Sensory Perception and Thresholds

This set of flashcards covers key concepts of sensory perception, including principles of change detection, thresholds, and attentional phenomena.

Weber's Law

Principle stating that the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) for two stimuli is a constant ratio, meaning stronger stimuli require greater change for a difference to be noticed.

Dynesthesia

A rare condition where one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway.

Absolute Threshold

The smallest level of stimulus that a person can detect at least 50% of the time.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects/events because attention is focused on something else.

JND (Just Noticeable Difference)

The minimal detectable change in a sensory stimulus.

Selective Attention

The process of focusing on one stimulus while ignoring other distractions in the environment.

Sensory Adaptation

Process where sensitivity to constant stimuli decreases over time.

Discrimination Threshold

Also known as JND; the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected at least 50% of the time.