Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is described as the process of detecting and transmitting raw sensory information to the brain?
What is described as the process of detecting and transmitting raw sensory information to the brain?
What is the term for the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time?
What is the term for the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time?
Which of the following describes Weber's Law?
Which of the following describes Weber's Law?
What does transduction involve?
What does transduction involve?
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What does the sensation of pressure fall under in psychophysics?
What does the sensation of pressure fall under in psychophysics?
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Which sense organ is primarily involved in detecting smell?
Which sense organ is primarily involved in detecting smell?
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What is the experience derived from combining sensory input into meaningful patterns preferably called?
What is the experience derived from combining sensory input into meaningful patterns preferably called?
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To what does the term 'difference threshold' refer?
To what does the term 'difference threshold' refer?
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Which of the following best exemplifies how perceptions are formed?
Which of the following best exemplifies how perceptions are formed?
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Which element is NOT considered a sense organ?
Which element is NOT considered a sense organ?
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What does Signal Detection Theory primarily focus on?
What does Signal Detection Theory primarily focus on?
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Which sensory system is responsible for balance and body position relative to gravity?
Which sensory system is responsible for balance and body position relative to gravity?
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What is the role of amplitude in sound waves?
What is the role of amplitude in sound waves?
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Which cue helps in depth perception by taking advantage of the differing images received by each eye?
Which cue helps in depth perception by taking advantage of the differing images received by each eye?
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What does the term 'inattentional blindness' signify?
What does the term 'inattentional blindness' signify?
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Which of the following best describes perceptual constancies?
Which of the following best describes perceptual constancies?
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What occurs as a result of the Sensory Conflict Theory?
What occurs as a result of the Sensory Conflict Theory?
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Which processing type starts with raw data and works toward higher-level cognitive understanding?
Which processing type starts with raw data and works toward higher-level cognitive understanding?
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Which of the following is NOT one of the physical properties of sound waves?
Which of the following is NOT one of the physical properties of sound waves?
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Study Notes
Sensation and Perception
- Knowledge originates from perception
- Basic Senses: Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Touch
- Sensation involves detecting stimuli, converting them to electrical signals, and transmitting them to the brain.
- Sense organs include eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and internal organs.
- Perception is the brain's interpretation of sensory input.
Psychophysics
- Studies the relationship between physical stimuli and sensations.
- Examples of physical stimuli and how they are measured:
- Light: brightness, color
- Sound: volume, pitch
- Pressure: weight
- Taste: sweetness, saltiness etc.
- Transduction: converting physical energy to neural signals. Sensory receptors convert various energy forms (sound, light, pressure, chemicals) into nerve impulses.
Sensation Thresholds
- Absolute Threshold: minimum stimulus needed for detection 50% of the time.
- Just Noticeable Difference (JND) the minimum difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time.
Weber's Law
- The JND is a constant proportion, not a constant amount, of the original stimulus intensity.
Signal Detection Theory
- Predicts how and when we detect a signal amidst noise (background stimulation).
- No single absolute threshold; detection changes depending on factors.
Somesthetic Senses
- Vestibular: balance and position in space, affected by the semicircular canals (fluid filled canals in the inner ear).
- Kinesthetic: body position and movement.
- Touch: pressure, warmth, cold, pain.
Body Position and Movement
- Kinesthesis: senses position and movement of body parts.
- Vestibular sense: body movement and position relative to gravity, critical for balance.
Vestibular System and Motion Sickness
- Motion sickness occurs when vestibular system sensations conflict with visual and body sensations. This is called sensory conflict.
Auditory Sensation
- Transduction of air pressure vibrations into neural impulses.
- Sound waves comprise different frequencies and amplitudes.
- Amplitude: perceived as loudness
- Frequency: perceived as pitch
- Sound localization: the brain uses differences in intensity and arrival time of sound waves from each ear to pinpoint source.
Factors Influencing Perception
- Attention
- Organization
- Expectations
- Motivation
Perceptual Attention
- Selective attention: focusing on one stimulus, like the cocktail party effect.
- Divided attention: splitting focus between multiple tasks.
- Inattentional blindness: inability to perceive stimuli based on attention limits. Change blindness is a type of inattentional blindness.
Perceptual Constancies
- Ability to perceive stimuli consistently despite changes in sensory input.
- Color constancy: perceived color remains the same even with varying light.
- Size constancy: perceived size remains the same even at different distances.
- Shape constancy: perceived shape remains the same despite changes in viewing angle.
Depth Perception
- Ability to judge distance and perceive the world in three dimensions.
- Visual Cliff experiments: studied depth perception in infants.
Monocular Depth Cues
- Distance cues based on input from one eye.
- Accomodation: lens adjustment for focusing on different distances.
- Pictorial depth cues: provide info about space, depth, and distance.
- Linear perspective: parallel lines converging.
- Relative size: closer objects appear larger.
- Relative height: objects higher in frame seem farther.
- Light and shadow: simulate light sources.
- Interposition: closer objects overlap further objects.
- Texture gradients.
Binocular Depth Cues
- Distance cues based on input from both eyes.
- Convergence: eyes turning inward for close objects.
- Retinal disparity: different images from each eye creates depth perception.
Perceptual Expectations (Perceptual Set)
- Biased perception based on past experiences and expectations.
Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing
- Top-down: perception guided by expectations and knowledge.
- Bottom-up: perception guided by stimulus features.
- Conceptually Driven: Whole to parts
- Data Driven: Parts to Whole
Parallel Processing
- Simultaneous processing of different aspects of a stimulus.
Perceptual Adaptation
- Adjustment to altered sensory input.
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Description
Explore the fascinating world of sensation and perception in this quiz based on Chapter 2 of Psychology. Dive into the basic senses, psychophysics, and learn about sensation thresholds. Test your understanding of how we detect and interpret stimuli from our environment.
