Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
Sensation
The basic registration of inputs by the body.
Transduction
Physical sensations (inputs) are converted into neural signals to the central nervous system.
Perception
Organizing and interpreting of inputs (sensations) in order to form meaningful concepts of them/ mental representation of them.
Sensory adaptation
Sensitivity to prolonged stimulation declines over time as a being adapts to unchanging conditions.
Important: A change in stimulation = signals a need for action.
Absolute Threshold
The minimal intensity to just barely detect a stimulus (in 50% of trials).
Threshold between awareness and unawareness of a specific stimuli.
Just Noticeable Difference (JND):
The minimal change of a stimulus needed to notice the difference of this stimuli.
Just noticing a tiny change in the stimuli.
Weber’s Law
The ratio of increment of the stimuli to the background intensity is constant.
The change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus.
Signal Detection Theory (SDT)
A way of analyzing data from psychophysics experiments that measures how well an individual’s perceptual system perceives sensory events while also taking their internal noise, expectations, motivations, moods and goals into account.
“Top-down” Effect
When our past knowledge and experiences interpret our basic sensory processing.
Pyschophysics
Study between physical stimuli and the human’s perception of it.
False Alarm
Someone saying “Yes,” (they did see a stimuli) when it was truly a “No,” (because there wasn’t a stimuli.
Miss
People saying “No,” (that they didn’t see a stimuli) when it was truly a “Yes,” (because a stimuli was presented). They “missed” it.
Negative Response Bias
People saying “yes” on most trials, although that answer isn’t thruthful.
Negative Response Bias
People saying “no” on most trials.
Perceptual Sensitivity
How well the perceptual system perceives sensory inputs.
