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Exam 1
Sensation & Perception
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Perceptual Process | A sequence of steps leading from the enviroment to perception of a stimulus, recognition of the stimulus, and action with regard to the stimulus |
| Perception | complex processes that involve the higher-order mechanisms such as interpretation and memory that involve activity in the brain |
| Sensation | involves detecting elementary properties of a stimulus |
| The seven steps of the perceptual process in order | distal stimulus, proximal stimulus, receptor processes, neural processing, perception, recognition, action |
| Distal stimulus | The stimulus "out there," in the external enviroment (distant) |
| Proximal stimulus | The stimulus on the receptors. In vision, this would be the image of the retina ("in proximity) |
| Principle of Transformation | stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed, or changed, between the distal stimulus and perception |
| Principle of Representation | everything that a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli but on representations of stimuli that are performed on the receptors and the resulting activity in the person's nervous system |
| What is the distinction between steps 1 & 2? | They both illustrate transformation and representation |
| Sensory receptors | are cells that are specialized to respond to enviromental energy, with each sensory system's receptors specialized to respond to a specific type of energy |
| What happens when sensory receptors receive the information from the enviroment, such as light reflected from the tree, they do two thing: | they transform enviromental energy into electrical energy and they shape perception by the way they respond to different properties of the stimuli |
| Transduction | the transformation of enviromental energy (such as light, sound, and thermal energy) to electrical energy |
| What happens after transduction occurs? | transmit signals from the receptors to the brain and then within the brain and change (process) these signals as they are transmitted. These changes occur because of interactions between neurons as the signals travel from the receptors to the brain |
| Neural processing | Operations that transform electrical signals within a network of neurons or that transform the response of individual neurons. 1. transmit signals from the receptors, though the retina, to the brain, and then within the brain 2. process these signals as |
| Primary receiving area | Area of the cerebral cortex that first receives most of the signals initiated by a sense’s receptors |
| cerebral cortex | The 2-mm-thick layer that covers the surface of the brain and contains the machinery for creating perception, as well as for other functions, such as language, memory, and thinking |
| occipital lobe | A lobe at the back of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for vision |
| parietal lobe | A lobe at the top of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for touch and is the termination point of the dorsal (where or how) stream for visual processing |
| temporal lobe | A lobe on the side of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for hearing and the termination point for the ventral, or what, stream for visual processing |
| frontal lobe | Receiving signals from all of the senses, the frontal lobe plays an important role in perceptions that involve the coordination of information received through two or more senses |
| Knowledge | any information the perceiver brings to a situation |
| Bottom-up processing | The processing that is based on incoming stimuli from the enviroment. Also known as data-based processing |
| Top-down processing | Processing based on the perceiver's previous knowledge or cognition factors. Also known as knowledge-based processing |
| Recognition | The ability to place an object in a category that gives it meaning |
| Visual form agnosia | The inability to recognize objects |
| Action | Motor activities in response to a stimulus |
| How often do we rely on "Top-down processing?" | some situations only rely on simple stimuli, therefore, using the top-down process is not need. Adults typically rely heavily on top-down process. Normally, we are not aware of it being used |
| Perceptual process: Stimulus | Step 1 & 2: distal and proximal stimuli |
| Perceptual process: Physiology | Steps 3-4: receptors and neural processing |
| Perceptual process: Behavior | Steps 5-7: perception, recognition, and action |
| Stimulus-behavior relationship | The relationship between stimuli and behavioral responses, where behavioral responses can be perception, recognition, or action |
| One way to study stimulus-behavior relationship: | Psychophysics |
| Psychophysics (Fechner) | the study of the relationship between the mental (psycho) and the physical. The relationship between between the physical characteristics of the stimuli and our psychological experience |
| Grating acuity | The narrowest spacing of a grooved surface on the skin for which orientation can be accurately judged |
| Oblique effect | Enhanced sensitivity to vertically and horizontally oriented visual stimuli compared to obliquely oriented (slanted) stimuli. This effect has been demonstrated by measuring both perception and neural responding |
| Physiology-behavior relationship | Relationship between physiological responses and behavioral responses |
| Absolute Threshold | The smallest stimulus level that can just be detected 50% or above of the time |
| Thresholds | measures the limits of sensory systems; they are measure of minimums |
| Methods of limits to absolute thresholds | stimuli of different intensities presented in ascending and descending order, observer responds to whether they perceived the stimulus, and the cross-over point is the threshold |
| Difference Threshold | The minimum difference that must exist between two stimuli before we can tell the difference between them |
| Weber's Law | Its not about the amount of a stimulus that is added / taken away, but the PROPORTION |
| How do we notice a difference? | the two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion – Weber’s Fraction/Constant |
| How are thresholds measured? | Magnitude Estimation |
| Magnitude Estimation | a psychophysical method in which participants assign values according to percieved magnitudes of stimuli (i.e. the light is twice as bright as the first one) |
| How do we measure perception in the brain: | Lesion studies, ablation studies, transactional magnetic stimulation, electroencephalography, positron emission topography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) |
| Lesion Studies and Ablation Studies | Both studies measure and monitor the behavioral effects of brain disease and injuries |
| Transactional Magnetic Stimulation | It is a direct, non-permanent manipulation, but its purpose is that the magnetic stimulus stimulates or disrupts functioning |
| Electroencephalography | This method measures the electrical signals that are emitted by the brain - Generated by the firing of neurons. Occurs to a response to an event. It is fast, but is not very detailed on where it occurs. |
| Positron Emission Topography (PET) | Radioactive liquid injected into bloodstream that detects glucose consumption. It is good at telling us about the energy consumption, but isn't very detailed about where and when it occurs |
| Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) | Detects areas of oxygenated blood consumption. It is very detailed about where, but is not very detailed about when it happens |
| Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) | Allows us to see how areas of the brain are connected to each other. We are able to see the actual highways instead of just the landmarks. It is very detailed about where it happens, but is not very detailed about when it occurs |
| Cornea | a thin layer of film at the front of the eye |
| Lens | located behind the cornea; helps to focus light on the retina |
| Retina | a 4mm-thick network of nerve cells that covers the back of the eye and contains the receptors for vision |
| Receptor processing | when the visual receptors that line the back of the eye receive the light reflected from the tree, they do two things: 1. they transform enviromental energy into electrical energy 2. they shape perception by the way they respond to different properties |
| Perception, Recognition, and Action (Steps 5-7) | through the electrical signals, the person perceives the tree (step 5) and recognizes it (step 6). The final behavioral response is action (step 7) |
| Visual Pigment | a light sensitive chemical that allows visual receptors to transform light energy into electrical energy |
| The Rat-Man demonstration | shows how recently acquired knowledge can influence perception |
| Three Relationships of Perception | Relationship A: stimulus-perception relationship Relationship B: stimulus-physiological relationship Relationship C: physiology-perception relationship |
| The Stimulus-Perception Relationship (A) | relates stimuli to behavioral responses; the main relationship studies during the first 100 years of the scientific study of perception |
| The Stimulus-Physiological Relationship (B) | the relationship between stimuli and physiological responses |
| The Physiology- Perception Relationship (C) | relates physiological responses and behavioral responses |
| Cognitive Influences on Perception | knowledge, memories, and expectations (the starting place for top-down processing) |
| Classical Psychophysical Methods | a combination of Method of Adjustment and the Method of Constant; opened the way for the founding of scientific psychology by providing methods to measure an aspect of the mind |
| Dark Adaption Curve | shows how the thresholds become smaller as the person spends more time in the dark |
| Perceived Magnitude | a perceptual measure of stimuli, such as light or sound, that indicates magnitude of expereince |
| Reaction Time | the time between the presentation of a stimulus and the person's reaction to it |
| Phenomenological Report | Describing what you perceive in your enviroment |
| Hermann Grid | a geometrical display that results in the illusion of dark areas at the intersection of two white "corridors." The perception can be explained by lateral inhibition |
| Electromagnetic Spectrum | all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation |
| Accommodation | The adjustment of the lens by ocular muscles to focus at different distances |
| Action Potential | The electric signal travelling through the axon. A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
| Amacrine cell | A neuron that transmits signals laterally in the retina. They synapse with ganglion cells and bipolar cells |
| Axon | A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body. Also known as nerve fiber |
| Bipolar cells | A type of retinal cells that accepts electric (nerve) impulses from the photoreceptors and passes them to the ganglion cells |
| Blind spot | The point at which the optical nerve attaches to the retina. There are no visual receptors here |
| Cell body | Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm. Other parts of the neuron attaches to it |
| Cone | Cone-shaped visual receptor cells; located in retina; works best in bright light; responsible for viewing color; greatest density in the fovea |
| Convergence | The property of multiple neurons synapsing to a single neuron |
| Cornea | The transparent focusing element of the eye that is the first structure through which light passes as it enters the eye; the outermost layer of the eye. The cornea is the eye's major focusing element |
| Dendrites | Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information |
| Depolarization | The change from a negative resting potential to a positive action potential (caused by opening of sodium channels) |
| Excitatory response | The response of a nerve fiber in which the firing rate increases |
| Far point | The furthest distance an eye can focus comfortably. Infinity for a healthy eye |
| Fovea | A small area in the center of the retina, composed entirely of cones, where visual information is most sharply focused |
| Ganglion cells | A neuron in the retina that receives inputs from bipolar and amacrine cells. The axons of the ganglion cells are the nerve fibers that travel out of the eye in the optic nerve |
| Receptors | specialized neurons that respond to specific kinds of energy |
| Microelectrodes | used to record from single neurons |
Created by:
Tamia2023
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