Sensation and Perception

What sense dominate all other senses?

vision

Visual perception process

visual information sent to brain constructed into component features composed into meaningful perceived image compared with previously stored images and recognized

schemas

what you see is influenced by perceptual set

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus about 50% of the time

depth perception

a function of our ability to see things in 3 dimensions which enables us to estimate their distance from us

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

cocktail party effect

ability to attend to only one voice among many

perceptual consistency

ability to recognize objects as being the same despite changes in size, shape, and brightness

Smell

airborne molecules of its fragrance must reach receptors at the top of our nose

Sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness)

caused by damage to hair cell receptors or auditory nerves

Conduction hearing loss

caused by damage to the mechanical system of the ear

Retina's

contains millions of photoreceptor cells that convert light energy into neural activity

Social cultural influences on perception

cultural assumptions and expectations

monocular cues

depth cues that are available to each eye alone

binocular cues

depth cues that depend on retinal disparity

What part of hearing helps us locate sound

differences between right and left ear

Obesity and evolution

evolutionary basis to eating and weight regulation. inconsistent food supplies back in the day so prefer high calorie food, eat what's available, and body fat storage

farsightedness

faraway objects are seen more clearly - the image of near objects is focused behind retina

closure

fill in gaps

light and shadow

light objects appear closer whereas dinner objects appear farther away. shading also provides information about light source

great amplitude of sound waves produce _____ sounds while small amplitude of sound waves produce _______ sounds

loud soft

Just Noticeable Difference

minimum difference a person can detect between any 2 stimuli half the time

Nearsightedness

nearby objects are seen more clearly - distant objects focus in front of retina

relative height

objects higher in field of vision are perceived as farther away

oral referral

olfactory information is experienced as if its being sensed by the tongue

figure and ground

organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

color consistency

our perception of color depends on more than wavelength information received by the cones

linear perspective

parallel lines that appear to converge convey distance. the more they converge, the greater the distance

continuity

perceive continuous patterns

size consistency

perceive objects as having a consistent size even when our distance from them changes

acuity

the sharpness of vision

Perceptual organization

to tranform sensory information into meaningful perceptions, we must organize it

What is happening when we see light?

pulses of electromagnetic energy is hitting our eyes

psychological influences on perception

selective attention learned schemas Gestalt principles context effects perceptual set

cones

sensitive to color

rods

sensitive to light

biological influences on perception

sensory analysis unlearned visual phenomena critical period for sensory development

Touch

somatosensory perception is essential for maintaining the integrity of the body, for controlling movements

Sound

sound travels in waves as a vibration

Evolutionary basis of taste

sour and pitter for potentially toxic or poisonous things

connectedness

spots, lines, and areas are seen as unit when connected

Phantom limb pain

subjective sensory awareness of an amputated body part

Milinski and Wedekind 2001

suggested that women higher sense of smell might help them identify more attractive mates smell shirts - prefer smells unlike their own - help increase genetic diversity in offspring

visual capture

tendency for vision to dominate the other senses

Gestalt

tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Prolonged exposure above __ decibels produces hearing loss

85

Parallel Processing

Brain cell teams process combined information about color, movement, form and depth

Signal Detection Theory

Detecting a stimulus is jointly determined by the signal and the subjects criterion.

Relationship between sensation and perception

Sensation is the raw data and perception is the interpretation of that raw data.

Sensation

The process by which our nervous system receives and represents stimuli from the environment

Perception

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

What determines the perceived color of light?

The wavelength

___ amplitude of wavelengths = ________ colors _________ amplitude of wavelengths = ___________ colors

great; bright small; dull

similarity

group figures that are similar

proximity

group nearby figures together

Short wave lengths have ____ frequency and are ______ in color. Long wavelengths have ______ frequency and are _____ in color.

high; blue low; red

Short wavelengths of hearing produce ________ frequency and _______ pitch while long wavelengths of hearing produce _____ frequency and ______ pitch

high; high low; low

interposition

if an object blocks our view of another, its perceived as being closer

relative size

if two objects are assumed to be the same size, the one that is smaller is perceived as being farther away