Tags & Description
Sensation
what you feel/see/ear/taste exp: hear a high pitched noise
Perception
-organizing and processing sensory information exp: realizing it's a bird
Bottom-Up Processing
-taking sensory information then assembling and integrating it -Exp: you see a slithering creature on the ground..you process... its a snake
Top- down
-using models ideas and expectations to interpret sensory information -exp:an experienced hiker, you expect to see snakes on your hike... so sticks, lizards, etc all seem to look like snakes
selective attention
-our tendency to focus on just a particular stimulus among the many that are being received exp: cocktail party
intentional blindness
failing to see objects when our attention or focus is directed elsewhere
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the visual enviroment
transduction
converting energy (exp: light waves) into neural impulses 3 steps -receive -transform -deliver
absolute threshold
the lowest level of a stimulus – light, sound, touch, etc. – that an organism could detect 50% of the time
difference threshold
the smallest amount by which two sensory stimuli can differ in order for an individual to perceive them as different (50% of the time)
Signal detection theory
*Signal Detection Theory - a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint ("signal") amid background ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and detection, depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.
Weber's law
-states that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a minimum percentage rather than a constant amount
Subliminal stimuli
not detectable 50% of the time
Priming
-using a stimulus like a word, image or action to change someone's behavior. -exp: can be seen if you are presented with the word 'doctor'. A moment later, you will recognize the word 'nurse' much faster than the word 'cat' because the two medical workers are closely associated in your mind.
Sensory adaption
-diminished sensitivity to stimuli because of constant stimulatiom
exp: can't smell your own perfume