PSY 101: Introductory Psychology - Sensation & Perception - Michigan State University PDF

PSY 101: Introductory Psychology Instructor: Anna Benedict (just this week :) Course Modality: In person Anthony 1281  What is the minimum amount of stimulus energy required to be detected 50% of the time called? Decreased sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus i...

PSY 101: Introductory Psychology Instructor: Anna Benedict (just this week :) Course Modality: In person Anthony 1281  What is the minimum amount of stimulus energy required to be detected 50% of the time called? Decreased sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus is called what?  Vision: Light waves and the anatomy of the eye  Vision The Stimulus Input: Light Energy  Vision Wavelength = the distance between one wave peak and the next determines hue (color) Frequency = complete # of wavelengths in given time  Vision Wavelength = the distance between one wave peak and the next determines hue (color) Violet Indigo Blue Green Yellow Orange Red 400 nm 700 nm Short wavelengths Long wavelengths  Vision Intensity = the amplitude of the light wave (its height) Purity: mixture of wavelengths ○ Saturation = how purity is perceived Amplitude determines brightness.  The Eye (1) The light enters the eye through the cornea—the clear coating that protects the eye. (2-3) The light passes through 4 5 the pupil—a small adjustable 2 opening surrounded by the iris (a colored muscle that gives your eyes their color and dilates or constricts in response to light intensity). (4) Through a 3 process called 1 accommodation, the lens focuses the light on the retina (5).  The Eye Cara pulled in likes and retweets Cornea, pupil, lens, retina 4 5 2 3 1  The Retina Retina:light-sensitive surface that contains: Photoreceptor Cells: Rods Function well in low illumination Not sensitive to color Cones Respond to color Function best in high illumination The Retina  The Retina Cones = in center for color Rods = black/grey/white steel rods Cones: many act as hotline to the brain. Transmits to single bipolar cell, preserving precise information Rods: no such hotline share bipolar cells and combine messages  The Retina Retina: The light energy triggers neural impulses in rods and cones, and then in bipolar and ganglion cells. Neural impulses are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve, the bundle of nerve fibers that exits each eye. The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creates a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there. ______ operate best under bright light conditions. What involves the conversion of sensory stimulus energy into neural impulses? Visual Information Processing  Feature Detection Feature detectors in the occipital lobe receive information from the optic nerves and respond selectively to the specific features of a scene (edges, lines, angles, and movements) Feature detectors then pass information to areas that respond to more complex patterns (faces, houses, etc.)  Parallel Processing Parallel processing = multitasking Color, movement, form, and depth information is processed simultaneously by different brain regions. Binding, process in which the information processed by different neural pathways is integrated.  Color Vision Trichromatic theory: we have cones specialized for perception of three colors (red, green, blue) Color blindness: one or more cone types is inoperative  Color Vision Opponent-Process theory: color perception responds to complementary color pairs controlled by opponent neurons Red-green, blue-yellow Trichromatic + opponent-process methods perceive color  Visual Perception: Shape Gestalt Psychology Perceptions are naturally organized according to certain patterns. Whole is different from the sum of the parts. Gestalt Principles Closure. Proximity. Similarity.  Gestalt Principles Closure Proximity Similarity  Visual Perception: Depth Ability to see objects in 3 dimensions retinal images are in 2-D, brain converts them to 3-D Binocular cues: depth cues using both eyes (disparity, convergence) Monocular cues: depth cues requiring only one eye Familiar size, height, linear perspective and relative size, overlap, shading, texture gradient Monocular Cues: Familiar size, overlap Monocular Cues: Shading  Hearing – The Ear 1) The outer ear funnels sound waves to the eardrum. 2 (2) The bones of the middle ear amplify and relay the vibrations through the oval window into the cochlea. (3) The resulting pressure 3 changes in the cochlear fluid cause the basilar membrane to ripple, bending the hair cells on 1 the surface. The Cochlea Transduction! 0%  Perceiving Loudness Amplitude = The amount of energy in a wave Relates to the perceived loudness Determined by the number of hair cells in the inner ear activated.  Perceiving Pitch Pitch = determined by the wave’s frequency Place Theory of Pitch Perception Frequency Theory of Pitch Perception  Hearing The Stimulus Input: Sound Waves Monoaural cues: directly above, below, behind Binaural cues: off-center sounds  Binaural Cues Interaural level difference: sounds from one side are more intense on that side Interaural timing difference: difference in time when sound arrives at each ear  Chemical senses: Taste Each of our taste buds contains 50-100 receptors cells Receptor cells differ in which molecules they primarily respond to (sweet, salty, etc.)  Chemical senses: Smell Airborne molecules reach receptors at the top of your nose. Sniffing swirls air up to the receptors. The receptor cells send messages to the brain’s olfactory bulb, and then onward to higher regions of the brain.  Cutaneous Senses: Touch Skin sensations include pressure, warmth, cold, and pain No simple relationship between what we feel at a given spot and the type of specialized nerve ending found there.  Vestibular Senses: Balance Sensors in the skin, as well as the joints, tendons, bones, and ears, enable kinesthetic sense—your sense of the position and movement of your body parts A companion vestibular sense monitors position and movement of the head.  Cutaneous Senses: Touch - Pain Biological influences: sensory receptors called nociceptors detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals.  Cutaneous Senses: Touch - Pain Psychological influences: our mental state can influence the degree to which we experience pain. Memories of pain  Cutaneous Senses: Touch - Pain Socio-cultural influences: our perception of pain varies with the social situation and cultural traditions we tend to perceive more pain when others also seem to be experiencing it  Sociocultural influences The ‘gender pain gap’ shows that women’s pain is treated differently than men: Women less likely to be believed; less likely to be prescribed strong painkillers  Sociocultural influences The ‘gender pain gap’ shows that women’s pain is treated differently than men: Women less likely to be believed; less likely to be prescribed strong painkillers This pain gap is racialized: White patients more likely to receive treatment for pain. Black women in particular are viewed through the ‘strong black woman’ trope. Hearing aids might be effective for treating what disorder? What are the cues that require two ears? What serve as sensory receptors for temperature and pain stimuli? What principle suggests we are more likely to perceive this as two crossing lines than four lines that cross in the center? Exam 2 on Monday! Alt research writing assignment due by 4pm Monday Complete your study guide! Make sure you can recognize examples ○ You are now familiar with the style of question - be able to identify examples of these concepts Review your notes, reading, study guide, examples Bring your pencil and student ID In-class Activity 4.2