PSYCH Flashcards
(79 cards)
What is Signal Detection Theory
A framework that measures how well someone can distinguish between information-bearing patterns and random patterns that can distract from that information.
Absolute vs Difference Threshold
The absolute threshold is the smallest amount of stimulation needed for a human to notice it 50% of the time. The difference threshold is the smallest amount of change in stimulation for a human to notice 50% of the time.
Sensory Adaptation
The process by which our brain cells become less sensitive to constant stimuli that are picked up by our senses.
(Transduction) Vision
The process in the eye whereby absorption of the light in the retina is translated into electrical signals that ultimately reach the brain.
(Transduction) Audition
The transduction of sound waves into a neural signal that is made possible by the structures of the ear.
(Transduction) Olfaction
The process by which odor molecules are converted into electrical signals that the brain interprets as smells.
(Transduction) Gustation
Initiated when taste stimuli interact with receptor sites on the exposed apical microvilli of receptor cells.
(Transduction) Tactile/Haptic sensation
The process of converting a physical force on the skin into an electrical signal that is then encoded.
Thresholds
Min amount of stimulation required to be able to:
Detect (sensory threshold)
Experience (perceptual threshold)
Subjective Perceptual Threshold (SPT)
Fully Aware - Could be Aware
Objective Perceptual Threshold (OPT)
Sensed/Not Aware (subliminal messages?)
Absolute Sensory Threshold (AST)
Neither Sensed nor Aware
Wavelength
(frequency) Pitch
Amplitude
Loudness
Bottom-up processing
psychological strategy that involves using sensory information to understand the world around us
Top-down processing
perceiving things based on your prior experiences and knowledge
Different types of touch
Temperature (Warm, Cold)
Pressure (Vibration, fast/slow/steady pressure)
Pain (sharp, Dull)
Cornea
A clear, curved layer at the front of your eye, allows light to enter your eye. The curvature allows it to bend this light inward which helps produce a sharp, focused image on the retina. Responsible for most of the bending of light in the eye.
Iris
While the iris is often noted upon because it is the colored portion of your eye, it is actually a muscle which can contract to dilate the pupil or relax to constrict the pupil.
Pupil
The pupil open (dilates) and closes(constricts) to control amount of light entering eye.
Lens
The shape of the eye’s lens can be changed by the ciliary muscles that surround it. Called accommodation works similar to that of the adjustable focus on a camera and allows the eye to change its point of focus.
Rods`
Receptor cells within the retina. initiate transduction of light cells into electrical neural impulses. approximately 120 million rods in each eye. Very sensitive to light so they work best in dark conditions. Can also notice movement in the perephery from them, and will be fuzzy.
Cones
Only stimulated by very bright lights. Able to detect the patterns in light that can be perceived as color and have very high visual acuity - they see things very clearly. approximately 6 million cones in each eye. most densely populated in the fovea which is the center of our field of vision.
retina
The retina is a photosensitive(i.e., responsive to light) layer at the back of the eye. It contains the sensory receptors (rods and cones) that transduce the light into neural signals for the brain.
