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Human Behaviour Exam Prep > Week 11 & 12 - sensation, perception and consciousness > Flashcards

Week 11 & 12 - sensation, perception and consciousness Flashcards

1
Q

Perception refers to interpretive processing but perceptual illusions occur when…

A

i) we don’t interpret sensation accurately to reflect/replicate the physical world
ii) We interpret sensations according to what is meaningful to us.

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2
Q

What is functionalism?

A

The way the brain processes information depends of the function or the purpose of processing information.

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3
Q

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

A

Sensation is the process by which the body gathers information about the environment and transmits it to the brain for initial processing.
Perception is the process by which the brain selects, organises and interprets sensations.

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4
Q

What are the three principles that underlie sensation and perception?

A
  1. There is no one-to-one between physical and psychological reality.
  2. Sensation and perception are active (and not passive) processes.
  3. Sensation and perception are adaptive (they facilitate survival and reproduction).
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5
Q

Although we have different (or specialised) sensory systems, what are the five things they all have in common and use to sense the environment?

A
  1. Transduction
  2. Absolute thresholds
  3. Signal detection
  4. Difference thresholds
  5. Sensory adaptation
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6
Q

What is transduction?

A

The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses.

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7
Q

What is absolute threshold?

A

The minimum amount of physical energy required for an observer to notice a stimulus. Experimentally determined by measuring the amount of stimulation a person needs to detect stimulus 50% of the time.

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8
Q

What is signal detection?

A

The detection of stimulus based on judgement. Judgements are based on i) stimulus sensitivity - how well a person sees, hears, feels the stimulus, and ii) response bias - how ready we are to report detecting a stimulus when we are not sure.

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9
Q

What is difference threshold?

A

The minimum amount of physical energy needed for an observer to notice a change in the level of the stimulus.

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10
Q

What is sensory adaptation?

A

The ability to tune out redundant stimulation

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11
Q

What is the physical energy required for vision?

A

Light

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12
Q

The eye is the sense organ required for transduction. Which part of the eye does transduction occur?

A

The retina

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13
Q

What are the two types of sensory receptors inside the retina responsible for transduction?

A

Rods - produces black, white and grey sensations.

Cones - produces coloured sensations

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14
Q

The colour we see depends on how our brain interprets what?

A
  1. The type and sound of reflected light entering the eye, and,
  2. The type and amount of activity in our cones
    Thus, colour actually belongs to the person, not the stimulus.
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15
Q

What is the physical energy required for the sensation of hearing?

A

Sound

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16
Q

Sound refers to…?

A

Ryhthmic pulsations of acoustic energy occuring in the form of air particles emitted outwards from the vibrating object.

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17
Q

Acoustic energy has three properties…

A
  1. Frequency: how often a sound wave cycles per second; measured in hertz; perceived as pitch.
  2. Complexity: the extent to which sound is composed of multiple frequencies; percieved as timbre.
  3. Amplitude: the height and depth of one oscillation (cycle); measured in decibels; perceived as loudness.
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18
Q

The outer ear collects and amplifies sounds in the air and is made up of…

A
  1. Pinna: funnels sound waves into the ear

2. Auditory canal: carries and amplifies sound into the middle ear

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19
Q

The middle ear converts waves of air pressure into movements of the ossicles and is made up of…

A
  1. Eardrum (or tympanic membrane)

2. Ossicles

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20
Q

The inner ear transforms ossicle movements into waves and is made up of the…

A

Cochlea: Transduces physical energy (sound waves) into neural pulses (hearing).

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21
Q

Smell (olfaction) is adaptively useful because it allows us to…

A
  • Detect danger
  • Detect food that is spoilt
  • Recognise familiar objects
  • Choose mates based on pheremones
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22
Q

Olfactory epithelium:

A

Transduces molecules of gas emitted by substances into the air (inhaled through the nose) into neral impulses.

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23
Q

Olfactory nerve:

A

Transmites neural impulses to the brain for processing.

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24
Q

Taste (gustation) is useful because:

A
  • It protects a person from ingesting spoilt food

- Allows for the intake and regulations of nutrients (e.g. salt and sugar)

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25
Q

Taste receptors on your tongue are:

A
  • Responsible for the transduction of physical energy
  • Found inside tastebuds
  • Sensitive to molecules soluble in saliva
  • Replaced every 10-11 days
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26
Q

Skin is the largest organ and covers approximately how many meters squared?

a) 1
b) 7
c) 20
d) 2

A

d) 2 square meters

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27
Q 
How many receptors are there in the skin?
a) 18 million
b) 1 billion
c) 5 million
d 100
A

c) 5 million

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28
Q

What are the three qualities of touch?

A
  1. pressure
  2. temperature
  3. pain
29
Q

** Study the summary table regarding touch

A

** Study the summary table regarding touch

30
Q

Proprioceptive senses are comprised of two additional senses that register movement. Name them both.

A
  1. Vestibular sense: provides information about position of your body in space by sensing gravity and movement; receptors located in the inner ear transduce gravity (physical energy).
  2. Kinesthesia: provides information about the movement and position of limbs and other parts of the body relative to one another; receptors in jpints and muscles.
31
Q

What is consciousness?

A
  • The subjective awareness of mental events, includes one’s own thought process or unique emotional experiences.
  • Can also be used to describe different levels of awareness from being acutely aware to being totally unresponsive.
32
Q

Freud defined three levels of consciousness. What were they?

A
  1. Conscious
  2. Preconscious
  3. Unconscious
33
Q

What is cognitive psychology?

A
  • Cognitive psychology explains consciousness in terms of automatic and controlled processes and attention.
  • Emphasises the way people perceive, process and retrieve information.
34
Q

Attention refers to…

A

The process of focusing on conscious awareness, providing heightened sensitivity to a limited range of experience requiring more extensive information processing.

35
Q

What is a famous study of attention?

A
  • The Stroop colour-naming task
  • Visual search tests
  • Dichotic listening tasks
36
Q

Explain dichotic listening tasks?

A

Participants are instructed to attend to information received through one ear while ignoring information received through the other and is used to study divided attention.

37
Q

What does divided attention refer to?

A

Splitting attention between two complex tasks.

38
Q

What does the neuropsychology of consciousness look at?

A

It studies consciousness as a function of the brain, and which areas of the brain are involved with consciousness.

39
Q

Which parts of the brain have a role in basic consciousness?

A
  • Hindbrain
  • midbrain
  • Pons
  • Medulla
  • Reticula
40
Q

What are two sleep theories that seek to explain why we sleep?

A
  1. Repair theory - suggests that activities during the day deplete key factors in our brain or body that are replenished by sleep.
  2. Adaptive theory - suggests that sleep evolved because it prevented humans and animals from wasting energy and exposing themselves to the dangers of nocturnal predators.
41
Q

What is the function of sleep?

A

Sleep appears to be involved in restoration of bodily processes such as homeostasis, immune functioning and consolidation of memory.

42
Q

What are four theories that seek to explain why we dream?

A
  1. Psychodynamic view
  2. Cognitive view
  3. Biological view
  4. Cross-cultural and spiritual perspective
43
Q

What are biological clocks?

A

Internal timing devices that are genetically set to regulate various physiological responses for different periods of time.

44
Q

What is a circadian rhythm?

A

It refers to a biological clock that evolved around changes in light and darkness and is genetically programmed to regulate physiological responses within a time period of approx. 24 hours.

45
Q

What does the suprachiasmatic nucleus do?

A

Regulates the secretion of melatonin, a hromone secreted by the pineal gland that plays a role in promoting sleep. The suprachiasmatic cells are located in the hypothalamus and are responsive to changes in light.

46
Q

Four stages of sleep:

A

Stage 1: 1 - 7 minute; transition from wakefulness to sleep; characterised by theta waves.
Stage 2: characterised by sleep spindles; muscle tension, heart rate, temperature and respiration gradually decline.
Stage 3: Occurs at about 30-40 minutes after drifting off to sleep (stage 2).
Stage 4: slow wave or delta sleep; characterised by delta waves; deepest stage of sleep; reduced blood flow to brain, growth hormones are secreted.

47
Q

The four stages of sleep are known as ________ sleep and account for around_______% of all time sleeping.

A
  • non-REM sleep

- 75-80%

48
Q

What happens after passing through all four stages of sleep?

A

You begin to rise back through each stage in reverse order (4, 3, 2) until you enter REM sleep.

49
Q

How long does each cycle through the four stages and back to REM sleep take?

A

90 minutes

50
Q

What is REM sleep?

A

During REM (rapid eye movement) sleep the eyes move back and forth beneath closed lids and in which dreaming occurs.

51
Q

REM sleep is sometimes called what?

A

Paradoxical sleep, because our body is in a state of arousal, yet muscle paralysis prevents us from acting out our dreams.

52
Q

True or false: sleep deprivation effects heart rate, blood pressure and hormone secretion.

A

False.

53
Q

True or false: Sleep deprivation lowers the immune system and results in difficulty concentrating and may eventually cause hallucinations.

A

True.

54
Q

What is the psychodynamic view of dreams?

A

Dreams represent fulfillment of unconscious wishes or desires.

55
Q

What is the cognitive view of dreams?

A

Dreams are an extension of waking life and are essentially a continuation of thoughts, metaphors, current concerns and problem solving.

56
Q

What is the biological view of dreams?

A

Dreaming is meaningless. Activation synthesis theory suggests dreaming is nothing more than random nerve cells in the brain.

57
Q

What is the cross-cultural and spiritual perspective?

A

Dreams are ways to enter the spiritual world.

58
Q

What happens during meditation?

A

One develops a deep state of tranquility by altering the normal flow of conscious thought. It has been shown to produce brain wave activity similar to sleep.

59
Q

What are psychoactive drugs?

A

Chemicals that operation on the nervous system, resulting in altered states of consciousness, awareness, influence, sensations and perceptions. They modify mood and cognitive processes.

60
Q

Hypnosis can be used to assist with what?

A

Repressed memories, pain management, weight loss and smoking cessation.

61
Q

What does hypnotic induction refer to?

A

Various methods to induce hynosis including asking subjects to go to sleep, having them fix attention on objects and instructing them to relax deeply.

62
Q

What are withdrawl symptoms?

A

Painful physical and psychological symptoms that occur after an addicted person stops using a drug.

63
Q

What are the four ways psychoactive drugs can effect the nervous system?

A
  1. Drugs increase the release of neurotransmitters.
  2. Drugs mimic the action of neurotransmitters
  3. Drugs block the locks on reeptors
  4. Drugs block the removal of the neurotransmitters
64
Q

What are stimulants?

A

Stimulants are drugs that increase alertness, energy and autonomic reactivity (heart rate, blood pressure). Examples of stimulants: coffee, cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine.

65
Q

What is the most dangerous of all drugs (legal or illegal)?

A

Alcohol. Because it is so significantly involved in social and personal problems and is the most widely used psychoactive substance.

66
Q

What is a depressant?

A

Substances that depress, or slow down the nervous system (e.g. alcohol)

67
Q

What is an example of an environmental risk factor for alcohol misuse?

A

Learned traits from family members.

68
Q

What is the most widely used illicit (not legal) drugs worldwide?

A

Marijuana

Human Behaviour Exam Prep (2 decks)

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