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Sensation
Bringing in information through our senses.
Energy Senses
Vision, Hearing (audition), Touch (cutaneous)
chemical senses
gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell)
bodily senses
Vestibular (inner ear) and kinesthetic(receptors in muscles and joints)
Transduction
Process of turning environmental information into neural impulses.
Perception
How our brain makes sense of the information we get from our senses.
absolute threshold
The smallest amount of a stimulus necessary for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.
Stimulus
A thing or event that evokes a functional reaction/response
difference threshold
The smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed to be different and the difference can be detected 50% of the time.
Weber's Law
The size of the JND is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus (the JND is large when the stimulus intensity is high and the JND is small when the stimulus intensity is low).
sensory adaptation
Reduction of sensitivity to a stimulus due to it being constant
signal detection theory
Seeks to explain the effects of distractions we experience in the world
false positive
Detecting a stimulus when it's not present.
false negative
Not detecting a stimulus when it is present.
selective attention
Paying attention to something and filtering out the unimportant stimuli
cocktail party phenomenon
When you're at a party, everyone is talking but you only pay attention to the conversation you're in and you filter out the other sounds. However, if someone calls your name across the room, your attention is drawn in that direction.
top-down processing
Uses previous knowledge and is conceptually driven.
bottom-up processing
Stimulus driven processing
Linear Perspective
Lines meet at the vanishing point used to see depth.
Interposition cue
Objects that block the view of other objects must be closer to us.
texture gradient
The closer you are, the more texture you can see. The texture is less visible when farther away.
trichromatic theory
Three types of cones in the retina- red, blue and green. They are activated in different combinations to produce all the colors of visible spectrum.
opponent process theory of color vision
The sensory receptors arranged in the retina cone in bipolar pairs: red/green pairs, yellow/blue pairs, and black/white pairs. This explains color blindness and afterimages better.
dichromatic color blindness
Can only perceive two primary colors and combinations of those two colors.
retinal disparity
The brain compares retinal images from the two eyes. Each of our eyes sees any object from a slightly different angle.
convergence
Closer objects must make eyes move toward each other to keep focus
parallel processing
The ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli of differing quality.
subliminal
When stimuli are below our absolute threshold.
inattential blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment
top-down attention
decision making attention
bottom-up attention
attention that grabs focus
sensory cortices
Responds to unexpected stimuli to grab your focus
proximity
objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.
similarity
Objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.
Continuity
Objects that form a continuous form (such as a trail or a geometric figure) are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.
Closure
Similar to top-down processing. objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group even if the image contains gaps that the mind needs to fill in.
mirror neurons
The brain imitates the actions of others through analyzing.
Ponzo Illusion
An illusion of size in which two objects of equal size that are positioned between two converging lines appear to be different in size. Also called the railroad track illusion.
Muller-Lyer Illusion
illusion of line length that is distorted by inward-turning or outward-turning corners on the ends of the lines, causing lines of equal length to appear to be different
direct perception
the interpretation of sensory information directly by the brain as opposed to perceptual interpretation resulting from cognitive processing
monocular cues
depth cues available to either eye alone
binocular cues
depth cues that depend on having two eyes
constancy
Ability to maintain constant perception of an object despite other changes.
size constancy
Closer objects produce bigger images, but we take distance for size estimating.
shape constancy
Objects from different angles = different shapes, we know that the shape of an object is constant.
brightness constancy
Objects have constant colors even if the reflecting light changes.
phi phenomenon
Series of light bulbs- turned on and off at a particular rate will appear to be one moving light.
stroboscopic effect
Images in a series of still pictures presented at a certain speed will appear to be moving
autokinetic effect
If light is projected steadily on a wall of a dark room, people will report seeing it move.
Ossicles
three tiny bones in the middle ear (hammer/malleus, anvil/incus, stirrup/stapes)
tympanic membrane
The eardrum. A structure that separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound waves.
sound waves
Created by vibrations that travel through air and collected by your ears.
Frequency
Known as wave length that determines pitch in megahertz.
Amplitude
Height of a wave that determines loudness of sound in decibels.
oval window
membrane at the enterance to the cochlea through which the ossicles transmit vibrations
cochlea
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
Organ of Corti
Center part of the cochlea, containing hair cells, canals, and membranes
place theory
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated
frequency theory
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
conduction deafness
An inability to hear resulting from damage to structures of the middle or inner ear.
nerve deafness
Hearing loss created by damage to the hair cells or the auditory nerve fibers in the inner ear.
indentation
Temperature changes that our brain interprets
pain receptors
stimulated by tissue damage
gate-control theory
Explains how we perceive pain and states that some pain messages have a higher priority than others.
Papillae of the tongue
taste buds
olfactory bulb
Linked to 100 different types of smell receptors and gathers messages from the olfactory receptor cells and sends this info to the brain.
olfactory receptor cells
the sensors responsible for smell
auditory nerve
the nerve that carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the perception of sound
semicircular canals
three tiny, fluid-filled tubes in your inner ear that helps maintain balance. The liquid inside sloshes around and moves the tiny hairs when your head moves.
basilar membrane
It forms the base of the Organ of Corti.
middle ear
Contains the three ossicles
Afterimage
A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed.
Gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
figure-ground
the tendency to perceive objects, or figures, as existing on a background
dual processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
sequential processing
the processing of one aspect of a problem at a time; used when we focus attention on new or complex tasks
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye
Law of Pragnanz
the simplest organization, requiring the least cognitive effort, will emerge as the figure
Fovea
Contains the highest concentration of cones
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
accommodation
the process in which the lens focuses images on the retina by bending its shape
Cones
Responsible for seeing fine detail and color
Retina
Light sensitive layer of the eye; contains rods and cones
visual cliff experiment
created by E.J. Gibson, used to determine when infants can perceive depth
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray. Sensitive to dim light but not colors.
cutaneous senses
The skin senses that register sensations of pressure, warmth, and cold.
Sensation
Bringing in information through our senses.
Energy Senses
Vision, Hearing (audition), Touch (cutaneous)
chemical senses
gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell)
bodily senses
Vestibular (inner ear) and kinesthetic(receptors in muscles and joints)
Transduction
Process of turning environmental information into neural impulses.
Perception
How our brain makes sense of the information we get from our senses.
absolute threshold
The smallest amount of a stimulus necessary for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.
Stimulus
A thing or event that evokes a functional reaction/response
difference threshold
The smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed to be different and the difference can be detected 50% of the time.
Weber's Law
The size of the JND is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus (the JND is large when the stimulus intensity is high and the JND is small when the stimulus intensity is low).
sensory adaptation
Reduction of sensitivity to a stimulus due to it being constant
signal detection theory
Seeks to explain the effects of distractions we experience in the world