sensation and perception 1

define sensation

the transmission of sensory input from the environment into the brain

what is transduction?

the conversion of electrical signals are sent to the brain via the sensory nerves

define perception

interpretation of sensory information by the brain to form mental representations of the environment

what is psychophysics?

the relationship between the physical characteristics of environmental stimuli and our mental experience of them

define absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulation needed for a person to detect a particular stimulus half the time

what type of relationship does absolute threshold have?

opposite: the lower your threshold, the higher your sensitivity

what is signal detection theory used for?

this theory makes into account the rates of hits and misses when a stimulus is present, but also false alarms and correct rejections

define a miss in signal detection theory

when something comes back negative when it should’ve been detected

what is another term for the difference threshold

the just-noticeable difference (JND)

what is the difference threshold/JND?

the minimum change in a stimulus for an observer to detect a difference half the time

what type of relationship do difference thresholds have?

direct: difference thresholds increase as the stimulus size increases

what is the relationship of the difference threshold called?

weber’s law

define adaptation

when a stimulus remains constant over time and eventually disappears

what is not adapting to repeated stimulation a sign of?

autism