Sensation & Perception Introduction

Sensation & Perception Introduction

• The session covers sensation and perception, focusing on key concepts like absolute and difference thresholds.
• The agenda includes a warm-up exercise, a Stroop Effect activity, and an exit ticket.

Warm-up Exercise

• Instructions: Imagine walking through a forest and hearing a rustle in the bushes. Use top-down reasoning based on past experiences to predict what might be there. Describe the transduction process happening.
• Expected response: Needs to be in 3-4 sentences.

Perception & Evolution

• We perceive what we've evolved to perceive.
• Different organisms have evolved different sensory systems. (Examples: catfish whiskers, shark movement sensors, grasshopper ears, snake heat sensors)

Human Visual Perception

• Humans have evolved specialized abilities, including a specific brain area (FFA) for recognizing faces unlike other organisms.

Stroop Effect Activity

• The Stroop Effect demonstrates interference between automatic (fast processing) and controlled cognitive processes (more effort).
• Example: Reading words printed in different colors. (Example activity presented)
• The activity aims to illustrate the interference phenomenon by having individuals read the color words themselves and to highlight how the cognitive process can be impacted by automatic processes.

Absolute Threshold

• The smallest level of stimulus detectable half the time.
• Threshold example: A candle flame 30 miles away, or very soft sounds, or a very small amount of taste or smells.

Difference Threshold (JND)

• The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.
• JND examples: A change in volume or a variation in light.

Change Blindness

• The tendency to miss changes in the immediate visual environment.
• Example: A video example is presented for the illustration.
• Examples of Change Blindness: Both minor and major changes, may be missed.