Sensation Perception 1 Signal Detection Theory The theory that seeks to explain the role of psychological factors in judging whether a stimulus is present or absent How do we perceive things that aren t there 2 Difference Threshold the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli one can detect 50 of the time 3 Weber s law Principle stating that the difference between two stimuli is proportional to the intensity of the initial stimulus 100lb dumbbell 102lb dumbbell to notice difference 4 Absolute Threshold The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 of the time 5 Selective Attention The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus Where you shine that flashlight of attention matters Inattentional Blindness Man in gorilla suit Failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object because attention was directed elsewhere 7 Change Blindness Person separated by billboard Failure to notice very large 6 changes occurring in full view 8 Transduction The conversion of one form of energy to another in sensation it involves transforming stimulus energies into neural impulses 9 Perception The sorting out interpretation analysis and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brains 10 Psychophysics The study of the physical nature of stimuli and the sensory responses they evoke 11 BIG IDEA Our brain cheats when organizing visual stimuli It has a huge database gained through experience of shapes and patterns that allow us to put the world together very quickly rather than a piece at a time a Laws of organization a series of principles that describes how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful whole 1 Closure We fill in gaps to create a complete object 2 Proximity Elements close together are grouped together 3 Connectedness Perceive smooth continuous patterns 4 Similarity Elements similar in appearance are grouped together 5 Simplicity We perceive in the most basic straightforward 1 Top Down Perception that is guided by higher level knowledge experience manner possible expectations and motivations 2 Bottom Up Perception that consists of recognizing and processing information about the individual components of the stimuli 3 Figure Ground The organization of the visual field into FIGURES that stand out from their surroundings GROUND 4 Perceptual Set A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another 1 LOOK AT DIAGRAMS 2 Cochlea A coiled tube filled with fluids that receive sound via the oval SENSES window EYES 3 Basilar membrane A structure covered with hair cells that run through the 4 Semicircular canals structures of inner ear containing three tubes containing 5 Otoliths Tiny motion sensitive crystals within the semi circular canals that 6 Frequency The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in given center of the cochlea fluid aids in balance sense body acceleration time 7 Pitch A tone s highness or lowness depends on frequency 8 Pitch Theory The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea s membrane is stimulated explains how we hear high pitches 9 Frequency Theory The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone thus enabling us to sense pitch 10 Smell 10 000 difference receptor cells 11 Taste Sweet Sour Bitter Salty Umami 12 Gate Control Theory A neurological gate in the spinal cord blocks or allow pain signals to cross to the opposite side 1 Cornea Transparent protective window that allows light to pass through 2 Pupil The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters Iris The colored ring of muscle tissue around the pupil that controls the size of the pupil opening 4 Lens The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus 3 images on the retinas 5 Retina the light sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods cones and layers of neurons that begin the process of visual information 6 Fovea Part of retina that contains cones located in center of retina 7 Rods Retinal receptors that detect black white and gray 8 Cones Receptor cells that need light and detect color in fine detail 9 Bipolar Cells Receive information from rods and cones send to ganglion 10 Ganglion Collect and summarize visual information before moving it out of the back of the eyeball 11 Optic Nerve the nerve made up of a million ganglion axons that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain 12 Blind Spot Point at which optic nerve leaves the eye 13 Optic Chiasm Point at which optic nerve from eye crosses in the brain 14 Accomadation The process by which the eye s lens changes shape to focus the image of near objects on the retinas 15 Line Detectors Nerve cells in the occipital lobe that respond to specific features of a stimulus such as shape angle or movement 16 Parallel Processing The brain processes color motion form and depth simultaneously 17 Visual Cliff A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants 18 Young Helmholtz The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors red green and blue which when stimulated in combination can produce any color 19 Opponent Process The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision 20 Depth Perception The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional allows us to judge distance 21 Phi Phenomenon An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession 22 Retinal disparity a binocular cue for perceiving depth The greater the disparity between two images the retina receives of an object the closer the object is to the viewer 23 Perceptual constancy Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change a Monocular Cues Interposition i Relative size ii Relative height iii iv Linear Perspective v Light and Shadow vi Relative Motion STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 1 Depressants Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions Alcohol Barbituates Opiates Morphine and Heroin 2 Stimulants drugs that excite neural activity and speed up bodily functions used to stay awake lose weight boost mood Caffeine Cocaine Nicotine 3 Hallucinogens Pschedelic drugs that distort perception LSD Marijuana 4 Hypnosis a state of heightened suggestibility 5 Social Influence Theory Theory stating hypnosis is an extension of everyday social behavior people are just acting the role of a good hypnotic subject 6 Divided