AP PSYCHOLOGY

2018/2019

Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception (6-8%) 15 pages

Overview

● Transduction
○ Sensory messages are transformed into neural impulses
■ then sent to the thalamus, which sends them to other cotices of
the brain
■ exception: smell
● Sensory Adaptation
○ Decreasing responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation
○ Ex: you dont feel your socks anymore
● Sensory Habituation
○ Our perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on
them
○ Ex: you dont feel your socks anymore
● Cocktail-Party Phenomenon
○ Someone across the room says your name while youre talking to one
person
○ Your attention involuntarily switches to them
● Sensation and Perception
○ Sensation
■ the activation of our senses
■ Eyes ears etc
○ Perception
■ the process of understanding these sensations
● Way to organiza the sense
○ Gather energy- energy senses
■ Vision- light
■ Hearing- sound
■ Touch- pressure
○ Gather chemicals- chemical senses
■ Taste
■ Smell
 ○ Help w/ body position and balance
■ Kinesthetic
■ vestibular

Energy Senses

Vision

Overview

● Dominant sense in human beings

● Use vision 2 gather info abt enviro more than any other sense

Step one: gathering light

● light is reflected off of objects and gathered by the eye

○ Visible light is small portion of electromagnetic spectrum
● the color we perceive depends on:
○ Light intensity- how much energy the light contains. determines
brightness
○ Light wavelength- determines hue
■ λlonger than light: infrared, microwaves, radio
■ λshorter than light: ultraviolet, x-rays
■ Different λ mean different colors
■ Longestλ - shortestλ
■ Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
■ If u mix all these colors of light waves, you get white
light/sunlight
■ Objects dont really possess color: they appear certain color as a
result of λ of light they reflect
■ Ex: red shirt reflects red light + absorbs all others
■ Black stuff absorb all colors non reflected
■ White stuff reflect all colors non absorbed

Step two: within the eye

● Cornea
○ light first enters the eye through it
○ helps to focus the light
○ a protective covering
● pupil
 ○ light goes through it after the cornea
○ Like shutter of camera
● iris
○ determines how much light gets in the eye by controlling the size of the
pupil
○ Muscles that control pupil open it (dilate) to let more light in + make it
smaller to let less light in
○ Bright light: muscles expand and pupils constrict
● lens
○ through accommodation, light that enters the pupil is focused by lens
○ curved and flexible 2 focus light
○ as light passes through it, the image is flipped upside down and
inverted
○ JOB: TO FORM IMAGE ON RETINA
● retina
○ the focused inverted image projects on it
○ Specialized neurons are on this screen and are activated by the different
λ of light
○ Several layers of cells

Step three: transduction

● Transduction: translation of incoming stimuli into neural signals

○ Term applies 2 all senses
● In vision: occurs when light activates neurons in the retina
● cones and rods
○ the cells that make up the first layer of cells in the retina
○ directly activated by light
○ Cones
■ activated by color, clustered around the fovea, concentrated
toward centerof retina
■ @ very center of retina, theres an indentation called fovea that
contains highest concentration of cones
● If ur fpcusing on something, ur focusimg ur light onto ur
fovea and see it in color
■ Function best in bright light
○ Rods
■ peripheral vision, respond to black and white, outnumber cones
(approx 20:1), distributed thruout retina
● bipolar and ganglion cells
 ○ when enough cones and rods fire in an area of the retina, they activate
the next layer of bipolar cells
○ if enough bipolar cells fire, the next layer of ganglion cells is activated
○ ganglion cells
■ the axons of it form the optic nerve that sends impulses to the
lateral geniculate nucleus LGN
● lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
○ in the thalamus
○ sends messages to the visual cortices in occiptal lobes
● blind spot
○ where the optic nerve leaves the retina
○ has no cones or rods
● optic nerve
○ impulses from the left side of each retina go to the left hemisphere of
the brain, right right
○ optic chiasm- spot where the nerves cross each other

Step four: in the brain

● feature detectors
○ impulses travel from the cells of retina to the visual cortex to activate
deature detectors
○ David Hubel(1926-2013) and Wiesel(1924-present)
■ Different groups of neurons in the visual cortex respond to
different types of visual images
○ Visual vertex has feature detectors for vertical lines, curves, motion, etc.
○ visual perception is a combination of all features

Theories of Color Vision

Trichromatic theory

● AKA Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory (3 color theory)

● Oldest and simplest theory abt why we see color
● we have three types of cones in retina:
○ Those that detect blue, red, or green (primary colors of light)
○ these are activated in combinations to produce other colors of the
spectrum
● Has some research support + makes sense intuitevly
● can’t explain after images or color blindness
● After image: if u stare @ 1 color for a while and then look at a white or blank
space,you will see color afterimage
Opponent-process theory

● the sensory receptors arranged in the retina come in pairs

○ red/green, blue/yellow, black/white
● when one sensor is stimulated, the other is inhibited from firing
● Theory explains afterimages
○ Green´s after image=red
○ Yellow´s afterimage=blue
○ If u stare at red for long, you fatigue the sensors for red
○ Then its pair will fire, so you see the green afterimage
● Theory explains color blindness
○ When an indiv is missing one color sensor pair
○ Dichromatic color blindness
■ Cannot see either red/green shades or blue/yellow shades
○ Monochrmatic color blindness
■ Cause people 2 only see shades of gray

Hearing
● Also uses energy in form of waves
● Sound waves
○ created by vibrations which travel through the air
○ collected by our ears
○ These vibrations go thru transduction → neural messages -> sent to brain
○ Amplitude
■ height of waves
■ How tall the waves are
● The taller they are the more energy and louder the noise
■ determines loudness in decibels
○ frequency
■ length of waves
■ How frequent the waves go by
● If they speed by quickly then higher the frequency
■ determines pitch in megahertz
■ Low pitched sounds have low frequencies and waves are spaced apart
● Process
○ sound waves are collected in the pinna (outer ear)
○ waves travel down ear/auditory canal
○ Until they reach the eardrum (tympanic membrane)
■ a thin membrane that vibrates as sound waves hit it
■ Kind of like head of drum
 ■ This membrane is attached 2 first in series of 3 small bones collectively
known as ossicles
■ connects with the hammer (malleus) which is connected to the anvil
(incus) which connects to the stirrup (stapes) → these 3 small bones =
ossicles
○ the ossicles transmit the vibrations to the oval window
■ Membrane similar 2 eardrum
■ attached to cochlea, which is shaped like a snail’s shell and filled with
fluid
○ as the oval window vibrates, the fluid moves
○ hair cells on the basilar membrane (floor of cochlea) move
■ the hair cells are connected to the organ of corti (neurons activated by
movement of hair cells)
○ Whenthe fluid moves, the hair cells move and transduction occurs
○ transduction occurs
■ organ of corti fires
■ auditory nerve sends these impulses to the brain

Pitch Theories

Place theory

● we sense pitch b/c hair cells move in different places in the cochlea
● hair cells in the cochlea respond to different frequencies of sound based on
where they are located
● some bend to high pitches, others to low
● better explains how we sense higher/lower(differentiated) pitches

Frequency theory

● Demonstrates how place theory describes how hair cells sense the upper range
of pitches but not the lower tones
● sense pitch b/c the hair cells fire at different rates
● Lower tones sensed by rate at which cells fire
● explains lower tones
Deafness

● Conduction deafness
○ problem with the system of conducting the sound to the cochlea
○ ^(in ear canal, eardrum, ossicles, or oval window)
● Sensorineural (nerve) deafness
 ○ hair cells in the cochlea are damaged
○ often results from loud noise
○ Prolonged exposure 2 noise that loud can permantenly damage the hair cells in
the cochelea
○ As a result, hair cells can’t regenerate
○ Harder 2 treate bc no method has been found that will help the hair cells
regenerate

Touch

● sense of touch activated by energy when skin is indented, pierced, or experiencees

change in temperature
● We have different types of nerve endings in every patch of skin
● Some nerve endings respond to temperature, others to pressure
● Our brain interprets the amount of indentation (temperature change) as intensity of
touch
● Where nerve endings fire is place of touch
● Nerve endings not concentrated at elbow
● Nerve endings are very concentrated in the fingertips
● Pain receptors (type of nerve ending) will fire when other receptors are stimulated
sharply
○ Pain warns us of danger
○ Greatest in number in terms of sensory receptors on skin
● Gate-control theory
○ some pain messages have a higher priority
■ gate is open to it, and shut to lower priority messages
■ Ex: itching (just remember it lol)
○ endorphins
■ Pain killing chemicals in the body
■ swing the gate shut
■ natural endorphins in brain control pain
● Chemically similar to opiates like morphine

Chemical Senses

Taste (Gustation)

● NOTE: nerves involved in chemical senses respond 2 chemicals rather than energy like
light or sound waves
● Chemicals from food are absorbed by taste buds
○ located on papillae
○ Humans taste: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami(savory or meaty taste)
 ■ some taste buds respond more intensely to one
■ the more densely packed the taste buds, the more chemical absorbed
→ intense taste
■ If all the bumps are packed tightly together, you probably tate food
intesesly
■ If theyre spread apart, you have weak taste

Smell (Olfaction)

● Sense of smell also depends on chemicals emittted by substances

● Process
○ molecules of substances rise into the air
○ some molecules are drawn into the nose
○ they settle into a mucous membrane @ the top of each nostril
○ absorbed by receptor cells that are there
○ scientists estimate around 100 different types of receptor cells
● Olfactory bulb
○ receptor cells linked to it
○ gathers messages from the olfactory receptor cells
■ sends this information to the brain
○ nerve fibers from it connect to the brain at the amygdala and hippocampus
(these mke up the limbic system in charge of emotional impulse and memory)
■ may explain why smell triggers memories
● NOTE: impulses from all other senses go thru the thalamus first before being sent 2 the
approriat cortices

Body Position Senses

Vestibular Sense

● Tells us about how our body is oriented in space

● Process:
○ three semicircular canals in the inner ear
■ tubes are partially filled with fluid
■ give brain feedback about body orientation
○ body position changes
○ fluids in canals move
○ sensors in canals move
○ movement of hair cells activate neurons
○ neurons activated
■ impulses go to brain
○ Experience nausea and dizziness when fluid in these canals are agitated
 ● EX: when youre riding a roller coaster, the fluid in the canals might move so much that
the brain recieves confusing signals abt body position= and this is what causes the
dizziness and nauseous reaction

Kinesthetic Sense

● Gives us feedback about the position and orientation of specific body parts
● Receptors in muscles and joints send info 2 our brain abt our limbs
● This info combined witch visual feedback lets us keep track of our body
● EX: you can touch your kneecap w/ high degree of accuracy bc kinesthetic sense
provides info abt where ur finger is in relation 2 ur kneecap

Perception

● Process of understanding and interpreting sensations

● Psychophysics
○ The study of the interaction between the sensations we receive and our
experience of them

Thresholds

● senses are very acute, but limited

● Absolute threshold
○ the minimum amount of stimulus we can detect 50% of the time
■ The aboslute threshold 4 vision is the smallest amt of light we can
detect = estimated to be a single candle flame abt 30 miles (48km) away
on a perfectly dark night
○ subliminal- below the absolute threshold
● Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
○ smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before we detect a change
○ computed by Weber’s Law (or Weber-Fechner Law)
■ psychophysicist Ernst Weber (and Gustav Fechner 1801-1887)
■ the change needed is proportional to the intensity of the original
stimulus
■ The more intense the stimulus, the more we need to change it
■ hearing- 5% constant
● EX:if u listneed to a 100 deibel tone, the volume would have to
increase to 105 decimbels before you notice that it was any
louder
■ vision- 8% constant
● EX: 8 candles would be added to 100 candels before it looked
any brighter
 Perceptual Theories

Signal Detection Theory

● Investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while

perceiving the world
● Tries to predict what we’ll perceive among competing stimuli
● Takes into account response criteria:
○ motivations and expectations
○ also called receiver operating characteristic
○ Say i like pasta ill be more likely to smell pasta because i actually like it
● False positive
○ we think we perceive a stimulus that isn’t there
○ Waving to complete strangern thinking itd your friend
● False negative
○ not perceiving a stimulus that is present
○ Not noticing the instructions at the top of the page of test to not write
on it

Top-Down Processing

● We perceive by filling in gaps in what we sense with background knowledge

● Schemata
○ created by experience
○ mental representations of how we expect the world to be
○ influence how we perceive the world
○ can create a perceptual set
■ a predisposition to perceive something in a certain way
● Backmasking
○ supposed hidden messages musicians played backwards in their music
○ In reality its random stuff but they expect threatening messages and
therefore hear threatening messages

Bottom-Up Processing (Feature Analysis)

● Perception starts at the bottom with the individual characteristics of the image
● Puts characteristics together into our final perception
● More accurate than top-down processing
 Principles of Visual Perception
● Figure-Ground Relationship
○ Figure- objects
○ Ground- surrounding background

Gestalt Rules

● We normally perceive objects as groups, not isolated elements

● Factors that influence how we group objects:
○ Proximity
■ objects close together → perceived as belonging to the same group
○ similarity
■ objects are similar in appearance → perceived as part of the same
group
○ continuity
■ objects that form a continuous form are grouped together
○ closure
■ objects that make up a recognizable image are grouped, even if the
mind needs to fill in gaps
■ similar to top-down processing

Constancy

● Constancy
○ our ability to maintain a constant perception of an object even as sensation
from it changes
○ Size constancy
■ we keep a constant size in mind for an object if we’re familiar with it
■ we know it doesn’t grow or shrink as distance changes
○ Shape constancy
■ we know the shape of an object remains constant if we’re familiar with
it
■ We know its shape even as retinal images change/viewed from different
angles
○ Brightness constancy
■ we perceive objects as being a constant color
■ We know the color even as the light reflected from them changes
■ Ex: we know the brick wall is red even if the wall reflects gray when its
no longer daylight
 Perceived Motion

● Our brains can perceive objects at rest to be moving

● stroboscopic effect
○ images in a series of still pictures presented at a certain speed seem to move
(flip books)
● phi phenomenon
○ a series of light bulbs turned on and off at a particular rate appear to be one
moving light

● autokinetic effect
○ spot of light is projected on a wall in a dark room
○ it appears to move if you stare at it

Depth Cues

● Visual cliff experiment

○ Eleanor Gibson
○ an infant that can crawl won’t cross the cliff meaning they have
○ infants have depth perception

Monocular cues

● depth cues that need only one eye

● linear perspective
 ○ parallel lines converge with distance
● relative size cue
○ larger objects appear closer
● interposition cue
○ objects that block the view to other objects must be closer
● texture gradient
○ we can see more details in the texture of objects that are closer
● shadowing
○ implies where the light source is/depth

Binocular cues

● depth cues that need both eyes

● binocular (retinal) disparity
○ the closer the object, the more disparity there will be between the
images from each eye
● convergence
○ the more the eyes converge, the closer the object must be

The Effects of Culture on Perception

● Principle
○ Some basic perceptual sets are learned from culture
● Muller-Lyer Illusion
○ an optical illusion consisting of a stylized arrow. When viewers are asked to
place a mark on the figure at the midpoint, they invariably place it more
towards the "tail" end.

Extrasensory Perception
● Extrasensory perception (ESP)
○ Perceiving a sensation “outside” of the sense we learned
○ researchers who test ESP use rigorous tests like double blind studies to find
better explanations
○ Usually ESP claims are better explained by deception, magic tricks, or
coincidence