Human Senses Overview

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary role of neural receptors in the sensory system?

They generate electrical impulses independently of external stimuli.

They maintain balance in response to changing environmental conditions.

They detect forms of energy and transduce them into nerve cell activity. (correct)

They transmit information from the brain to the body.

What does the process of sensory adaptation involve?

The direct transmission of sensory information to muscle tissue.

The ability to detect a stimulus amidst competing stimuli.

An increase in sensitivity to a new stimulus.

A decrease in sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus over time. (correct)

Which law describes the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy as a constant fraction of the original stimulus's intensity?

Hermann von Helmholtz's Principle

Weber's Law (correct)

Fechner's Law

Ohm's Law

Which of the following best describes supraliminal stimulation?

Stimulus that is sufficiently strong to be consistently perceived. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the thalamus in the sensory processing pathway?

It relays sensory information to the appropriate parts of the cerebral cortex. Signup and view all the answers

What term describes the process of converting incoming energy into neural activity?

Transduction Signup and view all the answers

Which terminology best represents the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological experiences?

Psychophysics Signup and view all the answers

Magnitude estimation, as described by Fechner's Law, states that:

Larger increments of physical energy produce progressively smaller increases in perceived magnitude. Signup and view all the answers

What does the process of transduction involve?

Translating the physical properties of a stimulus into nerve activity Signup and view all the answers

According to Fechner's Law, how is the perception of stimulus intensity related to its actual strength?

Perception is logarithmically related to actual strength Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the just noticeable difference (JND)?

The smallest difference in stimuli that can be detected Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about sensory adaptation is correct?

It decreases responsiveness to unchanging stimuli over time Signup and view all the answers

What does signal detection theory primarily evaluate?

How personal sensitivity and response bias influence detection Signup and view all the answers

In the context of sound, what does amplitude measure?

The intensity of a sound wave Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following senses is least relied upon for information about the world according to the content?

Smell Signup and view all the answers

What best describes 'frequency' in the context of sound waves?

The number of complete cycles passing a point each second Signup and view all the answers

Which type of photoreceptor is primarily responsible for vision in low light conditions?

Rods Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the cochlea in the auditory system?

Convert sound waves into electrical signals Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the gate control theory of pain?

Pain impulses can be blocked from reaching the brain Signup and view all the answers

Which type of fibers carry sharp, prickling sensation signals?

A-delta fibers Signup and view all the answers

How does the sense of equilibrium inform the body about its position?

By detecting fluid movement in the semicircular canals Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following principles of perceptual organization explains our tendency to fill in missing contours?

Closure Signup and view all the answers

Which approach to perception emphasizes that humans adapt to their environment without needing complex analysis?

Ecological approach Signup and view all the answers

What sensory input is detected by proprioceptors?

Body position and movement Signup and view all the answers

Which term describes the ability to organize visual stimuli into meaningful figures on a less relevant background?

Figure-ground discrimination Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of interpreting sensory information to make it meaningful called?

Perception Signup and view all the answers

Color blindness is mainly attributed to a deficiency in which type of photoreceptor?

Cones Signup and view all the answers

Which grouping principle states that objects that move in the same direction are perceived as belonging together?

Common fate Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the vestibular system is responsible for sending information about head position to the brain?

Semicircular canals Signup and view all the answers

Which nerve fibers are associated with dull, continuous pain sensations?

C fibers Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Hearing and Sound

Sound is caused by repetitive fluctuations in the pressure of a medium, such as air
The difference between the peak and the baseline of a waveform is called amplitude, and relates to the intensity of the sound
The distance from one peak to the next in a waveform is called wavelength
Frequency is the number of complete waveforms/cycles that pass a given point in space every second and is described in units called Hertz

Taste and Swallowing

Without a sense of taste it would be impossible to swallow food without choking

Pain

The gate control theory suggests a functional ‘gate’ in the spinal cord can allow or block pain impulses from travelling to the brain

Proprioception: Our Sense of Body Position

Proprioception is the sensory system that tells us about the location of our body and its movements
The sense of equilibrium (vestibular sense) detects head movements and the body's position in space
The vestibular sacs of the inner ear connect the semicircular canals and the cochlea, and help contribute to the body's sense of balance
Otoliths are small crystals in the vestibular sacs that, when shifted by gravity, stimulate nerve cells that inform the brain of the position of the head
Semicircular canals are fluid-filled tubes in the inner ear whose fluid stimulates nerve cells that tell the brain about head movements
Kinaesthetic perception is the sense that tells us where the parts of our body are in respect to one another
Proprioceptors are receptors in muscles and joints providing the brain with information about movement and body positions

Perception

Perception is the process of interpreting sensory information, using past experience, knowledge and understanding to create meaningful experiences

Three Approaches to Perception

The computational model focuses on how the nervous system translates sensory information into an experience of reality
The constructivist approach focuses on the perceptual system using sensory information to construct an image of reality
The ecological approach argues that humans and other species are so well adapted to their natural environment that many aspects of the world are perceived without requiring higher level analysis

Perceptual Organisation

Perceptual organisation involves determining which stimuli belong together to form objects

Basic Processes in Perceptual Organisation

Figure-ground discrimination is the ability to differentiate between foreground objects and the background
Gestalt laws of grouping are principles that explain how we tend to group stimuli together:
- Proximity: Closer objects are more likely to be perceived as belonging together
- Similarity: Similar elements tend to be perceived as part of a group
- Continuity: Continuous sensations are perceived as belonging together
- Closure: We tend to fill in missing contours to form a complete object
- Texture: Objects with similar textures are likely to be perceived as belonging together
- Simplicity: We tend to group features of a stimulus in a way that provides the simplest interpretation of the world
- Common fate: Objects moving in the same direction at the same speed, we tend to perceive them as belonging together

Senses and Incoming Stimuli

All senses respond to incoming stimulus energy, encode it in the form of nerve cell activity, and send the coded information to the brain
Transduction is the process of converting incoming energy into neural activity
Neural receptors are specialised cells that detect certain forms of energy and transduce them into nerve cell activity; they are located where transduction occurs
Sensory adaptation is the process by which responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus decreases over time

Sensory Information and the Brain

Except for smell (which is processed in the olfactory bulb), all sensory information entering the brain passes through the thalamus, then is relayed to the appropriate sensory area of the cerebral cortex

Psychophysics

Psychophysics focuses on the relationship between the physical characteristics of environmental stimuli and the psychological experiences those stimuli produce

Absolute Threshold

The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be detected 50% of the time

Subliminal and Supraliminal Stimulation

Subliminal stimulation is stimulation that is too weak or brief to be perceived
Supraliminal stimulation is stimulation that is strong enough to be consistently perceived

Topographical Representations

Features near one another in the world stimulate neurons near one another in the brain

Sensitivity

Sensitivity is the ability to detect a particular stimulus from a background of competing stimuli

Weber's Law

Weber's law states that the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy is a constant fraction of the intensity of the stimulus
The smaller the constant "K" is, the more sensitive a sense is to stimulus differences

Magnitude Estimation, Fechner’s Law

Constant increases in physical energy produce progressively smaller increases in perceived magnitude
If just noticible differences get progressively larger as stimulus magnitude increases, then the amount of change in the stimulus required to double or triple its perceived intensity must get larger too

Sensory Systems

Senses are systems that translate external information into neural activity
Sensations are the messages from the senses that make up the raw information that affects behaviour and mental processes
Neural receptors detect specific forms of energy and convert them into neural activity (transduction)
Sensory adaption is the decrease in responsiveness to unchanging stimuli

Sensory Information Processing

Signal detection theory is a mathematical model that explains how personal sensitivity and response bias combine to determine a decision about detecting a near-threshold stimulus
Just-noticeable difference (JND) is the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable, and is defined by Weber's Law
Magnitude estimation involves assessing the perceived intensity of a stimulus, which is related to actual strength, as defined by Fechner's Law

Vision

The ability to see in very dim light depends on photoreceptors called rods
Near-sightedness and far-sightedness occur when images are not focused on the eye's retina
Color blindness results when cones in the retina lack one of the three kinds of color-sensitive photopigments

Additional Notes

Humans rely heavily on touch, sight and hearing senses to understand the world.
Each sense responds to a specific form of energy: vision responds to light, audition responds to sound, touch responds to pressure, and taste and smell respond to chemical stimuli.

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Description

Explore the fascinating concepts related to human senses, including hearing, taste, pain, and proprioception. Learn about sound waves, the importance of taste in swallowing, the gate control theory of pain, and how we perceive our body position in space. This quiz covers essential information about how our senses operate.