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What is sensation?
The process by which sensory organs obtain information about the environment and transmit it to the brain.
What is perception?
The organization of sensations into interpretation.
What is transduction?
The translation of physical energy into electrical signals.
What is bottom-up processing?
Starts with raw sensory data that gets communicated to the brain.
What is top-down processing?
Starts with the observer's expectations and knowledge.
What are absolute thresholds?
The minimal amount of stimulation that can be detected half of the time.
What is just noticeable difference (jnd)?
The smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect.
What is Weber’s law?
For two stimuli to be perceived as different in intensity, the second must differ from the first by a constant proportion.
What is sensory adaptation?
The decreasing response of sensory receptors to unchanging stimuli, an evolutionary mechanism as constant input provides no new information.
What is signal detection theory?
A theory suggesting that perception results from both sensory information and making a judgment.
What is response bias?
A person's readiness to report detecting a stimulus.
What are hits in signal detection theory?
Correctly detecting a present stimulus.
What are misses in signal detection theory?
Failing to detect a present stimulus.
What are false alarms in signal detection theory?
Incorrectly detecting a stimulus that isn’t present.
What are correct rejections in signal detection theory?
Correctly identifying that no stimulus is present.
What factors affect response bias?
Expectations, motivation, and history of signal detection errors.
How do expectations affect detection of a stimulus?
If you expect a stimulus, you are more likely to detect it.
How does motivation affect detection of a stimulus?
If you are highly motivated, you are likely to report detecting a stimulus.
What is the Gestalt approach?
The view that we perceive objects as whole structures rather than the sum of individual parts.
What is figure-ground perception?
The ability to distinguish between an object and its background.
What are the grouping principles in perception?
Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, and Closure.
What is proximity in grouping principles?
We tend to group together objects that are close to one another.
What is similarity in grouping principles?
We tend to group together objects that are similar to one another.
What is continuity in grouping principles?
The brain organizes stimuli into continuous lines or patterns.
What is closure in grouping principles?
We tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete.
What are binocular cues for depth?
Cues that use both eyes for depth perception.
What are monocular cues for depth?
Cues that use one eye to perceive depth, especially for distant objects.
What is retinal (binocular) disparity?
The different images produced on each retina.
What is convergence?
The turning inward of eyes toward a nearby object.
What is relative size in depth perception?
Smaller objects appear farther away than larger ones.
What is relative clarity in depth perception?
Objects that appear clearer are perceived as closer, while hazy objects seem farther away.
What is linear perspective?
The phenomenon where parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance.
What is perceptual constancy?
The consistent perception of objects despite changes in sensory input.
What is color constancy?
The consistent perception of color of objects despite changes in lighting.
What is lightness constancy?
The consistent perception of shade of objects despite changes in lighting.
What is shape constancy?
The perception that an object's shape remains constant despite changing shapes on the retina.
What is size constancy?
The perception that the size of objects remains constant despite differing sizes of images on the retina.
