Unit 4:�Sensation and Perception
Unit Overview
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Sensing the World: Some Basic Principles
Introduction�
Introduction�
Selective Attention�
Selective Attention�Selective Attention and Accidents
Selective Attention�Selective Inattention
Selective Attention�Selective Inattention
Pop-Out phenomenon
Thresholds�
Thresholds�Absolute Thresholds
Thresholds�Signal Detection
Thresholds�Subliminal Stimulation
Thresholds�Difference Thresholds
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Just noticeable difference
Sensory Adaptation�
Vision
The Stimulus Input: Light Energy�
Electromagnetic Energy Spectrum
Electromagnetic Energy Spectrum
Electromagnetic Energy Spectrum
The Physical Property of Waves
The Physical Property of Waves
The Physical Property of Waves
The Physical Property of Waves
The Physical Property of Waves
The Eye�
The Structure of the Eye
The Structure of the Eye
Cornea = outer covering of the eye.
The Structure of the Eye
Pupil = the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
The Structure of the Eye
Iris = a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
The Structure of the Eye
Lens = the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.
The Structure of the Eye
Retina = the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.
Rods versus Cones
The Retina’s Reaction to Light
The Retina’s Reaction to Light
The Retina’s Reaction to Light
The Retina’s Reaction to Light
The Retina’s Reaction to Light
The Eye�The Retina
The Structure of the Eye
Blind Spot = the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
The Structure of the Eye
Fovea = the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.
The Structure of the Eye
Optic Nerve = the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Visual Information Processing�Visual Cortex
Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex
Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex
Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex
Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex
Visual Information Processing�Feature Detection
Visual Information Processing�Parallel Processing
Visual information processing
Visual information processing
Visual information processing
Visual information processing
Visual information processing
Visual information processing
Color Vision�
Color Vision�
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Hearing
The Ear�
The structure of the ear
The ear is divided into the outer, middle and inner ear.
The structure of the ear
The sound waves travel down the auditory canal to the eardrum.
The structure of the ear
Eardrum = tight membrane that vibrates when struck by sound waves.
The structure of the ear
Eardrum
The Ear�
The structure of the ear
Bones of the middle ear = the hammer, anvil, stirrup which vibrate with the eardrum.
The structure of the ear
Hammer
The structure of the ear
Anvil
The structure of the ear
Stirrup
The structure of the ear
Oval window = where the stirrup connects to the cochlea.
The structure of the ear
Cochlea = a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
The structure of the ear
Oval Window
The structure of the ear
Cochlea
The structure of the ear
Fluid in the cochlea
The structure of the ear
Hair cells in the cochlea
The structure of the ear
Auditory nerve = nerve which sends the auditory message to the brain via the thalamus.
The structure of the ear
Nerve fibers
The structure of the ear
Auditory nerve
Neural impulse to the brain
The Ear�Perceiving Loudness
Cochlea and loud sounds
The Ear�Perceiving Pitch
The Ear�Locating Sounds
Hearing Loss and Deaf Culture�
Other Senses
Touch�
Touch�
Touch�
Semicircular Canals
Pain�Understanding Pain
The pain circuit
The pain circuit
The pain circuit
The pain circuit
The pain circuit
Pain�Understanding Pain
Pain�Understanding Pain
Biopsychosocial approach to pain
Biopsychosocial approach to pain
Biopsychosocial approach to pain
Biopsychosocial approach to pain
Pain�Controlling Pain
Taste�
Taste�Sensory Interaction
Smell�
Smell (olfaction)
Smell and age
Smell and age
Smell and age
Smell and age
Smell and age
Perceptual Organization
Introduction�
Form Perception�Figure and Ground
Form Perception�Grouping
Form Perception�Grouping
Form Perception�Grouping - Proximity
Form Perception�Grouping - Similarity
Form Perception�Grouping - Continuity
Form Perception�Grouping - Connectedness
Form Perception�Grouping - Closure
Depth Perception�
Depth Perception�Binocular Cues
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues – Relative Height
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues – Relative Size
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues - Interposition
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues – Linear Perspective
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues – Relative Motion
Depth Perception�Mononocular Cues – Light and Shadow
Motion Perception�
Perceptual Constancy�
Perceptual Constancy�Shape and Size Constancies
Perceptual Constancy�Shape and Size Constancies
Ames Room
Ames Room
Perceptual Constancy�Lightness Constancy
Perceptual Constancy�Color Constancy
Perceptual Interpretation
Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision
Perceptual Adaptation�
Perceptual Set�
Perceptual Set�Context Effects
Perceptual Set�Emotion and Motivation
Perception is a Biopsychosocial Phenomenon�
Perception is a Biopsychosocial Phenomenon�
Perception is a Biopsychosocial Phenomenon�
Perception is a Biopsychosocial Phenomenon�
Is There Extrasensory Perception?
Claims of ESP�
Parapsychology�
Parapsychology�
Parapsychology�
Parapsychology�
Parapsychology�
Parapsychology�
Premonitions or Pretensions?�
Putting ESP to Experimental Test�
The End
Teacher Information
Teacher Information
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Teacher Information
Kent Korek
Germantown High School
Germantown, WI 53022
262-253-3400
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Definition Slide
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Definition Slides
Sensation
= the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Perception
= the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Bottom-up processing
= analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
Top-down processing
= information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Selective attention
= the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Inattentional blindness
= failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
Change blindness
= failing to notice changes in the environment
Psychophysics
= the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Absolute threshold
= the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
Signal detection theory
= a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and altertness.
Subliminal
= below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Priming
= the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Difference threshold
= the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd).
Weber’s law
= the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Sensory adaptation
= diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Transduction
= conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
Wavelength
= the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of comic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Hue
= the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
Intensity
= the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude.
Pupil
= the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which lights enters.
Iris
= a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
Lens
= the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus the images on the retina.
Retina
= the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.
Accommodation
= the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Rods
= retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.
Cones
= retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Optic Nerve
= the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Blind Spot
= the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
Fovea
= the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.
Feature detectors
= nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
Parallel processing
= the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
= the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors – one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue – which, when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.
Opponent-process theory
= the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
Audition
= the sense or act of hearing.
Frequency
= the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (i.e. per second).
Pitch
= a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
Middle Ear
= the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
Cochlea
= a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
Inner ear
= the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Place theory
= in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated.
Frequency theory
= in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.
Conduction hearing loss
= hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
Sensorineural hearing loss
= hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.
Cochlea implant
= a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
Kinethesis
= the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Vestibular sense
= the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
Gate-control theory
= the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Sensory interaction
= the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Gestalt
= an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Figure-ground
= the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
Grouping
= the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Depth perception
= the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
Visual cliff
= a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
Binocular cues
= depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Retinal disparity
= a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance – the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
Monocular cues
= depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Phi phenomenon
= an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
Perceptual constancy
= perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.
Color constancy
= perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.
Perceptual adaptation
= in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
Perceptual set
= a mental disposition to perceive one thing and not another.
Extrasensory perception (ESP)
= the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Parapsychology
= the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.