Chapter 4

Retinal disparity  Difference between the images from each eye Example- looking at an object back and forth between each eye  If you are unable to see distant objects clearly you are nearsighted  If your are unable to see near object but can see objects further away then you are farsighted

Hearing  The optic nerve carries visual messages to the brain, the auditory nerve sends hearing message to the brain  Your ear is designed to capture sounds waves  The earflap directs sound down a short tube called the auditory canal. Sound then causes the eardrum to vibrate. The sound then enters the middle ear where three tiny bones hammer, anvil, and stirrup begin to vibrate. They push against your cochlea which is located in the inner ear. The fluid inside your cochlea begins to vibrate and the message is then sent to the auditory nerve and then to the brain.

Hearing: Parts of the Ear

Smell and Taste  Smell and taste are your chemical senses because their receptors are sensitive to chemicals rather than light energy or sound energy  Receptors in the nose send messages to the olfactory nerve, which sends messages directly to the brain  The combining of taste and smell give you flavor

Closure  The experience we get from organizing bits of information into meaningful wholes  We use closure to see patterns and groupings in our environment  One type of perception is distinguishing a figure from its ground (background) For example being able to see a hot air balloon in the sky or hear a guitar solo in a song

Subliminal messages and ESP  Subliminal messages are messages that are given to you but you do not notice because they are beneath your absolute threshold. For example, old time movie theaters, music in department stores, etc.  Illusion are incorrect perceptions

ESP- Extrasensory Perception  Ability to gain information by some other means than your normal senses.  There are 4 types  Clairvoyance- perceiving objects you cannot pick up with normal senses (the Sixth sense) Ex. Seeing ghosts others cannot see  Telepathy- reading someone’s mind  Psycho kinesis- moving objects with your mind  Precognition- ability to see in the future or foretell events  Read story on page 82 and look at figure on page 84 (figure 4.5)