Chapter 4.1, 4.2

Sensation

The process where our physical sense organs (like eyes and ears) detect raw energy from the environment (like light or sound waves).

Transduction

The conversion of that raw physical energy into electrical signals that the brain can understand.

Perception

The brain's process of taking those electrical signals and organizing them into a meaningful experience (like recognizing a face).

Sensory Channels

The different pathways for each sense (sight, sound, touch) that create different types of experiences.

Psychophysics

The study of how the physical strength of a real-world stimulus relates to how intense we perceive it to be.

Absolute Thresholds

The weakest amount of a stimulus (like a faint sound) that a person can detect exactly 50% of the time.

Signal Detection Theory

The idea that noticing something isn't just about how loud or bright it is, but also depends on the person's expectations and biases.

Perceiver's Sensitivity

How naturally good a person's senses are at picking up faint signals.

Hits

Correctly saying "yes" when a stimulus is actually there.

Misses

Incorrectly saying "no" when a stimulus is actually there.

False Alarms

Incorrectly saying "yes" when there is nothing there.

Correct Rejections

Correctly saying "no" when there is nothing there.