Psychology Chapter 5 Flashcards

Sensation and Perception Overview

• Sensation: The process of detecting external stimuli and transmitting this information to the brain.
• Perception: Involves the processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals.

Processing Types

• Bottom-up Processing: Perception relies on the physical features of stimuli.
• Top-down Processing: Perception influenced by prior knowledge and expectations.

Sensory Mechanisms

• Sensory Coding: How sensory receptors convert physical properties of stimuli into neural impulse patterns.
• Transduction: Conversion of sensory stimuli to signals interpretable by the brain.

Psychophysics

• Psychophysics: Examines the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological experiences.

Thresholds

• Absolute Threshold: The minimum intensity needed to detect a sensation.
• Difference Threshold: The smallest change needed to notice a difference between two stimuli.
• Weber's Law: The just noticeable difference is proportional to the original stimulus rather than a fixed amount.

Signal Detection Theory

• Signal Detection Theory: Analyzes decision-making based on stimulus presence, including sensitivity and bias in perceptions.

Sensory Adaptation

• Sensory Adaptation: Diminished sensitivity to constant stimulation over time.

Eye Structure and Function

• Light Pathway: Light travels through the cornea, pupil, iris, lens, and reaches the retina.
• Retina: Contains sensory receptors (rods for low light; cones for color perception) that transduce light into neural signals.

Visual Processing

• Ventral Stream: Responsible for object recognition ("what").
• Dorsal Stream: Handles spatial perception ("where").

Color Vision Theories

• Trichromatic Theory: Suggests three types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths (blue-violet, yellow-green, red-orange).
• Opponent-Process Theory: Proposes ganglion cells work in opposing pairs (red-green and blue-yellow) to create color perception.

Gestalt Principles of Perception

• Proximity: Grouping figures based on closeness.
• Similarity: Grouping figures that resemble each other.
• Continuity: Preferring continuous forms; good continuation.
• Closure: Completing figures with gaps.
• Illusory Contours: Perceiving depth cues without existing contours.

Depth Perception Cues

• Binocular Depth Cues: Require both eyes (e.g., binocular disparity).
• Monocular Depth Cues: Available to each eye alone (e.g., occlusion, relative size).
• Pictorial Depth Cues: Influence perceived depth from one eye's perspective.

Object Constancies

• Size Constancy: Understanding an object's size based on distance.
• Shape Constancy: Recognizing shapes from different angles.
• Color Constancy: Correctly perceiving colors under varying lighting.
• Lightness Constancy: Judging lightness based on light reflection relative to surroundings.

Auditory Perception

• Audition: The process of hearing sound.
• Sound Wave Characteristics: Amplitude determines loudness; frequency (20-20,000 Hz) determines pitch.
• Hearing Pathway: Sound travels from outer ear to auditory cortex through a series of structures.

Taste and Smell

• Gustation: Sense of taste with five basic sensations (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami).
• Olfaction: Sense of smell; involves chemical receptors in the nasal cavity and the olfactory bulb.

Touch and Pain

• Haptic Sense: Encompasses temperature, pressure, and pain sensation.
• Kinesthetic Sense: Awareness of body positions and movements.
• Pain Types: Fast fibers for sharp pain; slow fibers for dull pain.

Pain Management

• Gate Control Theory: Interaction of biological, psychological, and cultural factors in pain perception.
• Pain Control Methods: Drug treatments, cognitive strategies, and understanding the impact of attention on pain.