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PSYC 104 - Introductory Psychology I > Chapter 4.1 > Flashcards

Chapter 4.1 Flashcards

(71 cards)

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1
Q

Sensation

A

-detection of a physical energy by sense organs
-sense organs send info to the brain

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2
Q

Perception

A

-the brains interpretation of raw sensory outputs

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3
Q

Illusion

A

-perception in which the way we perceive a stimulus doesn’t match its physical reality

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4
Q

Filling-In

A

-brain reconstructing things to show us stuff that isn’t really there
-can help us make sense or fool us instead

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5
Q

Transduction

A

-process of converting an external energy or substance into electrical activity within neurons
-done by sensory receptors in response to stimuli

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6
Q

Sense Receptor

A

-responsible for transduction for a specific sensory system
-have receptors rather than dendrites

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7
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

-process in which activation is greatest when a stimulus is first detected
-a gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged stimulation/exposure
-keeps us attuned to changes rather than constants
-ie. your own house smell

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8
Q

Psychophysics

A

-the study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical characteristics
-produced from Gustav Fechner (1860) who was the first to describe the things required for sensation (stimulus)

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9
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

-the lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervous system to detect a change on 50% of trials
-when no other stimuli of the same type are present
-nothing vs. something

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10
Q

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

A

-the smallest change in the intensity of a stimulus that we can detect
-aka difference threshold
-ie. 6 lb weight in one hand and 5 lb in the other; is there a noticeable difference?

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11
Q

Weber’s Law

A

-there is a constant proportional relationship between JND and the original stimulus intensity
-a certain difference needed for us to tell things apart
-measured in %
-aka the stronger the stimulus, the bigger the change needed for it to be noticeable

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12
Q

Weber Fraction

A

-the constant proportion of Weber’s Law
-differs depending on sensory input

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13
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

-theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions
-accounts for expectations, consequences, response requirements

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14
Q

Signal Detection Expiriment

A

Components:
1. on 1/2 of the trials, one low intensity stimulus is presented
2. on 1/2 of the trials, no stimulus is presented
-trials are randomized so the subject cannot predict outcomes

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15
Q

Signal-to-noise Ratio

A

-it is harder to detect a signal as background noise increases

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16
Q

Signal Detection: Hit

A

-subject detects a stimulus that was present

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17
Q

Signal Detection: Miss

A

-subject fails to detect a stimulus that was present

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18
Q

Signal Detection: False Alarm

A

-subject indicates a stimulus was present when it was not

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19
Q

Signal Detection: Correct Rejection

A

-subject indicates there was no stimulus when there was no stimulus

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20
Q

Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies

A

-1826: Johannes Müller
-says that even though there are many stimulus energies (light, sound, touch), the sensation we experience is determined by the sense receptor, not the stimulus
-ie. Phosphenes

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21
Q

Phosphenes

A

-vivid sensations of the light cause by pressure on eye’s receptor cells
-occur due to brain reacting the same way to light and touch perception

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22
Q

Cross-Modal Processing

A

-processing of signals from one sense in another sensory area

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23
Q

McGurk Effect

A

-when processing speech brain calculates most probable sound from given vision and audition info
-mismatch between what is seen and what is heard
-ie. ba vs. fa

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24
Q

Synesthesia

A

-a condition in which people experience cross-modal sensations
-over 60 types identified

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25
Grapheme-Colour Synesthesia
-most common type of synesthesia -person's experience of numbers and letters are associated with the experience of colour
26
Other types of synesthesia???? pg 124
27
The Role of Attention
-attention and perception interact -focus our attention on certain stimuli in our environment -sometimes we exclude other information
28
Selective Attention
-process of selecting one sensory channel and ignoring or minimizing others -involved reticular activating system (RAS) of the forebrain
29
Dichotic Listening
-used to study selective attention -people hear two different messages, one in each ear, and ask them to ignore a message in one ear -subject knew little or nothing about the messages as a result
30
Cocktail Party Effect
-our ability to pick out important messages in a conversation that doesn't involve us -not explained by selective attention -ie. our name
31
Inattentional Blindness
-failure to detect stimuli that are in plain sight when our attention is focused elsewhere -ie. gorilla suit during game of pass video
32
The Binding Problem
-a great mystery of psychology -different aspects of a stimulus are processed in a different part of our brain -we perceive the stimulus as a single unit -pieces are bound together seamlessly
33
Parallel Processing
-ability to attend to many sense modalities simultaneously
34
Bottom-up Processing
-processing in which a whole stimulus is constructed from parts -stimulus driven
35
Top-down Processing
-conceptually driven processing influenced by beliefs and expectancies
36
Perceptual Hypotheses
-educated guesses about what our sensory system tells us -sometimes correct
37
Perceptual Set
-set formed when expectations influence perceptions -and example of top-down processing
38
Perceptual Constancy
-the process by which we perceive stimuli consistently across varied conditions -3 types
39
Shape Constancy (1/3)
-how we see shapes -ie. 3 doors and we see one shut, open, and halfway open
40
Size Constancy (2/3)
-our ability to perceive objects as the same size no matter their distance from us -ie. when someone walks away from you, you don't think they are shrinking
41
Colour Constancy (3/3)
-our ability to perceive colour consistently across different levels of lighting
42
Gestalt Principles
-rules that govern how we perceive objects as a whole within their context
43
Subjective Contours
-when our brains provide missing info about outlines
44
Proximity (gestalt principles)
-objects close together are perceived as unified wholes
45
Similarity (gestalt principles)
-we see similar objects as comprising a whole, over dissimilar objects
46
Continuity (gestalt principles)
-still perceiving objects as a whole even if other objects block part of them
47
Closure (gestalt principles)
-when partial visual info is present our brains fill in the missing pieces -similar to subjective contours
48
Symmetry (gestalt principles)
-perceive objects that are symmetrically arranged as wholes more often than those that aren't
49
Figure-ground (gestalt principles)
-we make an instantaneous decision to focus on what we believe is the central figure -ignore what we believe to be the background -ie. vase vs. two faces
50
Perceiving Motion
-we determine movement by comparing visual frames momentarily
51
Motion Blindness
-can't string images together to allow detection of motion
52
Phi Phenomenon
-the illusory perception of movement produced by the successive flashing of images
53
Apparent Motion
-when stimuli flash in different locations next to each other and movement is perceived
54
Face Perception
-may be something we are born with -2-3 week old babies can imitate face expressions
55
Prosopagnosia
-face blindness -need to look at cues to recognize people -deficit in fusiform gyrus
56
Depth Perception
-ability to judge distance and 3D relations
57
Monocular Depth Cues
-stimuli that enable us to judge using only one eye
58
Motion Parallax
-monocular cue -ability to judge the distance of moving objects from their speed
59
Pictorial Depth Cues
-monocular cue -clues about distance in a flat picture -many factors
60
Relative Size (Pictorial Cues)
-more distant objects look smaller than closer objects
61
Texture Gradient (Pictorial Cues)
-texture becomes less apparent as objects move farther away
62
Interposition (Pictorial Cues)
-closer object blocks the view of object behind it
63
Linear Perspective (Pictorial Cues)
-outlines of objects converge as distance increases -vanishing point: where lines appear to meet
64
Height in plane (Pictorial Cues)
-distant objects appear higher and closer ones appear lower
65
Light and shadow (Pictorial Cues)
-objects cast shadows that give us a sense of their 3D form
66
Binocular Depth Cues
-stimuli that enable us to judge using both eyes -2 main depth cues
67
Retinal Disparity
-binocular depth cue -objects project images to slightly different locations on R and L retinas -each eye sees a different view of the object
68
Binocular Convergence
-binocular depth cue -sensing the eyes move closer together as they focus on closer objects
69
Auditory Localization
-locating the source of a sound in space -intensity and timing of the sound arriving at the ear are factors that assist
70
Subliminal Perception
-registration of sensory input without conscious awareness
71
Subliminal Persuasion
-sub threshold influences our behaviour -no evidence of lasting effect

PSYC 104 - Introductory Psychology I (12 decks)

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