Lecture 2 - Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Summary of the study methods in psychology

Answer 1

case studies, naturalistic observations and surveys (descriptive methods) and correlational methods, experimental methods and surveys

Question 2

experiment

Answer 2

research methods that tests a hypothesis and makes conclusions about causality

Question 3

independent variable

Answer 3

variable controlled and manipulated by experimenter

Question 4

dependent variable

Answer 4

measure demonstrating the effects on the independent variable

Question 5

reliability

Answer 5

consistency of a measure

Question 6

validity

Answer 6

quality of a measure leading to correct conclusions

Question 7

variance

Answer 7

measurement of spread between numbers in the data set

Question 8

standard deviation

Answer 8

measures how far each number in the set is from the mean (large variance = higher curve)

Question 9

sensation

Answer 9

process of DETECTING stimuli

Question 10

perception

Answer 10

process of INTERPRETING sensory information

Question 11

sensory adaptation

Answer 11

a reduction in sensory receptors to a stimulus after constant exposure (walk in room with strong scent, dont notice after a while)

Question 12

selective attention

Answer 12

focus on a subset of information more relevant to us

Question 13

what are the two ways of makings sense of stimuli

Answer 13

bottom-up and top-down processing

Question 14

bottom-up processing

Answer 14

we allow stimulus itself to shape our perception without any preconception

Question 15

top-down processing

Answer 15

we use our background knowledge and expectations to interpret what we see

Question 16

psychophysics

Answer 16

study of relationships between stimuli and perception of those stimuli

Question 17

absolute threshold

Answer 17

smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time

Question 18

difference threshold

Answer 18

smallest amount of difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time

Question 19

signal detection theory

Answer 19

the analysis of sensory and decision-making processes in the presence of uncertainty

Question 20

retina

Answer 20

allow us to see, contain three photoreceptors (rods, cones and specialized ganglion cells responding to brightness)

Question 21

rods

Answer 21

sensitive to light, good at seeing dim light

Question 22

cones

Answer 22

ability to see colours and sharp images, function best under bright light

Question 23

primary colours of paint

Answer 23

red, yellow and blue

Question 24

primary colours of light

Answer 24

red, green and blue

Question 25

What theory is Helmholtz known for

Answer 25

trichromatic theory

Question 26

Trichromatic theory

Answer 26

suggests that the eye contains 3 types of receptors (red, blue, green) which are compared to perceive colours

Question 27

What are Hering-Hurvich known for

Answer 27

Opponent-Process theory (believed that the way we view colors is based on a system of opposing colors)

Question 28

depth

Answer 28

visual perception which the brain constructs through 2D and 3D images

Question 29

how can the human eye perceive depth?

Answer 29

monocular cues (from one eye) and binocular cues (from two eyes)

Question 30

monocular cues to depth perception

Answer 30

interposition, relative size, relative height, texture gradients, perspective convergence (parallel lines), shadow and motion parallax

Question 31

illusions

Answer 31

result from our use of monocular cues to judge depth

Question 32

binocular cues

Answer 32

binocular disparity cue (different optical immages produced on the reitans of both eyes) and convergence cue (two eyes rotate inwards to project images on retinas)

Question 33

Gestalt approach

Answer 33

emphasize that organisms perceive entire patterns of configurations, not merely individual components

Question 34

principles of Gestalt approach

Answer 34

figure-ground, proximity, similarity, closure, continuity and common region

Question 35

Figure-ground

Answer 35

the spontaneous division of a scene into a main figure (what attracts attention) and ground (what does not)

Question 36

proximity

Answer 36

objects closer together tend to be grouped together

Question 37

similarity

Answer 37

similar stimuli are grouped together

Question 38

closure

Answer 38

perceive objects as complete rather than focusing on the gaps that the object might contain

Question 39

continuity

Answer 39

points that form smooth lines when connected are probaby grouped together

Question 40

common region

Answer 40

items within a boundary are perceived as a group