Assignment One

Darla Cytrynbaum

Laurentian University

PSYC 2906EL 12: Receptor Processes and Perception

Dr. Blake Dotta

February 15, 2023

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Assignment One Responses

Question One Response

To answer the question of why the common notion of the five human senses persists in

modern times, we must consider where this idea came from, how it spread, and what made it a

satisfactory explanation for our sense experience. The idea of the five senses originates with

Aristotle. It thereby persists today as just one small component of the massive legacy of Greek

philosophy, which underpins all facets of the contemporary Western worldview. We promulgate

the idea of the five senses in early childhood education. Only a small grouping of students may

reencounter sense data in formal education by entering a relevant field of specialization in higher

learning (such as psychology). The theory that humans possess only five distinct senses persists

today because we, as a society, continue to teach them. As the five senses each correlate neatly to

the five obvious sense organs found externally in the human body, the theory sufficiently, albeit

superficially, explains the ‘everyday’ human experience.

Greek philosophy heavily influenced the early education system in the Western world.

The primary goal of this education system was to educate the privileged, presenting them with a

wide range of subjects and the tools to examine and understand their experience in the world and

contribute to the ongoing development of this understanding. The Industrial period, however,

necessitated standardized education systems for the ‘common’ people to ensure the readiness of

individuals for the labour force. Primarily, school subjects were reduced to reading, writing, and

basic math fundamentals, allowing more people to enter the growing economy and workforce.

The faculties of deeper comprehension and critical thought were to remain in the halls of higher

and otherwise financially inaccessible institutions, where they remain today.

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Aristotle’s theory of examination, which first introduced the concept of our five senses, is

taught regularly by parents and teachers alike. Children learn about their senses during early

parental and societal education, which uses tools such as the song “head, shoulders, knees, toes,

and eyes, ears, mouth, nose.” The latter grouping in the song indicates the sense organs, and

although the song omits touch from the lyrics, the child experiences touch when their fingers

connect with each of the previously mentioned body parts. With the engagement and naming of

these senses, our student learns to define a sense within the limitations of the physical apparatus

named and associated with the song. While not necessarily incorrect, this teaching is a grossly

diminished definition of the sensory functions underway.

For instance, while students learn, sing, and dance, they also balance themselves. This act

of balance is well coordinated in the senses and includes equilibrium as a musical sense (Fuchs,

D. 2018). Though thought in Aristotle’s view to be independent, several senses are working

together. These senses include visual, which uses the eyes to detect and process visual

information; vestibular, which uses the inner ear to detect rotational movements and

accelerations; and proprioception, which uses receptors in muscles, tendons, inner ear, and joints

to sense the body’s motion and position. The student is also learning to keep time, involving

somatosensorial feedback, which is essential for coordinating movements with the beat.

To the student, the teacher represents the expectation that the student will remember this

information, leading to even more sensory activity and complex cognitive functions which

modulate attention, affective responses, learning and memory processes. At the same time, the

song leader provides simple terminology to identify how the student’s body relates and gains

insight into the environment. The teacher uses only the most straightforward terms for the senses.
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Their understanding likely does not extend to the complicated identification and differentiation

of receptors, electrochemical signals, perception, and phenomena.

The idea of the five senses provides a basic framework for understanding the world, and

this simplicity has allowed it to persist in modern times. Even though the concept of the five

senses has been rebutted and refined over time, one could attribute the persistence of the concept

to its simplicity and the ease with which we understand it. It is important to note that while the

five senses may not accurately represent the complexities of human perception, they continue to

serve as a valuable tool for teaching and understanding the world. The persistence of the idea of

the five senses in modern times highlights the impact of educational practices on the general

population and the role of simplification in bringing complex ideas to a broader audience.

Question Two Response

In psychophysics, the Method of Limits is a well-known experimental technique used to

gauge the threshold at which a given stimulus is detectable by varying the intensity of the

stimulus on successive trials. It has been observed that the crossover point between detecting

versus not-detecting the stimulus threshold may be affected by several factors, including, but not

limited to, hysteresis, adaptation effects, response bias, and stimulus uncertainty. Such factors

could lead to divergent results for the ascending versus descending trials of the experiment.

Researchers frequently resort to averaging the results of ascending and descending trials to

circumvent these issues to obtain a more reliable threshold estimate. Upon consideration of the

factors that affect the crossover point, averaging the results of ascending and descending trials in

the method of limits may not provide a valid result.

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Researchers use the method of limits when they want to find out how well people can

detect a stimulus. This technique measures perceptual thresholds of sensation, whether

brightness, sound, or scent, to experience the event. In this method, the researcher presents the

participant with a stimulus, gradually increasing or decreasing in intensity until the participant's

response changes from "not detected" to "detected" or vice versa. Researchers typically take the

average of the crossover points to determine a value for the participant's perceptual threshold.

Unfortunately, various factors, such as response bias, adaptation effects, and hysterias, could

interfere with the participant's threshold.

Response bias refers to the tendency to respond in a certain way, regardless of the actual

stimulus intensity. For example, suppose a participant is biased towards responding "yes" to the

stimulus. In that case, they may be more likely to respond "yes" on ascending trials, leading to a

lower threshold, and more likely to respond "no" on descending trials, leading to a higher

threshold. Much could be explored psychologically regarding response bias, such as perceiving

yes, to be the correct answer and needing to fulfill a personal but fundamental trait to meet the

perceived desire of the researcher, but that is not the point of this response.

Adaptation effects refer to the phenomenon where the participant's sensitivity to the

stimulus changes over time due to exposure to the stimulus, leading to differences in the

crossover points for ascending and descending trials, as the participant's sensitivity to the

stimulus may increase or decrease over time. To adjust, the researcher could lengthen the time

between the events and shorten the number of trials completed in one sitting.

Most interesting is the phenomenon of hysteresis, where the history of previous trials

influences the perceptual threshold. Perceptual hysteresis is when the initial perception formed

during a trial persists, even when the stimulus changes in a way that would generally result in a
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different perception. Perceptual hysteresis shows us how the brain processes perceptual historical

information at any moment (Hock, H. S., & Schöner, G. 2010). This is a fascinating effect.

Averaging together the results of ascending and descending trials can help reduce the

influence of hysteresis and other factors specific to ascending or descending trials. By averaging

the results, researchers believe they can obtain a more stable estimate of the threshold and reduce

the variability in the data; however, there are limitations.

Most obviously, averaging the results assumes that the threshold is the same for both

types of trials. If there are systematic differences between the two types of trials, such as fatigue

or practice effects, then averaging the results may not accurately reflect the actual threshold. For

example, suppose the researcher presents the ascending trials before the descending trials. In that

case, the participant may become more sensitive to the stimulus over time due to practice, which

can lead to a lower threshold. Conversely, if the researcher presents the descending trials first,

the participant may become fatigued, leading to a higher threshold. These events are known as

order effects and are just one example of a variable that cannot be precisely compensated for by

averaging. Averaging may nudge the data closer to where it “ought” to lay, but it should never be

relied on fully. Rather, the researcher should maximize the use of ideal experimental controls to

mitigate the varied methodological problems that arise in gathering Method of Limits data in the

first place.

Question Three Response

The short answer to the proposed question is a categorical yes. The absolute threshold is,

for example, the dimmest light a person can detect in a dark room at least half of the time. On the

other hand, the threshold difference is the smallest change in the light intensity or quality that a
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person can notice at least half the time (Meddis & Lecluyse, 2011, p.3153). Despite some

arguments that these two thresholds are the same, the separate insights they offer are unique. In

examining the significance of the absolute and difference threshold, the distinction between these

two concepts provides critical opportunities to accurately study the mechanisms of sensory

perception and understand the limits of human sensory abilities more precisely.

The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulus energy required for a person

to perceive the stimulus at least 50% of the time. By setting the criterion at 50%, the researcher is

essentially asking whether the participant can detect or notice the stimulus more often than

would be expected by chance alone. The absolute threshold is essential because it helps us

understand how sensitive our senses are and how they respond at varying levels of stimulation.

On the other hand, the threshold difference, also known as the just-noticeable difference (JND),

is the minimum difference in stimulus intensity or quality required for a person to detect a

change, again, at least half of the time. This is an important measurement as it represents the

smallest change in the stimulus itself that creates a sensation which is noticeable to a person.

What is added to the research technique by this measurement is an opportunity to understand just

how our senses distinguish between differences in the stimuli and how and when the brain

detects changes in the environment.

Weber’s law says the more intense or larger a stimulus is, the harder it is to detect a small

change (Schwartz, 01/2018, p.12). For example, it is easier to distinguish the sound of ten people

applauding compared to twenty people applauding, but difficult to distinguish a crowd of one

hundred people applauding from a crowd of one hundred ten. The absolute threshold only

measures the difference between a stimulus that is perceptible and one that is imperceptible. For

example, suppose a firetruck was driving toward someone with the siren on at a constant volume.
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In that case, the distance at which the person could first hear the firetruck approaching could

correspond to the absolute threshold of their ability to perceive the sound of the siren.

Some argue that the concepts of absolute threshold and difference threshold are not

distinct but rather two sides of the same coin, when in fact, they are more like two halves of a

whole and provide more clarity working together. The argument appears lazy with a general

definition of the energy expended to obtain a neural signal internally or externally. While the

measured thresholds appear similar, as they both indicate distinct sensitivities in perception, the

argument fails.

In conclusion, the absolute threshold and difference threshold are critical concepts in the

study of sensory perception, offering unique insights into the limits of human sensory abilities.

While some argue that these two thresholds are not distinct, their separate definitions provide a

clearer understanding of how our senses respond to various levels of stimulation and how our

brains detect changes in our environment. By working together, these thresholds help researchers

study the mechanisms of sensory perception more accurately. Overall, a deeper understanding of

these concepts can help us appreciate the remarkable abilities of our senses and provide valuable

insights for improving sensory experiences in various domains, from art to technology.

Question Four Response

Scotopic vision is contingent on the sensitivity of the rods in the retina, which can detect

low levels of light more readily than the cones. The rods are specialized cells responsible for

low-light detection, with a higher sensitivity to blue-green wavelengths. Conversely, the cones,

which are more active in the red region of the spectrum, are less responsive to low-light

environments in which scotopic vision is necessary. By utilizing red light to illuminate the
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submarine bridges, operators can preserve their night vision while remaining able to discern their

instruments and controls.

Scotopic vision has limitations, such as reduced colour perception, reduced visual acuity,

and increased sensitivity to visual noise and glare. It can be challenging to differentiate between

objects or read colour-coded information in low-light conditions. People can also experience

difficulty discerning small or distant objects and struggle with visual noise and glare;

undoubtedly, such situations are everyday occurrences in a submarine.

Given the drawbacks of scotopic vision and despite how good red light is for maintaining

night vision, alternative technologies have replaced or supplemented this practice. Night vision

goggles, for example, use image augmentation technology to amplify existing light, which

allows submarine operators to discern their surroundings in near-total darkness. This technology

provides a clearer view of the environment and is helpful in several lighting conditions.

Similarly, modern computer and instrument panel display screens can use low-light and

infrared imaging to generate a more vivid and comprehensive picture of the environment, which

can be especially useful in intricate or rapidly shifting scenarios. However, the principles of

scotopic vision remain integral to safe navigation in low-light conditions. Additionally, a

comprehensive understanding of the advantages and limitations of scotopic vision can facilitate

the development of strategies and technologies to enhance night vision.

In summary, using red light to illuminate submarine bridges is a practical application of

scotopic vision. Though newer technologies have complemented or replaced red light usage, it

remains an effective tool for maintaining night vision, and as such, staying current on

technological advances is crucial to improving night vision while navigating low-light

conditions.
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Question Five Response

The difference between the restoration of vision in adults who have lost the sense of sight

through the use of specialized devices like the Argus II and children who were born with

cataracts and did not receive treatment until later in development is due to the critical period of

visual development, which is a time during childhood when the cognitive system is most

receptive to sensory inputs and neural activity is high.

In typical visual development, the period during infancy and early childhood is most

pronounced. During this time, the brain is most receptive to sensory input and can rapidly

develop neural connections that support visual processing and perception. During this

developmental period, visual experiences are necessary for the normal development of the visual

system, and the absence of these experiences can result in permanent deficits in vision.

Cataracts obstruct the passage of light to the retina, causing partial or complete blindness.

When cataracts are present from birth or early childhood, they deprive the visual system of the

necessary input for neurological development. This deprivation can result in permanent deficits

in vision, even with surgical repair. For instance, in the case of cataracts, the visual experiences

that are necessary for the normal development of the visual system are disrupted. Without visual

stimuli, the visual system may not develop the neural connections necessary to support normal

vision.

Children who undergo cataract surgery during the critical period can sometimes achieve a

near-normal vision. However, the outcome may depend on the severity of the cataracts and the

age at which the surgery is performed. It should be noted that the particular disease which causes

cataracts may also limit the success of the surgery. The results of a study completed in 2001 with

children in India with congenital rubella cataracts found that visual outcomes remained poor for
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children who received early surgical intervention for their cataracts, (Perumalsamy

Vijayalakshmi et al, 2001).

Adults who have lost their sense of vision later in life due to injury or disease, but have

already developed generally during the critical period, have established the necessary neural

connections for processing visual information. Even though the brain has to re-adapt to

processing visual input, the primary neural architecture necessary for vision is already in place.

As a result, adults who regain their vision after a period of blindness do not require as much

extensive training and therapy to learn how to interpret and process visual information.

Conversely, adults who have been blind since birth will have a much smaller chance of acquiring

normal vision after having their sight restored. The visual system can still adapt and reorganize

to some extent in adults, but the reduced neural plasticity often limits the degree of restoration.

As a result, the restoration of vision in adults who have never seen may be more limited

compared to children who undergo cataract surgery during the critical period.

In summary, the differences between the way the brain processes visual information

during critical periods of development and in adults who have lost their sense of vision explain

why children with cataracts may need to learn to see again, while adults who regain their vision

after a period of blindness may not require as much extensive training and therapy. In the context

of receptor processes, this teaches us that a mechanical fault in the eye during a developmental

life stage may cause a secondary pathology of blindness which is neurological. The field of study

of receptor processes has immense ramifications for developing novel treatments for sensory

related illnesses.
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Question Six

Letter recognition is a crucial cognitive process that underlies many aspects of human

communication and learning, including reading, writing, and language comprehension. It

provides insights into sensory, perception and cognitive processing. By focusing on recognition,

we will direct our attention to how the mind processes and interprets the sensory input.

Top-down processing is one function of the high mind. It involves the use of prior

knowledge and experience to interpret sensory information which is critical to visual

perceptivity. In the case of letter recognition, a key process is known as feature detection. This is

the ability of the brain to detect the basic features that make up a letter, such as its curves and

straight lines. This process is thought to occur in the primary visual cortex, where cells are

specialized to respond to specific features of visual stimuli, including those that make up letters,

even when they are not exact matches to our mental representation.

For instance, various renditions of the letter R, examples of these include the R with a

hook at the top, an R with an angled line instead of a curved one, and even a R with a

disconnected leg. All of these renditions of the letter R may exceed our mental representation of

the letter. Nonetheless, our knowledge of the letter's structure and our context-dependent

expectations facilitate recognition.

Perceptual learning is another process that enables us to recognize letters in a wide range

of variations and contexts. This process involves the brain learning to make rapid adjustments to

its mental representation of a letter. In our letter R example, our brain is able to make rapid

adjustments to its mental representation based on the specific features of the letter as seen. Over

time, our mental representation of an R become more flexible and adaptable, allowing us to

recognize letters in a wide range of variations and contexts.

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Overall, letter recognition is a complex process that involves several different processes

in the brain, including feature detection, top-down processing, and perceptual learning. Together,

these processes enable us to recognize letters in a wide range of variations and contexts, and to

adapt our mental representation of a letter based on the specific features of the seen letter.

Interestingly, the idea of recognizing the true form of a symbol, such as a letter, from its

imperfect representation again raises Plato’s theory of forms, which holds that there is a perfect

and eternal letter R and it is by virtue of the existence of this form of an R that we can identify

the letter in all its varied manifestations.

Question Seven

As we have been discussing throughout these responses the visual system allows us to

perceive the world through the medium of light. Light conditions around us are constantly in

flux. Sometimes it is overly bright and at other times we can barely see. The brain, however, has

evolved with yet another fascinating function, spectral sensitivity. In dim light conditions, such

as when day turns to night, or night into day, our visual perception adapts. This is known as the

Purkinje shift.

The Purkinje shift was discovered by Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně. While

taking walks during the change of night into day, he happened to notice a depth or darkening of

some normally bright red flowers (Wade & Brožek, 2001). The visual change was not the

flowers themselves but a change in the cone system in the foveae of the retina.

The visual receptor system in the eyes adjusts to the changing frequency of the dim light

conditions of the breaking dawn. This occurs because of the sensitivity of the eye to changes in

the level of illumination, a process known as spectral sensitivity. Spectral sensitivity refers to

how different wavelengths of light affect the photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye called
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cones. These cones are typically referred to as "S" (short-wavelength), "M" (medium-

wavelength), and "L" (long-wavelength) cones.

In dim light conditions, the S-cones are less sensitive than the M- and L-cones, and

eventually stop responding altogether. In dim illumination, the rods are primarily responsible for

vision and the S-cone is more sensitive to shorter wavelength light, which appears brighter to us.

This means that objects reflecting short wavelength light will appear brighter than objects

reflecting long wavelength light. As a result, in dim illumination, objects that reflect long

wavelength light will appear darker to us.

In conclusion, the visual system is a remarkable mechanism. The Purkinje shift,

discovered by Jan Evangelista Purkyně, is a fascinating aspect of our visual perception that

allows us to see in varying light conditions. This shift is a result of spectral sensitivity, which

refers to how different wavelengths of light affect the photoreceptor cells in our eyes. In dim

illumination, objects reflecting short wavelength light appear brighter to us, while those

reflecting long wavelength light appear darker. The interesting thing about spectral sensitivity is

that it is a purely mechanical feature of the eye that occurs prior to the cognitive experience of

vision. The cells have evolved in a highly intricate manner to accommodate the miniscule

variations in wavelength of visible light in our environment and to prepare the information

contained within light in an optimal manner for the nervous system to receive. Our

understanding of the Purkinje shift and spectral sensitivity not only helps us to appreciate the

intricacies of the human visual system, but also has practical applications in fields such as

lighting design and vision research.

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Question Eight

The human eye contains a fascinating, complex system that detects different wavelengths

of light, resulting in our experience of vision. Special rod and cone photoreceptor cells belong to

this system and are located in the retina. It is believed that rods evolved before cones. Humans,

apes, and Old World monkeys evolved a particular system arrangement leading to a distinct

perception capability. This rare and sudden evolutionary event is responsible for the trichromatic

system. Colour vision is based on the perception of three primary colours and, as an

advantageous adaptation, likely originates from the need to detect and distinguish a broader

range of colours in fruits. However, researchers are currently exploring the possibility that

aspects of socialization could be the evolutionary driver.

Humans have trichromatic vision, made possible by three types of cone cells. These cells

are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. The central part of our eye, called the foveae,

contains densely packed cones, and each type of cone is most sensitive to a distinct colour

grouping: short (blue), medium (green), and long (red) wavelengths. However, this was not

always the case. This trichromatic vision is believed to have occurred in an abrupt evolutionary

change. According to Mitchell & Leopold (2015), this was a two-part event. Initially, a

duplication event resulted in two copies of the opsin gene on the X chromosome. Subsequently, a

mutation occurred in one of the genes, which caused a shift in its chromatic sensitivity. This

ultimately resulted in the visual system utilizing three distinct types of cone cells (Mitchell &

Leopold, 2015).

The advantages of this three-cone system are constantly under investigation. Some

researchers propose that the reason for this development is that it granted human ancestors the

ability to detect ripe fruit. This ability was enhanced by the L-cone’s contribution to vision, as it
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adds detection of broad variations in red and yellow. These added colours, transforming the

vision of these primates from dichromatic to trichromatic, would provide a nutritional advantage

as most fruits are at their highest concentration of nutritional value for only a brief period. The

colour cue allowed primates to maximize nutritional intake from their food.

More recently, socialization is being considered as the possible catalyst for this change.

In the previously mentioned study, Mitchell & Leopold briefly touched on a hypothesis made by

Nicholas Mundy (2006), suggesting there was a trade-off of the olfactory senses for the Opsin

gene mutation. I find this idea interesting, given that scent is a primary sense for many animals in

social relationships. However, in spite of the social ramifications, detecting a wide variety of

scents is also an excellent tool for distinguishing between odours, which would be necessary,

particularly with dichromatic vision, to identify ripe fruits, seeds, etc.+ It is possible that the

development of trichromatic vision happened following the diminishment of the olfactory sense,

to compensate for the loss of one method of detecting ripe fruit with a new visual method.

In conclusion, the evolution of trichromatic vision in humans, Old World monkeys, and

apes was a rare and sudden event that enabled us to perceive a broader range of colours through

the use of three distinct types of cone cells in the retina. Although the theory is not conclusive,

the advantages of this system may have been to increase these primates’ caloric intake through

the ability to detect fruit at its optimal level of ripeness. While the exact reason is still under

investigation, trichromatic vision certainly plays an essential role in our lives today, contributing

not only to the capacity of human beings to survive in the world but also to our sense of art and

aesthetic beauty.
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