Psych - Unit 1: Thresholds

and intro to sensory

sensation

the process of taking in information from the environment

absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus

detection

considered when stimulus is correctly identified a least 50% of the time

hit

signal was present, participant sensed

miss

signal was present, participant didn’t sense

false alarm

signal absent, participant sensed

correct rejection

signal absent, participant didn’t sense

discrimination threshold

the point at which one can first distinguish the difference between two stimuli

JND/difference threshold

the minimum amount of distance between two stimuli that can be detected as distinct

sensory interaction

how the difference sensory processes work together and influence one another

synesthesia

neurological condition in which stimulation of one sense leads to automatic activation of another (ex “hearing“ colors)

Weber’s Law

law that states the greater the magnitud of the stimulus, the larger the differences must be to be noticed