Topic 1: Introduction to Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

In what terms can perception be described in?

A

can be defined in terms of sensory processes, like receptor activation and neural firing

or in terms of mental activity that mediates between sensation and awareness, interpreting what our senses tell us (subjective experience)

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2
Q

What is the definition of sensation?

A

process of encoding energy or chemicals in the environment in terms of neural signals

a basic experience elicited by a simple stimulus

more concerned with your own physical experience (ego centric)

e.g. feeling of warmth on your skin

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3
Q

What is the definition of perception?

A

organization and interpretation of neural signals, making them meaningful

more complex conscious experiences produced by integrating sensations

more concerned with identifying the stimulus

e.g. you see a glowing red stove element, producing heat you feel; you know it is 50 cm away, and it can burn you

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4
Q

Why do we study perception for understanding?

A

to determine how underlying mechanisms function

first step in understanding cognition (e.g. mind-body relationship)

to know why the world looks. sounds, feels, tastes, and smells the way it does

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5
Q

Why do we study perception to solve practical problems?

A

to develop solutions for the sensory impaired (e.g. Braille, glasses)

to understand the practical applications of illusions

to produce substitutes for the world (e.g., stereo sound, surround sound)

to produce substitutes for the observer (e.g. robotic vision)

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6
Q

What is the central problem in perception?

A

the world is three-dimensional
the image on our retina is 2-D
yet we think of the world in 3-D

this problem is called underdetermination

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7
Q

What is a distal stimulus?

A

the object in the world

e.g. an apple, a finger poking your arm, a vibrating string

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8
Q

What is a proximal stimulus?

A

the pattern of energy or chemicals impinging on our receptors

e.g. pattern of photons on your retina; kinetic energy on your skin; sound energy hitting your eardrum

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9
Q

How do we go from an underdetermined proximal stimulus produced by a distal stimulus, and arrive at a correct perception of the world?

A

not enough info in the proximal stimulus at our sensors to tell you what a distal stimulus actually is

2-D retinal image of an apple –> percept of 3-D apple

there are many possible interpretations of the proximal stimulus

different answers to this question define different schools of thought in the study of perception

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10
Q

What is structuralism?

A

goals: analyze conscious processes into basic “elements”; specify how elements become connected

Wilhelm Wundt: first psychology lab

Edward Titchener relied on introspection: analysis of one’s own conscious experience

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11
Q

What is the problem with structuralism?

A

perception is holistic, not elemental

can’t break down your conscious experience

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12
Q

What is Gestalt psychology?

A

opposed structuralism: decomposition to elementary components loses information

was a holistic approach that emphasized consciousness

goal: specify the relationship among stimuli

motto: “the whole is different than the sum of its parts”

founded by Max Wertheimer

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13
Q

What is constructivism?

A

perceiving is an active process, affected by our knowledge and experience

we must interpret ambiguous information provided by the environment

computations over internal representations yield percepts

Hermann von Helmholtz, Irvin Rock, Richard Gregory

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14
Q

What is the ecological approach?

A

we should study perception in natural settings

enough information is available in the environment to make mental calculations unnecessary

J.J. Gibson: proposed information is directly picked up from the government

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15
Q

What is the computational approach?

A

assumes the mind is an information processor that receives, stores, retrieves, transforms, and transmits information

David Marr: defined vision mathematically, using computer simulations

information processing has three levels of analysis: computational theory, representation and algorithm, and hardware implementation

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16
Q

What is computational theory?

A

what is the system doing?

e.g. what does it mean to “see” something?

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17
Q

What is representation and algorithm?

A

what is the percept? how is it being processed?

e.g. do the eyes function like cameras? is there an “inner screen” in our heads?

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18
Q

What is hardware implementation?

A

what physical “machinery” does this?

e.g. what neural circuits allow us to see?

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19
Q

What is the neurophysiological approach?

A

based on reductionism: understanding of behavior via studying the underlying biological processes

important for sensation, less effective for perception

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20
Q

Perception

A

the experiences that result from stimulation of the senses

21
Q

Sensation

A

often identified with elementary processes that occur at the beginning of a sensory system

22
Q

Perceptual Process

A

a sequence of steps leading from the environment to perception of a stimulus, and action with regard to the stimulus

23
Q

Distal Stimulus

A

the stimulus “out there”, in the external environment

24
Q

Proximal Stimulus

A

the stimulus on the receptors

in vision, this would be the image on the retina

25
Q

Ciple of Transformation

A

stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed, or changed, between the distal stimulus and perception

26
Q

Principle of Representation

A

everything a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli but on representations of stimuli that are formed on the receptors and the resulting activity in the person’s nervous systems

27
Q

Transduction

A

the transformation of environmental energy to electrical energy

27
Q

Neural Processing

A

operations that transform electrical signals within a network of neurons or that transform the response of individual neurons

27
Q

Sensory Receptors

A

cells specialized to respond to environmental energy, with each sensory system’s receptors specialized to respond to a specific type of energy

27
Q

Cerebral Cortex

A

the 2-mm-thick layer that covers the surface of the brain and contains the machinery for creating perception, as well as for other functions, such as language, memory, and thinking

27
Q

Visual Form Agnosia

A

an inability to recognize objects

27
Q

Primary Receiving Area

A

area of the cerebral cortex that first receives most of the signals initiated by a sense’s receptors

for example, the occipital cortex is the site of the primary receiving area for vision, and the temporal lobe is the site of the primary receiving area for hearing

27
Q

Knowledge

A

any information that the perceiver brings to a situation, such as prior experience or expectations

28
Q

Bottom-Up Processing

A

processing that is based on the information on the receptors

also called data-based processing

29
Q

Top-Down Processing

A

processing that starts with the analysis of high-level information, such as knowledge a person brings to a situation

also called knowledge-based processing

30
Q

Stimulus-Behavior Relationship

A

the relationship between stimuli and behavioral responses, where behavioral responses can be perception, recognition, or action

31
Q

Psychophysics

A

measures the relationships between the physical (stimulus) and the psychological (behavioral responses)

32
Q

Grating Acuity

A

the narrowest spacing of a grooved surface on the skin for which orientation can be accurately judged

33
Q

Stimuli-Physiology Relationship

A

the relationship between stimuli and physiological responses

34
Q

Physiology-Behavior Relationship

A

relationship between physiological responses and behavioral responses

35
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

the smallest stimulus level that can just be detected

36
Q

Threshold

A

the minimum stimulus energy necessary for an observer to detect a stimulus

37
Q

Classical Psychophysical Methods

A

the methods of limits, adjustment, and constant stimuli. described by Fechner, that are used for measuring thresholds

38
Q

Difference Threshold

A

the smallest difference between two stimuli that enables us to tell the difference between them

39
Q

Magnitude Estimation

A

a psychophysical method in which the subject assigns numbers to a stimulus that are proportional to the subjective magnitude of the stimulus

40
Q

Perceived Magnitude

A

a perceptual measure of stimuli, such as light or sound, that indicates the magnitude of experience

41
Q

Reaction Time

A

the time between presentation of a stimulus and the person’s reaction to it

42
Q

Phenomenological Report

A

method of determining the relationship between stimuli and perception in which teh observer described what he or she perceives

43
Q

Electromagnetic Spectrum

A

continuum of electromagnetic energy that extends from very-short-wavelength gamma rays to long wavelength radio waves

visible light is a narrow band within this spectrum