6

photoreceptors (rods =black/white, cones=color)

Question 7

How to improve localization of stimuli? Discrimination occurs via?

Answer 7

Localization is improved when receptive fields overlap (like venn diagram). Discrimination is detected through lateral inhibition

Question 8

adaptation

Answer 8

Getting used to a stimulus. Response only reactivates when stimuli changes

ex. radio noise becomes background, and only sudden changes in the volume bring your attention back to radio.

Question 9

proprioceptors/kinesthetic sense

Answer 9

Aware of where your limbs are through monitoring muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and joint capsule receptors

Question 10

the 5 flavors distinguished by taste buds?

Answer 10

sweet (glucose), salty (na+), bitter (basic), sour (acidic), umami (aa & nucleotides)

Question 11

Good and bad smell

Answer 11

entirely learned, there is no universal bad smell

Question 12

Sense of balance monitored by?

Answer 12

semicircular canal, saccules and utricles

Question 13

organ of corti

Answer 13

structure that contains the hair cells

Question 14

pitch and loudness

Answer 14

pitch = frequency, where low frequency distinguished by the apex of basilar membrane (narrow and floppy), and high frequency is at the base of the near oval window

loudness = amplitude of vibration

Question 15

vestibular complex monitors what?

Answer 15

Both static equilibrium and linear acceleration which contributes to sense of balance

Question 16

structure of the eye?

Answer 16

anterior chamber (aqueous humor) = cornea
pupil and iris divide the anterior and posterior chamber
posterior chamber = lens & ciliary muscle 
vitreous chamber = retina, fovea (cones only), optic disc

Question 17

opsin and retinal? How we see light?

Answer 17

cones & rods are always polarized in the dark, and release glutamate which inhibits the bipolar cells it synapses to (bipolar = 1 axon and dendrite, dipolar connect to ganglion cells, which form optic nerve)

Cones and rods contain protein called opsin, which is bound to a molecule called retinal; retinal has trans bond and cis bond, and when light hits, it turns to all trans bound which inhibit the photoreceptors, so bipolar cells no longer inhibited and fires to optic nerve

Question 18

myopia & hyperopia? How to fix each?

Answer 18

myopia (nearsightedness) = focal point too early, so fix with concave

hyperopia (farsightedness) = focal point too far, so fix with convex

Question 19

depth perception

Answer 19

An innate property that allows us to judge distance with great accuracy

Question 20

Binocular Cues

Answer 20

Using info. recieved from both eyes to judge depth of object:

Retinal disparity: brain compares images projected onto both retina to compare distance. The greater the disparity between the two images on each retina the closer the object is.

Convergence: extent at which eyes turn inward when looking at an object

Question 21

Monocular Cues

Answer 21

Judging depth by info. on one eye alone

Relative size: More distance object look smaller than the same object closer in

Interposition: if one object blocks the view of another, it is closer

relative clarity: closer objects look clearer

texture gradient: distinct texture to a indistinct fine texture means there is an increase in distance

Relative height: objects higher on visual field = more distant

relative motion: objects closer move faster than objects are farther away as you are in motion

linear perspective:: parallel lines seem to converge at a distance

light and shadow: objects farther away look darker than the same object closer by

Question 22

Absolute threshold

Answer 22

minimum stimulus intensity to activate 50% of sensory receptor

Question 23

Gestalt psychology principles

Answer 23

emergence: looking at an outline to figure out the whole of the object
multistability: perception interchange between an ambiguous object

laws of grouping:
law of proximity- things near each other are seen as a whole
law of similarity-things alike are seen as a whole
law of continuity- we percieve smooth continuous lines other than disjointed ones
law of closure- perceive things as a complete logical entity and fill in the missing info.
law of common fate- things in synchrony are perceived as a whole
law of connectedness- things linked together are viewed as a whole

Question 24

Cocktail party effect

Answer 24

Information of personal importance catches your attention from background

Question 25

Anne Treisman’s Attenuation Model

Answer 25

Sensory information does not decay but becomes dailed down instead, so takes into effect of the cocktail party effect.

Question 26

selective priming

Answer 26

Things that you have previously seen or encountered makes them more noticeable/easier to notice the next time.

Question 27

visual attention & binding problem

Answer 27

Visual attention means when we focus solely on one object, our feature detector neurons input shape, color onto the object only and not the background.

Question 28

Baddley Model of Working Memory

Answer 28

central executive = oversee the entire process of phonological loop, episodic buffer, and visuospatial sketchpad

Phonological loop = repeat verbal info. and store into long term memory

visuospatial sketpad = store info. through mental images

episodic buffer = integration of both Visio. and phono. and create an episode