1.6 Sensation - psych

sensation

process by which sensory receptors & nervous sys receive & represent stimulus energies

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

perception

process where the brain organizes & interprets sensory info, enables recog of objects as meaningful

bottom-up processing

info processing starting from sensory receptors, working up to brain

top-down processing

info processing guided by mental process & perceptions based on experience

transduction

conversion of 1 energy to another. physical energy in stimulus to interneural impulses

psychophysics

study of relationship between physical character of stimuli & our psych experience of them

absolute threshold

minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a certain stimulus 50% of the time

signal detection theory

theory predicting how % when detect presence of faint stimulus. assuming there is no absolute threshold & detection depends on person

subliminal

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

priming

activation of associations predisposing one’s perception, memory, response

difference threshold

minimum difference between 2 stimuli req for detection 50% of time.

weber’s law

that for 2 stimulus to be perceived as diff, must differ in a constant minimum percentage

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as consequence of constant stimulation, adapting

wavelength

distance from peak of light/sound wave to peak of next

hue

color determined by wavelength

intensity

amount if energy in light/sound wave

cornea

eye’s clear protective layer

pupil

adjustable opening to retina

iris

muscle tissue controling pupil size

lens

transparent structure behind pupil, focuses for retina

retina

back of inner eye, contains cones & rods

accomodation

processsing where lens changes shape to focus images near or far

rods

detect black, white, & grey

cones

detect detail & color

optic nerve

nerve carrying neural impulses from eye → brain

blind spot

point where optic nerve leaves eye, no recpetor cells

fovea

central focal point around eye’s cones cluster

young-hemholtz theory

theory retina has 3 diff color receptors: RGB

opponent-processing theory

theory against retinal processes enable vision

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex rsponding to specific stimuli

audation

sense of hearinf=g

frequnecy

num of complete wavelengths that pass point in given time

pitch

tone’s experienced high/low-ness, depend on freq

middle ear

chamber between eardrum & cochlea. concentrates vibrations of eardrum to cochlea

cochlea

coiled, bony, fluid filled tub in inner ear, vibrations in fluid → trigger nerve impulses

inner ear

innermost part, has cochlea, semicircular canals, vestibular sacs

sensorineural hearing loss

loss from damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or auditory nerve (nerve defness)

conduction hearing loss

caused by damage to mech system that conducts sound waves to cochlea (in middle ear)

cochlear implant

device for converting sounds into electrical signals & stimulates auditory nerve

place theory

theory linking pitch to where in cochlea is stimulated

frequency theory

theory that that rate of nerve impulses traveling up auditory nerve matches freq. of tone → sense path

gate-control theory

theory that spinal cord contains neuro gate. blocks or allows pain receptors to brain

gustation

sense of taste

olfaction

sense of smell

kinethesis

movement sense

vestibular sense

sense of balance, body movement & position

sensory interaction

that 1 sense can influence another (i.e smell & taste)

embodied cognition

influence of body sensations, gestures, etc on cognitive preferences & judgements

prosopagnosia

face blindness

smells does not pass thru the…

thalamus

s-cones

m-cones

l-cones

s = sensitive to blue

m = sens. to green

l = sens. to red

nocirecptors

detect harmful temp, pressure, chemicals

proprioceptor

detect movement in muscle, joints, connective → brain

McGurk Effect

audiovisual illusion where brain combines conflicting visual & auditory speech info