unit 7- sensation and perception Flashcards
gustav fechner
With Weber, founder of psycho physics, who studied the relations between physical changes and perceive changes in stimuli
Ernest Weber
The founder of psychophysics who investigated the trust, noticeable difference, and proposed webers law
david hubel & torsten wiesel
Demonstrated how to specialize cells in the brain respond to visual information
sensation
The process by which sensory receptors receive information from the environment
perception
The process of selecting, organizing and interpreting sensations enabling you to recognize meaningful objects in events
transduction
The process of converting physical energy into electrical signals
psychophysics
The study of relationship between physical energy and psychological experiences
Bottom up processing
Build up from the smallest pieces of sensory information
top down processing
Brain applies what it knows and expects to perceive sensory information
absolute threshold
The point where you notice that is stimuli is present. The minimum stimulation required for a particular stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.
difference threshold
The smallest change in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time
just noticeable difference
The point where you can detect the difference between stimuli
webers law
The size of the just noticeable difference is directly proportional to the strength of the original stimulus
Signal detection theory
Maintains that minimum threshold, varies with fatigue, attention, expectations, motivation, emotional distress, and from one person to another
cornea
Transparent, curved layer in the front of the eye that bends incoming light rays
Iris
colored muscle surrounding the pupil that regulates the size of the pupil open
pupil
Small adjustable opening in the iris that is smaller and bright, light and larger in darkness
Lens
Structure behind the pupil, that changes shape to focus on near or far objects by adjusting how light hits the retina
Retina
Light sensitive surface in the back of the eye, containing rods and cones
Photoreceptors
Specialized light sensitive neurons in the right now that converts light into neural impulses; includes rods and cones
rods
Processes, black, white, and gray light vision at lower light levels
cones
Vision at higher light levels and capable of color vision
optic nerve
Bundle of retinal ganglion axons that carries information from the eye to the foul mess
blindspot
Area in the eye with no receptor cells
feature detectors
Specialized nerve cells in the visual cortex that respond to particular elements like shape, movement edges, and angles
parallel processing
Simultaneously analyzing different elements of sensory information
trichromatic theory
The retina has three color receptors that are sensitive to red green and blue light
opponent process theory
The right now has receptors for three opposing pairs of colors: white black, red green, and yellow blue
after images
Images that remain visible after viewing an object. A negative after image reverse the colors in the original image.
Audition
The process of transducing acoustic energy into perceivable sound
frequency
The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given amount of time (determines the pitch of a sound)
Pitch
The highness or lowness of a sound. The shorter the wavelength, the higher, the frequency, the higher, the pitch, the longer the wavelength, the lower the frequency, the lower the pitch.
sound localization
The process by which you determine the location of a sound
outer ear
Includes the pinna the auditory canal and the eardrum
middle ear
Includes three tiny bones: the Incas, the anvil in the stapes
inner ear
Includes the Kokila, semicircular, canals, and vestibular sacs
cochlea
Snail shaped fluid filled tube in the inner ear with hair cells on the basilar membrane that transduce mechanical energy, a vibrating molecules to the electrochemical energy of neural impulses
auditory nerve
Axons of neurons in the cochlea converge transmitting sound messages
Place theory
The position of the basilar membrane at which waves reach their peak, depends on the frequency of a tone. Counts well for higher pitch sounds
Frequency theory
The rate of the neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a time enabling you to since it’s pitch. Explains well how you hear low pitch sounds.
Gate control theory
Pain is experienced only if the pain messages can pass through a gate in the spinal cord on the route to the brain
kinesthesis
Body sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual parts of your body with receptors in your muscles, tendons and joints
vestibular sense
Body sense of equilibrium with her like receptors in semicircular canals and vestibular sac in the inner ear
gustation
The chemical sense of taste with receptor cells in the taste buds
Olfraction
The chemical sense of smell with receptors in a mucus membrane to the roots of the nasal cavity
olfactory bulb
The smell center of the brain, which receives and processes chemical information from the olfactory nerve
perception
The process of integrating and interpreting sensory data
Gestalt psychology
A subfield of psychology that suggests that the brain forms a perceptual hall that is greater than the sum of its parts
figure ground
Ability to differentiate an object from its background
Grouping
tendency to organize stimulate into coherent groups
monocular cues
clues about distance based on the image of one eye
Binocular cues
Clues about distance requiring two eyes
Retinal disparity
The difference between the images seen by each eye which can be used to gauge distance
Visual cliff
Laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants
Perceptual set
Predisposition to perceive things in a certain way
Sensory adaptation
Reduced sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it
relative motion
Occurs when we ourselves are the moving objects. Objects that are fixed in one place appear to move along with us.
shape and size constancies
We perceive the form of familiar objects as constant event, while our retinas receive changing images of them
Selective attention
Focused awareness of only a limited aspect of all you are capable of experiencing
cocktail party effect
Ability to focus on a particular sound, while partially filtering out other sounds
inattentional blindness
Focus on one stimulus will lead to between blind to other stimulus
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, such as extrasensory, perception, and psychokinesis
Figure ground pattern
The figure is what is focused on in the ground is the blurry background, which is likely ignored
muller-lyer illusion
An optical illusion, consisting of two line segments, one with arrows, pointing inward, and one with arrows, pointing outward the bus lines are of equal length the line with the inward pointing arrow is typically perceived to be longer
phi Phenomenon.
The human visual system can process up to 10 to 12 images per second and still perceive the images as individual pictures, the movement of a series of pictures at a rate that suggest motion is called stroboscopic movement
