Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception

• 3.1 How Does Stimulation Become Sensation?

• 3.2 How are the Senses Alike?
How are they different?
• 3.3 What is the Relationship between
Sensation and Perception?
 3.1 How Does Stimulation Become Sensation?

• Sensation
– Sensory receptor cells
– Neural impulses sent to the brain
– The brain interprets impulses as sound, image,
odor, taste, etc.
• Perception
– Process of interpreting and assigning meaning to
sensory stimuli
– Involves memory, motivation, emotion
 Transduction
• Transduction
– A stimulus is transformed into nerve signals
(electrochemical energy)

Examples:
– Electromagnetic energy (light energy) is transformed
into electrochemical energy (nerve signals)
– Sound energy (sound waves) become nerve impulses
– Mechanical energy (pressure on skin) is transformed
into nerve signals
Transduction
Skin Receptors
Transduction
Synapse
Neuron
Neuron
Neuron
Pre-synaptic / Post-synaptic Neurons
Electro-chemical energy in the Brain
 3.2 The Senses - Vision
• Retina
– Layer in back of eyeball
– Light-sensitive
– Contains millions of photoreceptors
• Photoreceptors
– Light-sensitive receptors (receptor neurons)
– Convert light into nerve signals
Retina and Photoreceptors
 Rods and Cones
• Rods
– Photoreceptors sensitive to dim light, but not
color

• Cones
– Photoreceptors sensitive to color, but not dim
light
Study tip: Cones -- Color
 Optic Nerve and Blind Spot
• Optic nerve
– Nerve bundle carries visual info from the retina to
the brain
• Blind Spot
– Exit point of optic nerve
– No photoreceptors
– Nothing can be seen on this small area
Blind Spot caused by Optic Nerve
Optic Nerve / Blind Spot
Rods, Cones, Retina, Optic Nerve
 Brightness / Color
• Brightness
– Psychological sensation
– Light wave amplitude
• Color
– Psychological sensation
– Not in external world, but in our minds
– Created by the brain
 Visible Light Spectrums
• Electromagnetic spectrum
– Entire range of electromagnetic energy
– Radio wave, X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, and
visible light

• Visible spectrum
– Narrow band of electromagnetic energy we can see
– Some creatures have a wider visible spectrum than
humans
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Human Vision
Dog Vision
Trout Vision
Bee Vision
Snake Vision -- Infrared
Afterimages / Negative Afterimages
Afterimages
 3.2 Hearing
• Frequency
– Cycles per second in a sound wave (physical)
• Pitch
– Sound characteristic produced by frequency
• Amplitude
– Physical strength of a wave (physical)
• Loudness
– Sound characteristic produced by Amplitude
(psychological)
Amplitude / Loudness
Frequency / Pitch
Pitch
Frequency / Pitch
Amplitude / Loudness
Frequency / Pitch
 3.2 Anatomy of the Ear
• Tympanic membrane
– The eardrum

• Cochlea
– Primary organ of hearing
– Sound waves transduced into nerve signals
Anatomy of the Ear
basilar membrane
Instruments correct vestibular sense
errors
 3.2 Senses of Position and Movement
• Vestibular sense
– Sense of body position
with respect to gravity
 Kinesthetic Sense
• Kinesthetic sense
– Sense of body parts
relative to each
other
 3.2 Smell
• Olfaction
– Sense of smell

• Pheromones
– Chemical signals
– Same-species communication
– Sexual attractants
Olfactory Region for Smell
Olfactory Bulb
Olfactory Neuron
 Pheromones
• Pheromones
– Chemical signals
– Same-species communication
– Sexual attractants
Pheromones and Attraction
pheromones and attraction
 3.2 Gustation
• Gustation
– Sense of Taste
• Supertasters
– Have more taste buds
– Are more taste-sensitive
– Dislike certain foods, especially if bitter
– May have survival advantage (avoiding poisons)
– Weigh less than average
Synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia
Sensory Regions are Anatomically
Close Together
 Inattentional Blindness
• Inattentional Blindness
– Narrowing focus
– Causes blindness to changes in one’s visual field
Inattentional Blindness
 Change Blindness
• Change Blindness
– Blindness to a change in one’s visual field
Change Blindness
Change Blindness
Continuity Person
 Illusions
• Illusion
– Wrong interpretation of a stimulus
– May be a distortion
– Usually fools others the same way
The Ponzo Illusion
Hermann Grid Illusion
Scintillating Grid
Scintillating Grid
Spinning Wheels
Ambiguous Picture
Vase
Wine Glass
Duck or Rabbit?
Good or Evil?
Young or Old Woman?
Musician or a Girl’s Face?
Can you find the dog?
The Checkerboard Illusion:
A and B are the same shade
Shades of Green
How Many Shades of Pink?
Sloped or Parallel?
Necker Cube
Ebbinghaus Illusion
 Other terms:
• Absolute threshold
• Difference threshold
• Sensory adaptation
• Placebo
• Placebo effect
• Figure
• Ground