Ch 4, 5, 10 Flashcards
sensation & perception, consciousness, development (370 cards)
sensation
simple stimulation of a sense organ; raw materials of perception
perception
organization, identification, & interpretation of sensations to create mental representation; sensation & prior knowledge
transduction
process of physical signals from environment translated into neural signals sent to CNS
3 steps of sensation
- RECEPTION: stimulation of sensory receptor cells by energy
- TRANSDUCTION: transforming cell stimulation into neural impulses
- TRANSMISSION: delivering neural info to brain for processing
Our perception of the world is a ____ portion of sensory signals from environment
very small
bottom-up processing
take in sensory info from environment, then attempt to understand; neural processing that starts with physical sensation
top-down processing
use prior knowledge, which influences what we sense as we try to navigate the world around us
parallel processing
brain’s capacity to perform multiple activities at the same time; building perceptions out of sensory details processed simultaneously in different areas of the brain
sensory adaptation
sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as organism adapts to current (unchanging) conditions (ex: not noticing smell after an hour)
psychophysics
methods that systematically relate physical characteristics of stimulus to observer’s perception
absolute threshold
the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of the trials; simplest measurement in psychophysics
sensitivity
how responsive an individual is to faint stimuli
acuity
how well one can distinguish two very similar stimuli
just noticeable difference (JND)
minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
Weber’s law
for every sense domain, the change in a stimulus that is just noticeable is a CONSTANT PROPORTION despite variation in intensities
1oz vs. 2oz, probably notice the difference; 20lb vs. 20lb 1 oz, probably detect no difference at all
signal detection theory (SDT)
response to a stimulus depends both on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s decision criterion (ex: hearing phone ring if you’re expecting a call)
Gestalt principles of organization
figure-ground
proximity
similarity
closure
good continuation
common fate
figure-ground
certain info given priority over background info
proximity
close objects grouped together
similarity
physically similar objects grouped together
closure
tendency to perceive whole objects despite pieces of whole object missing –> coherent message
good continuation
tendency to see continuously flowing lines even though lines cross or are interrupted
common fate
objects that move together will be grouped together
visible light
portion of electromagnetic spectrum visible to humans; very narrow band of spectrum (400-700nm wavelength)