modules 20, 21, 23

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

the process of organizing/interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions based on experience and expectations

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness

conversion of one form of energy into another; transformation of stimulus energies (sights, sounds, smells —> interpreted neural impulses)

study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (intensity) and the experience of them

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

the activation of certain associations , predisposing one’s perception/memory/response

to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another; to see what you expect to see (top-down processing)

controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input

• telepathy (mind to mind communication)

• clairvoyance (perceiving remote events; house on fire in another state)

• precognition (perceiving future events; unexpected death in the next month)

study of paranormal phenomena; includes ESP and psychokinesis (moving matter with the mind)

an organized whole; psychologists emphasized the tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

the organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

• illusion

• faces/vase

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

• proximity

• continuity

• closure

• similarity

• connectedness

grouping objects together when they are near each other

perceiving smooth,continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

filling in gaps to create a complete, whole object

assuming connected objects are related

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

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of both eyes

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing both retinal images from both eyes, the brain can perceive distance

the two slightly different images produced in both eyes are blended into one view when both eyes are open

a depth cue such as interposition or linear perspective that only one eye is needed for

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

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, size) even as illumination and retinal images change

• still knowing what an object is in different lighting/perspectives

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

in order to perceive depth properly, your eyes must move slightly inward or converge; allowing you to determine if objects are close or far away (the more inward, the closer the object is)

objects closer to a fixation point move faster and in opposing direction to those objects that are farther away from a fixation point, moving slower and in the same direction

perceiving things that are shorter to be closer and taller to be farther away