Test 2 Study Guide Ch 4 Sensation and Perception Sensation Basic processes by which sensory receptors and the nervous system Receive and represent stimulus energies from out environment 5 senses Touch Taste Smell Vision Hearing Why Study Sensation Our sense receptors convert Transduce physical energy into electrical signals within neurons Perception Use of previous knowledge to gather and interpret stimuli registered by the senses Involves integration of outside world i e external stimuli and one s own inner world i e previous knowledge or experience Closely tied to thought and memory Example loud ringing noise my alarm clock Perceiving the World Two Interacting Processes Our cognitive system actively works to create meaningful patterns It fills in information 1 Bottom Up Processes Sensory detection encoding construction of whole from parts i e Lines Shapes Colors Angles Items events that grab our attention 2 Top Down Processes Conceptually driven organization and interpretation of information Experiences and Expectations Items events to which we deliberately direct our attention Thresholds Absolute Threshold the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular light sound pressure taste or odor 50 of the time Signal Detection Theory predicts when we will detect weak signals i e Exhausted parents will notice the faintest noise from their newborn but fail to notice louder unimportant sounds Difference Threshold jnd is the minimum difference a person can detect between any 2 stimuli half the time That detectable difference increases with the size of the stimulus Sensory Adaptation Sensory Interaction Our diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus After constant exposure to a stimulus our nerve cells fire less frequently Cross modal processing the principle that one sensory system may effect another i e smell of food affects the taste Parallel Processing Simultaneous concurrent processing of multiple information streams by the brain The brain engages in multiple subtasks at the same time Subliminal Advertising Advertising aimed below the absolute threshold Subliminal Stimulation subliminal perception Priming an initial word or image can briefly prime your response to a later question Subliminal messages do not have a powerful enduring effect Pain Benefits Alerts us something is wrong and may lead us to run away from harmful behavior Personal Experience of pain endorphin production 1 Biological influences Spinal Cord and Brain activity Genetic differences in 2 Psychological influences Attention to pain learning based on experience 3 Social Cultural influences presence of others empathy for others pain Perceptual Organization Perceptual Set Our experiences assumptions and expectations may give us a perceptual set or mental predisposition that greatly influences top down what we perceive I e Picture could be 2 different things Perceptual Constancy Perceiving objects as unchanging having constant shape size and color even as illumination and retinal images change A vital top down process I e We perceive a door as a door no matter what shape if its open trapezoid or closed rectangle Gestalt Principles our brains do more than register information about the world bottom up processing We perceive objects as wholes within their overall context Gestalt Principles Closure A perceptual experience may be more than the sum of its sensory parts Gestalt Principles Figure Ground We constantly filter how we attend to sensory information I e powerpoint Perception of Motion The brain perceives motion by comparing visual frames a rapid series of slightly varying images creates perception of motion Ch 6 Learning Learning is a relatively permanent change in thought or behavior that results from experience Major Types of Learning 1 Conditioning Classical Pavlovian conditioning 2 Cognitive Models of Learning Latent learning Insight learning Observational learning Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov Noble Peace Prize winner studied dogs and salivation Noticed his dog showed a physiological response to cues associated with food Associate stimuli that are paired together Hear bell they receive food An unconditioned stimulus food triggers an unconditioned response salivating Unconditioned Unlearned A conditioned stimulus bell triggers a conditioned response salivating Salivating is an unconditioned response to food but a conditioned response to a bell It s conditional upon associative learning i e look at powerpoint Processes of Conditioning Acquisition The initial learning of an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus The key requirement for successful acquisition is timing Extinction Repeated presentation of CS without US will eventually eliminate response to CS Extinction doesn t erase learning it suppresses it Spontaneous Recovery Happens when CS briefly regains its power to elicit the response Stimulus Generalization Tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the CS Stimulus Discrimination Ability to distinguish between the CS and other stimuli Limits to Classical Conditioning Cognitive processes matter Biological constraints matter Associative learning is adaptive Classical vs Operant Conditioning Predictability of associations affect strength of conditioned responses Classical the emphasis is on automatic reflexive responses to stimuli as a result of associative learning Essentially involuntary Operant the emphasis is on controlled deliberate behavior enacted by an organism to influence its environment Environmental consequences shape behavior Operant Conditioning Behavior can operate on the environment to produce some effect Past experiences affects present behavior Law of Effect Rewards good behavior Punishments bad behavior Reward Type 1 Positive Reinforcement Something pleasant is offered Reward Type 2 Negative Reinforcement Something unpleasant is removed Schedules of Reinforcement Ratio Based on number of responses Interval Based on time Fixed consistent number of responses Variable changing number of responses or time between reinforces Punishment Type 1 Positive Punishment Something unpleasant is introduced Punishment Type 2 Negative Punishment Something pleasant is removed Reinforcements increase the likelihood of the behavior Punishments decrease the likelihood of the behavior Observational Learning Observational social learning occurs by watching other people s behaviors and observing the resulting consequences Albert Bandura studied modeling
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