sensation and perception Flashcards
sensation
the process of receiving, translating and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain
perception
how our brain organizes and interprets information
transduction
the process by which neural impulses are converted into neural receptors
what are the 5 senses?
- Eyes
- Ears
- Nose
- Tongue
- skin
homonculus
little man
it’s a depiction of what we’d look like if each of our parts grew in proportion to how much we sense with them we use hands to touch the world; tongues and lips
weber’s law
two stimulus must differ in constant proportion in order for their differences to be perceives
Psychophysics
investigates how much stimuli we can detect and how we detect differences between stimuli in the environment with our sensory systems
absolute threshold of sensation
minimum stimulation needs to register a particular stimulus 50% of the time
just noticeable difference (JND)
It’s the minimum amount that something has to change in order for the difference to be detected 50% of the time.
To quantify the difference thresholds, there must be a constant percentage change to detect the change in stimuli THE PERCENTAGE IS 20
signal detection theory
model for predicting how and when a person will detect weak stimuli, partly based on context
Ex. Exhausted parents might hear their baby new born baby whimper but not hear the roar of the passing train
trichromatic theory
T Young
mixing red, green, and blue creates the colour spectrum
opponent process theory
blue, yellow, red, green. black, white. creates colour spectrum
rods
responsible for vision in dim light
cones
colour vision
enable us to see colour and fine detail in light
how do we process information
bottom-up
top-down
