‭Chapter 4: Sensation & Perception‬

‭(*need to know the difference*)‬

‭-‬ ‭Sensation:‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ etection of physical energy by the sense organs‬
D
‭-‬ ‭All our senses rely on a handful of principles‬
‭-‬ ‭Transduction‬
‭-‬ ‭Process by which the nervous system converts an external energy or‬
‭substance into excitation or inhibition of neurons in the brain‬
‭-‬ ‭External stimuli are converted by a sense receptor into a‬
‭neural activity‬
‭-‬ ‭Sense receptors‬‭:‬
‭-‬ ‭Specialized cells that tran‬
‭-‬ ‭Perception:‬
‭-‬ ‭The brain's interpretation of raw personal data‬
‭-‬ ‭When the way we perceive a stimulus does not match reality, that is called an i‬‭llusion‬
‭-‬ ‭Sensation vs perception‬
‭-‬ ‭Sensation‬‭:‬
‭-‬ ‭Detection of physical energy by the sense organs‬
‭-‬ ‭Perception‬‭:‬
‭-‬ ‭The brain's interpretation of raw sensory data‬
‭-‬ ‭Two types of cognitive processing‬
‭-‬ ‭Bottom up p.‬‭senses provide info from the senses about‬‭the environment to‬
‭the brain‬
‭-‬ ‭Top down p.‬‭brain makes use of information that has‬‭already been brought‬
‭into it by one or more of the sensory systems‬
‭-‬ ‭We attend to multiple processes at once called parallel processing‬
‭-‬ ‭Psychophysics:‬
‭-‬ ‭ tudy of how we perceive sensory stimuli on their physical‬
S
‭characteristics‬
-‭ ‬ ‭barely detectable‬
‭-‬ ‭Absolute threshold‬‭:(for a specific type of sensory‬‭input)‬
‭-‬ ‭lowest level of a stimulus we can detect (usually 50% of the‬
‭time.)‬

‭-‬ ‭Just noticeable difference(JND):‬

‭-‬ ‭smallest amount of a change in stimulus that human can‬
‭detect‬
‭-‬ ‭Weber's law‬‭:‬
‭-‬ ‭Stronger the stimulus greater the change needed to be‬
‭detected‬
‭-‬ ‭*Signal detection Theory:‬
‭-‬ ‭Theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions‬

‭Response “Yes”‬ ‭Response “No”‬

‭Stimulus Present‬ ‭True Positive‬ ‭False Negative‬
 ‭Stimulus Absent‬ ‭False Positive‬ ‭True Negative‬
‭ rue positive is a hit / False negative is a miss‬
T
‭False positive- false alarm / True negative- correct rejection‬

‭-‬ ‭Cross model Sense‬

-‭ ‬ ‭ hosphenes, the rubber hand illusion, etc.‬
P
‭-‬ ‭Phosphenes‬‭: luminous floating shapes, we see when‬‭we close our eyes‬
‭-‬ ‭McGurk effect:‬‭integrates visual and auditory info‬
‭-‬ ‭our brain automatically fills in gaps‬
‭-‬ ‭Rubber hand effect:‬‭sight of brushing of a rubber‬‭hand at the same time as‬
‭the person's real hand is sufficient to produce an ownership feeling for the‬
‭rubber hand.‬
‭-‬ ‭Binding Problem‬
‭-‬ ‭ efers to how our brain takes multiple pieces of information and combines‬
R
‭them to represent something concrete.‬
‭-‬ ‭The role of attention‬
‭-‬ ‭Selective attention‬
‭-‬ ‭allows us to choose which sensory inputs to focus on and which to‬
‭turn down‬
‭-‬ ‭the other “channels” are still being processed at some level‬
‭-‬ ‭cocktail party effect → Our ability to detect important information like‬
‭our names in a conversation we are not a part of, in noisy‬
‭environment‬

‭The Visual System‬

‭-‬ ‭Light:‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ form of electromagnetic radiation that travels as a wave‬
A
‭-‬ ‭Humans can only detect a narrow spectrum of light, which they can see‬
‭-‬ ‭400nm to 700nm in wavelength (violet to red)‬
‭-‬ ‭Other animals may have a stricter or broader of vision‬

‭-‬ ‭Structure of the Eye‬

‭-‬ ‭Sclera:‬
‭-‬ ‭White portion of the eye.‬
-‭ ‬ ‭Iris: the coloured portion and controls how much light enters the eye‬
‭-‬ ‭Pupil:‬
‭-‬ ‭The hole where light enters the eye‬
‭-‬ ‭Cornea:‬‭curved transparent layer covering the iris and pupils, focuses light on‬
‭the back of the eye‬
-‭ ‬ ‭lens:‬‭changes the curvature (accommodation) to retract‬‭light onto back of eye‬
‭-‬ ‭Retina:‬‭a thin membrane at the back f the eye‬
‭-‬ ‭Fovea:‬‭is the center‬
‭-‬ ‭light hits two types of sense receptors on retina‬
‭-‬ ‭rods: long narrow and plentiful receptor cells that allows us to see low‬
‭light levels→ dark adaptation‬
 -‭ ‬ ‭Cnes: cone shaped receptor cells that allow us to see in color‬
‭-‬ ‭Optic Nerve:‬
‭-‬ ‭Located in the back of the eye‬
‭-‬ ‭Composed of the axons of ganglion cells.‬
‭-‬ ‭It travels from the retina to the rest of the brain‬
‭-‬ ‭Causes blind spot‬
‭-‬ ‭where the retina meets the optic nerve‬

‭-‬ ‭Colour Perception‬

‭-‬ ‭Color blindness‬
‭-‬ ‭inability to see all types of colours‬
‭-‬ ‭due to the lack of rods in retina‬
‭-‬ ‭affects one in 12 men and 1 in 200 women‬
‭-‬ ‭Opponent process theory:‬
‭-‬ ‭color vision is considered as a function of complementary, opposing‬
‭colours‬
‭-‬ ‭the idea that we perceive colour as red vs. green or blue vs yellow‬
‭-‬ ‭Normal vision is when the image is well focused on the cornea‬
‭-‬ ‭Myopia(nearsightedness): when the image is focused in front of the cornea‬
‭-‬ ‭Hyperopia(farsightedness: When the image is focused behind the cornea,‬
‭cornea is to flat‬
‭-‬ ‭Perceptual Hypotheses‬
‭-‬ ‭perceptual sets:‬‭occur when our expectations influence‬‭our‬
‭perceptions‬
‭-‬ ‭Gestalt principles:‬
‭-‬ ‭*be able to know 3 of these principles and be able to explain‬
‭them‬
‭-‬ ‭Rules that govern how we perceive objects as wholes within their‬
‭overall context‬
‭-‬ ‭Proximity‬
‭-‬ ‭objects close to each other are perceived as a group‬
‭-‬ ‭Similarity‬
‭-‬ ‭that elements would be grouped together if they are‬
‭similar to each other‬
‭-‬ ‭Continuity‬
‭-‬ ‭the perception that things are a continuation to each other due‬
‭to‬
‭-‬ ‭Closure:‬
‭-‬ ‭Symmetry: we capture objects‬
‭-‬ ‭Figure ground: is a bistable image that we perceive in two‬
‭ways , we focus our attention on what w e believe is the focal‬
‭point and ignore what we believe to be background‬
‭-‬ ‭Depth perception‬
‭-‬ ‭appears in infancy‬
‭-‬ ‭Visual CLiff test by ELeanor Gibson1960 and 1991 the hesitation of a‬
‭young baby‬
‭ umans can hear wavelength between 20 and 20 000 Hz‬
H
‭Hearing‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ udition (Sense of hearing) sense we rely most after sight‬
A
‭-‬ ‭Sound is simply a mechanical vibration traveling through a medium (usually air)‬
‭-‬ ‭Pitch:‬‭wave frequency (Hz)‬
‭-‬ ‭Loudness:‬‭amplitude of the sound waves (dB)‬
‭-‬ ‭Timbre:‬‭complexity / quality of the sound (why sounds‬‭sound unique)‬
‭-‬ ‭The ear‬
‭-‬ ‭Outer ear‬
‭-‬ ‭Part we all can see, made of skin and cartilage flap‬
‭-‬ ‭Pinna and ear canal → Tunnel sound waves to the eardrum‬
‭-‬ ‭Act like a funnel, conducts‬
‭-‬ ‭Middle ear‬
‭-‬ ‭The ossicles (hammer, anvil, stirrup) vibrate and transmit sound to the‬
‭inner ear‬
‭-‬ ‭Inner ear‬
‭-‬ ‭The cochlea converts vibration into neural activity‬
‭-‬ ‭Inside the cochlea the‬‭organ of Corti‬‭and‬‭basilar‬‭membrane‬‭convert‬
‭auditory information into action potentials‬
‭-‬ ‭Balance‬
‭-‬ ‭Meniere's disease → affects hearing (lost), affecting balance‬
‭-‬ ‭When we can’t hear‬
‭-‬ ‭Failure of the eardrum or ossicles‬
‭-‬ ‭Nerve deafness → damage to auditory nerve‬
‭-‬ ‭Nerve induced hearing loss → damage hearing sounds due to‬
‭repeated loud noises‬
‭-‬ ‭Body senses:‬
‭-‬ ‭Somatosensory system‬
‭-‬ ‭Touch and pain‬
‭-‬ ‭Proprioception system‬
‭-‬ ‭Kinesthetic sense‬
‭-‬ ‭System of vestibular sense‬
‭-‬ ‭Equilibrium and balance‬
‭-‬ ‭Somatosensory system:‬
‭-‬ ‭Responds to stimuli applied to skin, temperature and injury‬
‭-‬ ‭Mechanoreceptors‬
‭-‬ ‭In the end of the sensory nerves, allows us to sense light touch‬
‭and deep pressure‬
‭-‬ ‭Free nerve endings:‬
‭-‬ ‭Non specialized, allow us to sense touch tmeérature and pain‬
‭-‬ ‭Gate control theory‬
‭-‬ ‭Indicates that the spinal cord contains a type of neurological gate that‬
‭opens or closes to either allow pain signal to reach the brain‬
‭-‬ ‭Pain sensation:‬
‭-‬ ‭Congenital insensitivity to pain:‬
‭-‬ ‭Not being able to feel pain‬
‭-‬ ‭Proprioception system‬
‭-‬ ‭Kinesthetic sense‬
 ‭-‬ ‭Helps keep track of where we are and move efficiently‬
‭-‬ ‭System of vestibular sense‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ ense of equilibrium‬
S
‭-‬ ‭Enables us to sense and maintain our balance as we move around‬
‭-‬ ‭Due to 3 fluid-filled semicircular canals in the inner ear‬
‭-‬ ‭Smell and taste‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ lfaction (smell) and gustation (taste) work hand in hand‬
O
‭-‬ ‭Work together to enhance liking or disliking of some foods‬
‭-‬ ‭Described as the “chemical senses”‬
‭-‬ ‭Odors and flavors‬
-‭ ‬ ‭ dors are airborne chemicals that interact with lining in our nasal passages‬
O
‭-‬ ‭We are sensitive to 5 basic tastes‬
‭-‬ ‭Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami‬
‭-‬ ‭Some evidence for a “fatty” taste as well‬
‭-‬ ‭Smell and taste sense receptor‬
‭-‬ ‭ ach olfactory neuron contains a single type of receptor → recognizes‬
E
‭odorants based on their shape‬
‭-‬ ‭The tongue contains separate taste buds (papillae) for each base taste‬
‭-‬ ‭Tongue map myth‬
‭-‬ ‭Supertastes → extremely sensitive to certain taste (genetically more‬
‭sensitive) 25% of population‬
‭-‬ ‭Olfactory and gustatory perception‬
‭-‬ ‭Smell and taste senses converge in the orbitofrontal cortex‬