Psychology unit 3

process by which we detect physical energy from the environment and encode it as neural signals

process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information

analysis begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information; inductive reasoning (logical thinking begins with details and then forms broad perceptions or generalizations) is an example of bottom-up processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes; deductive reasoning (logical thinking approach that begins with a general idea and then develops specific evidence to support/refute it) is an example of top-down processing

study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

explains precisely how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus/signal; detection depends partly on experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

one that is below the absolute threshold or conscious awareness

minimum difference between TWO stimuli that a subject can detect the difference between the two stimuli

states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is a constant minimum percentage of the stimulus; if the difference of 105 in weight is noticeable, it predicts that a person could discriminate 10 and 11 pound weights or 50 and 55 pound weights

decreased sensitivity that occurs with continued exposure to an unchanging stimulus

our perceptions of our senses depend on how focused we are on them; for example, you may no longer hear the trains going by our home after living in that house for a period of time

asking people to identify the color of a word rather than read what the word says; slows processing

process by which receptor cells in the eye, ear, skin, and nose convert environmental stimuli into neural impulse

the color we experience; comes in the basic colors of red, green, or blue

distance from one peak of one light or sound wave to the next peak; gives rise to the perceptual experiences of hue (color) and pitch (sound)

determined by amplitude of the wave (brightness of color or loudness of sound); any sound that exceeds 85 decibels in amplitude or intensity will damage the auditory system

transparent structure that covers the front of the eye

adjustable opening in the eye through which light enters

ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored part of the eye and controls the diameter of the pupil

transparent structure of the eye behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina

the central point of focus in the retina around which the eye’s cones cluster

light-sensitive, multilayered inner surface of the eye that contains the rods and cones as well as neurons that form the beginning of the optic nerve

process by which the lens of the eye changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

retinal receptors that detect black, white and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don’t respond; you have 120 million of them

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations; you have 6 million of them

carry neural impulses from eye to brain

place in the brain (thalamus) where the fibers from each optic nerve cross into the opposite side of the brain

region of retina where optic nerves leaves the eye; no rods or cones are in this area = no vision here

reflexive, rapid movement from side to side that keeps neurons firing and helps to fill in missing information created by the blind spot

sharpness of vision

condition in which nearby objects are seen clearly but distant object are blurred because light rays reflecting from them converge in front of the retina; also called myopia

condition in which distant objects are seen clearly but nearby objects are blurred because light rays reflecting from them strike the retina before converging; also called presbyopia

located in visual cortex of the brain; nerve cells that selectively respond to specific visual features such as movement, shape, or angle; the basis for visual information processing

information processing in which several aspects of stimulus, such as light or sound, are processed simultaneously

three color theory - retina contains red, green, and blue-sensitive color receptors that in combination can produce the perception of any color; explains first state of color processing and color blindness (you have less short wave cones, which is why we see red, yellow, and green colors better than blues; when all three cones are equally active, we see white or grey)

color vision depends on pairs of opposing retinal processes in the brain (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white); explains second stage of color processing and afterimages

perception that familiar objects have consistent color despite changes in illumination that shift the wavelengths they reflect

sense of hearing

a sound that is determined by its frequency or number of complete wavelengths that can pass a point in time. frequency is directly related to wavelength. the longer waves produce lower pitch; shorter waves produce higher pitch.

affects loudness meaning how much pressure is being forced through the air; measured in decibels (dB)

number of wavelength cycles in a unit of time; measured by hertz (Hz) and humans hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz

funky shaped outer ear

used to catch sound and direct it into the ear

also called eardrum; vibrates when sound waves hit it

chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing the ossicles or the three bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the eardrums vibrations on the cochlea’s oval window

contains the semicircular canals and the cochlea, which includes the receptors that transfer sound energy into neural impulses; also, contains the vestibular sac, making the inner ear important for balance

coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube of the inner ear where the transduction of sound waves into neural impulses occur (snail shape)

inner surface of the cochlea that resonates the different sounds in different locations

also called hair cells, covers the basilar membrane and when the fluid of the cochlea moves the hair cells move to send signals to the basilar membrane and onto the auditory nerve

states we hear different pitches because of sound waves of various frequencies trigger activity at different places on the cochlea’s basilar membrane. This theory maintains that the place of maximum vibration along the cochlea’s membrane is the basis of pitch discrimination (used for sounds over 5000 Hz)

Presumes that the rate, or frequency, of nerve impulses in the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch as the pitch rises, the entire basilar membrane vibrates at that frequency, which nerve impulses that correspond with the frequency of the pitch traveling up the auditory nerve enabling us to perceive pitch in kind of frequency encoding ( used for sounds under 1000 Hz)

hearing loss caused by damage in the mechanics of the outer or middle ear, which impairs the conduction of sound waves to the cochlea; common as people age, hearing aids can compensate

Nerve deafness; hearing loss caused by damage to the auditory receptors of the cochlea or to the auditory nerve due to disease, aging, or prolonged exposure to ear-splitting noise

interaction with vision and hearing - an illusion when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of another sound leading to a third sound; shows multimodal perception or the idea that our senses did not evolve separately but rather in tandem to help create a complex web of perceptions

sense of smell

sense of taste; salty, bitter, sweet, sour; umami is the controversial meaty, savory flavor

maintains that a “gate” in the spinal cord determines whether pain signals are permitted to reach the brain; neural activity in small nerve fibers opens the gates and activity in large fibers or information from the brains closes the gate; gains support with the discovery of endorphins

principle that one sense may influence another

influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

sense of the position and movement of the parts of the body with receptors found in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments

sense of balance, gravity, and acceleration of our heads; semicircular canals are three fluid filled tubes in the inner ear and movement of the fluid within each gives our brain a sense of where we are in space and helps us keep our balance

focusing of conscious awareness on a stimulus out of all of those that we are capable of experiencing

we can filter our nearly everything except that voice which is most important to us

focusing on two or more tasks or stimuli (singing while driving a car)

screening out unwanted stimuli because it causes anxiety or feels threatening or thought to be not important

occurs when our focus is directed at one stimulus, leaving us blind to other stimuli

inability to see changes in our environment when our attention is directed elsewhere; a type of inattentional blindness

tendency for vision to dominate the other senses

“organized whole”; psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes; key theorist is Max Wertheimer

the organization of the visual field into two parts; the figure, which stands out from its surroundings, and the surroundings, or background

perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups; identified by Gestalt psychologists

ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; it allows us to judge distance

laboratory device for testing depth perception, especially in infants and young animals. In their experiments, Gibson and Walk found strong evidence that depth perception is at least in part innate

depth cues that depend on information from both eyes

differences between the images received by the left eye and the right eye because of viewing the world from slightly different angles. It is a binocular cue, since the greater the difference between the two images, the nearer the object

neuromuscular binocular depth cues based on the extent to which the eyes converge, or turn inward, when looking at near or distant objects. The more the eye turn inward, the nearer the objects

depth cues that depend on information from either eye alone

parallel lines appear to converge in distance

blocking of one object by another object

perceive something farther away as being smaller

objects higher in visual field appear farther

clear objects appear closer than blurry or fuzzy objects

nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes than distant objects

closer the object is, the clearer the amount of detail

makes objects closer to us appear to move faster than those farther away

illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession

series of pictures show at a fast rate of speed suggest motion

perception that objects have consistent lightness, color, shape, and size, even as illumination and retinal images change

our ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field. Given distorting lenses, we perceive things accordingly but soon adjust by learning the relationship between our distorted perceptions and the reality

mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

organized body of information or framework that enables us to organize information

explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be adapted to human behaviors and increase safety and productivity.

study of ESP, psychokinesis, and other paranormal forms of interaction between the individual and the environment

controversial claim that perception can occur without sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

mind reading

ability to speak with the dead

ability to foretell the future

ability to move objects with one’s mind

Studied the relationship between stimuli and sensation