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Sensation
stimulation of a sense organ; registration of light, sound, pressure, odour, or taste as parts of the body interacts with the physical world
Perception
interpretation of a sensation
Transduction
sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the CNS
Sensory adaptation
sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current(unchanging) conditions; stronger response changes in stimulation than to constant stimulation
Psychophysics
methods that systematically relate the physical characteristics of a stimulus to an observer’s perception
Absolute threshold
minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus(50% mark on graph); increasing intensity = frequent stimulus detection
Just noticeable difference (JND) threshold
minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
Weber’s law threshold
the smallest noticeable difference between two stimuli is a constant ratio of the original stimulus; ex: adding 0.05kg vs. 0.2 kg
Signal detection theory (SDT)
how individuals perceive and respond to signals (stimuli) in the presence of noise or uncertainty
Selective attention
perceiving only what’s currently relevant
Multitasking
involves paying attention to more than one stimulus at the same time, fMRI studies show decreases in brain areas while multitasking
