LESSON 5: PERCEPTION-SENSORY PROCESSING AND COGNITIVE INTERPRETATION

Stimulus reception

Sensory organs detect stimuli from the environment and act as gateways to the environment

Energy transduction

Stimuli are converted into neural signals; physical energy (light, sound, chemical molecules) is converted into electrical signals

Experience based understanding

Cognitive interpretation, using context and prior knowledge to make sense of input

Context

The situation shapes how we perceive

Prior Knowledge

Past experiences guide interpretation

Attention

What we focus on, we notice

Inattentional Blindness

Missing what’s happening in the background

Cultural context

Influences how people interpret gestures and symbols

Visual systems

Converts light into neural signals and interprets shapes, colors, and motion.

Retina

Converts light into neural signals through photoreceptors (rods and cones).

Optic Nerve

Transmits signals to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe

Visual Cortex

Interprets shapes, colors, and motion to form coherent images

Auditory System

Transforms sound waves into neural impulses for hearing and speech

Cochlea

Converts sound waves into neural impulses.

Auditory Nerve

Carries signals to the temporal lobe for interpretation.

Somatosensory System

Skin receptors detect touch, pressure, temperature, pain.

Skin Receptors

Detect touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.

Somatosensory Cortex

Maps sensations across the body.

Olfactory System

Processes smell and links it to memory and emotion.

Nose Receptors

Detect chemical molecules in the air.

Olfactory Bulb

Sends signals directly to the limbic system (emotion and memory).

Gustatory System

Detects sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors.

Taste Buds

Detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors.

Gustatory Cortex

Integrates taste with smell and texture.