Studied by 21 people
Sensation
Detecting stimuli and encoding neural signals. (Feeling/sensing something).
Transduction
Stimuli/energy must be converted into natural messages so the brain can understand it.
Perception
Organizing/processing sensations and thinking about/understanding it.
Bottom-Up Processing
Sensory info to the brain to begin processing.
Top-Down Processing
Preconcieved notions in the brain begin prosessing.
Flinching
Stereotypes
Selective Attenion
At any one time we focus consious awareness on select stimuli, generally at the expense of other stimuli.
We still detect other stimuli
Driving
Studying
Threshold
The point where we know it’s a stimuli.
Absolute Threshold
Minimum amount of stimuli needed for detection about 50% of the time.
Signal Detection Theory
Detection depends on the individual as well as the stimulus.
Subliminal Messaging
More towards the unconscious. Subliminal means below threshold.
Difference/Just Noticeable/Differential Threshold
When you’re able to notice a difference.
Webber’s Law
There’s gonna be a proportion. The difference in a ratio.
Sensory Adaptation
We will stop noticing something that’s constant.
Sensory Restriction Meaning #1
When one sense is gone, others will improve.
Sensory Restriction Meaning #2
The mind is set free when the senses are removed.
Light Energy
Light/color are pulses of electromagnetic energy/waves.
Wave Length
Determines the hue-color experienced.
Amplitude
Height of wave.
high amplitude=more energy=brighter colors
Cornea
Outer covering, protection for the eyeball.
Pupil
Opening (black part) of eyeball. Lets light in.
Iris
Colored muscle, pretty part, blocks light.
Lens
Focuses light rays into the retina.
Accomidation
Curvature changes to focus better.
Visual Acuity
Sharpness of vision.
Nearsighted
Light from far away objects hits in front of retina.
See close objects clearly
Eyeball may be too long
Farsighted
Light from nearby objects focused behind retina.
See far away objects clearly
Eyeball may be too short
Retina
Lines the back of the eyeball, flips stuff like a mirror, is a reciever.
Receptor Cells
Rods and cones.
Rods
Outline of object, black and white, shading, peripheral vision.
Cones
Color, details, requires plenty of light.
Bipolar Cells
Organize what you see.
Ganglion Cells
Transfer what you see.
Optic Nerve
Axons of ganglion cells.
Blindspot
Where the optic nerve leaves the eye, the opening. Your brain fills it in for you.
Fovea
Area of central focus.
Feature Detectors
Turns everything the eyeball is taking in into an image.
Parallel Processing
Our brain can do multiple things at once.
Color Vision
Colors get reflected. You absorb every color EXCEPT the one you’re seeing.
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory
Retina has 3 types of color receptors that combine.
Red, green, and blue
Opponent Process Theory
Thalamus cells responsible for seeing one of 2 colors.
Black or white
Green or red
Blue or yellow
You can only see one at a time
After Images
See the “opponent” color after looking at a color long enough.
Soundwaves
Molecules of air bumping into eachother.
Amplitude
Loudness.
Decibels
Measure of sound energy.
Frequency/Wavelength
Pitch.
Long waves=low frequency/pitch
Short waves=high frequency/pitch
Outer Ear
What you can see on the outside.
Auditory Canal
Passageway into the ear.
Eardrum/Tympanic Membrane
Membrane that vibrates to transmit sounds from outer to middle ear.
Middle Ear
Transmits sound from eardrum to inner ear.
Piston/Ossicles
3 delicate bones.
Hammer, anvil, and stirrup
They vibrate each other
I HAS a piston
Inner Ear
Cochlea, oval window, basilar membrane, hair cells, and auditory nerve.
Cochlea
Snail shaped tube filled with fluid that vibrates.
Oval Window
Cochlea’s membrane attached to the stirrup.
Basilar Membrane
Runs through middle of cochlea.
Hair Cells
Line basilar membrane and bend to transfer sound.
Auditory Nerve
Carries info from cochlea into the brain.
Place Theory
WHERE it vibrates determines the pitch.
Like a piano
Works for medium to high pitches
Frequency Theory
Basilar membrane determines the pitch.
Like a guitar
Works for low to medium pitches
Volley Principle
Cells alternate with place AND speed to determine the pitch.
Locating Sound
Hits one ear first.
Sound Shadow
Sound bounces off walls first.
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
0.000027 seconds.
Conduction Deafness
Cannot gets sounds into cochlea.
Hearing aids help
Sensorineural/Nerve Deafness
Damage to cochlea/hair cells.
Caused by age, and exposure to loud sounds
Hearing aids barely help
Hair cells won’t bend
Pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.
4 skin senses
Pain
The bodies way of telling you something’s wrong
Phantom Limb Sensations
7 in 10 amputees feel pain in their missing limb.
Gate-Control Theory
The spinal cord contains a gate to allow/block pain signals.
Small Fibers
Open the gate and transmit pain.
Large Fibers
Close the gate, transmit other sensations, and block pain.
Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami
5 tastes
Tastebuds
200
Pores
They reproduce
Age, alcohol, and tobacco
Causes of taste bud reduction
Flavor
Combination of taste and smell.
Olfaction
Experiencing smell.
Smell
Least sensitive
Chemical sense
Declines with age
Tied with memory
Kinesthesis
Body position and movement (knowing where your body is).
Vestibular Sense/Equilibrium
Position and balance of body.
Semicircular Canal
Filled with fluid to act like a level for balance.
Fluid in the semicircular canal is shaken up.
What causes dizziness?
Illusions
Show how you organize and interpret sensations.
Visual Capture
Vision tends to dominate the other senses.
Gestalt
Seeing things as a whole.
Figure and Ground
The brain creates a distinction between an object and its background.
Gestalt Rules of Grouping
People/brains like to organize figures.
Proximity
Desks in rows.
Similarity
Same jerseys.
Continuity
Concessions.
Closure
Dashed lines on the road.
Connectedness
GES and GHS.
Depth Perception
Transforms 2D images into 3D knowledge.
Binocular Cues
BOTH eyes helping us determine depth.
Retinal Disparity
Different images on each retina create depth in the brain.
Convergence
How much our eyes turn inward alerts the brain to depth.
Monocular Cues
Some depth is done with just one eye.
Relative Size
2 similar objects, one having a larger image on the retina means it’s closer.
Interposition
A blocked view means the thing blocking is closer.
Relative Clarity
The more clear something is, the closer it is.
Texture Gradient
The more distinct an image is, the closer we perceive it as.
Relative Height
Higher up objects are perceived as farther away.
Note 
Flashcard (100)