Sensation and Perception

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

Sensation: receiving stimuli

Perception: organizing/making sense of stimuli

Absolute threshold

Weakest amount of stimuli that can be sensed. Ex. candle flame 30 miles away

Difference threshold

Minimum difference that can be detected. Ex. similar color paint swatches

Signal-detection theory

Perception of stimuli is affected by setting and expectations. Ex. parents hear newborn

whimper several rooms away

Sensory adaptation

Tendency to become more sensitive to weak stimuli or less sensitive to unchanging stimuli. Ex.

smell of cigarette smoke on clothes.

Selective attention

We sense more than we perceive. Ex. gorilla/chicken in jump rope video.

“The Oddball Effect”

Perception of time is shapeable. Ex. hard to remember time periods/passage of time during the

pandemic.

Priming

“invisible memory”…. Perception influenced by previous experience/learning. Ex. Is so_p “soup

or soap”?

“Fast thinking vs. slow thinking” Ex. “The Moses Illusion”

Scanning process brain uses when looking broadly. Ex “How many animals did Moses bring on

the ark?”

What is Gestalt in the study of perception?

“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

Closure

Perception that a figure is complete, even when something is missing. Ex Constellations.

Figure-ground perception

Figures against a background. Ex. Vase or two faces?

Similarity

Tendency to group figures together if they are similar. Ex. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Continuity

Perception of smooth patterns rather than discontinued ones. Ex. Wavelength

Common-fate

Perception that objects that are moving together belong together. Ex. People on an escalator.

What is stroboscopic motion?

Illusion of movement produced by rapid progression of images. Ex. Animation/cartoons.

Augmented reality

Overlays digital info in real world. Ex. Google glasses.

Virtual reality

Fully immersive… Ex. Oculus

Sensory augmentation

Enhancing/improving/modifying natural senses. Ex. Cochlear implant/“bionic eye”

Cochlear implants

Device that can restore hearing to people with severe hearing loss.

uncanny valley

When it is unclear if something is safe or

dangerous, we often perceive it as “creepy”. Ex. Mannequins, clowns, a teddy bear with teeth.