Studied by 4 people
transduction
converting one form of energy into another
ex. our brain converts vibrations into sound
sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
bottom-up processing
sensation is experienced first and works its way up to the brain (sense first, then perceive)
ex. the rose example
top-down processing
constructs perceptions from sensory input by drawing on your experiences an expectation (perceive first, then sense)
ex. The Forest Has Eyes
psychophysics
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience
thresholds
levels that we are able to recognize sensory information
Gustav Fechner
studied our thresholds
absolute threshold
the level of stimulation necessary to recognize a particular stimulus 50% of the time
subliminal threshold
below your absolute threshold of perceptions
ex. subliminal messages
priming
unconscious associations that predispose one's perception, memory, or response
difference threshold
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
Weber's Law
sensory differences have a minimum percent not constant amount
ex. to note the difference of the weight of two objects they have to differ by 2%
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of a constant stimulation
ex. walking into your house after a vacation it has a distinct smell
gestalt
an organized whole. Emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information (basically an understanding of something)
accommodation
adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information (adjust)
ex. a child who believes all four legged furry black and white animals are cows has to change their understanding when they see a dalmatian
assimilation
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
ex. a child sees a cow has four legs and is black and white. that child now thinks everything with four legs and is black and white is a cow
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
depth perception
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2D; allows us to judge distance; everyone is born with this
monocular cues
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
binocular cues
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes
linear perspective
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.
interposition
if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
perceptual constancy
our tendency to view familiar objects as unchanging (having the same color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
ex. in a room a red apple is brown, but we still think its red
perceptual adaptation
the ability to adjust or adapt to a change in sensory input
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (top-down processing)
ex. newspaper photo of "the Lochness Monster" when it actually is just a tree branch, the title makes people see the monster before the branch
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
wavelength and its influence on color
the distance from one peak to the next which influences our perception of color
short = blue colors long = red colors
intensity and its influence on color
the amount of energy in a light wave; influences brightness
larger intensity = bright colors small intensity = dull colors
cornea
protects the eye and bends light for focus
iris
a colored muscle that adjust light intake
retina
converts light to neural signals to send to the brain
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
fovea
central focal point in retina, cones cluster around it
rods
enables black and white (even gray) perception
low spatial activity
sees details
responsible for peripheral vision
cones
enable color perception
high spatial activity
located in the center of retina
trichromatic theory of color
Also known as the Young-Helmholz Theory of Color; Human eye has 3 types of cone receptors sensitive to different; People see colors because the eye does its own "color mixing" (blue/short; green/medium; red/long)
opponent processing theory of color
States we have three types of receptor cones and they each handle a pair of colors (red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white). If one sensor/color is firing, it slows the other from firing. The theory does a good job at explaining afterimages.
hammer, anvil, stirrup (ossicles)
the three small bones in the middle ear that relay vibrations of the eardrum to the inner ear
frequency
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time
pitch
a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency
cochlea
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
semicircular canal
structures in the inner ear that are responsible for the sense of balance
basilar membrane
contains hair cells that bend and trigger nerve cells whose axons form auditory nerves, located in the cochlea
kinesthesis
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
vestibular sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance
nociceptors
sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals
gate-control theory
the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. the "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity of larger fibers or by information coming from the brain
influences of pain
biological, psychological, social-cultural
taste receptors
chemical receptors on the tongue that decode molecules of food or drink to identify them (tastebuds)
sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another
ex. when the smell of food influences its taste
olfaction
sense of smell
steps to process light
Light enters eye and causes reaction in rods and cones
Chemical reaction activates bipolar cells
Bipolar cells activate ganglion cells, whose axons form the optic nerve. Optic nerve transmits info to visual cortex.
steps to process smell
Odor molecules bind to odorant receptors
Olfactory receptor cells send electrical signals to olfactory bulb
Olfactory bulbs form olfactory nerve which takes info to the brain
steps to process sound
Outer ear channels the sound waves through auditory canal to the eardrum -outer ear
Ear drum vibrations are sent through hammer, anvil, and stirrup to cochlea -middle ear called ossicles
.Cochlea vibrates as well causing ripples in fluid that fills the tube. These ripples cause more ripples in the basilar membrane.
Hair cells in basilar membrane bend and trigger nerve cells, whose axons form auditory nerve
Auditory nerve takes it to the auditory cortex to be processed and stored
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there
synesthesia
describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")
selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
change blindness
when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
extrasensory perception (ESP)
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
