Four Domains

Physics Physiology Phenomenology Behavior

Example: Top-Down Influence on Phenomenology

Top Down Influence on Phenomenology

Psychophysics
Psychophysics is the perfect cup of tea for those psychologists who like a degree of precision in their science.... Historically, research in psychophysics by such scientists as ... Fechner, in the 19th century, played a vital role in the founding of psychology as a science... (Grey, p. 262)

Fechners scientific mysticism: basis of psychophysics

Fechner laid down the general outlines of psychophysics in Zend-Avesta, his book about heaven and the future life. Imagine sending a graduate student of psychology nowadays to the Divinity School for a course in immortality in preparation for advanced experimental work in psychophysics! How narrow we have become! (Boring, 1963, p.128)

Fechners Psychophysics
Psychophysics: the most mathematically precise, experimental, and rigorous of all schools of psychology
- Fechner illustrates classic 19th Century pluralist and researcher-centered, not discipline-centered stance: - Contributions to physics, chemistry, statistics, aesthetics, religion and mysticism

Fechners Psychophysics
JNDs: Allow precise investigation of subjective (phenomenological) and objective (physical) intensities

Constant percentage of the stimulus, so to keep the just noticeable difference constant, the stimulus needs to increase logarithmically (geometrically)

JNDs and Intensity

Receptive Fields: Principle of Neural Convergence

Retina in Fovea: Retina in Periphery:

Receptive Fields: Principle of Neural Convergence