PSC 1 Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

Proprioception

(also called Kinesthetic Sense) helps us keep track of where we are and move efficiently. They are used to sense muscle stretch and force, we can tell what our bodies are doing when our eyes are closed.

Difference Threshold

Minimum amount of change required for a person to detect a difference between 2 stimuli

Quiz: Also called kinesthesia, which of the following is the term for your sense of the position of your own body?

Proprioception

perception

brain's interpretation of these raw sensory inputs. Processing/ Organization/ Interpretation of sensory information

Papillae

bumps on tongue, they contain a plethora of taste buds

High Amplitude

creates a perception of a loud sound

Low Amplitude

creates a perception of a soft sound

sensation

detection of physical energy by our sense organs including eyes, ears, skin , nose in which they relay information to the brain

Quiz: To test his theory that attention passes through a mental filter that gives priority to important information, Donald Broadbent used __________, when listeners hear different messages in each ear.

dichotic listening

Taste Receptor Sites

functions to determine whether we should ingest or reject a food product (v important for survival) ---> there are 5 types 1. Sweet 2. Salty 3. Sour 4. Bitter 5. Umami

Gate Control Theory

pain is blocked from consciousness bc neutral mechanisms in the spinal cord function as a "gate" controlling the flow of sensory input to the central nervous system. This can account for how pain varies from situation to situation depending on our psychological state

High Frequency

perception of a high pitched sound

Low Frequency

perception of a low pitched sound

Transduction

process by which the nervous system converts and external stimulus (such as light or sound) into electrical signals within neurons that the brain can interpret

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

rare condition in which a person cannot feel physical pain and has never felt pain. ---> painful stimulus is not even perceived, a patient cannot describe the intensity or type of pain

Synesthesia

rare condition in which people experience cross-modal sensations such as hearing sounds when they see colors.

relation between sensation and perception

sensation allows us to pick up the signals in our environment and perception allows us to assemble these signals into something meaningful

Absolute Sensory Threshold

the lowest level of a stimulus we can detect example: what is the dimmest light u can detect?

Just Noticeable Difference

the smallest change in the intensity of a stimulus that we can detect. Relevant in the ability to distinguish a stronger from a weaker stimulus

Taste Buds

what we detect taste with

Accommodation

when lenses change shape to focus light on the back of the eyes. Our lenses adapt to different perceived distances of objects. Ciliary Muscles are responsible for this