1. Sensation and Perception
Sensation - your “window” to the world; taking in information
Perception - interpreting what comes in your “window”; interpreting/understanding information taken in
VIDEO - Intro to Sensation / Perception

2. Do you see a seal balancing a ball in front of a trainer?
...or two ballroom dancers?
A reversible figure is a drawing that is compatible with two different interpretations that can shift back and forth.
This shifting is caused by information given to you about the drawing, called a perceptual set. A perceptual set creates the shift in how you interpret sensory input.
The Visual System: Perceptual Processes
The Other Senses: Taste, Smell, and Touch
Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues
The Auditory System: Hearing
Essentials of Sight

3. Bottom-up vs. Top-down Processing
Begins with sense receptors and works UP to the brain
Associated with Sensation
Can be thought of as “first” of the two
Information processing guided by “higher level” mental processes
Associated with Perception
Can be thought of as “second” of the two

4. Difference Threshold (Just Notable/Noticeable Difference)
The smallest amount of change needed to detect a change in a stimulus

5. Absolute Threshold Do you hear anything?
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

6. Weber’s Law Computes the "Just Noticeable Difference".
The change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus.
The more intense the stimulus the more change is needed to notice the difference.

7. Ernst Weber (1795 – 1878) Anatomist / physiologist
introduced the “Just Noticeable Difference” (JND) concept
expressed the principle of difference threshold

8. Gustav Fechner (1801 – 1887) key figure in “Psychophysics”
science of quantitative relationships between sensation and their stimuli
expressed the JND as a mathematical formula and called it “Weber’s Law”

9. Subliminal Messages Stimuli below our absolute threshold.
Do Subliminal Messages work?
Evidence suggests minimal influence
Probably a placebo effect

10. Subliminal Messages Stimuli below our absolute threshold.
Do Subliminal Messages work?
Evidence suggests minimal influence
Probably a placebo effect
examples

11. A Letter from College Dear Mom,
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Love,
$u$an
P.$. Thank$ for $ending the $weater!

12. Dear Susan,
I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.
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Mom
P.S. Thanks for your NOte!!

13. Signal Detection Theory
predicts how and when we detect the presence of a stimulus
assumes that “absolute threshold” is dependent on context/situation
says that detection depends on experience, expectations, motivation, fatigue

14. Sensory Adaptation
The diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

15. Sensory Transduction transforming stimulus energy into neural impulses
In vision, light waves are transformed into neural impulses and messages from the eye to the thalamus and then to other parts of the brain.
In hearing, sound waves are transformed into neural impulses and messages from the ear to the auditory cortex of the temporal lobe.
Remember the characters from Sky High? They could change from their physical, bodily form into something else altogether.
Click the image above to watch the characters transform.

16. Vision VIDEO - How Does Vision Work?
Our most “dominating” sense
Visual capture

17. How do we see?
Upside down

18. Phase One: Getting the light in the eye

19. Phase Two: Transduction Cones (explain rods)

20. Phase Three: In the Brain
Goes to the Visual Cortex located in the Occipital Lobe of the Cerebral Cortex
Feature Detectors
Parallel Processing
We have specific cells that see the lines, motion, curves and other features of this turkey. These cells are called feature detectors.

21. David Hubel (1926-2013) / Torsten Wiesel (1924 - ????)
researched visual sensation / perception
Nobel Prize (Physiology/Medicine) for their work discovering feature detectors

22. Parallel Processing
The processing of several aspects of an object simultaneously.
Motion
Form
Color
Depth

23. Color Vision
Two Major Theories

24. Why is her top green?

25. Trichromatic Theory (Young-Helmholtz Theory)
Three types of cones:
Red
Blue
Green
These three types of cones can make millions of combinations of colors.
Does not explain afterimages or color blindness well.

26. Afterimages

28. Color-Deficient Vision
People who suffer red-green blindness have trouble perceiving the number within the design

29. Opponent-Process theory
The sensory receptors come in pairs.
Red/Green
Yellow/Blue
Black/White
If one color is stimulated, the other is inhibited.

32. Opponent Process- Afterimage Effect

33. 5

34. Perceptual Ideas

35. Top-Down Processing
We perceive by filling the gaps (using past experiences and schema)
I _ant ch_co_ate ic_ cr_am.
Perceptual Set – a mental predisposition; the experiences, assumptions, and expectations that influence our perception
If you see many old men in glasses, you are more apt to process a picture of an old man rather than that of a mouse.

37. Selective Attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Selective Attention causes change (or inattentional) blindness.
cocktail party effect selective attention to one voice among many
5th Period

39. Second Period

40. Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt – an organized whole; from German for “form” or “whole”
Gestalt psychologists emphasized the tendency to integrate pieces of information into a meaningful whole.
Gestalt Psychology says that we innately look at things in groups, not as isolated elements.
“The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.”

41. Proximity Closure Similarity Continuity
The Gestalt principles of form perception include proximity, closure, similarity, simplicity, and continuity.
The Visual System: Perceptual Processes
The Other Senses: Taste, Smell, and Touch
Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues
The Auditory System: Hearing
Essentials of Sight

42. Grouping & Gestalt Psychology
Proximity - group objects that are close together as being part of same group
Similarity - objects similar in appearance are perceived as being part of same group
Continuity - objects that form a continuous form are perceived as same group
Connectedness – objects that are uniform and linked are perceived as single units
Closure - we fill gaps to create a whole or complete image
Closure

43. Figure Ground Relationship
Visually, our first perceptual decision is “What is the figure?” in the image and “What is the ground?” (background).
The figure ground relationship can also be applied as a principle of auditory perception.

44. Depth Perception experiment
Eleanor Gibson - Visual Cliff Experiment
If you are old enough to crawl, you are old enough to see depth perception.
We see depth/distance by using two cues that researchers have put in two categories:
Monocular Cues
Binocular Cues

45. Binocular Cues We need both of our eyes to use these cues.
Retinal Disparity - as an object comes closer to us, the differences in the images for our eyes becomes greater.
“finger sausage”
3-D movies
Convergence - as an object comes closer, our eyes have to come together to keep focused on the object

46. Monocular Cues You really only need one eye to use these.
Linear Perspective
Interposition
Relative Size
Texture Gradient
Light / Shadowing

48. Perceptual Constancy Shape Constancy Size Constancy Color Constancy
Objects change in our eyes constantly as we or they move….but we are able to maintain content perception
Shape Constancy
Size Constancy
Color Constancy
Brightness Constancy
However, color and brightness also depend on context!

49. Perceptual Adaptation inverted vision program 7: start @ 15:39
The ability to adjust to an artificially altered visual field

51. Hearing
Our auditory sense

52. The Ear

53. Transduction in the ear
Sound waves hit the eardrum then anvil then hammer then stirrup then oval window.
Everything is just vibrating.
Then the cochlea vibrates.
The cochlea is lined with mucus called basilar membrane.
In basilar membrane there are hair cells.
When hair cells vibrate they turn vibrations into neural impulses.
Sent then to thalamus up auditory nerve.
It is all about the vibrations!!!

54. Hearing – Perceiving Pitch
Place Theory
Frequency Theory
Different pitches stimulate different parts of the basilar membrane within the cochlea
Best explains high pitch sensation
The rate of nerve impulses matches the frequency of tone
Sound waves of 100 waves per second = 100 pulses per second travel up the auditory nerve
Best explains low pitch sensation

55. Nerve (Sensorineural) Deafness
Conduction Deafness
Nerve (Sensorineural) Deafness
Something goes wrong with the mechanical/vibration process in hearing.
Hearing aids to help.
The hair cells in the cochlea get damaged.
Loud noises can cause this type of deafness.
NO WAY to replace the hairs.
Cochlear implant is possible.

56. Touch Sensory receptors are located in our skin
“Gate-Control Theory” of Pain
spinal cord blocks or allows pains signals to pass to brain
Phantom limb

57. Taste We have bumps on our tongue called papillae.
Taste buds are located on the papillae (they are actually all over the mouth).
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami .
Sensory Interaction – principle that one sense influences others (i.e. – taste & smell)

58. Olfactory System Why are smells often involved with emotions?

59. Kinesthetic Sense tells us where our body parts are
uses receptors located in our muscles, joints, and tendons
You would use kinesthesis to touch the button to make copies of your buttocks.

60. Vestibular Sense tells us where our body is oriented in space.
our sense of balance.
located in our semicircular canals and vestibular sacs of the inner ear.

61. Motion Perception Stroboscopic Effect Phi Phenomenon
a rapid series of slightly varying images perceived as moving images (flip book, “old” movies)
Phi Phenomenon
illusion of movement created when two or more -----lights next to each other blink on and off

63. Parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
ESP – extrasensory perception; perception outside of sensory perception
Telepathy
Telekinesis
Clairvoyance
Precognition

64. Human Factors Psychology
branch of Psychology
explores…
how human and “machines” interact
how “machines” and physical environments can be adapted to human behaviors

65. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

66. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

67. Vision – Seeing – Visual
Audition – Hearing – Auditory
Olfaction – Smelling – Olfactory
Gustation – Tasting – Gustatory