AP Psych sensation and perception

outer ear

getting sound waves to inner ear

outer ear consists of

pinna and external auditory meatus (ear canal)

sound goes through pinna to external auditory meatus to

tympanic membrane (eardrum)

what is the middle ear's purpose

to take sound waves and turn them into bodily movement

3 ossicles

malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), stapes (stirrup)

what do the 3 ossicles do

vibrate on the cochlea

what happens in the inner ear

sound waves are converted into neural info through transductions

first step of eye

photon hits cornea

second step of eye

cornea bends light through the pupil and the iris dilates depending on how much light there is

third step of eye

photon hits the lens and focuses the light and projects it to the retina

retina

Light sensitive layer of the eye; contains rods and cones, filled with vitreous gel

where does transductions occur in the eye

rods and cones

bottom up processing

Mind interprets what our senses detect

top down processing

info processing guided by higher level mental processes

absolute threshold

weakest amount of stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

subliminal messaging

the brain can receive stimuli beneath the perceptible levels, but with only fleeting and minimal effect-- occurs beneath absolute threshold

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity due to constant stimulation

weber's law-- difference threshold

for the difference to be perceptible 2 stimuli must differ by a constant proportion

cornea

encase/protect inner part of eye and begin process of bending light

iris

muscle/ sphincter

accommodation

lease of eye change shape to account for objects in vision moving. This process allows the eye to focus on near or distant objects by altering the curvature of the lens.

JMD

just noticeable difference

rods

see black and white, low detail, good at detecting in low light setting

cones

see color, high detail, not good in low light

fourth step of eye

rods and cones send signals to bipolar cells that go through optic nerve and thalamus to visual cortex

parallel processing

our minds process several aspects of vision sumltaneously

Young-Hemholtz trichromatic theory

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

S-cones

blue

M-cones

sensitive to green

L-cones

sensitive to red

opponent processing theory

hering's theory that we process four primary colors combined in pairs of red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white

small amplitude=

quieter

great amplitude=

louder

lower pitch=

long wavelength

higher pitch=

Short wavelength

malleus

hammer

touches eardrum

when 1 moves, the other moves

incus

anvil

malleus pushes through

stapes

stirrups

taps on cochlea

eustachian tube

ossicles stored here

purpose is to maintain atmospheric equilibrium

basiliar membrane

lines cochlea and houses sterocilia (hair follicles) in the liquid

stereocilia

when stirrup moves cochlea, the stereo cilia vibrates as the liquid moves-- stereo cilia is where transductions occur

how is loudness perceived by the brain

number of hair cells that respond in the cochlea corresponds to loudness

parts of proprioception

vision, vestibular sense, kinesthesis

kinesthesis

neural messaging from your muscles inform brain on body position as well as load bearing and muscle extension

vestibular sense

sense of body movement and positioning, including sense of balance ** your heads orientation

what do we sense with touch?

cold, hot, pain and pressure

gate control theory

the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks or welcomes pain signals to the brain

what can reduce pain

pleasant images and even VR worlds can reduce the sensation

what can we taste

sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami

smell

a chemical sense--> results when molecules reach receptor cells at the top of our nasal cavity

smell preference is based on...

experience

gestalt

German psychologist that recognized we organize our sensations into a larger whole

figure and ground

first step of perception is to discern the center of attention and the ground upon which it rests

grouping

after distinguishing figure from ground, our perception needs to organize the figure into a meaningful interpretation using grouping rules (similarity, proximity, continuity, connectedness)

law of closure

objects grouped together are seen as a whole

depth perception

inane visual process discerning the approx. distance and height of surrounding objects (our eyes integrate info together)

retinal disparity

the slight difference in vision between the two eyes due to their different positions

- the more disparate an object is, the closer it is

binocular depth cues

retinal disparity and convergence

monocular depth cues

accomodation

other monocular depth cues

linear perspective, interposition, height in plane, texture gradients, relative size, light and shadow

linear perspective

parallel lines converge to perceive depth

interposition

when something interposes over another we know the top thing is closer

height in plane

objects that are higher are farther away

texture gradients

you can see something that is closer in greater detail

relative size

closer objects appear larger than objects further away

light and shadow

patterns of light and dark created a 3D figure

helpful to judge distance

shape constancy

when we know something is. certain shape we assume it stays that shape even when it changes our field of vision

size constancy

when we know something is a certain size we assume it stays the same even it changes in our FOV

color constancy

we perceive familiar objects as having consistent color even if illumination alters the wavelengths reflected

what can people with cataracts not do

distinguish shapes they knew by touch

composite faces

people who learn to see later in life much more easily notice the top halves of faces as the same

perceptual adaptation

visual ability to adjust to an artificially displaced visual field

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing not another

context effects

based on the immediate context