Psychology 111 Chapter 3, 4

Gestalt Principles

Characterize human perception. Similarity, proximity, closure, common fate

CAT-Computerized axial raphy

Circles the head; displays x-ray photos from different angles. Used to locate lesions or tumors. Shows different tissues in the brain.

Proximity: (Monocular)

Closer=more detail and texture

Continuity

Continuation occurs when the eye is compelled to continue from one object to another.

What connects the 2 hemispheres of the brain?

Corpus collosum

fMRI-Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Detects the twisting of hemoglobin molecules in the blood as they are exposed to magnetic pulses. Detects by changes in blood flow

Proximity (Gestalt)

Objects that are close together tend to be grouped together.

"the blind spot" of the eye

Produces no sensation on the retina.

PET Scan-position emission tomography

Radioactive substance injected in bloodstream. Scanned by radiation dectors showing which regions of the brain perform which functions.

Transduction

Sensors in the body convert physical signals into encoded neural signals sent to the Central Nervous System.

Nerve cell parts and what they do

Soma: cell body Axon: sends the message Dendrites: receive info

properties of light

Speed of light-frequency, amplitude-brightness

Color afterimage (afterimages effect)

Staring too long at one color fatigues the cones that respond to that color, producing a form of sensory adaptation that results in a color afterimage.

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous system

Symp-fight or flight, autonomic Parasymp-respiration and digestion, autonomic

Binocular disparity

The difference in retinal images; two eyes provide info about depth

Phineas Gages injury to which part of his brain

The frontal lobe; the one that deals with emotion, planning, and decision making

Just noticeable difference

The minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected.

Perception

The process of recognizing and interrupting sensory stimuli

Relative size

The size of he object as it relates to its distance. helps determines what's near or far.

The spinal reflex (reflex arc)

To spinal cord then back to stimulated part- not to brain

Why does spinning make you dizzy?

Vestibular sense keeps balance. Fluid spins when we spin; when we stop, fluid keeps spinning.

Interposition

When one object partly blocks another, we perceive it as closer.

Change Blindness

When people fail to detect changes to visual details of scene. (unobservant)

Similarity

When things appear to look similar, they're characterized as a group.

Motion parallax

objects that are closer appear to move faster than objects that are farther than you.

Sensation

simple stimulation of a sense organ

properties of sound

speed of sound waves-pitch, amplitude-volume

Common fate

Elements that move together are perceived to be together.

Closure

Filling in missing elements of incomplete objects as one object or group.

Selective attention

Filtering out irrelevant info around us and focusing on the things that demand our attention.

Weber's Law

For people to really perceive a difference, the stimuli must differ by a constant "proportion" not a constant "amount".

Animal examples of cerebral cortex development ranked from low to high brain development:

Frog, cat, human

Heritability Index

Measures the difference in people's behavior based on their genes. (# value= 0-1) How genetic factors play a role in heredity.

Absolute Threshold

Minimal intensity needed to detect a stimulus.

Why it's good to have a wrinkled brain?

More surface=processing power

Phi phenomenon

an illusion of motion; common fate

MRI-magnetic resonance imaging

applying brief but powerful magnetic pulses to the head and recording how these pulses were absorbed. Localizes brain damage through identifying soft tissue.

Disparity

arises from the fact that our eyes have two different point of view.

Monocular cues

aspects of a scene that yield info about depth when viewed with only one eye.

Sensory adaption

changes in relation to the stimulus

Homunculus

lips, tongue, and hands have the most area of somatosensory.

Left and Right visual fields and their relationship to the brain

opposite: they switch

Linear Perspective

parallel lines seems to converge as they recede into the distance.

5 Types of taste receptor cells

umami, salty, sweet, bitter, sour