Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Module 10: Sensing the World Around Us Royalty-Free/CORBIS

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Sensation and Perception Sensation The process by which our sense organs receive information from the environment Perception The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brain

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Sensing the World Around Us Stimulus Energy that produces a response in a sense organ Varies in both type and intensity Psychophysics The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them Phillips/Getty Images

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Sensing the World Around Us Absolute threshold The smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for it to be detected

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Sensing the World Around Us Noise Background stimulation that interferes with the perception of other stimuli

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Noticing Distinctions Between Thresholds “just-noticeable difference” The smallest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred Weber’s law Basic law of psychophysics that states “a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the intensity of an initial stimulus PhotoLink/Getty Images

MODULE 10 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Sensing Our World An adjustment in sensory capacity following prolonged exposure to stimuli Sensory Adaptation