Chapter 1

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

Detection of physical energy by our senses

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Brain’s interpretation of the signals

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

Physical energy is converted to electrochemical signals so the brain can process

Question 4

7 Steps of Perceptual Process

Answer 4

1. Stimulus
2. Light is reflected and focused
3. Receptor processes
4. Neural processing
5. Perception
6. Recognition
7. Action

Question 5

5 Senses

Answer 5

1. vision
2. auditory
3. olfaction
4. gustation
5. somatosensory

Question 6

Receptor Processes

Answer 6

• Specialized cells respond to environmental stimuli
• Each sensory system’s receptors can only respond to a specific type of energy

Question 7

Receptors for Light

Answer 7

photoreceptors (rods and cones)

Question 8

Receptors of Sound

Answer 8

Hair cells in the inner ear

Question 9

Receptors of Taste

Answer 9

• Taste bud
• Taste hair
• Gustatory cell
• Supporting cell
• Sensory nerve fiber

Question 10

Receptors of Smell

Answer 10

• olfactory receptors
• olfactory bulb

Question 11

Receptors of Touch

Answer 11

• Meissner Corpuscle = Heavy pressure
• Pacinian Corpuscle = Vibration
• Merkel Disks = Light Touch
• Ruffini Endings = Skin Stretch

Question 12

Neural Processing

Answer 12

• Changes occur as signals are transmitted from receptors to neurons to receiving areas in the brain
• signals can be prevented OR amplified

Question 13

Frontal Lobe Controls

Answer 13

• motor control
• concentration, planning, problem solving
• speech
• smell

Question 14

Parietal Lobe Controls

Answer 14

• touch
• pressure
• taste
• body awareness

Question 15

Occipital Lobe Controls

Answer 15

Vision

Question 16

Cerebellum Controls

Answer 16

coordination

Question 17

Temporal Lobe Controls

Answer 17

• Hearing
• Facial Recognition

Question 18

Behavior Responses

Answer 18

• signals are turned into conscious experiences (perception)
• placing object into a category (recognition)
• involving motor activities such as walking, moving eyes/head (action)

Question 19

Visual form Agnosia

Answer 19

Inability or difficulty recognizing objects (caused by brain injury)
- able to see object but unable to identify it

Question 20

Prosopagnosia

Answer 20

Inability or difficulty recognizing a face “face blindness”
- unable to recognize their face or family members

Question 21

Patient “WJ”

Answer 21

• had a stroke
• Prosopagnosia
• became a farmer
• found it easier to identify sheep instead of human faces

Question 22

Patient “Mr. W”

Answer 22

• unable to recognize faces
• thought he looked funny
• no difficulty identifying his own cows and dogs by general colors, form, etc

Question 23

Patient “MX”

Answer 23

• farmer
• had lesions in the occipital lobes
• had prosopagnosia, eventually disappeared
• unable to recognize his cows

Question 24

Top-Down Processing

Answer 24

Influenced by experiences, beliefs, and expectations, “knowledge-based” processing, most common form
- Vision experiment

Question 25

Bottom-Up Processing

Answer 25

Whole is constructed form parts, the most basic sensation and perception, "entry level", data based processing - Ex: chefs blind taste test

Question 26

Measuring Perception (3)

Answer 26

1. Thresholds 2. Absolute Threshold 3. Different Threshold

Question 27

Threshold

Answer 27

- measure limits of the sensory systems - measure of minimums

Question 28

Absolute Threshold

Answer 28

Lowest level of a stimulus needed for nervous system to detect a change (50% of the time)

Question 29

Difference Threshold

Answer 29

- Sometimes called "just noticeable difference" - smallest change of intensity of a stimulus that we can detect

Question 30

Weber's Law

Answer 30

To perceive a difference, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (not a constant amount) - true for most senses, but every sense is different - keys vs penny

Question 31

Human Sensory System

Answer 31

- Not as sensitive to changes in weight as old scale - Difference threshold for weight = 2% - Ex: 2% of 200 is 4 (4 is needed to detect a difference)

Question 32

Magnitude Estimation

Answer 32

- humans are good at estimating line length but not too good at electric shock or brightness

Question 33

Response Expansion

Answer 33

Perceived magnitude increases more than the increase in actual intensity (electric shock)

Question 34

Response Compression

Answer 34

Increase in perceived magnitude is smaller than increase in actual intensity (Brightness)

Question 35

Reaction Time

Answer 35

The time between stimulus presentation and reaction - reaction time is slower when not paying attention

Question 36

Phenomenological Report

Answer 36

- Describing what you see - We perceive objects and backgrounds based on our experiences SUBJECTIVE