unit 2: perception & consciousness Flashcards
Sensation
what we sense in our sensory organs (physiological processing)
Perception
what we perceive in our minds (psychological processing)
Synesthesia
Input from one sensory system → experience in another
-strong synesthesia (rare)
-weak synesthesia (common)
brightness of notes; warmth or softness of colors; sharp tastes
-causes - sensory leakage/crosstalk between brain regions & associations/top-down processing
Bottom-up processing
data driven processing:
flow of info from stimulus to neural activity to identification + perception
Top-down processing
conceptually driven processing:
expectations, knowledge & surrounding context influence identification & perception
What do Gestalt principles help us understand?
-Describe typical grouping tendencies or organization tendencies
-Emphasis on perceiving the whole
Law of figure-ground
segregate visual scenes into a background and a figure
Law of proximity
closer elements grouped together
Law of similarity
similar items grouped together
Law of good continuation
continue contours
Law of closure
we ignore gaps/fill in missing parts
Law of common fate
elements moving together are grouped together
global precedence
-“Wholes” often come before “parts”
IVs: “Global” identification (identify large letter), “Local” identification (identify small letter)
Stimuli
-consistent
-conflicting
-neutral
Results
-RTs for global identification were faster than for local identification, showing global precedence
-Conflicting stimuli slowed local identification (because global is processed automatically and interferes)
Binocular Cues - Retinal Disparity
images from the two eyes differ
Binocular Cues - Convergence
Neuromuscular cues
- eyes turn inward to bring near objects into focus
- eyes turn outward to bring far away objects into focus
- strain on muscle is cue to distance
Monocular Cues - Relative Size
If two objects are similar in size, we perceive one that casts a smaller retinal image as farther away
Monocular Cues - Interposition
Objects that block other objects tend to be perceived as closer
Monocular Cues - Relative Clarity
Hazy objects are perceived as farther away than sharp clear objects
Monocular Cues - Texture Gradient
Indistinct (fine) texture signals increasing distance
Monocular Cues - Relative Height
We perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away
Monocular Cues - Linear Perspective
Parallel lines appear to converge with distance
Monocular Cues - Motion Parallax
apparent motion is faster for near objects
What is the phi phenomenon?
When lights flash in succession, they tend to present illusions of motion
Perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal image change
Shape constancy
we perceive a clock as an unchanging shape despite different viewing angles
Lightness constancy
color of squares at two different locations are the same
Color constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the light reflected by the object
Size constancy
stable size perception despite change in size of the retinal image
Explain how context might alter perception
Context can affect how one perceives a situation or visual image depending on the situation or prior knowledge.
Ventriloquist Effect
visual cues influence sound localization
Cello Study
auditory judgments were influenced by the visual pluck and bow stimuli
McGurk effect
visual cues affect how we hear sound (looking at lips while hearing sound)
Access Consciousness
-Processing/using info (whether or not we’re aware)
-Has the potential to influence your reasoning, communication, or behavior
Phenomenal consciousness
Subjective experience/sense of awareness
Blindsight
unusual condition in which a person lacks visual awareness (blindness, especially at the level of phenomenal consciousness), but is nonetheless affected by movement in the visual field (evidence of some access consciousness)
Priming
enhanced speed of responding due to prior presentation of a related stimulus
subliminal perception
-The ability to process sensory information below the level of conscious awareness
-The effects of subliminal priming are weak.
-No evidence that subliminal messages in self-help tapes actually work.
