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Perception 351 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

Introduction to Sensation and Perception

1
Q

sensation

A

the process bu which a receptor (i.e. sensory organs) detects stimuli and creates a process of neural activity

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2
Q

Perception

A

the act of giving meaning to a detected sensation

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3
Q

perception _______ sensation, but not __:___

A

interprets; 1:1

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4
Q

while stimuli in the world follows the laws of physics, our _________ of them does not

A

perception

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5
Q

t/f: our visual system is great at detecting large changes in our immediate environment

A

false; monkey business video!

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6
Q

t/f: our sensory systems are relatively independent

A

false; McGurk Effect

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7
Q

McGurk Effect

A

visual and auditory systems interacting, video audio saying “ba” but when visual shows someone mouthing “fa” you hear “fa” even when audio doesn’t change

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8
Q

t/f: our perceptual system can cause us to perceive things that aren’t really there

A

true; ex) seeing Jesus in toast because you want to

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9
Q

t/f: our perceptual abilities are innate and don’t need to be learned

A

bit of both!
hard wired to see, hear, etc. but specific structures support perception

ex) visual cortex = vision, but in blind people this part of the brain can respond to auditory/tactile information

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10
Q

even with neuroimaging, we don’t really get to see….

A

your mental perception and have to make inferences and theories instead

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11
Q

_______________ is critical for understanding how we perceive the world

A

scientific approach

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12
Q

5 ways we measure sensation/perception

A

thresholds
scales
signal detection
cellular/neuronal neuroscience
systems neuroscience

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13
Q

psychophysics

A

invented byt Fechner

the science of defining quantitative relationships between physical and psychological/subjective events

showed that the mind can be studied and quantified

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14
Q

dualism

A

the mind exists separately from the material world and thus is not a pure representation of it / 1:1

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15
Q

thresholds

A

generally the minimum difference between stimuli needed to be detected as different

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16
Q

two point threshold

A

within the realm of touch, this is the minimum distance at which two separate sensations can be distinguished

use compass-like device to test this, different parts of the body have more or less sensitivitiesjust

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17
Q

noticeable difference (JND)

A

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the minimum change in a stimulus that can be correctly judged as different from a reference stimulus

i.e. difference threshold

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18
Q

example of JND

A

how much can you cut back on salt in a recipe before you notice the difference in taste

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19
Q

absolute threshold

A

minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

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20
Q

why does absolute threshold have 50% of the time rather than 100%

A

to account for other factors as it is impossible to have perfect conditions when testing psychology

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21
Q

key point about thresholds is

A

that they are quantifiable measurements of out perceptual abilities

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22
Q

are thresholds always the same?

A

NO!

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23
Q

Weber’s Law

A

the principle describing the proportional relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the JND is a constant fraction of the comparison

larger stimulus values have larger JNDs and smaller stimulus values have smaller JNDs

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24
Q

Weber’s law example

A

if you are already wet, it will take more rain drops to notice it is raining than if you are dry

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25
Q

Fechner’s law

A

formalized weber’s law into mathematical terms, such that magnitude of subjective sensation increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity

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26
Q

threshold method of constant stimuli

A

test many stimuli, one at a time, across range including barely perceptible to always perceptible

ex. eye test at doctors

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27
Q

threshold method of limits

A

vary the magnitude of a stimulus (or difference between two) until participant notices

ex. experimenter turns on stimulus, changes it until participant realizes change

28
Q

threshold method of adjustments

A

same as method of limits but instead of the experimenter altering the stimuli, the participant alters it themselves

29
Q

scales

A

measure the “strength” of your sensation, rather than threshold of detection

30
Q

t/f: all sensations have the same scale

A

false

31
Q

magnitude estimation

A

give participants a sensation and have them rate its strength, can be freeform or give starting baseline

ex) when a doctor asks to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, a baseline could be a headache

32
Q

Steven’s power law

A

scale based on power/exponent equation

33
Q

on a scaling methods chart in relation to steven’s power law, which causes the most stimulus energy?

brightness
sweetness
comparison of lines
electric shock

A

electric shock

34
Q

2 similarities between steven’s power scale and fechner’s log scale

A

both make broad assumptions about the “fit” of data to their metrics and about the scales they work on

both are only approximations of data and turn out to not really be “laws” (don’t apply directly to human experiences)

35
Q

main takeaways from thresholds and scales

A
  • people’s internal perception can be modeled
  • sensation is proportional to other parameters
36
Q

Signal detection theory (SDT)

A

ability to detect a signal amongst noise

37
Q

SDT accounts for

A

amount of noise
discriminability of the signal
biases in the person’s response patterns

38
Q

criterion

A

value that is somehow determined by observer, can change depending on situation

i.e. your threshold for deciding if you detected a sensation

39
Q

hit

A

there was a sensation and you detected it

ex) your phone buzzed and you checked it

40
Q

correct rejection

A

there was no sensation and you didn’t detect it

ex) your phone did not buzz and you did not check it

41
Q

false alarm

A

there was no sensation but you detected one

ex) your phone did not buzz but you checked it

42
Q

miss

A

there was a sensation but you didn’t detect it

ex) your phone did buzz but you did not check it

43
Q

sensitivity in SDT

A

how discriminable the target is from the noise

distance between two peaks in the graph (closer together = less sensitivity and vice versa)

44
Q

receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves

A

demonstrate both the sensitivity and criterion in one line

plots hits and false alarms (both yes responses)

with greater sensitivity, curve moves closer to top left corner, criterion is represented by point on the curve

45
Q

transduction

A

physical stimuli being converted to biochemical/electrical signals in our nervous system

46
Q

parts of the neruon

A

dendrites - receiving info from other neurons

axon - signals go down

axon terminals - carry signal to other neuron’s dendrites

47
Q

neurons generally transmit signals via ____________ at the _______

A

neurotransmitters; synapse

48
Q

synapse

A

space between two neurons

49
Q

pre-synaptic neuron _______ neurotransmitters into the synapse while post-synaptic neuron has ______

A

releases; receptors

50
Q

neurotransmitters trigger an electrical shift in the post-synaptic neuron, leading to the neuron “firing” an ___ _______

A

action potentials

51
Q

neurons fire in an ___ __ ____ fasion for each action potential/spike

A

all-or-none

52
Q

how to tell how excited the neuron is during action potential

A

the number of spikes per second

53
Q

each action potential starts where and ends where?

A

starts: near cell body of neuron

goes down axon

ends: axon terminal

54
Q

what neurotransmitters does the electrochemical process involve?

A

Na+ (sodium) and K+ (potassium) ions

55
Q

3 steps of depolarization in neurons to send signals

A
  1. Na+ rushes in
  2. inflow of Na+ depolarizes the membrane to carry the signal
  3. neuron recovers by quickly sending K+ out of the cell to get back to resting potential
56
Q

neuronal signals often compete, having excitatory and inhibitory signals, meaning

A

excitatory - increase in action potential

inhibitory - decrease in action potential

57
Q

2 types of nerves and what they control

A

afferent (send information to the brain), control sensory function

efferent (send information from the brain), control motor function

58
Q

electroencephalography (EEG)

A

electrodes on scalp to directly measure the electrical activity generated by neural firing of a large population of neurons

can assess ERPs

59
Q

event-related potentials (ERP)

A

change in EEG signal as a result of an event, such as sensation

60
Q

EEGs have excellent _________ and poor __________

A

temporal resolution; spatial resolution

61
Q

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - structural

A

uses magnets to assess the atomic structure of tissue

no radiation but dangerous if metals brought in

62
Q

MRI - functional / fMRI

A

tracks blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal, which is the ratio of oxygenated to deoxygenated hemoglobin that shifts in response to neural activity (i.e. when neurons fire more, they require more oxygen)

an indirect measure of brain activity

63
Q

fMRI has excellent ________ but poor __________

A

spatial resolution; temporal resolution

opposite of EEG

64
Q

PET and MEG

A

PET: similar to fMRI but based on metabolism of brain cells

MEG: changes in magnetic activity across populations of many neurons in the brain

65
Q

Velma is searching for clues with Scooby and the Gang, when she, as always, breaks her glasses. According to signal detection theory, what MUST have changed with regards to her vision by losing access to her glasses?

A) Her criterion becomes more lax, and she is more likely to accept stimuli as real even if they are not.
B) Her criterion becomes more strict, and she is less likely to accept stimuli as real, even if they really are.
C) Her sensitivity increases, as she is more able to distinguish between signal and noise
D) Her sensitivity decreases, as she is less able to distinguish between signal and noise

A

D) Her sensitivity decreases, as she is less able to distinguish between signal and noise

66
Q

Bjorn is expecting a phone call. After repeatedly accidentally checking his phone, he has started using a stricter criterion, wanting to avoid false alarms.
Which of the following statements reflects what may also happen now that he has a stricter criterion?

A) He is more likely to false alarm to noise, accepting as signal.
B) He is less likely to detect a real call, missing it as noise.
C) He is more likely to detect a real call, discriminating it from noise.
D) He is less likely to correctly reject noise, mistaking it as a phone call.

A

B) He is less likely to detect a real call, missing it as noise

67
Q

Which statement is true about EEG:

A) It is a direct measure that has good spatial resolution
B) It is an indirect measure that has good spatial resolution
C) It is a direct measure that has good temporal resolution
D) It is an indirect measure that has good temporal
resolution

A

C) It is a direct measure that has good temporal resolution

Perception 351 (21 decks)

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