Module 9 & 10 Sensation and Perception

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Absolute Thresholds The level of sensory stimulation necessary for sensation to occur. –Vision: Candle flame seen at 30 miles on a clear night. –Hearing: Tick of a watch under quiet conditions at 20 feet –Touch: A bee’s wing falling on you cheek from 1 centimeter (.4 inch) above. –Smell: 1 drop of perfume diffused into a three room apartment –Taste: 1 teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water.

Difference Threshold The minimum difference that a person can detect between two stimuli. Just noticeable difference

Signal Detection Theory Set of formulas and principles that predict when we will detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. –Detection depends on qualities of the stimulus, the environment, and the person who is detecting. Three Variables: –Stimulus Variable: how bright is the blip on the radar screen –Environmental Variables: how much distracting noise is there in the room with the radar equipment –Organismic Variables: is the operator properly trained and motivated.

Sensory Adaptation Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant simulation.

Selective Attention Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus to the exclusion of others.

Sensation The process of receiving information from the environment.

Vision Dominates human senses. Light –White Light: light as it originates from the sun or a bulb before it is broken into different frequencies. –Color is seen because light bounces off objects at different frequencies. –The eye has different receptors for different wave lengths. –Wave lengths are based on the texture and solidity of what they hit.

Electromagnetic Energy An energy spectrum that includes X-rays, radar, and radio waves, among other things. A small portion of this spectrum includes visible light energy, which can be detected by the eye. Two Characteristics Determines What We See: –Length of the wave determines color Hue: The color of light, determined by the wavelength of light energy –Amplitude of the wave (height) determines brightness Taller is brighter.

Parts of the Eye Cornea: clear outer covering of the eye, behind which is a fluid. Iris: a colored circular muscle that opens and closes, forming larger and smaller circles to control the amount of light getting into the eye. Lens: the part of the eye that focuses an image on the retina.

Parts of the Eye Pupil: The opening in the eye. –Psychological factors that control iris muscles. Smaller when disgusted Larger when –Really like something or someone –Afraid –Strong emotional arousal Retina: Back of the eye, which contains millions of receptors for light.

Parts of the Eye Rods: A visual receptor most sensitive to violet-purple wave length; very sensitive for night vision; “sees” only black and white. Cones: a visual receptor that responds during daylight; “”sees” color. –Red range Rods are on the side and cones in the middle of the retina.

Differences Between the Cone and Rod Receptors Cones Number 6 million Location in Retina Center –(fovea) Color Sensitive? Yes Low sensitivity I dim light High ability to detect sharp detail (acuity) Rods Number 120 million Location in Retina Edge –(periphery) See Black and white Highly sensitive to dim light Low ability to detect sharp detail (acuity)

Rods and Cones Bipolar Cells: cells that form the middle layer in the retina. Bipolar cells gather information from the rods and cones and pass it on to the ganglion cells. Ganglion Cells: the top layer in the retina. Ganglion cells receive information from the bipolar cells and transmit it through their axon, which together form the optic nerve. Optic Nerve: the nerve that carries visual information from the eye to the occipital lobes of the brain. –Blind Spot: the point at which the optic nerve travels through the retina to exit the eye. The lack of receptor rods and cones at this point creates a small blind spot. –Find you blind spotFind you blind spot

Color Blindness Inability to perceive certain colors, such as red and green. –8% Males –.05 % Females Red and Green cones do not work Truly color blind people are very rare 4jmK1F0&feature=player_detailpagehttp:// 4jmK1F0&feature=player_detailpage

Afterimage Image that remains after stimulation of the retina has ended. Cones not used fire to bring the visual system back in balance.

Hearing Audition: the sense of hearing.

Characteristics of Sound Pitch: How high or low a sound is Timbre: the complexity of a sound Intensity: how loud a sound is Decibels: a measure of how loud a sound is (its intensity)

The Structure of the Ear Eardrum: a piece of skin stretched over the entrance to the ear; vibrates sound Cochlea: A snail-shaped part of the ear, filled with fluid and small hairs that vibrate to incoming sound Hair-cells: receptor cells for hearing found in the cochlea Cilia: Hairlike extensions on cells Auditory nerve: bundle of nerves carrying sound to the brain

Hearing Sound waves go to the eardrum where vibration is started. This vibration causes the cochlea to vibrate where cilia are located. Cilia are tuned to receive different frequency movements of hair that cause electrical impulses to go through the auditory nerve to the brain. How strong and when a sound arrives at one ear is contrasted by the brain with the same thing from the other ear. Differences help us locate where sound is coming from

Cutaneous Senses ( Touch) Cutaneous Receptors: Nerve receptors in the skin that respond to pressure, temperature, or pain –R–Records pressure –C–Changes in temperature –R–Remain active continuously to record an injury or poison –C–Can fire for hours and hours after accidents

Smell Olfaction: the sense of smell Odor is hard to explain in words but when associated with emotional events. We never forget it. Odor can recreate strong emotional memories. Olfactory Bulb: units that receive odor molecules and communicate their nature to the brain

Smell Cilia in the nose collect molecules of odor which send an electrical impulse to the olfactory bulb which generates a “code” that is sent to the brain for interpretation. Smell is most critical in eating. More than taste Pheromones: odor chemicals that communicate a message –Animals have them. Not sure if humans do.

Taste Taste receptors: chemical receptors on the tongue that decode molecules of food or drinks to identify them Types –S–Salt –S–Sweet –S–Sour –B–Bitter Work the same as cones

Salt Necessary for survival –Operates nerve cells –Keeps body chemistry in balance –Used for muscle contraction Children crave salt and it tampers with age until really old it re-opens

Sugar (sweet) Necessary for energy Newborns can taste at one day old Too little sugar makes a person tremble, feel faint, and causes mental confusion The desire for something sweet is built in

Sourness and Bitterness Detectors Bitterness - Poisons - no odor Sourness - Food gone bad - odor

Body Senses Kinesthetic sense: the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. Vestibular sense: the system for sensing body orientation and balance, located in semicircular canals of the inner ear.

Perception etailpage

What do you see?

Perception The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information –Bottom-up process: Information processing that focuses on the raw material entering through our eyes, ears, and other organs of sensation. –Top-down Process: Information processing that focuses on other expectations and experiences in interpreting incoming sensory information

Gestalt The “whole,” or the organizational patterns, that we tend to perceive. The Gestalt psychologists emphasized that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Video

Figure-Ground Relationships Figure-ground: the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.

Grouping Principles: the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into understandable groups Similarity: a perceptual cue that involves grouping like things together Proximity: a perceptual cue that involves grouping together things that are near one another Closure: the process of filling in the missing details of what is viewed Continuity: Once an object appears to move in a particular direction, your brain assumes that movement continues unchanged. Video

Depth Perception The ability to see in three dimensions and judge distance

Example: Visual Cliff: an apparatus used to demonstrate depth perception

Binocular Depth Cues: depth cues that require the use of both eyes Retinal Disparity: The difference between the image provided by the two retinas –When the images are brought together in the brain, they provide the sense of depth Convergence: the tension in the eye muscles when the eyes track inward to focus on objects close to the viewer –Short distance

Monocular Depth Cues: Depth cues that require the use of only one eye Relative Size: If an object of known size appears large, it is probably close, and if an object appears small, it is probably distant Relative Motion: Apparent slowness indicates an object is distant Interposition: Closer objects partially obstruct the view of more distant objects Relative Height: distant objects appear higher in your field of vision that closer objects do

Monocular Depth Cues Texture Gradient: how rough or smooth objects appear –Gradient: Different level of textures we can see at different distances Relative Clarity: Distant objects are less clear than near by objects are Linear Perspective: Parallel lines seem to draw together in the distance

Perceptual Constancies: perceiving the size, shape, and lightness of an object as unchanging, even as the retinal image of the object changes. Size Constancy: the ability to retain the size of an object regardless of where it is located. Shape Constancy: The ability to perceive an object as having the same shape regardless of the angle at which it is seen Lightness Constancy: The ability to see an object as having a constant level of lightness no matter how the lighting conditions change

Perceptual Set A mental predisposition to perceive something one way and not another Schemas: concepts or mental frameworks that organize and interpret information etailpage

Context The setting or environment in which we interpret sensory stimuli

Illusions In accurate perception 3D Art