AP Psych Unit 1/Part 3

Sensation

Sensation

The process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment

Threshold (absolute threshold)

The minimum amount of energy an organism can detect 50% of the time

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of physical energy into neural impulses

Just noticeable difference

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

Sensory adaptation

brain cells become less sensitive to constant stimuli that are picked up by our senses

Weber’s law

Two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (not a constant amount) to be perceived as different

Sensory interaction

The principle that one sense can influence the other

Synesthesia

One sense induces an experience in another sense

Vision

Eyes use rods (light/dark) and cones (color) in retina to detect light waves

Retina

Contains rods, cones, and fovea