Unit 4 (Sensation and Perception) Flashcards
Sensation
The action of detecting external stimuli and converting those stimuli into neural responses
Perception
Cognitive process that involves the selection, organization, and interpretation of stimuli
Our five senses
Vision, Hearing (audition), Taste (gustation), Smell (olfaction), Skin senses (position senses)
Sensory receptors
Convert sources of sensory stimuli, such as light and sound, into neural impulses
Sensory transduction
Conversion of environmental energy into a neural response
Absolute sensory threshold
Smallest amount of a stimulus that can be reliably detected (is something there)
Difference sensory threshold
Smallest difference between the stimulus that can be reliably detected (is something else there)
Selective attention (change blindness)
Only seeing certain things and not noticing when something else changes
Weber’s Law
The amount you must change a stimulus to detect a difference is given by a constant fraction of the original stimulus
Signal detection theory
Predicts when we will detect weak signals
Sensory adaptation
Process by which sensory receptors adapt to constant stimuli by becoming less sensitive to them
Habituation
Adapt over time to a stimulus. This is something which the body learns to ignore
Vision stimuli
Light (wave of electromagnetic energy)
Pupil
Hole in iris
Cornea
Outer layer at front of eye
Iris
Pigmented muscles
Ciliary muscle
Change shape of the lens
Lens
Bends light to focus it on the retina
Retina
Neural tissue that transduces light energy into neutral impulse
Optic nerve
Collection of neurons that transmit signals from retina to the brain
Fovea
Region of retina with highest acuity
Optic Disk (blind spot)
Point where optic nerve leaves eye
Photoreceptor cells
Sensory receptor cells for light
Rods
For dim light vision
Cones
For bright light and color vision (high acuity)
Trichromatic Theory (colorblindness)
The eye contains 3 distinct receptors for color: Red, Blue, and Green. By the combination of all three, all colors can be produced
Dichromatism
Patients lack one type of cone
Opponent Process theory (afterimages)
The eye contains 3 pairs of visual mechanisms that respond to different wavelengths of light. Each is capable of responding to either of the two hues, but not both at the same time