Week 5 - Sensation & Perception

Question 1

What is Sensation?

Answer 1

The process by which the sense organs (eg eyes, ears, skin) gather information about the environment

Question 2

What is Perception?

Answer 2

The process by which sensory information is selected, organised and interpreted

Question 3

There is no 1:1 correspondence between what (2) things?

Answer 3

physical and psychological activity

Question 4

What is the process of transduction?

Answer 4

Turning environmental energy into neural impulses

Sense receptors transduce stimuli into signals

Question 5

What is the study of Psychophysics?

Answer 5

Study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical characteristics

Question 6

What is the Absolute Threshold?

Answer 6

The lowest level of a stimulus (on its own) that we can detect 50% of the time
eg a candle 30km away

Question 7

What is Just Noticeable Difference?

Answer 7

Smallest change in intensity of a stimulus we can detect

Question 8

What does JND depend on?

- Level

Answer 8

Level of intensity of a new stimulus

Level of stimulation already present

Question 9

What is Weber’s Law?

Answer 9

Regardless of the magnitude of the two stimuli, the second stimulus must differ from the first by a constant proportion for it to be perceived as different
- 1/50 for the average person

Question 10

What is the Signal Detection Theory?

Answer 10

Sensation occurs when we judge whether a stimulus is present or not

Question 11

What 2 processes contribute to signal detection?

Answer 11

Initial sensory process (sensitivity to the stimulus)
Decision process (the individuals readiness to report detecting a stimulus when uncertain

Question 12

What is Attention?

Answer 12

A mental phenomenon of concentration and its shifts in focus

Question 13

What is attention influenced by?

Answer 13

External and internal events

Question 14

What is Selective Attention?

Answer 14

Allows us to select some inputs for further processing and ignore others

Question 15

What does the Cocktail Phenomenon suggest?

Answer 15

That even when we selectively attend to a conversation we are subconsciously monitoring other conversations around us.

Question 16

What are the 2 errors of attention?

Answer 16

inattentional blindness

change blindness

Question 17

What is Inattentional Blindness?

Answer 17

A failure to see something in plain slight

Question 18

What is Change Blindness?

Answer 18

The inability to detect changes in scenes when looking at them

Question 19

What is Divided Attention?

Answer 19

Performing multiple tasks simultaneously

Question 20

Mixing light produces =

Answer 20

whites (additive)

Question 21

Mixing pigments produces =

Answer 21

blacks (subtractive)

Question 22

Brightness =

Answer 22

intensity

Question 23

Hue =

Answer 23

colour

Question 24

What are the 2 processes involved in the eye?

Answer 24

Focussing light on the retina

Transducing the image into nerve signals

Question 25

What is Myopia?

Answer 25

Nearsighted (light focused in front of the rear of the eye)

Question 26

What is Hyperopia

Answer 26

Farsighted (light focused behind the rear of the eye)

Question 27

What are the 2 photoreceptors?

Answer 27

rods and cones

Question 28

What is the role of photo receptors?

Answer 28

Turn light into electrical signals

Question 29

Rods are associated with? (3)

Answer 29

Low light Monochromatic Peripheral Vision

Question 30

Cones are associated with what? (3)

Answer 30

Bright light Colour vision Central Vision (fine detail)

Question 31

The retina contains what?

Answer 31

Rods and cones

Question 32

Simple cells respond best to which stimuli?

Answer 32

Light of specific orientation at a particular level

Question 33

Complex cells respond best to which stimuli?

Answer 33

Specific orientation but less dependent on location

Question 34

Feature Detectors respond best to which stimuli?

Answer 34

Lines and edges (simplex/complex), lengths of lines, shapes, movement, colour etc

Question 35

What are the 2 theories of colour vision?

Answer 35

Trichromatic Theory | Opponent Process Theory

Question 36

Explain the Trichromatic Theory of colour vision

Answer 36

Colour vision is based on our sensitivity to three primary colours (red, blue, green) - Consistent with three types of cones in the eyes - Explains colour blindness

Question 37

Explain the Opponent Process Theory of colour vision

Answer 37

Colour vision is a function of complementary opposing colours - red vs green - blue vs yellow - black vs white

Question 38

What are the 2 treatable causes of blindness?

Answer 38

Cataract and Glaucoma

Question 39

What are the 3 types of colour blindness?

Answer 39

Monochromacy Dichromacy Trichromacy (anomalous)

Question 40

What is the most usual cause of colour blindness?

Answer 40

Faulty cone development (can be genetical) | - Far more common in males

Question 41

What can also cause colour blindness?

Answer 41

Physical or chemical damage to the eye, optic nerve or cortical visual processing areas

Question 42

What is Motion Blindness?

Answer 42

Inability to perceive motion (or stitch together the incoming images)

Question 43

What is Visual Agnosia?

Answer 43

Inability to recognise objects, despite normal ability to describe the shape and colour etc

Question 44

What is Prosopagnosia?

Answer 44

Face blindness

Question 45

What are cortically blind (total or partial loss of vision in a normal-appearing eye caused by damage to the brain's occipital cortex) people able to do?

Answer 45

Perform tasks (identify shapes/location) due to the collicular pathway of vision