Sensation & Perception Lecture Notes PDF

Sensation & Perception Chapter 4 Week 3, Lecture 3 January 26, 2024 Last class…. Mismatch Model of Adolescent Brain Development What is Sensation and Perception? Sensation: occurs when our senses detect a stimulus Perception: understanding, interpretation, and awareness of the stimulus 3 How do we s...

Sensation & Perception Chapter 4 Week 3, Lecture 3 January 26, 2024 Last class…. Mismatch Model of Adolescent Brain Development What is Sensation and Perception? Sensation: occurs when our senses detect a stimulus Perception: understanding, interpretation, and awareness of the stimulus 3 How do we study perception in infants? Preferential Looking Paradigms Habituation Studies Preferential Looking Paradigm: Change Detection Task Stringent stimulus controls demonstrate ANS in infants Habituation Paradigm 6-month-old infants 6-month-old infants discriminate 8 vs. 16 dots discriminate 8 vs. 16 dots Xu & Spelke, 2000, Cognition Habituation Paradigm Habituation refers to the decrease in response as a result of repeated presentation of a stimulus. Dishabituation occurs when, following habituation, a new stimulus is presented that increases the level of responding Sensation and Perception: Vision Least developed sense at birth Reaches adult level between 6 months and 1 year Newborns prefer to look at patterns and faces. Color vision improves with age. Source: Fantz, R. L. (1961). Sensation and Perception: Vision Depth perception: ability to perceive distance of objects from each other and from ourselves Can perceive depth at birth Visual cliff: demonstrates that crawling influences how infants perceive depth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WanGt1G6ScA 9 Sensation and Perception: Hearing Most well-developed sense at birth Newborns hear about as well as adults. Newborns are attentive to voices and prefer speech sounds over other, nonspeech sounds. Infants show preference for their native language. 11 Sensation and Perception: Touch Touch (especially with the mouth) is a critical means of learning about the world. Caregiver’s massage can reduce stress responses. Skin-skin contact with caregiver reducing infants’ pain response. Capacity to feel pain develops before birth. 12 Sensation and Perception: Smell and Taste Smell and taste are well developed at birth. Can discriminate between smells and tastes Show innate preferences for some tastes Particularly human milk and sugar 13 Sensation and Perception: Intermodal Perception Intermodal Perception: when we combine information from our various sensory systems to understand the world Sensitivity to intermodal relations occurs early in life. 14 Sensory changes in aging populations Sensory Changes in Adulthood: Vision Changes in Adulthood Changes in eye during adult years Presbyopia: inability to focus the lens on close objects AKA farsightedness Cataracts: clouding of the lens, resulting in blurred, foggy vision Macular degeneration: loss of cells in center area of retina (macula). causing blurring and eventual loss of central vision 16 Sensory Changes in Adulthood: Hearing Presbycusis: age-related hearing loss Caused by natural cell death that results in deterioration of ear structures that convert sound into neural impulses. Much hearing loss is preventable. 17 Sensory Changes in Adulthood: Smell and Taste Sensitivity to smell declines throughout adulthood. Strong link between smell and taste Declines in olfactory (smell) abilities hold implications for abilities to taste. Changes in smell and taste are influenced by many factors. 18 Test your knowledge What is the difference between sensation and perception? Can infants see as well as adults birth? What do you know about infant depth perception? What senses are well developed at birth? Describe changes in vision, hearing, taste and smell in older adults