Myers EXPLORING

PSYCHOLOGY

(5th Ed)

Chapter 5 Sensation and Perception

James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

Sensation
Sensation
a process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energy

Perception
a process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Sensation
Bottom-Up Processing
analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

Top-Down Processing
information processing guided by higherlevel mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Sensation--Basic Principles
Psychophysics
study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Absolute Threshold
minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Sensation--Thresholds
Subliminal
below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Difference Threshold
the minimum difference that a person can detect between two stimuli 50 percent of the time we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd)

Sensation--Thresholds
100

Percentage of correct detections

75

50 Subliminal stimuli

25 0

When stimuli are detectable less than 50% of the time (below ones absolute threshold) they are subliminal

Low

Absolute threshold

Medium

Intensity of stimulus

Sensory Adaptation
Webers Law
for a difference to be perceived, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Sensation- Thresholds

Vision
Wavelength
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Hue
dimension of color determined by wavelength of light

Intensity
amount of energy in a wave determined by the waves amplitude

Vision

Spectrum of Electromagnetic Energy

Physical Properties of Waves

Short wavelength=high frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
Great amplitude (bright colors, loud sounds)

Long wavelength=low frequency (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds)

Small amplitude (dull colors, soft sounds)

Vision
Accommodation
the process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus the image of objects on the retina

Retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Vision
Rods
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

Cones
receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of retina function in daylight or well-lit conditions detect fine detail and give rise to color sensation

The Eye
Optic Nerve: nerve that carries
neural impulses from the eye to the brain nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind spot because there are no receptor cells located there

Blind Spot: point at which the optic

Vision

Retinas Reaction to Light

Vision--Receptors
Receptors in the Human Eye
Cones
Number Location in retina Sensitivity in dim light 6 million Center Low

Rods
120 million Periphery High

Color sensitive?

Yes

No

Pathways from the Eyes to the Visual Cortex

Visual Information Processing

Visual Information Processing

Feature Detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus
shape angle movement

Cells responses

Stimulus

Visual Information Processing

Parallel Processing
processing several aspects of a problem simultaneously the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

Visual Information Processing

Abstraction: Brains higher-level cells respond to combined information from feature-detector cells Feature detection: Brains detector cells respond to elementary features-bars, edges, or gradients of light

Recognition: Brain matches the constructed image with stored images

Retinal processing: Receptor rods and cones bipolar cells ganglion cells

Scene

Visual Information Processing

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (three color) Theory
the retina contains three different retinal color receptors- one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue- which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

The Three Primary Colors of Light

Color-Deficient Vision
People who suffer red-green blindness have trouble perceiving the number within the design

Visual Information Processing

Opponent-Process Theory
theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision
some cells stimulated by green and inhibited by red others stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Color Constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Opponent ProcessAfterimage Effect

Color Depends on Context

Audition
Visual Capture- tendency for vision to dominate the other senses Audition- the sense of hearing Frequency- the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time Pitch- a tones highness or lowness
depends on frequency

Audition--The Ear
Middle Ear
the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochleas oval window

Audition--The Ear
Inner Ear
innermost part of ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals and vestibular sacs

Cochlea
coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

The Intensity of Some Common Sounds

Audition- The Ear

Audition--The Ear

Touch
Skin Sensations
pressure
only skin sensation with identifiable receptors

warmth cold pain

Pain
Gate-Control Theory
theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain gate opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers gate closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

Taste
Taste Sensations
sweet sour salty bitter

Sensory Interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another as when the smell of food influences its taste

Smell

Body Position and Movement

Kinesthesis
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Vestibular Sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Perceptual Organization
Gestalt
an organized whole tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Perceptual Organization
Figure and Ground
organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

Perceptual Organization- Gestalt

Grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Grouping Principles
proximity-group nearby figures together similarity-group figures that are similar continuity- perceive continuous patterns closure-fill in gaps connectedness-spots, lines and areas are seen as unit when connected

Perceptual Organization- Gestalt

Proximity

Similarity

Continuity

Closure

Connectedness

Perceptual OrganizationGestalt Groupings

Gestalt grouping principles are at work here.

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Depth Perception
ability to see objects in three dimensions allows us to judge distance

Binocular cues- depend on use of two eyes

retinal disparity
images from the two eyes differ closer the object, the larger the disparity

convergence
neuromuscular cue two eyes move inward for near objects

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Monocular Cues-available to either eye alone relative size
smaller image is more distant

interposition
closer object blocks distant object

relative clarity
hazy object seen as more distant

texture

coarse --> close fine --> distant

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Visual Cliff

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Relative Size

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Interposition

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Monocular Cues (continued) relative height
higher objects seen as more distant

relative motion
closer objects seem to move faster

linear perspective
parallel lines converge with distance

relative brightness
closer objects appear brighter

Perceptual OrganizationDepth Perception

Perspective Techniques

Perceiving Shape

Perceptual Constancy
Perceptual Constancy perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in retinal image color shape size

Perceptual Organization

Perceptual OrganizationMller-Lyer Illusion

Perceptual Illusions

Perceptual OrganizationSize-Distance Relationship

Perceptual OrganizationBrightness Contrast

Perceptual Interpretation
Perceptual Adaptation (vision) ability to adjust to an artificially displaced visual field prism glasses Perceptual Set a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Perceptual Set
What you see in the center is influenced by perceptual set

Perceptual Set

Flying Saucers or Clouds?

Perceptual SetHuman Factors

Perceptual SetHuman Factors

10

Altitude (thousands of feet)

Pilots perceived descent path

Altitude looks this much higher Actual descent path

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2

Distance from runway (miles)

Is There Extrasensory Perception?

Extrasensory Perception
controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input
telepathy clairvoyance precognition

Parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena
ESP psychokinesis