Unit 3: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
sensation
the process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies in the environment
absolute threshold
the minimum intensity needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
transduction
physical energy into neural impulses, process by which sensory info is converted into neural signals that the brain can understand (5 senses)
just-noticeable difference
refers to the smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be detected 50% of the time, minimum to notice a difference between two
sensory adaptation
the process by which our sensory receptors become less sensitive to constant stimuli over time, smell
weber’s law
constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity, means that the larger original stimulus, the larger the change needed for people to notice a difference, lifting weights
sensory interaction
stimulation of one sensory influences the perception of another, smell of food
synesthesia
input of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experience of a third, visualizing colors to taste them
retina
(cute puppies lick roses) rod for black and white seeing in the dark (peripheral), cones for color and detail (center), receptors for red green blue, optic nerve made up of roped ganglion ties
blind spot
small area on retina where there are no rods or cones
lens and accommodation
(lick), bends back and forth, perception and blurriness
nearsightedness
myopia, see things close up but struggle to see things far away
farsightedness
hyperopia, far away, struggle to see up close images
photo-receptors
rods and cones, black and white for seeing dark peripheral, color and detail center
wavelengths and colors
the distance from one peak to the next determines hue or color, closer together cooler, farther away warmer
trichromatic theory
individual cones in the retina are responsible for red, green, and blue
opponent-process theory
three opponent retinal channels, brain cannot see signals for both channels at the same time (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black), afterimages + rebound
ganglion cells
neuron located in retina, receives visual info from photoreceptors and transits info to brain via optic nerve
afterimages
evidence of opponent processing theory, rebound of opposing color
color vision deficiency
color blindness
dichromatism, monochromatism
only 2 functioning cones, complete color blindness
prosopagnosia
can see faces but has a hard time recognizing their identity, occipital and right temporal lobe with racial recognition and memory, blurry
blindsight
seeing without seeing, can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it
sensation of hot
thermoreceptors with warm and cold
gate control theory
small fiber cords for negative pain, large for positive sensations, spinal cord transmits pain, large fibers transmit other sensations, only one open at a time (body in pain, stimulate gate)
phantom limb sensation
lost a limb, continue to experience sensations that feel like the missing limb
wavelength
distance from one wave peak to the next determines hue or color, closer cooler farther warmer, pitch frequency for how quickly they go back and forth
amplitude
height influences brightness of color, brighter colors higher amplitudes
place theory
pitch discrimination, our ability to hear is determined by where the basilar membrane sound waves hit, high hit more places, less precise for lower sounds farther down membrane, better job explaining why we hear HIGH
volley theory
two neurons next to each other work in tandem to take a turn to send a signal to account for the refractory period
frequency theory
ability to hear depends on frequency/speed in which nerve signals in the ear fire, explains low pitch
sound localization
ability to understand where a sound is coming from, cocktail party effect
conductive deafness
sound waves not effectively conducted, blockages, hearing aid
sensorineural deafness
cochlea not working, cochlear implant
vestibular sense
semicircular canals, keeps us balance
kinesthesis
awareness of how to move
olfaction
smell, directly related to taste
pheremones
chemical signals released by an individual to influence behavior of physiology of other members of the same species
gustation
refers to sense of taste
oleogustus
fat taste
taste receptors
papillae taste buds
bottom-up processing
processing that starts with sensory input and builds final perception, recognizing tree from its leaves
top-down processing
information processing by higher mental processes to individual sensory experiences, past knowledge, know what grandma’s goulash tastes like-more spicy
schemas and perceptual sets
mental frameworks to interpret info - mental predisposition to perceive something a certain way
figure ground
ability to identify clear figure from background
selective attention
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimuli, used for all senses
similarity
pens by color
proximity
stickers in piles
change blindness
visual stimulus introduced and an observer fails to see it
binocular cues
visual info by both eyes, depth perception
retinal disparity
binocular cue for depth perception, slight difference in each eye
convergence
inward movement of both eyes to focus on nearby object
monocular cues
perceived using only one eye, - and +
relative clarity
perception that hazy objects are farther away than sharp and more detailed objects
relative size
assume objects are the same size, ones that are larger appear closer, smaller are father
texture gradient
objects seen as closer have more apparent detail, smoother less distinct farther away
linear perspective
parallel lines converge in distance, depth perception
interposition
when objects overlap, we perceived unblocked objects as closer
visual perception constancies
size and shape, see familiar objects as having the same size/shape no matter angle/distance
apparent movement
perception of movement when there is none, white dot on pink
