AP Psychology 1.6: Sensation Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is sensation in psychology?
The process of detecting, converting, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain.
How does sensation differ from perception?
Sensation is purely detecting and encoding physical energy; perception is interpreting that sensory input.
What are the five traditional senses?
Vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
What is transduction?
The process by which sensory receptors convert stimuli into neural impulses.
What is sensory reduction?
Filtering and analyzing incoming sensations before sending messages to the cortex.
What role does the reticular formation play in sensation?
It helps decide which stimuli are important and which to ignore.
What are sensory receptors?
Specialized cells that detect and respond to sensory stimuli by converting them into neural impulses.
What is the absolute threshold?
The minimum amount of a stimulus needed for a person to detect it 50% of the time.
What is the difference threshold (just noticeable difference or JND)?
The smallest physical difference between two stimuli that can still be recognized as a difference.
What is Weber’s Law?
States that the just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.
Give an example of Weber’s Law.
If you’re holding a 5 lb weight, you might notice an added 1 lb; but with a 50 lb weight, it takes more than 1 lb to notice a difference.
What is sensory adaptation?
The decrease in sensitivity to a constant or unchanging stimulus over time.
Why is sensory adaptation useful?
It frees up attention and cognitive resources by allowing us to ignore unchanging stimuli.
Which senses do not adapt as much as others?
Vision (particularly the eyes) and pain receptors tend to adapt less.
What is the cocktail party effect?
The ability to focus on one voice among many while also being able to detect your name or something important in an unattended voice.
What is selective attention?
Focusing conscious awareness on a specific stimulus while ignoring others.
What is inattentional blindness?
Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.
What is an example of inattentional blindness?
Not noticing a person in a gorilla suit walk through a group of people passing basketballs when focused on counting the passes.
What is signal detection theory?
A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise, depending on factors like experience, expectations, motivation, and fatigue.
What is subliminal stimulation?
Sensory stimulation below a person’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Do subliminal messages have a lasting effect on behavior?
No strong evidence supports lasting behavioral change due to subliminal messages.
What is priming in psychology?
The activation of certain associations in memory, often unconsciously, that can influence perception, memory, or responses.
What is sensory interaction?
The principle that one sense may influence another (e.g., smell affects taste).
What is the McGurk effect?
A perceptual phenomenon where what you see can alter what you hear (e.g., seeing a mouth say “ga” but hearing “ba” results in perceiving “da”).
