Studied by 9 people
ch. 4 of Myers' Psychology for AP, pp. 115-169 + in-class notes
sensation
the process by which sensory receptors & the nervous system receives and represents stimuli
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
bottom-up processing
the analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
top-down processing
the information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
selective attention
focus on particular stimulus; the human mind typically takes in 11 million bits of information per second but only processes about 40
cocktail-party effect
the ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment, while ignoring other stimuli
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when attention is elsewhere; “out of sight, out of mind”
change blindness
failure to notice environmental changes
psychophysics
study of the properties of stimuli and our psychological responses
absolute threshold
minimum stimulation required to detect something 50% of the time; varies with age
signal detection theory
prediction of how & when we detect faint stimuli among background noise; connected to selective attention
subliminal stimulation
stimulation below the absolute threshold
priming
activation, often unconsciously, of associating and creating a predisposition to a response
difference threshold
minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; explained through Weber’s law
Weber’s law
principle stating difference in stimuli must be proportional rather than by a constant value
sensory adaptation
diminishing sensitivity to constant stimulus; allows focus on important changes
transduction
conversion of one form of energy to another; specifically, the transformation of stimulus energies into neural impulses
wavelength
distance between the peak of one wave to another; determines colour and sound frequency
hue
colour of a wave determined by the wavelength
intensity
the energy in a wave, determines brightness; also called amplitude
pupil
adjustable opening for light in eye
iris
coloured muscle that controls the size of the pupil
lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that aids in focus
accommodation
lens changing shape in order to account for changing focus
retina
light-sensitive surface in back of eye that has rods and cones to detect light
rods
detects greyscale light (blacks, whites, and greys); handles periphery and twilight conditions
cones
receptor near the centre of the retina that handles daytime vision, fine detail, and colour
optic nerve
carries neural impulses from retina to the occipital lobe for processing
blindspot
point where optic nerve leaves the eye; has no receptors; also called the “optic disk”
fovea
central point of focus in eye
acuity
sharpness of vision
nearsightedness
condition in which near objects are clearer
farsightedness
condition in which far objects are clearer
feature detectors
nerve cells that respond to specific features of the stimulus like shape, angle, and movement
parallel processing
division of the many aspects of vision into subdimensions for simpler processing simultaneously
trichromatic theory
idea that retina contains red, green, and blue receptors that receive the light reflected off of objects
opponent-process theory
idea that opposing retinal processes enable colour vision; red ←→ green, yellow ←→ blue, white ←→ black
audition
sense of hearing; extremely adaptive and sensitive to faint sounds
frequency
how many wavelengths pass through during a time period; determines colour of light and pitch of sound
pitch
the highness or lowness of a tone
middle ear
chamber between the eardrum and cochlea that concentrates sounds with three small bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) to be transferred into the cochlea through the oval window
cochlea
coiled, fluid-filled tube through which sound waves create neural impulses
inner ear
contains cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
place theory
idea that pitch is linked with where the neural impulses are created in the cochlea
frequency theory
idea that the brain determines pitch based on the frequency of impulses up the nerve
conduction hearing loss
hearing loss caused by mechanical damage to the system that conducts sound into the cochlea
sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to cochlea’s receptor cells or auditory nerves
cochlear implant
device that converts sound into electrical signals
kinesthesis
system for sensing position and movement of body parts
vestibular sense
sense of body movement, position, and balance; uses gyroscopes in the inner ear
nociceptors
detect harmful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals and translates it into pain
gate-control theory
idea that the spinal cord contains a “gate” that either blocks pain or lets it continue to the brain
sensory interaction
idea that two senses may influence each other
synesthesia
phenomenon where one sensation produces another
gestalt
an organised whole; demonstrates our tendency to integrate pieces of information into a sensible whole
figure-ground organisation
organisation of visual field into objects that stand out from the background
grouping
perceptual tendency to organise stimuli into coherent groups; we organise by proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure
depth perception
our ability to see in three dimensions despite our retinas only receiving a two-dimensional image; allows us to judge distance; able to be done from a young age
visual cliff
lab device to test depth perception in infants and young animals
binocular cues
depth cues such as retinal disparity and convergence that depends on the usage of two eyes; used because our retinas receive two different images
retinal disparity
binocular cue for depth perception; computation of distance based on disparity between the images from the two retinas; greater disparity → close object
convergence
binocular cue for depth perception; extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object; more inward → closer object
monocular cues
depth cues such as interposition and linear perspective available to either eye alone
interposition
monocular cue; if one object blocks the view of another, we perceive it as closer
relative motion
monocular cue; objects closer appear to move at a greater speed than faraway objects (i.e. looking out a car window at trees in comparison to the nearby road)
linear perspective
monocular cue; parallel lines appear to meet in the distance; sharper angle → greater distance
phi phenomenon
illusion of movement created by two or more adjacent lights that blink in quick succession
perceptual constancy
seeing the same object (consistent lightness, colour, shape, size) even as illumination and retinal images change
shape constancy
shape remains constant with changing angle of view
size constancy
same size across different distances
lightness constancy
object has constant lightness even in changing illumination
colour constancy
colour remaining constant despite a changing context
perceptual adaptation
adapting to a changed sensory experience; example would be adapting to a displaced or inverted visual field
perceptual set
predispositions to see one thing instead of another; created by top-down processing
extrasensory perception
claim that perception can occur without sensory input
parapsychology
study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception and psychkinesis
