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Transducers
devices that convert one kind of energy into another
the main function of our sensory organs
-takes a type of physical energy and turns it into neuron activity
Sensations
a sensory impression; the process of detecting physical energies with the sensory organs
(Receiving signals)
Perception
the mental process of organizing sensations into meaningful patterns
(Organizing and interpreting signals)
Psychophysics
the study of how various forms of energy (light waves, sound waves, chemicals, temperature) can be measured and how it’s related to different aspects of the sensory experience (brightness, loudness)
Absolute Threshold
the lowest level of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time
Subliminal messaging
messages or actions with a hidden subtext to subconsciously make a person think a certain way or about a certain thing
not proved effective; however, when features we are evaluating are addressed, they may be effective.
Sensory Adaptation
a decrease in sensory response to an unchanging stimulus
(getting used to certain sensory receptors (smell) over time as fewer nerve impulses are sent to the brain as same reception is detected multiple times)
Weber’s Law
the proportion of change is more important than the absolute value of change
(Although there may be what is considered a great change in things such as sound, if said sound was already at a high level, this difference may not play the same impact as it would’ve at if the sound was originally at a lower level)
Difference Thresholds
when you notice the change
the amount in difference
Sensory Prosthetics
video cameras translate light into electrical impulses that directly stimulate the visual cortex which results in basic visual experiences.
Sensory Analysis
the separation of sensory information into important elements.
Perceptual features
basic elements of a stimulus such as lines, shapes, edges, and colors
Blakemore & Cooper (1970)
proved that sensitivity to perceptual features is influenced by experiences in early life
(through the experiment where kittens were raised in a room with only vertical stripes or horizontal stripes)
Attention
link between sensation, perception, & experiences
DIRECTS, SELECTS, ALLOCATES, REGULATES
Multitasking Problem - Error
more likely to make mistakes, miss important information
Multitasking Problem - Stress
task switching creates internal stress, knowing that you might/did miss something
Multitasking Problem - Switch Cost
it takes time to reorient between tasks
Multitasking Problem - No Real Multitasking
it is really just task switching or task toggling
Waves
What does light travel in?
Wavelength
perceived as color
Amplitude
perceived as brightness in vision
encoded as loudness or intensity in hearing
Sclera
whites of your eyes
Cornea
thin layer that lets light in (clear)
Lots of nerve endings, but no blood vessels
How many nerve endings and blood vessels does the cornea have
Iris
a muscle that can contract (colored part)
extremely unique (more differentiating than our fingerprint)
Pupil
the hole in our iris
Cateract
can make eyes look milky white, build up of proteins
Vitreous body
fluid in our eyes (jelly-like substance)
Lens
a hard structure, held in place with muscles & allows for contracting which allows for things to come in and out
Retina
uses rods and cones to break down lights
Fovea centralis
best point of focus/vision
Optic nerve
“ponytail” of all the nerves
Optic disc
nerves exit eye to go to brain through this
Rods
for viewing dim light with no color
Cones
for viewing bright light with color (sharp images)
Rods & Cones
visual receptors located within the retina that contain pigments broken down by light energy
Rods
Which are more sensitive to light - rods or cones?
(excel at seeing dim light)
Periphery of retina (peripheral vision)
Where are there more rods - periphery of retina or fovea?
(which can view dim light better?)
3
How many cones is perception of color based on?
(total number of types of cones as well)
Process Theory of Color Vision
proposes the existence of “opposing” red-green, blue-yellow, & black-white channels.
(Our brain essentially matches those colors in pairs)
Colorblindness
the inability to distinguish 2 or more shades in the color spectrum
Monochromats
total color blindness
black-and-white world
Individuals either have only rods or only one kind of functioning cone
Dichromats
individuals have trouble distinguishing red from green because they only have 2 function cones
(inherited and can mostly see blue and yellow)
Dark Adaptation
increased retinal sensitivity
Rhodopsin
light-sensitive visual pigment in rods
Frequency
encoded as pitch in hearing
Ultrasounds
above the range of human hearing (20,000 Hz)
(jewelry or teeth cleaning)
Infrasound
frequencies below the range of human hearing (less than 20 Hz)
used by animals and marine mammals
effective in water
can cause dizziness, nausea, uncontrolled bowl movements, etc. in humans
Process of the Cochlea
Vibrations in the ossicles → Waves in the vestibular canal fluid → Movement of hair cells
Pinna
collects and focuses sounds like a funnel
localize sounds (above or below head)
part of outer ear
Auditory Canal
sounds collected by pinna are channeled through here
(ends at the tympanic membrane)
(part of outer ear)
Tympanic membrane
eardrum
boundary between outer and middle ear
Ossicles
series of 3 tiny bones
malleus, incus, stapes
occupies the gap between the tympanic membrane and the oval window
amplifies sound energy
air from outer & middle ear → fluid in inner ear
Inner Ear
contains two sets of fluid-filled cavities
vestibular system
cochlea
Cochlea
filled with a fluid called paralymph
contains specialized receptor cells that respond to vibrations transmitted
part of inner ear
Oval Window
sound waves are pushed from the ossicles into the cochlea through here
Basilar Membrane
contains hair cells that are displaced from vibrations
Auditory Pathway
Auditory Nerve → Medulla → Midbrain → Thalamus → Temporal Lobe
Primary auditory cortex
located in the temporal lobe
conducts first basic analysis of the wavelengths & amplitudes of incoming information
Midbrain
used for the reflexive responses to sound
used for sound localization
Decibels
measurement value of the loudness of sound
Cochlear Implants
bypass hair cells to stimulate auditory nerves directly
wires from a microphone carry electrical signals to an external coil → a matching coil underneath skin picks up such signals and carries them to cochlea
Somatosensation
Bodily sensations coming from skin, muscles, & joints
somatosensory cortex
touch, pressure, temperature
position & movement
pain signals
Free nerve endings
sense temperature and pain
Endorphins
reduce pain by helping to close gates in spinal cord (gates allow painful nerve impulses to the brain)
Vestibular System
sensitive to position/movement, acceleration, & rotational movements/gravity
contains otolith organs
stimulates hair-like receptor cells
Semicircular canals
sensory organs for balance
Smell Pathway
Olfactory Nerve → Olfactory Bulb → Frontal Lobe
Olfaction
receptors located in a thin layer of cells within the nasal cavity
responsible for producing the mucus surrounding the receptors
Taste Pathway
Mouth & Tongue → Medulla → Thalamus → Parietal Lobe
Taste/Gustation
purpose: protect us from eating poisonous or spoiled food and to attract us to food that boost our survival chances
4 main categories: sweet, sour, salty, bitter
5th type: umami - savory/meaty
Taste Buds
extend tiny hair like cilia into the saliva that interact with dissolved taste stimuli & transduce resulting information into neural signals
Top-down processing
context and preexisting knowledge are used to rapidly organize features into a meaningful whole
(broad → detailed)
Bottom-Up processing
begin with small sensory units (features) & build upward to a complete perception
(detailed → broad)
Figure-Ground
Gestalt Principle
when we perceive a stimulus, we visually pull the figure part of the stimulus forward while visually pushing backward the background
(queen elizabeth and king phillip vase)
Similarity and Proximity
Gestalt principle
we usually group together objects by how similar their features are or how close they are to each other
Continuity
Gestalt principle
the tendency towards simplicity and continuity
Closure
Gestalt principle
tendency to complete a figure
Common Region
Gestalt Principle
tendency for items in a region to be seen as a group
Linear Perspective
Depth Perception
Monocular Cues
thinking that we are looking far into the distance, even when we are viewing a painting or drawing on a flat surface
(road drawing)
Relative Size
Depth Perception
Monocular Cues
the more distant an object, the smaller its image will be on the retina
Interposition
Depth Perception
Monocular Cue
Our brain automatically understands that objects we see more of are in the front as opposed to objects we see less that are in the back
overlapping
(horse image)
Light & Shadow
Depth Perception
Monocular Cue
when light is on top, our brains register it as moving towards us
when dark is on top, our brains register it as moving away from us
Texture Gradient
Depth Perception
Monocular Cue
As things move further away, texture seems finer
Aerial Perspective
Depth Perception
Monocular Cue
things that are closer to us are more in focus and clear
things farther away from us are hazier
Motion Parallax
Depth Perception
Monocular Cue
In a moving vehicle, objects closer to us appear to move past us much quicker than those farther away
(“the moon is following me”)
Convergence
Depth Perception
Binocular Cue
The degree to which the eyes turn in to focus on a close object
Retinal Disparity
Depth Perception
Binocular Cue
The difference in the apparent position of an object as seen by the left & right retinas
Perceptual Constancies
tendency to perceive objects as the same even when their physical characteristics change
(size, shape, brightness, color)
Size Constancy
perceive objects as remaining the same size even when their images on the retina continually grow and shrink
Shape constancy
perceive an object as retaining its same shape even though when you view it from different angles, its shape is continually changing its image on your retina
Brightness constancy
perceive brightness as remaining the same in changing illumination
Color constancy
perceive colors as remaining stable despite differences in lighting
Müller-Lyer illusion
optical illusion where two lines of the same length appear to be of different lengths
-two arrows, one with arrows and the other with inverted arrows
Ponzo Illusion
Two lines of the same length appear to be different as they are placed in front of lines gradually getting smaller
Illusion
a perceptual experience in which you perceive an image as being so strangely distorted that, in reality, it cannot and does not exist
-created by manipulating the perceptual cues so that your brain can no longer correctly interpret space, size, and depth cues
Multisensory Perception
our sensory experiences co-occur with another sensory system
-See and Hear
-Taste and Smell
McGurk Effect
an auditory-visual illusion that illustrates how perceivers merge information for speech sounds across the senses.
For example, when we hear the sound “ba” while seeing the face of a person articulate “ga,” many adults perceive the sound “da,” a third sound which is a blend of the two.
Telepathy
Extrasensory Perception
the ability to transfer one’s thoughts to another or to read the thoughts of another
Precognition
Extrasensory Perception
the ability to foretell events
Note 
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