ap pysch 1.6-2.1

Sensation/bottom-up

Sensation/bottom-up

Perception/top-down

My brain recognizes it as my favorite food based on past experiences.

Absolute threshold

Minimum stimulation needed to detect something.

Difference threshold:

Smallest difference needed to notice a change

Rods:

Detect light and darkness.

Bipolar cells:

• Send information from rods and cones.

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Ganglion cells:

Send visual information to the brain through the optic nerve.

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

We see color using three types of cones: red, green, and blue.

Two binocular cues

• Retinal disparity

Each eye sees a slightly different image.

Convergence:

• Eyes turn inward when looking at nearby objects.

Stroboscopic motion:

Rapid still images look like movement.

Phi phenomenon:

Lights flashing quickly appear to move.

Perceptual constancy

• Seeing objects as the same even when their appearance changes.

• Three types: size, shape, and color/brightness constancy.

How does the cochlea work?

Sound vibrations move fluid inside the cochlea, stimulating hair cells that send signals to the auditory nerve.

Two types of hearing loss

conductive

Sound cannot travel properly through the outer or middle ear.

Sensorineural

Damage to hair cells or the auditory nerve.

Five types of taste

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savory).

Four things touch receptors sense

Pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.

How do touch receptors create touch?

They detect sensations and send signals through nerves to the brain.

Why is smell connected to memories and emotions?

Smell connects directly to the brain's emotion and memory areas.

Kinesthetic sense

- Awareness of where your body parts are and how they move.

Vestibular sense

Sense of balance and body position.

Signal Detection Theory

Explains how we detect signals based on attention, expectations, and alertness, even when signals are weak.

Weber's Law

The noticeable difference between two things depends on their original intensity.

Sensory adaptation

Becoming less sensitive to constant stimulation over time

Perceptual sets and schemas

They influence how we interpret things based on expectations and past experiences.

How does culture affect perception

Culture shapes what we expect and notice. People from different cultures may interpret the same situation differently because of their experiences and beliefs.

types of Gestalt grouping

• Proximity:

We group things close together. Example: Seeing nearby dots as a group.

Similarity:

We group things that look alike. Example: Grouping students wearing the same shirt.

Continuity

We see patterns as smooth and continuous. Example: Seeing a road as one continuous path

Closure:

: We fill in missing information to see a complete image. Example: Recognizing a circle with small gaps.

Define transduction.

Converting physical energy into neural signals.

What is the process of transduction?

Sensory receptors detect stimulation and convert it into electrical signals sent to the brain.