9/8/2015 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION MCGONIGLE INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY

9/8/2015 Example of Determining Factor: Sentry : at wartime Sentry: at peacetime Who will be more likely to sense danger?

9/8/2015 Sensory Adaptation Imagine yourself at a bonfire, marshmallow roast, what happens to the faces in the background after a while? What animals see better in the night time as opposed to day? Why do you think this is true?

9/8/2015 Absolute Threshold Weakest amount of a stimulus that can be sensed. Dogs – can hear certain whistles that we can not hear. Biological & Psychological factors determine different thresholds.

9/8/2015 Difference Threshold The minimum amount of difference that can be detected between two stimuli is known as the difference threshold. Dark blue/ Navy blue – could you tell the difference? Stang baseball hats- maroon?

9/8/2015 Signal Detection Theory Method of distinguishing sensory stimuli that takes into account not only their strengths, but : Setting Physical state Mood Attitudes

9/8/2015 Eye

9/8/2015 Sensory Adaptation We become more sensitive to weak stimuli such as the faces around the fire. We become less aware of the heat of the fire or the sound of the wood burning or the smell of the marshmallows. “Attleboro apartment near commuter rail”

9/8/2015 Threshold Receptors Vision: Rods and cones in the retina. Hearing : Hair cells of the inner ear. Smell : Receptor cells in the nose. Taste: Taste buds on the tongue. Touch: Nerve endings on the skin.

9/8/2015 Light Think of a rainbow/ prism What colors are most brilliant to you? Main colors of spectrum: (Roy G Biv) Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Not visible* - Infrared and ultraviolet.

9/8/2015 Eye Amount of light that enters the eye is determined by the size in the opening in the colored part of the eye. (pupil) Pupil dilation : discussion Lens : adjusts to the distance of objects by changing its thickness. FST – why do people squint? Eye glasses/ contac lens..

9/8/2015 Human Eye (cont’d) Retina: sensitive surface in the eye that acts like film in a camera. Made up of neurons not film. Photoreceptors: once the light hits the photoreceptors, a nerve carries the visual input to the brain. Blind spot: Where optic nerve leaves the eye 4-3.

9/8/2015 Eye ( last slide) Rods and Cones: Rods are sensitive only to the brightness of light. Rods : allow us to see in black and white Cones: allow us to see in color.

9/8/2015 Visual Acuity Sharpness of vision is called visual acuity. Snellen Vision Chart : 20/20 Nearsighted, Farsighted. (Myopia, Hyperopia)

9/8/2015 Snellen Chart TE P V L

9/8/2015 Snellen Chart HC O E HPDNL ZA

9/8/2015 Snellen Chart DVHTL U EVOCUC PCYLHN

9/8/2015 Snellen Last »PCY L h D v »Don’t squint!!!!!!

9/8/2015 Color Circle Each color has a complementary partner Discussion of Traffic Lights Why are school buses yellow??

9/8/2015 Afterimage/ Color Blindness Afterimage : Of a color is its complementary color. ( USA Flag) Color blind: unable to distinguish color due to an absence of or malfunction in the cones. Total Color blindness : is very rare.. Socks – Black socks / Navy blue – hard for men.

9/8/2015 Hearing Pitch: How high or low a sound is depends on its frequency or # of cycles per second. AI – term used often.. More cycles per second, the higher the pitch. Women’s voices: higher pitch than men, shorter vocal cords.

9/8/2015 Loudness Loudness: determined by the height, or amplitude, of sound waves. Higher the amplitude: the louder the sound. Loudness is measured in decibels. ( 0 = watch ticking 20” away in a quiet room)

9/8/2015 Ear Shaped to capture sound waves, the outer ear is what we see. Eardrum: thin membrane that vibrates when sound hits it. Transmits sound to the three bones in the ear. ( hammer, anvil, and stirrup)

9/8/2015 Cochlea Latin for Snail ( Its shape) in the inner ear. Contains fluids & neurons that move in response to vibrations of the fluids. Movement - Generates neural impulses that are transmitted to the brain. Auditory nerve – transmits this message.

9/8/2015 Deafness Conductive Deafness: Occurs because of damage to the middle ear. Sensorineural deafness: Caused by damage to the inner ear. Neurons in cochlea are destroyed or damage to auditory nerve. What occupations would experience sensorineural deafness?

9/8/2015 Other Senses: Smell & Taste Dogs : incredible sense of smell.. Helen Keller ( 90) Onion/ Apple w/out smell??? Odors: are detected by neurons in each nostril. Receptors: send info to the brain via the olfactory nerve.

9/8/2015 Taste 5 Taste Buds Sweetness, Sourness, Saltiness, Bitterness, Umami Without a sense of smell, our sense of taste can be compromised..

9/8/2015 Skin Senses Some are more sensitive than others: P.91 Fingertips Lips Cheeks

9/8/2015 Less sensitive to touch Shoulders Thighs Calves

9/8/2015 Temperature 98.6 Neurons – beneath the skin Hot day- receptors for warmth fire Cold day- receptors for cold fire Adjustment – cold water after a while NE Patriot fan vs. Miami Dolphin fan !!!

9/8/2015 Pain Not all areas are equally sensitive to pain. Pain – point of contact 1 st. Pain - sent to the spinal cord 2 nd. Pain – now enters the thalamus in the brain. Pain – ends in the cerebral cortex.

9/8/2015 Gate Theory Gate = Limit Only a certain amount of info can be processed at one time. Rubbing the area can transmit sensations to the brain that compete w/ pain. Western Movies – “ Bite the bullet”

9/8/2015 Body Senses Vestibular sense: Tells you whether you are physically upright w/out using your eyes. ( gymnasts) - role of ears! Kinesthesis : sense that informs people about the position and motion of their bodies. (kinesiology)

9/8/2015 Perception Closure : Figure Tendency to perceive a complete or whole figure even when there are gaps in what your senses tell you. Figure-Ground Perception: Vase vs. 2 faces. Is the perception of figures against a background

9/8/2015 Perception ( Cont’d) Proximity ( 6 lines) Similarity ( x’s + o’s) Continuity ( wavy lines) Common fate ( people running together)

9/8/2015 Stroboscopic Motion Page 95- give illusion of motion (cat) Illusion of motion – produced by showing the rapid progression of images or objects that are not moving at all. Little picture books- flipped to look like motion pictures.

9/8/2015 Visual Illusions Muller- Lyer illusions- which line is longer? Ponzo illusion – lines appear to be coming together. Rule of size constancy. ( looking at people from a plane)

9/8/2015 Quiz Thursday Taste Buds Roy G Biv Rods & Cones Lens & Retina Absolute Threshold Difference Threshold Types of Deafness Bones in the Ear Decibel levels