Psychology-Perception

motion perception

objects traveling towards us grow in size and those moving away shrink in size

Malik glances at his doctor's scrawl on a handwritten prescription. He draws on his knowledge of common medications to distinguish among a's, o's, and u's. Malik's experience BEST illustrates:

top-down processing

perceptual set

a predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

A person can detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area the size of a one-bedroom apartment. This is a(n) _____ threshold.

absolute

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Gestalt

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information; enables your sensory systems to detect the lines, angles, and colors that form the flower and leaves

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

threshhold

minimum level of a stimulus required to activate a neuron

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

sensory receptors

neurons that respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals

Information provided in the textbook suggests that we recognize familiar human faces in about ______ milliseconds.

150

linear perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.

Samantha opens her eyes in the morning to see flowers by her bedside. At that point, her eyes are receiving light energy, which they change into neural messages for the brain to process. This conversion of one form of energy into another is called

Transduction

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Lana cannot recognize faces. She has to fake knowing or recognizing people she has already met. Lana MOST likely suffers from:

prosopagnosia.

Anna is reading her psychology textbook. The activation of receptors in her retina is called _____. Her interpretation of the stimuli as particular words is called _____.

sensation; perception

Carlos was just touched on his cheek, which is a(n) _____. In order for Carlos to know if he was kissed or slapped, Carlos needs a(n) _____.

sensation; perception

Detection is to interpretation as _____ is to _____.

sensation; perception

receive

sensory stimulation, often using specialized receptor cells

Dennis, a nurse, notes that some parents of children with asthma respond to very small changes in their children's breathing, and seek care accordingly. However, other parents do not notice the same small changes. This type of difference in reaction to stimuli is BEST explained by the:

signal detection theory

Two TSA officers are scanning bags at the airport. One of the officers lets a bag go through, but the other officer yells, "Wait, didn't you see that?" Why one officer saw a weapon and the other did not is best explained by:

signal detection theory

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

deliver

the neural information to our brains

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

transform

the stimulation into neural impulses

Interpreting new sensory information within the framework of a past memory illustrates _____ processing.

top-down

Janice opens her eyes in the morning to see a photograph by her bedside. At that point, her eyes are receiving light energy, which they change into neural messages for the brain to process. This conversion of one form of energy into another is called:

transduction

The local fire department sounds an alarm. The conversion of the siren's sound waves into neural impulses exemplifies the process of:

transduction

Closure

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Rule of Proximity

We like to group nearby figures together

subliminal

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

form perception

organization of sensations into meaningful shapes and patterns