Sensation and Perception

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(week 7)

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71 Terms

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Sensation

when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

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Transduction

conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

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Absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

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Subliminal messages

messages that are presented below the threshold for conscious awareness

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Just noticeable difference (JND) or difference threshold

how much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them; changes depending on the stimulus intensity

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Weber’s Law

Ernst Weber’s discovery that the difference threshold is a constant fraction of the original stimulus and bigger stimuli require larger differences to be noticed

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Perception

the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced.

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bottom-up processing

sensory information from a stimulus in the environment driving a process

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top-down processing

to knowledge and expectancy driving a process

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sensory adaptation

the reduction in sensitivity after prolonged exposure to a stimulus

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Inattentional Blindness

the failure to notice something that is completely visible because the person was actively attending to something else and did not pay attention to other things

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Signal detection theory

The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background

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Amplitude

the height of a wave as measured from the highest point on the wave (peak or crest) to the lowest point on the wave (trough)

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Wavelength

the length of a wave from one peak to the next

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Frequency

the number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period; expressed in terms of hertz (Hz), or cycles per second; Longer wavelengths have lower frequencies, and shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies

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Visible spectrum

the portion of the larger electromagnetic spectrum that we can see (380-740 nm in humans)

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Electromagnetic spectrum

all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment

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Seeing color

  • red is associated with longer wavelengths, greens are intermediate, and blues and violets are shorter in wavelength

  • Colors with larger amplitudes appear brighter

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Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color vision

all colors in the spectrum can be produced by combining red, green, and blue. The three types of cones normal-sighted individuals have are each receptive to one of the colors. (Applies to visual processing on the retina)

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opponent-process theory

color is coded in opponent pairs: black-white, yellow-blue, and green-red, and some cells of the visual system are excited by one of the opponent colors and inhibited by the other (Applies when the signal moves past the retina on its way to the brain)

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Afterimage

the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

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Depth perception

Our ability to perceive spatial relationships in three-dimensional (3-D) space

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Binocular cues

rely on the use of both eyes

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Binocular disparity

the slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives

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Monocular cues

cues that require only one eye (ex. interposition, the partial overlap of objects, the relative size and closeness of images to the horizon, relative size, and the variation between light and shadow.)

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Linear perspective

the fact that we perceive depth when we see two parallel lines that seem to converge in an image

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vestibulo-ocular reflex

coordination of motion information with visual information that allows you to maintain your gaze on an object while you move.

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Synesthesia

when one sensory signal gives rise to two or more sensations

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Pitch and frequency

The frequency of a sound wave is associated with our perception of that sound’s pitch and they have a positive correlation; The audible range of sound frequencies for humans is between 20 and 20000 Hz, with greatest sensitivity to frequencies that fall in the middle.

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Loudness and Amplitude

Higher amplitudes are associated with louder sounds. Loudness is measured in terms of decibels (dB), a logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

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Timbre

sound’s purity, and it is affected by the complex interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves.

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temporal theory of pitch perception

frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron (applies to frequencies up to about 4000 Hz)

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Place theory of pitch perception

different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies; the base responds best to high frequencies and the tip best to low frequencies

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Interaural level difference

a sound coming from the right side of your body is more intense at your right ear than at your left ear because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through your head

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Interaural timing difference

the small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear

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Deafness

the partial or complete inability to hear

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Congenital deafness

being born without hearing

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Conductive hearing loss

a problem delivering sound energy to the cochlea; causes include blockage of the ear canal, a hole in the tympanic membrane, problems with the ossicles, or fluid in the space between the eardrum and cochlea; problems are associated with a failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles and are treated with devices like hearing aids (amplify incoming sound waves to make vibration of the eardrum and movement of the ossicles more likely to occur)

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sensorineural hearing loss

Most common form of hearing loss; failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain; causes include aging, head or acoustic trauma, infections and diseases, medications, environmental effects such as noise-induced hearing loss, tumors, and toxins

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Ménière’s disease

results in a degeneration of inner ear structures that can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus (constant ringing or buzzing), vertigo (a sense of spinning), and an increase in pressure within the inner ear; results in sensorineural hearing loss

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Cochlear implants

electronic devices that consist of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array; receives incoming sound information and directly stimulates the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain.

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Taste buds

formed by groupings of taste receptor cells with hair-like extensions that protrude into the central pore of the taste bud

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Pheromone

chemical message sent by another individual; Pheromonal communication often involves providing information about the reproductive status of a potential mate

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Inflammatory pain

Pain that signals some type of tissue damage

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Neuropathic pain

pain from damage to neurons of either the peripheral or central nervous system

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congenital insensitivity to pain (or congenital analgesia)

can detect differences in temperature and pressure, they cannot experience pain.

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Vestibular sense

contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture

It’s major sensory organs (utricle, saccule, and the three semicircular canals) are located next to the cochlea in the inner ear.

The vestibular organs are fluid-filled and have hair cells, similar to the ones found in the auditory system, which respond to movement of the head and gravitational forces. When these hair cells are stimulated, they send signals to the brain via the vestibular nerve.

Although we may not be consciously aware of our vestibular system’s sensory information under normal circumstances, its importance is apparent when we experience motion sickness and/or dizziness related to infections of the inner ear

<p><span>contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture</span></p><p><span>It’s major sensory organs (utricle, saccule, and the three semicircular canals) are located next to the cochlea in the inner ear. </span></p><p><span>The vestibular organs are fluid-filled and have hair cells, similar to the ones found in the auditory system, which respond to movement of the head and gravitational forces. When these hair cells are stimulated, they send signals to the brain via the vestibular nerve. </span></p><p><span>Although we may not be consciously aware of our vestibular system’s sensory information under normal circumstances, its importance is apparent when we experience motion sickness and/or dizziness related to infections of the inner ear</span></p>
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Proprioception

The sense of the position of parts of the body, relative to other neighboring parts of the body. Focuses on the body’s cognitive awareness of movement.

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kinesthesia

Awareness of the position and movement of the parts of the body using sensory organs in joints and muscles. Kinesthesia is a key component in muscle memory and hand-eye coordination. It is more behavioral than proprioception.

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Both proprioception and kinesthesia:

  • interact with information provided by the vestibular system

  • gather information from receptors that respond to stretch and tension in muscles, joints, skin, and tendons

  • information travels to the brain via the spinal column

  • Several cortical regions in addition to the cerebellum receive information from and send information to the sensory organs of these systems.

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Gestalt psychology

field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts; this means that the brain creates a perception that is more than simply the sum of available sensory inputs, and it does so in predictable ways

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Figure-ground relationship

we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground. Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the ground is the background

<p><span>we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground. Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the ground is the background</span></p>
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Proximity

things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together (ex. How we read)

<p><span>things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together (ex. How we read)</span></p>
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Similarity

things that are alike tend to be grouped together

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law of continuity

we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines

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Closure

we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts

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Pattern perception

our ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes; occurs by following the Gestalt principles

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Perceptual hypotheses

educated guesses that we make while interpreting sensory information

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Sensory modalities

a type of sense; for example, vision or audition

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unimodal

of or pertaining to a single sensory modality

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Multimodal

of or pertaining to multiple sensory modalities

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Multimodal perception

the effects on the perception of events and objects in the world that are observed when there is information from more than one sensory modality

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Multimodal phenomena

the binding of inputs from multiple sensory modalities and the effects of this binding on perception

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crossmodal phenomena

the influence of one sensory modality on the perception of another

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McGurk effect

What you see overrides what you hear

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Why do scientists use illusions?

To explore what people experience, what parts of the brain are involved in interpretation of the illusion, and what variables increase or diminish the strength of the illusion

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Ponzo Illusion

When two horizontal lines of equal length appear to be different lengths due to converging lines

<p>When two horizontal lines of equal length appear to be different lengths due to converging lines</p>
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Benary cross

cross with two triangles; triangle on the left looks lighter because it is against a darker background, but both triangles are the same shade.

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Ebbinghaus illusion

shows two orange circles of the same size but surrounded by gray circles of different sizes, creating the illusion of the orange circles being different sizes

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Counterbalancing

Making sure that all conditions of an experiment are equally exposed to the positive or negative effects of which order the tasks are completed

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Confounding variable

A practice/fatigue not apart of the experiment that influences performance