Unit 3: Sensation Perception Flashcards
sensation
the process by which humans detect physical energy
perception
the interpretation of the sensory output
bottom-up processing
when your senses influence your opinion
top-down processing
when your opinion influences your senses
selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
inattentional blindness
failing to see visual objects when our attention is focused elseware
change blindness
failing to notice change in the enviroment
psychophysics
the study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of the stimuli
absolute threshold
minimum amount of stimulation need to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
signal detection theory
the theory that there is no absolute threshold and that detection purely depends on a person’s experiences
subliminal
below one’s absolute threshold (<50%)
priming
the activation of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, and/or response
difference threshold
the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time
Weber’s law
to be perceived at different 2 stimuli must differ by consistent and minimum %
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as an effect of constant stimulation
transduction
conversion of 1 form of energy into another
wavelength
the distance from a point of 1 wave to the same point on the next
hue
the dimension of colour determined by the wavelength of a light wave
intensity
the amount of energy in a wave, perceived as brightness/loudness/heat/etc
pupil
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye, which light enters through
iris
the ring of coloured muscle tissue that surrounds the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape in order to focus
retina
the light sensitive inner surface of the eye that contains rods, cones, and layers of neurons
accommodation
the process of the lens changing shape in order to focus
rods
retinal receptors that detect black, gray, and white; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision
cones
retinal receptors concentrated near the center of the retina, detects colour and fine detail
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
blind spot
point where the optic nerve exits the eye, where there are no receptor cells
fovea
control focus point in the retina
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brain that responds to specific features of the stimulus
paralledl processing
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
Young-Helmholz trichromatic theory
the theory that the retina has 3 colour receptors; red, green, and blue
opponent-process theory
the theory that opposite retinal processes enable colour vision
audition
the sense of/act of hearing
frequency
the number of complete wavelengths that pass in a given time
pitch
a tones experienced highness or lowness; dependent on frequency
middle ear
the section of the ear between the eardrum and cochlea containing the anvil, hammer, and the stirrup (bones)
cochlea
coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear responsible for turning sound waves into neural impulses; fluid reacts to vibrations and sends messages to cilia on nerves
inner ear
innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, , semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
place theory
the theory that the pitch that we hear is directly linked with where the cochlea is stimulated
frequency theory
the theory that the rate of neural impulses matches the frequency of tone, enabling a sense of pitch
conduction hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the ear
sensorinerual hearing loss
hearing loss caused by the deterioration of nerves (also known as ‘nerve deafness’)
cochlea implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes
kinesthesis
sense of position and movement
vestibular sense
sense of body position in place and in space (includes balance)
gate-control theory
the theory that the spinal cord has ‘gate’ that will allow and block pain signals from traveling t the brains
sensory interaction
one sense may influence another sense, despite there being little to no relation between the two
gestalt
an organized whole
figure-ground organization
organization of the visual field into the object and its surroundings
grouping
the tendency to organize stimuli into groups
depth perception
the ability to see objects in three-dimensions despite the fact that images strike the retina in two-dimensions
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young children
binocular cues
depth cues requiring two eyes
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance_the greater the disparity (or difference) between the two images, the closer the object is
monocular cues
depth cues requiring one eye
phi phenomenon
the illusion of movement when 2 lights flash on and off in quick secession
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging, even as illumination and retinal images change
colour constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent colour, even during illumination changes
perceptual adaptation
the ability to adjust to displaced/inverted vision (and back)
perceptual set
mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
extrasensory perception (ESP)
claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomenon
subliminal perception (aka perception w/out awareness)
the registration of sensory input w/out conscious awareness
proximity grouping
we perceive nearby figures together
continuity grouping
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
closure grouping
we fill gaps to create a ‘complete’, whole object
relative height
we perceive objects higher in our visual field as further away
relative size
if we assume 2 objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that cast the smaller retinal image as further away
relative motion
as we move, objects that are actually stable appear to move (objects in front of a fixation point will appear to move backward; the further an object is from a fixation point, the faster it seems to move)
interposition
if one object partially blocks our vision of another object, we perceive it as closer
linear perspective
parallel lines seem to meet in the distance, and the sharper the angle of convergence, the greater the perceived distance
light and shadow depth
shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from a fixed source
pinna
outer portion of ear; directs sound waves and protects ear
auditory canal
sound waves move through this portion
ear drum
separates external ear from middle ear; transfers waves
hammer (ear bone)
a bone that sends vibrations to the anvil bone
anvil (ear bone)
a bone that continues to send vibrations to the stirrup bone
stirrup (ear bone)
a bone that transmits vibrations to the inner ear
semicircular canals
ear canals that detect rotation of head, makes us dizzy
auditory nerve
sends wound waves to the brain
olfaction
the act of smelling; physical stimuli emit a chemical substance that evaporates in the air, this is sent into the nose and dissolve into the mucus of the nose, the mucus stimulates the olfactory cilia that send messages to the olfactory bulb and then to the temporal lobe; smell is the only sense that goes directly to the corresponding lobe without making a pitstop in the thalamus
amnosia
a disorder in which a person cannot smell
pheromones
a chemical or odor that triggers a natural response in the same species
gestation
the act of taste; physical stimuli dissolve with saliva which the taste receptors on the tongue send to the brain
5 taste receptors
sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami
cutaneous
the act of touch; receptors in the skin send messages to the brain
kinesthetic sense
monitors positions of various parts of the body
vestibular sense
responds to gravity to keep you informed of your body’s location in space
embodied cognition
the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgement
