Chapter 5

Chapter 5
The Perceiving Mind
Cacioppo, Discovering Psychology, 3rd Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted
to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Sensation and Perception
Cacioppo, Discovering Psychology, 3 rd Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the basic concepts of sensation and perception, including transduction of stimuli
into neural signals, distinctions between bottom-up and top-down perceptual processing,
thresholds, and measurement.
• Identify the process by which the physical structures of the eye transduce light waves into
neural signals, producing the sense of vision.
• Summarize the processes responsible for color vision, object recognition, and depth
perception.
• Describe the process by which physical structures of the ear transduce sound waves into
neural signals, producing perception of pitch, loudness, and spatial location in hearing.
• Explain the mechanisms by which the somatosensory and chemical sense systems
produce perception of body position, touch, skin temperature, pain, smell, and taste.
• Analyze the causes of various individual differences in perception, including development
and culture, in terms of biology, experience, and their interaction.
Sensory Information Travels to the Brain
The Brain Constructs Perceptions from
Sensory Information
Connecting the Physical World and the Mind
Introduction
Sensation: Activation of the sense organs by a source

of physical energy
Perception: Sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and
integration of stimuli
• Carried out by the sense organs and brain
Introduction
Stimulus: Energy that produces a response in a sense

organ
Psychophysics: Study of the relationship between:
• Physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological
experience of them
Absolute Thresholds: Detecting What’s Out
There
Absolute threshold: Smallest intensity of a
stimulus that must be present for it to be
detected
• The stimulus intensity that is detected 50% of the
time
Noise - Background stimulation that interferes
with the perception of other stimuli
• Unwanted stimuli that interfere with other senses
Difference Thresholds: Noticing Distinctions
Between Stimuli
Difference threshold: Smallest level of added
or reduced stimulation
• Required to sense that a change in stimulation has
occurred
• Also called a ‘just noticeable difference’
Weber’s law: Just noticeable difference is a
constant proportion of the intensity of an initial
stimulus
Context-dependent: You hear your name being

mentioned out of the cacophony of shouting,
gossiping aunties.
Sensory Adaptation: Turning Down Our
Responses
Adaptation: Adjustment in sensory capacity
after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli
Decline in sensitivity to sensory stimuli
• Inability of the sensory nerve receptors to fire off
messages to the brain indefinitely
Signal Detection Theory
Assessing Perception
The Visual Stimulus
Light Travels in Waves
The Biology of Vision (1 of 2) continued
Lens: Focuses light by
changing shape
(Accommodation)
Iris: Colored part of eye
Pupil: Dark hole in the

center of the iris.
Depends on amount of
light in the Cornea: Transparent,
environment protective window.
Refracts light. Primary
role in focusing
The Human Eye
The Biology of Vision (1 of 2)
Rods: Thin, cylindrical
receptor cells that are
highly sensitive to light
Retina: Part of the eye
that converts
electromagnetic Cones: Cone-shaped
energy of light to receptor cells
electrical impulses for responsible for sharp
transmission to the focus and color
brain. perception. Especially
in bright light
The Retina
The Biology of Vision (2 of 2)
Cones: Concentrated
in the fovea (center of Rods: Help dark
the retina) perception. Helps
peripheral vision
Cones: Allow for vision

clarity and colors.
Distribution of Rods and Cones Across the Retina

The Biology of Vision (2 of 2) continued
Ganglion Cells: Collect

and summarize visual
information
Bipolar Cells: Receive

information directly
from rods and cones
Color Vision
Trichromatic theory of
color vision: 3 types of
cones in the retina.
Each responds
primarily to a specific
range of wavelengths
- Red
- Green
- Blue
Responses by Cones to Colored Light
Opponent Process Theory
Gestalt Principles
Proximity: Objects that appear close to
each other, belong to the same object.
Similarity: Similar stimuli gets paired

together
Continuity: Points that form smooth

lines when connected, belong
together.
Closure: We perceive a complete

image even when there are gaps in the
picture
The Gestalt Principle of Closure
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing
Top-down processing: Perception guided by:

• Higher-level knowledge
• Experience
• Expectations
• Motivations
Bottom-up processing: Progression of
recognizing and processing information from:
• Individual components of a stimuli and moving to
the perception of the whole
Depth Perception
Ability to view the world in three dimensions and

to perceive distance
• Binocular disparity - Difference in the images seen
by the left eye and the right eye
Depth Perception
• Monocular cues - Permit humans to obtain a sense

of depth and distance with just one eye
• Motion parallax: change in position of an object on the
retina, caused by movement of your body relative to
the object
• Relative size: for two objects of the same size, the
object that makes a smaller image on the retina is
farther away
• Texture gradient: texture provides information about
distance; details of distant things are less distinct
• Linear perspective: objects in the distance appear to
converge
Perceptual Constancy
Physical objects are unvarying and consistent

even though sensory input about them may vary
Allows to view objects as having an unchanging
size, shape, color, and brightness
• Even if the image on our retina changes
Motion Perception: As the World Turns
Cues about perception of motion

• Movement of an object across the retina is
perceived relative to some stable background
• If a stimulus is increasing in size, filling more of the
visual field, we assume the stimulus is approaching
• Movement of images across the retina
Motion Perception: As the World Turns
• Factor information about our own:
• Head and eye movements
• Information about changes in the retinal image
• Apparent movement - Perception that a stationary
object is moving
Perceptual Illusions: The Deceptions of
Perceptions
Visual Illusions: Physical stimuli that
consistently produce errors in perception
Cultural differences are reflected in depth
perception
Depth Perception
The Ames Room Tricks Our Depth Perception
Developmental and Individual Differences in Vision
Important Features of the Visual System
The Auditory Stimulus
Range of Hearing
The Biology of Audition
Parts of the Ear

Sensing Sound
• Inner ear - Changes the sound vibrations into a

form transmittable to the brain
• Cochlea: Coiled tube in the ear filled with fluid that
vibrates in response to sound
• Basilar membrane: Inside the cochlea, contains
sense receptors for sound
• Hair cells: Tiny cells covering the basilar membrane
that, when bent by vibrations entering the cochlea,
transmit neural messages to the brain
Pitch Perception
Developmental and Individual Differences
in Audition
Expectations Influence the Interpretation of Sine Waves

The Biology of the Somatosenses
Touch Receptors
Pain
The Gate Theory of Pain

Sociocultural Influences on the Somatosenses
The Biology of the Chemical Senses—Olfaction
Olfactory Receptors
The Biology of the Chemical Senses—Gustation
Taste Receptors
Perception and Cognition in the Chemical Senses
Table 5.3 Interpreting Your Superstar Results
Mildly Sensitive Tasters Moderately Sensitive Superstars (Group 4)

(Group 1) Tasters (Group 2 and 3)
Weak to undetectable Moderate to strong Very strong sensation
sensation from mint. sensation from mint from mint.
Flavor of food is not that Flavor of food is important. Flavor of food is important.
important.
Many foods liked, few Many foods liked, few Great variation in the
foods disliked, and not foods disliked, and often number of foods liked and
passionate about food. passionate about food. often passionate about
food.
Developmental and Individual Differences
in the Chemical Senses

Chapter 5

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 5

The Perceiving Mind

Connecting the Physical World and the Mind

Sensation: Activation of the sense organs by a source

Stimulus: Energy that produces a response in a sense

Context-dependent: You hear your name being

Light Travels in Waves

Iris: Colored part of eye

Pupil: Dark hole in the

Cones: Allow for vision

Distribution of Rods and Cones Across the Retina

Ganglion Cells: Collect

Bipolar Cells: Receive

Responses by Cones to Colored Light

Similarity: Similar stimuli gets paired

Continuity: Points that form smooth

Closure: We perceive a complete

Top-down processing: Perception guided by:

Ability to view the world in three dimensions and

• Monocular cues - Permit humans to obtain a sense

Physical objects are unvarying and consistent

Cues about perception of motion

The Ames Room Tricks Our Depth Perception

Parts of the Ear

• Inner ear - Changes the sound vibrations into a

Expectations Influence the Interpretation of Sine Waves

The Gate Theory of Pain

Table 5.3 Interpreting Your Superstar Results

Mildly Sensitive Tasters Moderately Sensitive Superstars (Group 4)

You might also like