Unit 3 Flashcards
Sensation
our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent
stimulus energies from our environment.
Perception
organizing and interpreting
sensory information, enabling us
to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Bottom Up
Starting with the sensory input, the brain attempts to understand/make sense.
You see a long, slim, slithering creature on the ground… you process… ah! A snake!
Top Down
Guided by experience and higher-level processes, we see what we expect to see.
An experienced hiker, you expect to see snakes on your hike so windy stick, lizards, etc. all seem like snakes.
Selective attention
Our tendency to focus on just a particular stimulus among the many that are being received.
Selective inattention
At the level of conscious awareness, we are in only one place at a time and so we miss salient objects that are available to be sensed.
Transduction
conversion of one form of energy, such as light waves, into another form, like neural impulses that our brain can interpret
receive, transform, deliver
PsychoPhysics
relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli,
such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulation
needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time.
This is termed the just noticeable difference or JND.
Weber’s law
To be able to tell the difference between degrees of stimulation, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage.
Signal detection theory
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation
Strength of the signal, and our psychological state
Subliminal Stimuli
Subliminal stimuli are not detectable 50% of the time. They are below your absolute threshold.
Priming
Priming is the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Even if YOU don’t think YOU notice a stimuli, your brain might, and that can impact you.
Sensory adaptation
Sensory adaptation is diminished sensitivity to stimuli as a consequence of constant stimulation
Perceptual Set
a mental
predisposition to perceive one
thing and not another
Parapsychology
The study of
paranormal phenomena, including
ESP and psychokinesis (the ability of the mind to move objects).
ESP
The controversial claim that awareness can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy (mind to mind communication),
clairvoyance (seeing remote events), and precognition (seeing the future).
Frequency (wavelegnth)
Blues and Reds
Amplitude (height)
Brightness and dullness
Cornea
eye’s clear, protective outer layer covering the pupil and iris.
Light enters the eye first through the cornea.
Pupil
The pupil is a small adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light passes.
Iris
The iris is a ring of muscle tissue that
forms the colored portion of the
eye around the pupil and controls
the size of the pupil opening by expanding and contracting over the pupil.
Lens
The lens is the transparent structure
behind the pupil that changes shape
to help focus images on the retina.
Accomodation
To focus the rays, the lens changes its curvature and thickness
Retina
The retina is the light-sensitive inner
surface of the eye, containing
the receptor rods and cones plus
layers of neurons that begin the
processing of visual information.
Rods
The rods are retinal photoreceptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement.
Rods are necessary
for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.
Cones
