PSY110 Psychology
Module 8 – Sensing the World Around Us – Pages 90-96
Sensation
The receiving of a stimulus by a sense organs
 Sight
o day
o night
o color
 Sound
o Frequency (pitch)
o Intensity (loudness)
o Attitude (balance)
 Taste
o Sweet
o Sour
o Salty
o Bitter
 Touch
o Temperature
o Pain
Perception
The interpretation, screening, analysis, and integration of a stimulus
Stimulus
Energy that produces a response in a sense organ
 Intensity
 Sensitivity
 Range
Importance to
Much of human behavior it linked to perception
Psychologist
Psychophysics
The study of the relationship between stimuli and psychological experience
Absolute Threshold
The minimum level of intensity required for something to be sensed
Noise
Background stimuli that interfere with perception of a target stimuli
(moviemakers use auditory background sound to convey ambiance)
Difference
Minimum difference in level of intensity to notice a change
Threshold
Called: Just Noticeable Difference
Weber’s Law
Expressed as a ratio – it takes the same relative level difference to perceive a
(vay-ber)
difference a low intensity as it would at high intensity
Interactivity 8-1
Play Interactivity on the student CD (requires sound capability on PC)
Adaptation
Decrease in the perceived intensity of stimuli over time
106763057
Page 1 of 1
Richard Goldman