Sensation & Perception Lecture Notes

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary terms and concepts related to sensation and perception based on the lecture notes.

Sensation

The process of detecting physical stimuli from the environment through sensory organs.

Perception

The interpretation of sensory information to give it meaning.

Trichromatic Theory

A theory that suggests color vision is based on the activity of three types of photoreceptors in the retina that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light.

Opponent-Process Theory

A theory that proposes color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: a blue-yellow mechanism and a red-green mechanism.

Multimodal Perception

The process of integrating information from multiple sensory modalities.

Signal Detection Theory

A framework used to measure the ability to differentiate between signal and noise in the presence of uncertainty.

HIT (in Signal Detection Theory)

Correctly identifying the presence of a signal.

MISS (in Signal Detection Theory)

Failing to identify the presence of a signal when it is present.

FALSE ALARM (in Signal Detection Theory)

Incorrectly identifying a signal when it is not present.

REJECTION (in Signal Detection Theory)

Correctly identifying the absence of a signal.

Vision

The sense that allows us to perceive our surroundings through light and color.

Hearing

The sense that enables us to detect sound waves through auditory stimuli.

Touch

The sense that involves physical contact and the perception of pressure, temperature, and pain.

Smell and Taste

The senses that enable the detection of chemical substances through olfactory and gustatory receptors.

Dark Adaptation

The process by which the eyes increase sensitivity in low-light conditions.

Light Adaptation

The process by which the eyes decrease sensitivity in bright-light conditions.

Sensation

How our bodies detect physical things (like light or sound) from the world using our senses.

Perception

How our brain makes sense of and gives meaning to the information gathered by our senses.

Trichromatic Theory (Color Vision)

This theory says we see colors because our eyes have three types of sensors (photoreceptors) each sensitive to a different light color (red, green, or blue).

Opponent-Process Theory (Color Vision)

This theory suggests we see colors using opposing pairs, like red vs. green and blue vs. yellow. For example, you can't see 'reddish-green' at the same time.

Multimodal Perception

When our brain combines information from different senses (like sight and sound) to understand something better.

Signal Detection Theory

A way to study how well we notice something important (a 'signal') when there's a lot of background clutter (noise), especially when it's hard to tell them apart.

HIT (Signal Detection)

Correctly noticing something important when it's actually there.

MISS (Signal Detection)

Failing to notice something important when it was actually there.

FALSE ALARM (Signal Detection)

Mistakenly thinking something important is there, when it's not.

CORRECT REJECTION (Signal Detection)

Correctly realizing that something important is NOT there.

Vision (Sight)

The sense that lets us see the world around us using light and colors.

Hearing (Sound)

The sense that lets us detect sound waves.

Touch

The sense that lets us feel things like pressure, hot/cold, and pain through physical contact.

Smell and Taste

The senses that let us detect chemicals in the air (smell) and in food (taste) using special sensors.

Dark Adaptation

How our eyes adjust to see better in very dim light.

Light Adaptation

How our eyes adjust to see better in very bright light.