psych chap 3

absolute threshold of stimulation- minimal stimulation needed to register a stimulus 50% of the time

signal detection theory- a model for predicting how and when a person will detect a weak stimulus, partly based on context

difference threshold- the ability to differentiate between stimuli

Weber law- we perceive differences on a logarithmic rather than linear scale, it’s not the amount of change but rather the percent of change that matters

transduction-process of seeing

radio- gamma

length and frequency- hue

amplitude- brightness

purity- # of distinct wavelengths

chromothripsis-pure colors at the same distance from the eye appear to be at different distances

amplitude-the amount of energy in a given lightwave (intensity and brightness)

light complexity- saturation or purity

1. Cornea – The clear, outer layer that bends light to help focus it into the eye.

2. Pupil – The black circle in the center that controls how much light enters the eye.

3. Iris – The colored part of the eye that adjusts the size of the pupil to let in more or less light.

4. Lens – A flexible, clear structure that focuses light onto the retina by changing shape.

5. Retina – The inner layer at the back of the eye, containing light-sensitive cells (rods & cones) that detect images.

6. Optic Nerve – A nerve that carries visual information from the retina to the brain for processing.

How the Eye Processes Light & Sends Information to the Brain

1. Light enters through the cornea and passes through the pupil.

2. The iris adjusts to control how much light enters.

3. The lens focuses the light onto the retina at the back of the eye.

4. The retina's rods and cones detect light and color, converting it into electrical signals.

   • Rods help us see in low light (black & white).

   • Cones help us see color and details.

5. The optic nerve sends these signals to the brain, where the visual cortex interprets the image.

parallel processing- the ability to process and analyze many aspects of the situation at once

depth perception- allows us to estimate distances between objects and ourselves

occlusion- an object that blocks the view of another object must be in front of it

texture gradient- as texture gets farther away it forms smaller visual angles or pictures on the retina and is less noticeable

relative height- objects that appear higher in our visual field are further away than objects that appear lower

familiar size- knowledge of the normal size of certain objects can provide cues to depth

linear perspective- parallel lines seem to converge as they move into the distance

aerial perspective- objects that are farther away also appear to be hazier and bluer

relative brightness-brighter images are closer and more shaded images are farther away

perception- guided by many organizational principles originally laid out by Gestalt psychologists

proximity- the closer figures are to each other, the more we tend to group them together perceptually

good continuation- a preference for organizing formin a wa where contours continue smoothly along their original course

pareidolia- seeing images and patterns in incomplete images

Is perception of the world a set of innate abilities or a set of acquired or learned skills?

nativism (bottom-up processing) and empiricism (top-down processing)