Sensation
How we receive and represent stimulus
information
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting
stimuli
Bottom Up Processing
Begins with sense receptors and then to
the brain
Top Down Processing
Info processing guided by higher mental
processes
Psychophysics
The study of the relationship between the
physical characteristics of stimuli, such as
intensity, and our psychological
experience with them
Absolute Threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a
stimulus
Signal Detection Theory
A theory predicting how and when we
detect the presence of a faint stimulus
amid background noise. Assumes there is
no universal absolute threshold
Subliminal
Difference Threshold
Weber’s Law
Sensory Adaptation
Below threshold
The minimum difference between 2
stimuli required for detection 50% of the
time
Stimuli must differ by a constant
minimum percentage ( light = 8%
difference)
Diminished sensitively due to constant
stimulation
Transduction
Wavelength
Hue
Cornea
Conversion of one form of energy to
another
The distance from the peak of 1 light or
sound wave to the next
The dimension of color determined by the
wavelength
The part of the eye light enters through
Bipolar Cells
Cells that activate the ganglion cells
Ganglion Cells
The axons that forms the optic nerve
Thalamus
Sensory input station, all senses except
smell
Visual Cortex
Area in the Occipital lobe the processes
vision
Occipital lobe
Area of the brain that houses the visual
cortex
Intensity
The amount of energy in a light or sound
wave. Brightness or loudness
Pupil
Part of the eye that regulates the amount
of the light that comes in
Iris
Colored part of the eye that controls the
opening of the pupil
Lens
Part of the eye that changes shape to
help focus images on the retina
accommodation
The process by which the eye’s lens
changes shape to help focus images on
the retina
retina
Part of the eye that houses the rods and
cones
acuity
The sharpness of vision
nearsightedness
Seeing nearby objects better
farsightedness
Seeing faraway objects better
rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white
and gray. Don’t need a lot of light
cones
Retinal receptors that detect color. need
a lot of light
Blind spot
Fovea
Optic Nerve
Area of the eye where the optic nerve
leaves the eye
The central focal point of the retina.
Where the sharpest vision is found.
Where the cones are clustered
The nerve that carries neural impulses
from the eye to the brain
Feature Detectors
Nerve cells in the brain that respond to
specific features of the stimulus, such as
shape, angle or movement
Parallel Processing
The processing of several aspects of a
problem at once. ( shape, color, size..)
Young Helmholtz
Trichromatic
The theory that the retina contains 3
different color receptors ( red, green,
blue). Mixing paint
Opponent Process Theory
The theory that opposing (opposite)
retinal processes enables color vision.
Red-green, yellow-blue, black-white
Color Constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having
consistent color, even if changing
illumination alters the wavelengths
Audition
Frequency
Pitch
Middle Ear
Inner Ear
Cochlea
Outer Ear
Hearing
The number of complete wavelengths
that pass a point
A tone’s highness or lowness. Depends on
frequency
Part of the ear that contains the
hammer, anvil and stirrup. Goal is to
continue the vibration
Part of the ear that contains the cochlea,
semicircular canals and vestibular sacs
Part of the inner ear that contains the
cells
Part of the ear that includes the ear flap,
auditory canal and eardrum
Eardrum
Ossicles
Hair Cells
Also called the tympanum. Creates a
vibration
Anvil, stirrup and hammer. Continues the
vibration
Located in the cochlea. Transduce the
vibrations into a neural impulse
Basilar Membrane
The area inside the cochlea that contains
the hair cells
Auditory Cortex
Area of the temporal lobe that processes
hearing.
Temporal Lobe
Area of the brain that houses the
auditory cortex
Auditory Nerve
Transmits sounds from the ear to the
brain
Hemholtzs Place Theory
Theory that different pitches stimulate
different areas on the cochlea
Frequency Theory
Theory that pitch is heard because the
cochlea and sound waves vibrate at the
same rate
Volley Principle
The idea that in order to obtain higher
pitch levels neurons must alternate in
their firing b/c each neuron can only fire
1000 times per second
Conduction Hearing Loss
Hearing loss due to mechanical system
damage. A part is broken
Sensorineural Hearing
Loss
Gate Control Theory
Olfactory Bulbs
Hearing loss due to damage to the nerve
cells
The spinal cord blocks or send pain
signals to the brain
Registers the sense of smell
Sensory restriction
People who are missing one or more of
the 5 senses. Typically have heightened
other senses
Sensory Interaction
The principle that one sense may
influence another. Smell and the taste of
food
Kinesthesis
The system of sensing the position and
movement of individual body parts
Vestibular Sense
The sense of body movement and
position, including the sense of balance
Selective Attention
Visual Capture
Gestalt
Figure Ground
The focusing of conscious awareness on a
particular stimulus, as in the cocktail
party effect
Vision is the dominate sense
An organized whole.
An organization of the visual field into
objects (figures) that stand out from
their surroundings ( ground)
Grouping
Depth Perception
Visual Cliff
Binocular Cues
Monocular Cues
The perceptual tendency to organize
stimuli into coherent groups
Allows us to judge distance
A device used to test infant depth
perception
Depth cue that involve 2 eyes. Ex. Retinal
disparity and convergence
Depth cue that only need 1 eye. Ex.
Linear perspective
Convergence
A binocular depth cue that is achieved by
the amount our eyes converge inward
when looking at an object
Retinal Disparity
A binocular depth cue that is achieved by
comparing images from 2 eyeballs
Phi Phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when
two or more lights blink on and off
Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging even
as illumination and retinal images
change
Perceptual Adaption
Perpetual Set
In vision, the ability to adjust to an
artificially displaced or even inverted
visual field
A mental predisposition to perceive on
thing and not another. (UFOs)
Human factors Psychology Explore and people and machines
interact. Try to make technology easier
for people to use
Perception without sensory input
Extrasensory Perception
(ESP)
Parapsychology
People who study paranormal
phenomenon, including ESP and psycho
kinesis
Telepathy
Being able to send and receive messages
through your mind
Clairvoyance
Perceiving remote events
Precognition
Perceiving future events
Psychokinesis
Mind over matter – being able to left
things or move things with just your mind