Psychology Chapter: Selective Attention and Perception

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary role of cones in the retina?

Detect faint light and peripheral motion

Provide sensitivity to detail and color (correct)

Convert light energy into neural impulses

Process information from the optic nerve

Which theory describes the perception of color involving three types of cones?

Spectrum theory

Opponent-process theory

Trichromatic theory (correct)

Dual process theory

What determines the brightness we perceive in light?

Duration

Frequency

Amplitude (correct)

Wavelength

Where do neural impulses travel after they are processed in the retina?

Through the optic nerve to the thalamus Signup and view all the answers

What type of cells in the visual cortex respond to specific features like shape and movement?

Feature detectors Signup and view all the answers

What is parallel processing in visual perception?

Simultaneously processing multiple aspects like color and depth Signup and view all the answers

In which part of the eye does light first enter before reaching the retina?

The cornea Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of supercell clusters in the visual cortex?

They respond to complex patterns Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of selective attention in perception?

To focus on a limited portion of incoming information Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following influences how we interpret ambiguous stimuli?

Our learned concepts and expectations Signup and view all the answers

What is transduction in the context of sensory systems?

Converting one form of energy into another Signup and view all the answers

What primarily determines the perceived loudness of a sound?

The number of activated hair cells Signup and view all the answers

How do absolute thresholds and difference thresholds differ fundamentally?

Absolute thresholds measure intensity; difference thresholds measure the ability to notice changes Signup and view all the answers

What does sensory adaptation focus our attention on?

Informative changes in the environment Signup and view all the answers

Which structure in the ear amplifies sound vibrations before they reach the cochlea?

Bones of the middle ear Signup and view all the answers

Which theory explains how we perceive high-pitched sounds?

Place theory Signup and view all the answers

What is the range of wavelengths visible to humans considered to be?

A narrow band from blue-violet to red Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship described by Weber's law?

Stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage to be perceived as different Signup and view all the answers

What type of hearing loss is caused by damage to the auditory nerve or cochlea's hair cells?

Sensorineural hearing loss Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon occurs when focusing intently on one task and missing other events?

Inattentional blindness Signup and view all the answers

How does the brain locate the source of a sound?

By analyzing timing and intensity differences between the ears Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT one of the four basic touch sensations?

Texture Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following perspectives best explains the perception of pain?

Biopsychosocial perspective Signup and view all the answers

What is a method that can help to control pain by diverting attention away from it?

Distraction Signup and view all the answers

What does the gate-control theory of pain primarily explain?

How pain signals are processed in the spinal cord Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about taste and smell is true?

Taste has six basic sensations while smell has none. Signup and view all the answers

What do proprioceptors enable us to do?

Convey information about body position and movement Signup and view all the answers

How do our senses interact to influence perception?

Smell can enhance or diminish the experience of taste. Signup and view all the answers

What is embodied cognition?

How bodily sensations influence cognitive processes and judgments Signup and view all the answers

What did Gestalt psychologists emphasize regarding perceptual organization?

The whole perception can be greater than the sum of its parts. Signup and view all the answers

Which sensory structure is primarily involved in maintaining our balance?

Semicircular canals Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the olfactory receptor cells?

To detect and send messages about smells to the brain. Signup and view all the answers

What role do monocular cues play in depth perception?

They allow depth perception using information from only one eye. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best defines perceptual constancy?

The tendency to perceive objects as stable despite changes in image on the retina. Signup and view all the answers

How does the brain generally interpret motion?

By interpreting shrinking objects as moving away and enlarging ones as approaching. Signup and view all the answers

What does research on sensory restriction suggest about sensory development?

There is a critical period for some aspects of sensory and perceptual development. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common misconception regarding depth perception?

Depth can be perceived without the input from both eyes. Signup and view all the answers

What happens to individuals who regain sight after being blind from birth?

They may struggle to visually recognize shapes and forms. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following monocular cues involves the perception of texture?

Linear perspective Signup and view all the answers

Which phenomenon illustrates the perception of motion from a series of still images?

The phi phenomenon Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Selective Attention and Perception

Selective attention focuses on a limited portion of incoming information, blocking out the rest and shifting focus frequently.
Inattentional blindness occurs when focused on a task, overlooking other events. Change blindness is a type of inattentional blindness.

Expectations, Context, Motivation, and Emotions in Perception

Perceptual set is a mental predisposition that filters how we perceive the world.
Learned concepts (schemas) influence how we organize and interpret ambiguous stimuli.
Expectations, context, motivation, and emotions shape interpretation of events and behaviors.

Basic Sensory Systems

Sensory systems:
- Receive sensory stimulation (often using receptor cells).
- Transform that stimulation into neural impulses.
- Deliver neural information to the brain.
- Transduction is the process of converting one form of energy into another.

Absolute and Difference Thresholds

Absolute threshold: Minimum stimulation for detecting a stimulus 50% of the time. It varies with individual experience, expectations, and alertness.
Difference threshold (or just noticeable difference [jnd]):
- Minimum difference between two stimuli for detection 50% of the time.
- Weber's Law states the difference must be a constant percentage, not a constant amount, for the difference to be noticeable.

Sensory Adaptation

Sensory adaptation is the diminished sensitivity to constant stimuli. This allows us to focus on changes in our environment.

Visible Light and the Eye

Visible light is a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from shorter blue-violet to longer red wavelengths.
Structures in the eye that help focus light energy:
- Cornea
- Pupil
- Iris
- Lens
- Retina
Wavelength determines hue (color), and amplitude determines intensity (brightness).

Rods and Cones and Information Pathway

Light triggers chemical changes, converting light energy into neural impulses.
Photoreceptors (rods and cones) in the retina provide differing sensitivities. Cones to detail and color, rods to faint light and peripheral motion.
Processed by bipolar and ganglion cells, neural impulses travel from the retina to the thalamus, and then to the visual cortex.

Color Perception

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory proposes three types of color receptors (cones) sensitive to red, green, or blue wavelengths.
Hering's opponent-process theory proposes three sets of opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black), further processing in the retina and thalamus

Feature Detectors

Specialized nerve cells in the visual cortex.
Respond to specific features of visual stimuli (shape, angle, movement).
Pass information to other cortical areas for more complex pattern recognition.

Parallel Processing

The brain handles multiple aspects of vision simultaneously (color, movement, form, and depth).
Neural teams integrate these results.
This enables a holistic understanding of visual perceptions

Sound Characteristics

Sound waves are bands of compressed and expanded air.
Our ears detect brief changes in air pressure
Sound waves differ in amplitude (perceived as loudness) and frequency (perceived as pitch).

How the Ear Transforms Sound

Middle ear amplifies vibrations from the eardrum to the fluid-filled cochlea.
Rippling of the basilar membrane causes hair cells to trigger neural messages to the thalamus and auditory cortex.
Sensorineural hearing loss results from damage to hair cells or the auditory nerve.

Detecting Sound

Loudness depends on the number of activated hair cells; not the intensity of each response.
Place theory explains high-pitched sounds, and frequency theory (and volley theory) explains low-pitched sounds.
The brain analyzes differences in sounds received by both ears to locate the sound source

Touch Sensations

Four basic touch sensations (pressure, warmth, cold, and pain).
Combinations produce other sensations (itchy, wet).

Pain

Biopsychosocial perspective views pain as a combination of biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences.
Gate-control theory: The spinal cord contains a "gate" that opens to transmit pain signals to the brain, or closes to prevent them.
Placebos and distraction can control pain by diverting attention and inhibiting pain signals.

Taste and Smell

Taste (gustation): Six basic sensations (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, oleogustus), combined with aromas.
Smell (olfaction): 20 million olfactory receptor cells that send messages to the olfactory bulb, temporal lobe's primary smell cortex, and limbic system (for memory and emotion) that allow us to perceive aromas.

Body Position and Movement

Proprioceptors in muscles, tendons, and joints enable kinesthesis (sense of body position and movement).
Vestibular sense in the semicircular canals and vestibular sacs senses head tilt and rotation to maintain balance

Sensory Interaction

Our senses influence each other.
Sensory interactions can create new perceptions, like the heightened flavoring of a favorite food when you smell it before tasting.

Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt psychologists studied how the brain organizes fragmented sensory information into wholes, or gestalts.
Figure-ground and grouping principles (proximity, similarity, closure) guide how we perceive objects.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy allows us to perceive objects as stable despite changing images on the retina. This includes perceiving objects as consistently colored, bright, shaped, and sized, regardless of changing image.

Three-Dimensional Perception

Depth perception enables us to perceive objects in 3-D, including distances.
Binocular cues (using both eyes) and monocular cues (using one eye) help us judge distance.

Perceptual Organization and Interpretation

The brain organizes sensory data into gestalts (whole forms) by using rules like similarity, proximity, closure, continuity

Perception and Adaptation

Experience guides perceptual interpretations
Sensory restriction research highlights the critical period for perceptual development (brain's neural organization).
Perceptual adaptation demonstrates the brain's ability to adjust to constant sensory input (e.g., glasses that shift the world to one side).

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Description

Explore the intricacies of selective attention, perception, and sensory systems in this engaging quiz. Understand concepts such as inattentional blindness and the factors that influence how we perceive the world around us. Test your knowledge on thresholds and the brain's processing of sensory information.