Chapter 1

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

elementary processes

how you detect or process environmental info with your five senses

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

more complex

higher order mechanisms of awareness

interpreting what you detect using various brain areas

Question 3

Why is the term “perception” used more than “sensation?”

Answer 3

the difference between sensation and perception is not always obvious; “sensation” does not add to our understanding of sensory experiences

Question 4

7 steps of the perceptual process

Answer 4

environmental stimulus

principles of transformation and representation

receptors and transduction

neural processing

perception

recognition

action

(+ knowledge)

Question 5

environmental stimulus

Answer 5

anything in the environment that we observe or detect (distal and proximal)

Question 6

distal stimulus

Answer 6

something processed (or taken in) in the distance/environment

Question 7

proximal stimulus

Answer 7

something processed in the body with the five senses

Question 8

transformation

Answer 8

stimulus changes from distal stimulus to proximal stimulus

Question 9

representation

Answer 9

stimulus is formed based on receptors and nervous system

Question 10

sensory receptors

Answer 10

nerve cells or neurons that respond to environmental energy

Question 11

transduction

Answer 11

change from environmental energy to electrical energy in the brain

Question 12

neural processing

Answer 12

receptors send electrical signals to brain

electrical signals arrive at primary receiving areas of the lobes and eventually to other areas of the brain

Question 13

neurons

Answer 13

nerve or brain cells

transmit electrical signals from one neuron to another

change electrical signals to perceive info in the brain

Question 14

cerebral cortex

Answer 14

2 mm thick layer that contains machinery for creating perceptions

Question 15

primary receiving areas

Answer 15

where electrical signals arrive in the lobes

electrical signals eventually go to other areas of the brain after primary receiving areas

important to detect perception

Question 16

4 main lobes in the cerebral cortex

Answer 16

occipital (visual)

temporal (auditory)

parietal (somatosensory)

frontal (motor, receive signals from other senses)

Question 17

recognition

Answer 17

provides meaning to what we observe

Question 18

visual form agnosia

Answer 18

can see object (perception) but cannot identify (recognition)

“a-“ - without / “-gnosia” - knowledge

Dr. P brain tumor story

Question 19

action

Answer 19

to do something with your sensory experiences

necessary for survival

Question 20

knowledge

Answer 20

info we bring to a situation to perceive a stimulus

Question 21

rat-man demonstration

Answer 21

demonstrates that our knowledge (patterns) can influence perception

seeing a rat or a man on the demo

Question 22

what does categorize mean?

Answer 22

name objects, places, and things into an organized way

Question 23

bottom-up processing

Answer 23

data-based

perceive based on incoming data without prior knowledge

take info one step at a time to process

Question 24

top-down processing

Answer 24

knowledge-based

perceive based on prior knowledge, experience, and expectation

hard to unlearn

Question 25

Fechner's three methods of thresholds

Answer 25

method of limits method of constant stimuli method of adjustment

Question 26

thresholds

Answer 26

detection of limits of our sensory systems

Question 27

psychophysics

Answer 27

by Gustav Fechner; a way to assess the mind by looking at thresholds study of relation between mental (psycho-) and stimulus (-physics)

Question 28

method of limits

Answer 28

experimenter presents stimuli to observer to detect intensity differences in a certain order absolute and difference thresholds

Question 29

absolute threshold

Answer 29

minimum detection of a change complete (do you see blue or not?)

Question 30

difference threshold

Answer 30

comparing stimuli to see if they differ from each other (is there a difference between the blue colors?)

Question 31

method of constant stimuli

Answer 31

experimenter randomizes intensities of stimuli

Question 32

goal of perceptual process

Answer 32

to examine each step + knowledge

Question 33

three types of relationships of perceptual process

Answer 33

stimulus-behavior stimulus-physiology physiology-behavior

Question 34

stimulus-behavior (+ example)

Answer 34

people presented with something and their observed behaviors are assessed ex. grating acuity (ability to detect width of gratings)

Question 35

acuity

Answer 35

sharpness or detailedness

Question 36

stimulus-physiology (+ example)

Answer 36

people are presented with something and brain activity is assessed ex. oblique effect (ability to see vertical/horizontal lines better than oblique lines)

Question 37

physiology-behavior (+ example)

Answer 37

brain activities evaluated by certain behaviors ex. examining people’s ability to detect different orientations of lines (oblique effect) with physiological measures (fMRI)

Question 38

cognitive influences on perception

Answer 38

knowledge/top-down processing other mental activities (cognition, memories, etc.)

Question 39

other techniques to evaluate perception

Answer 39

magnitude estimation recognition test reaction time phenomenological report physical tasks and judgments

Question 40

magnitude estimation

Answer 40

assess how intensity affects our awareness based on how we perceive it magnitude (how strong of an intensity); estimation (a scale or numbering system to show strength) ex. carrying weights increases distance perception

Question 41

recognition test

Answer 41

being able to categorize stimuli ex. seeing a face or house

Question 42

reaction time

Answer 42

how long a person responds to a presentation

Question 43

phenomenological report

Answer 43

ask person to describe perception “study of an occurrence” report

Question 44

physical tasks and judgments

Answer 44

acting upon something that is perceived ex. picking up things and reacting to them

Question 45

physical vs. perceptual

Answer 45

physical (what is actually there) perceptual (how we interpret our perception of what is there) different perceptions goes for all five senses