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Questions and Answers

What is psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour

If behaviour is the output, then what is the input?

Knowledge, memories, and the outside world

What are the five main senses?

  • Somatosensation (correct)
  • Olfaction (correct)
  • Audition (correct)
  • Gustation (correct)
  • Vision (correct)

    • What do all the senses have in common?

    <p>Thresholds and Absolute Thresholds</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is transduction?

    <p>The sensory process that converts information carried by physical stimulus into neural messages</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the absolute threshold?

    <p>Sensory systems require a minimum amount of energy for activation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the difference threshold?

    <p>The lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Weber's law states that the ratio of change required to produce a JND is constant, regardless of the magnitude of the two stimuli.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the Weber fraction?

    <p>The ratio of change required to produce a JND</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Fechner's law states that the magnitude of a stimulus grows proportionally to the subjective experience of intensity.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does a logarithmic function imply in terms of sensory perception?

    <p>Smaller increases in stimulus intensity lead to larger perceived changes at lower magnitudes, while larger increases lead to smaller perceived changes at higher magnitudes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a true statement about Steven's Power Law?

    <p>It accurately describes the relationship between pain and stimulus intensity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is signal detection theory?

    <p>A theory that suggests that sensation depends on characteristics of the stimulus, background stimulation, and the detector</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Sensory adaptation refers to an increase in sensitivity to stimuli that are continuously present.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The visual system is the most important sensory modality in humans.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is exteroceptive perception?

    <p>Remote sensing or perception that does not require direct contact with the stimulus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the visual stimulus?

    <p>Light</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the range of wavelengths that make up the visible spectrum?

    <p>Roughly 400-700nm</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What determines the brightness and color of an object?

    <p>The wavelengths of light that the object reflects or absorbs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the visual sense organ?

    <p>The eye</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are photoreceptors?

    <p>Specialized cells in the retina that are responsible for transducing light into electrical signals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The blind spot is caused by the absence of photoreceptors at the point where the optic nerve exits the eye.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about photoreceptors is TRUE?

    <p>Cones are responsible for color vision, while rods are only responsible for detecting light and dark.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the fovea?

    <p>A small depression in the retina where cones are concentrated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a receptive field?

    <p>The aspect of the external world that produces a change in firing rate of a given sensory cell</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is convergence?

    <p>The process where multiple sensory receptors connect to a single ganglion cell</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements accurately describes the characteristics of receptive fields in the visual system?

    <p>Receptive fields are more concentrated in the periphery than in the center of the retina.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How are receptive fields investigated?

    <p>Using single-cell recording</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements accurately describes the importance of lateral inhibition in visual processing?

    <p>Lateral inhibition reduces the signal from nearby neurons.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    There are two main neural pathways in the visual system: the 'what' pathway and the 'where' pathway.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about feature detectors in the visual system is TRUE?

    <p>Feature detectors are neurons that respond to simple features, such as lines, angles, and edges.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The 'what' pathway is involved in determining the location of an object in space.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a dimension of color?

    <p>Intensity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Color perception is largely influenced by cultural factors.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which theory of color vision is most consistent with the anatomy of the retina?

    <p>Young-Helmholtz (Trichromatic Theory)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Opponent Process Theory can explain negative afterimages, while the Young-Helmholtz (Trichromatic Theory) cannot.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the auditory stimulus?

    <p>Sound waves</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Hearing is an exteroceptive sense, similar to vision.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the human auditory range?

    <p>Approximately 20Hz to 20,000Hz (20kHz)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three main properties of sound waves?

    <p>Frequency, amplitude, and complexity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of the outer ear?

    <p>Directing and amplifying sound waves</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of the middle ear?

    <p>Transmitting vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How are sound waves transduced into electrical signals?

    <p>Vibrations from the oval window cause pressure waves in the cochlear fluid, which in turn causes vibrations in the basilar membrane where sensory receptors (hair cells) are located, causing these hair cells to bend and depolarize.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The auditory nerve sends signals from the cochlea to the brain.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    There is no decussation in the auditory pathway.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is tonotopic mapping?

    <p>The organization of auditory information in the cortex based on frequency</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a cue used in sound localization?

    <p>Frequency difference between the ears</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Smell is a highly specialized sense in humans.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Where are chemoreceptors located in the olfactory system?

    <p>In the mucous membrane on the roof of the nasal cavity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the glomeruli in the olfactory bulb?

    <p>Structures that receive signals from olfactory receptor cells</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Where are taste buds located?

    <p>Within taste buds, which are found in papillae of the tongue</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the five basic tastes?

    <p>Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are nociceptors?

    <p>Sensory receptors that detect pain</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Somatosensation is the sense of touch, pain, temperature, and proprioception.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the different types of somatosensory receptors?

    <p>Mechanical, thermal, and polymodal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is proprioception?

    <p>The sense of body position and movement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The vestibular sense provides information about the movement and position of the limbs relative to each other.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is kinesthesia?

    <p>The sense of movement and position of the limbs and other parts of the body relative to one another</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a key aspect of perceptual organization?

    <p>Attention perception</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are Gestalt principles?

    <p>A set of perceptual rules for interpreting sensory information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Perceptual illusions are caused by errors in the eye's optics.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Binocular cues require information from both eyes.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Monocular cues require information from only one eye.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Parallax refers to the phenomenon where closer objects appear to move faster than farther objects in our field of vision when we are in motion.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The visual system is designed to perceive the world in a static and unchanging fashion.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Perceptual constancy refers to the tendency to perceive objects as unchanging, even when they are not.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is interpretation in perception?

    <p>One step further than organization and involves assigning meaning to sensory information.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Top-down processing is characterized by using prior knowledge and experience to interpret sensory information.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Bottom-up processing relies primarily on the analysis and integration of sensory data.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The balance between top-down and bottom-up processing is essential for accurate perception.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Psychology: Sensation and Perception

    • Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour.
    • Behaviour is the output, while the outside world is the input to the brain (knowledge, memories, etc.).
    • Humans, like other animals, have evolved systems for sensing and responding to the environment.
    • Psychology also includes sensory modalities like vision, hearing, and other senses.

    Lecture Overview

    • Part 1: Sensing and the Environment
    • Part 2: Vision
    • Part 3: Hearing
    • Part 4: Other Senses
    • Part 5: Perception

    Sensation and Perception

    • Sensation is the process by which the body gathers environmental information and transmits it to the brain for initial processing.
    • Perception is the active process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets sensory information.
    • Psychological processes are enabled by physical organs such as the brain.
    • Systems and mechanisms convert physical stimuli into information understandable by the brain.

    Five Basic Senses

    • There are five main senses: Vision, Somatosensation (Touch), Audition (Hearing), Gustation (Taste), Olfaction (Smell)
    • Each sense modality has specialized receptors for converting physical stimuli into signals.
    • These senses are crucial for gathering survival-relevant information.

    What Do All the Senses Have in Common?

    • All senses use transduction to convert physical stimuli into neural signals.
    • All senses have thresholds, including absolute thresholds and just noticeable differences (JNDs).
    • Sensory adaptation is a common process of filtering irrelevant information.

    Thresholds

    • Sensory systems require a minimum amount of energy to be activated (absolute threshold).
    • Receptor potentials: Gradual depolarization or hyperpolarization of sensory receptors before and after threshold is reached.
    • Average absolute thresholds vary by sense (e.g., hearing, smell, taste, touch, vision).

    Sensory Adaptation

    • Sensory systems may reduce their response to continuous stimuli.
    • This filtering helps concentrate on relevant changes in the environment.

    Application: Hearing Tests

    • Audiometry tests sound detection thresholds.
    • Thresholds vary between individuals and can change over time.

    Difference Thresholds

    • Difference threshold: minimum difference between two stimuli for a difference to be detected.
    • Just Noticeable Difference (JND): Amount of change detectable in different stimuli, varying across stimuli and modalities.

    Threshold Laws

    • Weber's Law: the size of a JND is a constant proportion of the initial stimulus.
    • Fechner's Law: the subjective experience of intensity increases logarithmically as the stimulus intensity increases linearly.
    • Steven's Power Law: subjective intensity increases exponentially as actual intensity increases linearly.

    Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

    • SDT: sensation and perception depends on stimulus characteristics, background stimulation, and the individual.
    • Explains why thresholds vary, both across and within individuals.

    The Eye

    • The eye is the primary visual organ.
    • Components include the cornea, pupil, lens, retina, and optic nerve.
    • Transduction processes light into neural signals for perception.

    The Eye – Blind Spot

    • The blind spot is the area where the retina's optic nerve exits the eye, lacking photoreceptors.
    • Other information compensates for these gaps.

    The Retina

    • The retina contains specialized photoreceptors. • Rods: sensitive to low light. • Cones: sensitive to different wavelengths, concentrating in the fovea for detailed vision.

    Receptive Fields

    • Receptive fields are regions within sensory cells that influence firing rate.
    • Convergence and neural interactions form receptive fields across the sensory system.
    • Lateral inhibition enhances contrast and sharpens perception.

    Neural Pathways

    • Impulses sent from the retina to the brain via the optic nerve, following specific pathways.
    • Information is processed along “what” and “where” pathways in the brain.

    The What and Where Pathways

    • "What" pathway identifies objects; "where" pathway localizes objects and guides movement.
    • Further processing is done in other parts of the brain.

    Perceiving in Colour

    • Colour is a psychological property related to wavelengths of light.
    • Three dimensions of colour: hue, saturation, and lightness.
    • Colour perception is mostly consistent across cultures.

    Retinal Transduction of Colour

    • Different types of cones in the retina are sensitive to different wavelengths of light.
    • Combinations of cone activation create the perception of color.

    Theories of Colour Vision

    • Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory and Opponent-Process Theory explain colour vision, each accounting for different aspects of color perception.
    • Negative afterimages may be explained by opponent-process theory.

    Negative Colour Afterimages

    • These are a perceptual process following colour stimulation.

    Other Senses

    • Other senses besides vision and audition include olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), somatosensory (touch), proprioceptive, and vestibular.
    • Each sense modality has specialized receptors and pathways.

    Olfaction (Smell)

    • Olfactory stimuli are odorants that elicit a chemical response.
    • Receptor cells transduce the odor into neural signals for perception.

    Gustation (Taste)

    • Chemical sense; Tastants binding with receptors in taste cells, causing neural signal transmission.
    • There are five basic tastes, but combinations produce more complex sensations.

    Somatosensation (Touch)

    • A variety of receptors detect touch, pressure, temperature, and pain
    • Somatosensory information comes from the body

    Nociception (Pain)

    • Pain informs of tissue damage or destruction.
    • It's a survival mechanism that can be influenced by various factors.

    Proprioception

    • Refers to sensing the position and movement of the body in space.
    • Vestibular sense interprets gravity and movement.
    • Kinesthesia interprets movement and position of body parts relative to each other.

    Facial expressions and emotions

    • Related to the psychological perception and interpretation of an object or stimuli

    Perception

    • Perception is the interpretation of our sensory experiences.
    • Combining sensory data into more meaningful organized patterns creates more profound perceptions.
    • Organizing sensory data can create interpretations.

    Gestalt Principles

    • Our minds group sensations into meaningful patterns using Gestalt principles: figure-ground, proximity, similarity, closure, and good continuation.

    Perception Illusions

    • Visual illusions emphasize the complex interplay of sensation and interpretation.
    • They demonstrate the way we organize and perceive our senses.

    Depth or Distance Perception

    • Retinal images are two-dimensional, but we perceive the world in three dimensions using visual cues like binocular and monocular clues.

    Motion Perception

    • Perception of movement occurs when the visual system detects changes in stimulation across the retina.
    • Rods respond to motion, or other sensory receptors.

    Perceptual Constancy

    • Perceptual constancy allows for stable perceptions of objects despite changes in sensory information (such as size, shape, and color).

    The Influence of Experience

    • Memory and expectation strongly influence how we interpret perceptions.

    Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing

    • Top-down processing involves interpreting information based on expectations.
    • Bottom-up processing involves interpreting information based on the sensory inputs.

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