sensation and perception

retina

the tissue at the back of the eye that absorbs light

heavy rod concentration

along the retina to provide peripheral and night vision

lens

adjusts behind the pupil to focus light on the retina

fovea

the most directly hitting area of the retina

heavy cone concentration

around the fovea that allows for central function

optic nerve

connects to the blind spot and takes visual signals out of the eye

cornea

the outer layer of the front of the eye, bends entering light

pupil

the hole in the eye where light enters from

iris

the muscle around the eye that closes and opens the pupil

outer ear

includes the cartilage that funnels sound waves into the ear

middle ear

contains all of the bones: hammer, anvil, stir-up behind the ear drum which echoes the vibrations

inner ear

cochlea: a fluid filled series of tubes with hair that detect vibrations

olfactory sense

the sense of smell - a chemical sense that conveys messages to the old brain through signal transduction. molecules dissolve in the mucus of the olfactory epithelium and neurons detect and send them to the limbic system

gustation

(taste) also a chemical sense that detects taste through receptors on the tongue.

supertasters

have many taste buds compared to the average, making them highly sensitive to certain flavors

medium tasters

the average

non tasters

people with relatively fewer taste buds making their sense of taste weaker

mechanoreceptors

detect pressure and texture

thermoreceptors

detect changes in temperature

nociceptors

detect main or damage to tissues

somatosensory cortex

located in the parietal lobe and processes touch sensations

vestibular sense

helps maintain balance and posture by detecting the position of our head in relation to gravity. helps us move

semicircular canals

three fluid fill tubes located in the inner ear to detect head movements. dizziness occurs when the fluids in this canal are shaken up

vertigo

when the brain receives conflicting signals from the vestibular sense and other senses leading to a spinning sensation

kinesthetic sense

allows for location of body parts without looking at them. allows for movement and position.

thalamus

sends signals around to their lobes based on the type of signal

pain

processed through physical and emotional pathways, the body detects potential harm

gate control theory

when the spinal chord acts as a gate that blocks or allows pain signals to pass to the brain.

small nerve fibers

carry brain signals

large nerve fibers

carry other signals such as pressure. rubbing a sore area can close the gate and reduce perception of pain

phantom limb sensation

feeling sensations and pain in a limp that has been amputated. this comes from the map that the body has of a complete body and can misfire

tastes

sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, aleogusts

sweet

energy sources

salty

sodium

sour

potentially toxic acids

bitter

potential poisons

umami

proteins to grow and repair tissues

oleogusts

fats for energy insulation, and cell growth

frequency

determines pitch

amplitude

determines water

sensineural hearing loss

damage to hairs and neurons causes

conduction hearing loss

damage to the middle ear such as eardrums and bones

place theory

high pitched frequencies created larger vibrations at the beginning of the cochlea while low frequencies vibrated a large general area - explains how high pitch is detected

frequency theory

frequency of sound waves correspond to the frequencies of firing neurons

volley theory

to maximize frequency, neighboring neurons will alternate firing

importance of two ears

helps located the origin of south through a 3D space because of differing timings

absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimuli to activate and register it in human sense

difference threshold

the minimum amount of difference require to register it

absolute threshold for vision

a candle flame from 30 miles away in the dark

absolute threshold for taste

one teaspoon of sugar in two gallons of water

absolute threshold for smell

one drop of perfume in a three room appartment

absolute threshold for hearing

the tick of a watch under quiet conditions from 20 feet away

absolute threshold for touch

a bees wing falling on your face from a centimeter above

bottom up processing

neurons → brain

top down processing

brain → processes stimuli

perceptual constancies

when the brain recognizes regular patters with stimuli to make sense of them in a reasonable way - ex: shadows

context

the relationship between the focus and the background to make better sense of them

biological perspective on pain

stimuli is sent to the spinal chord, substance p and endorphins regulatio nit, women are more sensitive, gate-control theory

sociocultural perspective on pain

other’s perceptions, culture, and the presence of others

psychological influences on pain

learning, expectations, focus/distraction, the amount of pain or pleasure experienced at the end

methods of controlling pain

placebos, distraction, drugs, surgery,y, acupuncture, electrical stimulation, massage, exercise, hypnosis, relaxation training, meditation, and through distraction

wet sense

a combination of activated cold and hot stimuli

Pheremones

chemical signals that can be smelled

odors

created from different combinations of olfactory receptors being activated

sensory interactions

when multiple senses form a cohesive sense: taste-smell, sight-hearing

embodied cognition

when sensory input influences decision making

subliminal priming

undectectable stimuli that can influence perception

synesthesia

when the brain combines two. unrelated senses: taste + color, numbers + smell

facial recognition

perceiving facial features

prosopagnosia

facial blindness

transduction

receiving, translating, delivering impulses to brain

Weber’s law

the necessary different in quantities of stimuli required to stable a detectable difference

sensory adaptation

when the body ignores a constant unchanging stimuli to limit energy. vision is an exception because the eyes are always moving

preception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

schemas

a categorial framework in the brain that can shape perceptions. helps label what we perceive

peceptual set

a readiness to perceive things in a certain way based on expectations, emotions or cultural backgrounds - the way expectations shape what you perceive

Gestalt psychology

how people organize sensory information to make sense of it

Gestalt principles: figure and ground

distinguishing an object form its background

Gestalt principles: grouping principles

when stimuli is put into groups

Gestalt principles: proximity

when objects are grouped based on how close they are to each other

Gestalt principles: similarity

when similar-looking objects are grouped together

Gestalt principles: closure

when gaps are filled to see a complete object

attention

when focus on a specific object ignores others

selective attention

focusing on one thing among many others

cocktail party effect

the ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy room

inattentional blindness

the result of selective attention when visible objects are ignored because they aren’t being focused on

change blindness

failing to notice changes in an environment because its not a focus

depth perception

the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge distances

visual cliff

the baby cliff experiment. baby’s reset their depth perception every time they learn a new way of maneuvering the world

binocular cues

depth cues that require both eyes to work together

retinal disparity

a binocular cue in which the difference between the images detected by the left and with eyes help in depth perception

convergence

a type of binocular cue where the eyes turn inwards as an object gets closer

monocular cues

depth cues that can be detected with one eye: Stay In The GoogleClassroom Please

relative size

a monocular cue where objects appear smaller if they are perceived as further away

interposition

a monocular cue that interprets object overlap as one being behind another

texture/gradient

a monocular cue where finer details are considered to be closer

relative clarity

a monocular cue that determines blurriness as distance and better clarity as closer

linear perspective

a monocular cue that uses parallel lines and converging lines to see what is far and close (basic perspective room drawing)

perceptual constancies

recognizing the same object regardless of changes in lighting, distance, or angle

color constancy

the ability to perceive the same colors even when lighting changes