Sensation and Perception

Sensation

Process in which you detect your physical world through your sensory organs, as sight, sound, taste, and touch.

Abosolute Threshold

The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time by an observer.

Signal Detection Theory

A theoretical framework for understanding how signals are detected amid noise, emphasizing the decision process and sensitivity of observers.

Difference Theory

A theory that describes the ability to detect differences between stimuli, typically quantified as the smallest detectable change in stimulus intensity.

Weber’s Law

A principle that states that the just noticeable difference between stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli.

Bottom-up processing

A perceptual process that begins with sensory input, where analysis starts at the basic sensory features before moving to higher-level processing.

top down processing

information processing guided by your pre-existing knowledge or expectations to construct perceptions, think then act

transduction

the process of the brain converting physical information into neurons — reception, conversion, and transmission

sensory adaptation

when your sensors stop responding to stimuli when it is consistent — example: smell of your house or yourself

Lens

helps your eye focus

retina

converts light into signals to send the brain and process information

optic nerve

carries information from the retina to the brain

accomodation

allows your eye to change from focusing on nearby objects to those far away

rods

helps you see in dim lighting

cones

helps with vibrant vision, colored, daytime, and detailed vision

blind spot

the space of emptiness between your vision, unnoticeable with both eyes open

fovea

helps with sharp vision

ganglion cells

last stop of transmission before signals are sent from the retina to the brain

young-helmholtz theory/trichromatic theory

your cones only see primary colors of red, green, and blue`

opponent process theory

receptors perceive colors in pair, red v green, yellow v blue

frequency

rate of repetition between sound waves

amplitude

height of the sound waves

sensorineural deafness/nerve damage

deafness caused by damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory nerves

conductive deafness

bone damage in the middle ear neaby the eardrum that prevents the transfer of sound waves to the cochlea

place theory

sound pitch is perceived in where the sound frequency vibrates in the basilar membrane

frequency theory

pitch is determined by when the impulses are transmitted along the auditory nerve

gustatory cells

sweet, sour, bitter, umani, salty, and fat

what is the term for smell

olfaction

what is the term for taste

gustation

vestibular

sense of balance and location

kinesthetic

being able to sense our own movement, weight, and position without looking

gestalts psychology

brain processes patterns as a whole rather than processing them individually

figure ground

picture in a picture

closure

interpreted pictures

depth

perception of distance using cues

binocular cues

clues using 2 eyes

monocular cues

clues using one eye

convergence

as things move closer, your eyes go cross eyed

relative clarity — monocular cue

objects closer are clearer, objects farther away are blurry

relative size — monocular cue

bigger size appear closer, smaller sizes appear farther

texture gradient— monocular cue

patterns appear distinct the closer you are, farther away the more blended they are

interposition— monocular cue

when one object blocks another so its perceived as farther away

linear perspective— monocular cue

two parallel lines converge the further away they are

phi phenomenon

illusion of movement when objects are staying still - christmas lights

cornea

transparent subject covering the surface of the eyeball

after light hits the pupil it…

goes through the lens and vitreous humor before hitting the back of the retina

myopia

nearsightedness cant see far

hyperopia

farsightness cant see close up

prosopagnosia

face blindness

dichromacy

only two cone types are functional, typically unable to distinguish betweeb red and green

monochromancy

when none or one cone is functional

basiliar membrane

contains hair cells connected to neurons attached to auditory nerves

pain

tactile sensation

gate theory

pain must pass through a gate in the spinal cord, that block messages — one message at a time

perception

active construction of reality in the brain

selective attention

your attention can be broken at any time — like when someone shouts your name

retinal disparity

different image between the two eyes