Task 1 - Measuring Experiences

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The ability to detect stimulus and perhaps to turn that detection into a private experience – the bottom-up process by which our senses, like vision, hearing and smell, receive and relay outside stimuli

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

That act of giving meaning to a detected sensation – the top-down way our brains organize and interpret that information and put it into context

Question 3

Dualism

Answer 3

the idea the mind has an existence separate from the material world of the body

Question 4

Materialism

Answer 4

The idea that the only thing that exists is matter, and that all things, including the AND … consciousness, are the results of interaction between bits of matter

Question 5

Panpsychism

Answer 5

the idea that the mind exists as a property of all matter – that is, that all matter has consciousness – belief that everything material, however small, has an element of individual consciousness

Question 6

Psychophysics

Answer 6

The science of defining quantitative relationships between physical and psychological (subjective) events

Question 7

Two-point touch threshold

Answer 7

the minimum distance at which two stimuli (e.g., two simultaneous touches) are just perceptible as separate

Question 8

Just noticeable difference (JND) or difference threshold

Answer 8

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the minimum change in a stimulus that enables it to be correctly judged as different from a reference stimuli

Question 9

Weber fraction

Answer 9

the constant of proportionality in Weber’s law – percentages

Question 10

Weber’s law

Answer 10

the principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the just noticeable difference (JND) is a constant fraction of the comparison stimulus – he focused on a specific subset
- we perceive differences on a logarithmic, not linear scale – it’s not the amount of change but the percentage of change that matters

Question 11

Fechner’s law

Answer 11

a principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation increase proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity – extended version of weber’s law – he assumes that all JND are equal

Question 12

Absolute threshold (of sensation)

Answer 12

the minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

Question 13

Method of constant stimuli (Psychophysical method)

Answer 13

a psychophysical method in which many stimuli, ranging from rarely to almost always perceivably different from a reference stimulus, are presented one at a time. Participants respond to each presentation: “yes/no” “same/different” and so on

Question 14

Method of limits (Psychophysical method)

Answer 14

a psychophysical method used in order to measure a subject’s perception of stimuli by determining at what level a stimulus is perceived by a subject. A stimulus is presented and increased or decreased until it is perceivable by the subject – a psychophysical method in which the particular dimension of a stimulus, or the difference between two stimuli, is varied incrementally until the participant responds differently

Question 15

Method of adjustment (Psychophysical method)

Answer 15

a method of limits in which the subject controls the change in the stimulus – f.e. Adjusting the volume of the stereo

Question 16

Psychophysical methods

Answer 16

1. Method of constant stimuli
2. Method of limits
3. Method of adjustment

Question 17

Scaling methods

Answer 17

Magnitude estimation

Question 18

Magnitude estimation

Answer 18

a psychophysical method in which the participant assigns values according to perceived magnitudes of the stimuli – f.e., when cup A tastes twice as sweet as cup B, cup A needs double the amount of sugar as from cup B

Question 19

Steven’s power law

Answer 19

a principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation is proportional to the stimulus magnitude raised to an exponent

Question 20

Cross-modality matching

Answer 20

the ability to match the intensities of sensations that come from different sensory modalities. This ability allows insight into sensory differences. For example, a listener might adjust the brightness of a light until it matches the loudness of a tone

Question 21

Supertaster

Answer 21

supertasters are those individuals who experience the most intense taste sensations; for some stimuli, they are dramatically more intense than for medium tasters or nontasters. Supertasters also tend to experience more intense oral burn and oral touch sensations

Question 22

Signal detection theory

Answer 22

a psychophysical theory that quantifies the response of an observer to the presentation of a signal in the presence of noise. Measures obtained from a series of presentations are sensitivity (d”) and criterion of the observer – a model for predicting how and when a person will detect weak stimuli, partly based on context
–> This theory exists to help us understand what’s going on when we make decisions under conditions of uncertainty

Question 23

Criterion

Answer 23

In signal detection theory, an internal threshold that is set by the observer. If the internal response is above criterion, the observer gives one response (e.g., “yes, I hear that”). Below criterion, the observer gives another response (e.g., “no, I hear nothing”)

Question 24

Sensitivity

Answer 24

In signal detection theory, a value that defines the ease with which an observer can tell the difference between the presence and absence of a stimulus or the difference between stimulus 1 and stimulus 2

Question 25

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve

Answer 25

in studies of signal detection, the graphical plot of the hit rate as a function of the false-alarm rate. If these are the same, points fall on the diagonal, indicating that the observer cannot tell the difference between the presence and absence of the signal. As the observer’s sensitivity increases, the curve bows upward toward the upper left corner. That point represents a perfect ability to distinguish signal from noise (100% hits, 0% false alarms)

Question 26

Sine wave

Answer 26

a simple, smoothly changing oscillation that repeats across space. Higher frequency sine waves have more oscillations and lower frequencies have fewer oscillations over a given distance. 1. In hearing, waveform for which variation as a function of time is a sine function. Also called pure tone. 2. In vision, a pattern for which variation in a property like brightness or color as a function of space is a sine function

Question 27

Wavelength

Answer 27

the distance required for one full cycle of oscillation for a sine wave

Question 28

Period

Answer 28

for hearing, the time required for a full wavelength of an acoustic sine wave to pass by a point in space

Question 29

Fourier analysis

Answer 29

These sine waves broken down into individual sine wave components is done through a process called Fourier analysis - a mathematical procedure by which a signal can be separated into component sine waves at different frequencies. Combining these sine waves will reproduce the original signal

Question 30

Spatial frequency

Answer 30

the number of cycles of a grating per unit of visual angle (usually specified in cycles per degree)

Question 31

Perceptual process

Answer 31

1. environmental stimulus
2. transformation / representation
3. sensory receptor / transduction
4. neural processing
5. perception
6. recognition
7. action

Question 32

1. Environmental stimulus (Perceptual process)

Answer 32

Anything in the environment that we observe or sense

• -> stimulus detected based on light reflected off of it
• distal, proximal attended (what you focus on)

Question 33

2. Transformation / Representation (Perceptual process)

Answer 33

Transformation: Stimulus changes from environment to perception
Representation: Stimulus is formed based on receptors and nervous system
– everything perceived is not based on direct contact but on representation of stimulus on receptors

–> light is reflected and transformed

Question 34

3. Sensory receptor / Transduction

Answer 34

Sensory receptor: Nerve cells that respond to environmental energy
–>
Transduction: Change from environmental energy to electrical energy in the brain

1. light is reflected from stimulus on retinal receptors
2. transformation from light into electrical energy (transduction) through a visual pigment (which is a light sensitive chemical that transforms it into electrical energy)
3. shape perception through the way the receptives respond to the stimulus

Question 35

4. Neural processing

Answer 35

Sensory receptors send electrical signals to the brain

visual receptors to network of neurons (2 steps: 1. network transmits signal, 2. can also change signal (neural processing) --> retina --> back of eye --> brain and forms an electrical signal
--> temporal: hearing (auditory)
parietal: touch
frontal: all senses (combination)
occiptial (vision)

Question 36

5. Perception

Answer 36

Conscious awareness - what we observe (behavioral response)

Question 37

6. Recognition

Answer 37

Provides meaning to what we observe – object categorized given meaning) (behavioral response)

Question 38

7. Action

Answer 38

To do something with your sensory experiences – necessary for survival (behavioral response)