Week 6 - Sensation And Perception 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Properties of sound

A

Sound is caused by vibrations (wave frequency is I second)

Physical feature: Psychological dimension:

Wave frequency (Hz)  = pitch 
Wave amplitude (dB)   = loudness 
Wave complexity         = timbre
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2
Q

What is our audible spectrum?

A

The human ear is sensitive to mechanical vibration from about 20 to 20 000 Hz.

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3
Q

Auditory perception

A

Different tones excite different areas of the basilar membrane and primary auditory cortex (tonotopic organisation)

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4
Q

Describe the place theory (in pitch perception)

A

For high pitch, hairs in specific areas of basilar membrane activate specific regions in the primary auditory cortex (5000- 20 000 Hz)

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5
Q

Describe the frequency theory (in pitch perception)

A

For low pitch, the rate of action potentials signals frequency of sound wave (up to 100 Hz)

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6
Q

Describe the volley theory (pitch perception)

A

Combinations of action potentials slights de-synchronised collectively signals the frequency of sound wave (100-5000 Hz)

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7
Q

Describe conductive hearing loss

A

Problems in the outer/middle ear:

-amplification of sounds (ie hearing aids) can be helpful

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8
Q

Describe sensorineural hearing loss

A

Problems in inner ear, auditory nerve and auditory cortex can be more complex
-cochlear implants

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9
Q

what’re some Causes of hearing loss

A

Genetic/congenital

Disease/injury

Noise induced

Medications/substances

Age related

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10
Q

Basics of smell and taste

A

Olfaction (smell) and Gustation (taste) are “chemical senses”.

Work together to enhance liking or disliking of some foods

Evolutionarily beneficial - critical role in sampling food before swallowing

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11
Q

Olfaction

A

Olfactory receptors code for one odour
-lock and key analogy

Humans can identify ~2000-4000 odours

Some people have better olfaction than others (young people, females, non smokers)

We adapt rapidly to smell
-perfume, our own body odours

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12
Q

Gustation

A

Sweet, sour, bitter, salty

  • now also umami (Japanese name for miso soup type taste)
  • some early evidence for fatty acid receptors

But, taste is only a small part of the eating experience

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13
Q

What is the “tongue map myth”?

A

The myth that certain parts of the tongue are responsible for different types of flavour

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14
Q

Olfactory and gustatory perception

A

Smell and taste converge on parts of the limbic system (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala)

Strong link between smell, taste and emotion

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15
Q

Somatosensory system

A

Specialised receptors within the skin detect physical stimuli from the external environment

There are 3 classes of skin receptors:

  • pressure: “mechanoreceptors”
  • temperature: “thermoreceptors”
  • pain: “nociceptors”
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16
Q

What is the phantom limb illusion?

A

Phantom limb pain of amputees can be relieved with a mirror box

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17
Q

What is congenital pain insensitivity?

A
  • issac brown was born with a congenital insensitivity to pain
  • Isaacs parents had to teach him to identify injuries
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18
Q

What is proprioception? - body position

A

Basically the awareness that we exist and move within space

Kinaesthetic sense
Proprioceptors (stretch and force) are located in the joints, muscles, and tendons providing feedback to the brain.

19
Q

Vestibular system - balance

A

Vestibular control
-balance:

  • inner ear: semicircular canals and otoliths
  • information sent to the brain stem and cerebellum to cooordinate/ajust eye, head and body movements.
20
Q

Basics of Perception

A

Organisation of sensations into meaningful units that can then be interpreted by the brain

An active process by which the brain selects, organised and interprets sensory information

There’s no “one to one” correspondence between the sensory stimuli and the perception (percept)

21
Q

what are some principles of perceptual organisation:

A

-Top down and bottom up processing
perceptual sets/context (generally occur simultaneously)

  • Perceptual constancy
  • Gestalt principles
  • Motion perception
  • Depth or distance perception
22
Q

Gestalt principles

A

Gestalt = whole
Theory developed by German psychologists in 1920s
‘Gestalt principles’ or rules describe how visual elements are organised into groups or unified wholes
Whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Key Gestalt principles:

-simplicity, proximity, similarity, continuation, closure, symmetry, figure ground

23
Q

Motion perception

A

Visual system is organised to detect motion

  • some cells in the retina are sensitive to motion
  • neurons (feature detectors) in visual cortex respond to motion

Two ways of detecting movement

  • A: eye is stationary as object moves on the retina
  • B: eye moves to maintain object at same place on the retina
24
Q

Depth (or distance) perception

A

The organisation or perception into three dimensions

Two kinds of visual cues enable us to judge depth and distance

Binocular cues: visual input from two eyes

Monocular cues: only one eye provides visual input

25
Q

Depth perception - binocular cues

A

Primary cues for distance/depth perception

Binocular/retinal disparity (aka stereopsis)
-the degree of overlap of image between the retinas in each eye

Convergence
-eyes converge at small distances

26
Q

Depth perception - monocular cues

A
Secondary distance cues (monocular) 
Relative size 
Texture gradient 
Height in plane 
Motion parallax 
Linear perspective 
Interposition 
Shading
27
Q

Perceptual interpretation

A

Form, depth, motion perception and constancy explain how sensation is organised into stable recognisable forms

Perceptual interpretation is generating meaning from the stable percepts

28
Q

Synaesthesia

A

Different perceptual experiences can be produced but cross - modal processing (cross talk between brain areas) or overlap in brain areas.

Synaesthesia - experience of cross modal sensations

  • hearing colour
  • tasting shapes
29
Q

Subliminal perception

A

Processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness

  • can have a brief, short term impact on behaviours and attitudes
  • effect disappears when people are aware of or suspect subliminal influences
30
Q

Is Subliminal persuasion effective?

A

Fairly unlikely to produce large scale or enduring attitudes or decisional changes

Subliminal self help tapes have been shown to be ineffective (the illusory placebo effect)

Reversed subliminal messages also ineffective

31
Q

What is Extrasensory perception (ESP)

A

The perception of events outside the known channels of sensation
According to parapsychologists, there are three major types
-precognition
-telepathy
-clairvoyance

Over 1/3 adults believe ESP

32
Q

What use does the ear canal have?

A

Conducts sound waves to eardrum

32
Q

What use does the eardrum have?

A

Membrane that vibrates in response to sounds waves

33
Q

What use does the semicircular canal have?

A

One of three fluid filled structures that play a role in balance

34
Q

What use does the vestibular nerve have?

A

Carries information concerning balance to the brain

35
Q

What use does the cochlear nerve have? S

A

Transmits nerve impulses from the inner ear to the brain

36
Q

Whatbhae does the Eustachian tube have?

A

Connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and controls air pressure in the ear

37
Q

What use does the pinna have?

A

Flexible outer flap of the ear which channels sound waves into the ear canal

38
Q

What use does the vestibule have?

A

Fluid filled cavity that detects head position

39
Q

Describe the process of bottom up processing

A
  1. Detects features of sensory data
  2. Analyse specific features and combine component parts info more complex form
  3. Form perception
40
Q

Describe top down processing

A
  1. Use prior knowledge and experience to organise and interpret sensations
  2. Select specific features that meet expectations about stimulus
  3. Form perception
41
Q

Describe some aspects of perceptual constancy

A

Tendency to perceive objects as perceptually stable despite variation in stimulation of sensory receptors.

Shape: we recognise an object as having the same shape when viewed from a different angle

Size: objects do not differ in size when viewed from different distances

42
Q

List some perceptual phenomena

A
  • rubber hand illusion
  • McGurk effect
  • Capgras delusion
  • phantom limb pain
  • syneasthesia
43
Q

Evidence for extrasensory perception?

A

Early studies by Rhine using Zener cards reported positive results

But, methodological problems and no replication

Ganzfield technique studies, fMRI studies, and others all fail to find positive effects for ESP