sensory receptors and nervous system receives and represents stimulus energies
from our environment
Transduction
conversion
of one sort of energy to another
Perception
howwe
organize and interpret sensory information
Two
types of processing
Bottom up processingTop down processing
Bottom up processing
beginningwith
basic information from our sense receptors
Top down processing
guidedby a
higher-level framework of experience and expectations
Psychophysics
The
study of how physical energy in the environment relates to our psychological
experience of perception
Absolute threshold
minimumstimulation
to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Subliminal
stimulationbelow
absolute threshold
Can
we be affected by subliminal stimulation?
Yes
Sometimes
we consciously
detect it.
Priming
effects
of a stimulus that is not consciously recognized—a subtle, fleeting effect.
Difference threshold (or just noticeable difference)
theminimum
difference a person can detect between any two stimuli 50% of the time
Weber's Law states
that the just noticiable differnce between two stimuli is a constant minimum proportion of the stimulus
example of Weber's law in action
if a differnce of ten percent in weight is noticeable, Weber's law predics that a person could discrimunate 10- and 11- pound weights or 50- and 55-pound weights
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished
sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
.This allows focus on novel information.
if our bodies adapt to things after sensing it for so long why don’t objects vanish from our sight?
Because our eyes are actually constantly moving.
Selective Attention
is the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus out of all of those that we are capable of experiencing
examples of the use of selective attention in everyday life
Cocktail party effect
Cell-phone use while
driving
Wavelength
distance between wave peaks
Wavelenght determines...
hue (color
Intensity
waves’ height
Intensity determines
Determines brightness
True or False
Short Wavelenghts equal low frequency and give you dark color
False
True Or False
Small amptitude equals bright colors
False
Diagram the eye
Parts of the eye Cones
Detect Color
Parts of the eye
Rods
detect black, white, and grey
Blind spot
point where optic nerve leave the eye (no receptor cells)
Accommodation
The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to help focus near or far objects on the retina.
Feature Detection
Nerve cells in the visual cortex respond to specific features, such as edges, angles, and movement.
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic theory
Cones recognize red, green, and blue
Perception of other colors is based on different combinations
Soundwaves
Length
= frequency; Determines...
pitch
Soundwaves
Height = amplitude; Determines
loudness
Sound waves travelfrom the outer ear, to the middle ear , to the ___ wich is a ___
cochlea (fluid filled snail-shaped tube).
Movement in the cochlea fluid disrupts receptor cells (hair cells)
on the ____ membrane, which triggers nerve impulses that travel to the brain.
basilar
How do we perceive pitch?
Place Theory
waves of different pitches trigger activity at different places on the basilar membrane
Explains how we hear high-pitched sounds
How do we perceive pitch?
Frequency Theory
neural impulses are triggered at the same rate as the wave’s frequency
Explains how we hear lower-pitched sounds
Kinesthesis
Sense of body parts’position and movement, based on information from receptor cells in the muscles,
tendons, and joints.
This sense is assisted by _____, based on movement of fluid in the inner ear’s semicircular canals.
vestibular sense
We organize sensations into a “____,” or whole.
Greater than the sum of its parts
gestalt
Our experiences, assumptions, and expectations may give us a ____, a mental predisposition that influences what we see.
