Module 4.1- Sensation and Perception at a Glance Flashcards
sensation
the process of detecting external events by sense organs and turning those stimuli into neural signals
perception
involves attending to, organizing and interpreting stimuli that we sense
what 2 things are brains designed for?
brain is designed to detect patterns, and to make the external environment coherent
transduction
when specialized receptors transform the physical energy of the outside world into neural impulses
translating the physical energy from the outside world into neural energy
transduction
the doctrine of specific nerve energies
the theory that the different senses are separated in the brain
who proposed the doctrine of specific nerve energies?
German physiologist Johannes Müller
______ influences how we response to stimuli
experience
orienting response
we quickly shift our attention to stimuli that signal a change in our sensory world
sensory adaptation
The reduction of activity in sensory receptors with repeated exposure to a stimulus
what are the 3 stimulus thresholds?
1) Psychophysics
2) Absolute Threshold
3) Difference Threshold
Psychophysics
the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience
who developed psychophysics
William Gustav Fechner
Absolute Threshold
the minimum amount o energy or quantity of a stimulus required for it to be reliably detected at least 50% of the time it is presented
what are the 5 absolute sensory thresholds?
vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste
difference threshold
the smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliably detected at least 50% of the time
Signal Detection Theory
a theory stating that whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both sensory experience and judgement made by the subject
what are the 4 possible outcomes of the signal detection theory?
Hit, False Alarm, Correct Rejection and Miss
Subliminal Perception
perception below the threshold of conscious awareness
what did merikle and skanes test?
tested subliminal weight loss tapes
how did merikle and skanes test subliminal weight loss tapes?
they assigned participants to:
1) experimental condition (subliminal weight loss tape)
2) placebo condition (subliminal dental anxiety prevention tape
3) waiting list
what were the 4 conditions Greenwald used of subliminal self-help tapes?
1) memory improvement (labeled correctly)
2) Self-esteem improvement (labeled correctly)
3) Memory improvement (labeled “memory improvement”)
true or false: Greenwalds 4 conditions of subliminal self-help tapes showed that the cassette’s label was a better predictor of improvement than the cassette’s content
True
priming
when a previously viewed word makes a related word come to mind
