Sense and Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

process of detecting external events by sense organs and turning those stimuli into neural signals

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

attending to, organizing, interpreting stimuli
-i.e. recognizing sounds as a voice, understanding colours, shapes, motion make up an image of a person walking

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

specialized receptors transform physical energy of outside world into neural impulses
-neural impulses travel to brain and influence activity of brain structures

Question 4

Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies

Answer 4

idea that different senses are separated in the brain

Distinct pathways don’t fully develop until age 3

Question 5

Orienting Response

Answer 5

Sensory receptors very sensitive to change

-i.e. Seems really bright outside when you first walk out

Question 6

Sensory Adaption

Answer 6

sensory receptors pay less attention to unchanging stimuli

i.e. bright lights get less intense after a while

Question 7

Absolute Threshold

Answer 7

minimum amount of energy or quantity of stimulus required for it to be reliable detected at least 50% of the time

Question 8

Difference Threshold

Answer 8

smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliable detected at least 50% of the time
i.e. adding salt to food

Question 9

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 9

whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both sensory experience and judgement made by the subject

Question 10

Sensory Process

Answer 10

Stimulus presented or not presented

Question 11

Decision Process

Answer 11

subject decides whether stimulus was presented

	         - Hit- correct, stimulus presented
	         - Correct Rejection- correct, no stimulus presented
	         - False Alarm- incorrect, no stimulus presented
	         - Miss- incorrect, stimulus presented

Question 12

Gestalt Psychology

Answer 12

approach to perception that emphasizes “the whole is greater t than the sum of its parts”

Question 13

Figure Ground Principle

Answer 13

objects in out environment tend to stand out against a background

			- Figure- Thing that stands out
			- Ground- Thing in background

Question 14

Proximity

Answer 14

tendency to treat 2 or more objects close to each other as a group (2 rows of eggs instead of 6 rows of 2 eggs)

Question 15

Similarity

Answer 15

viewing groups that look the same (i.e people in uniform)

Question 16

Continuity/Good Continuation

Answer 16

lines and other objects tend to be continous, rather than abruptly changing direction
-black object moving around white object is viewed as one continuous object

Question 17

Closure

Answer 17

tendency to fill in gaps to complete a whole object