Psych Of Perception Exam 1

Front 1

Sensation

Back 1

Refers to the first steps of the perceptual process. It is sensation that allows us to turn environmental stimuli into nerve impulses. Sensations take place in the sensory organs.

Front 2

Perception

Back 2

Perception is the final step of the perceptual process. It is the interpretation of the experiences of the sensory organs. Perceptions take place in the brain

Front 3

Bottom-Up Processing

Back 3

Occurs at the level of the senses. Starts with external stimuli and travels up to the brain to be perceived

Front 4

Top-Down Processing

Back 4

Starts in the brain; we recognize something and a thing that we have seen and perceived before. Prior experiences are important to this – it’s why Indians Jones is afraid of snakes!

Front 5

Method Of Limits

Back 5

Record whether a participant perceives a stimulus or not (think of the sound test they gave you in elementary school)

Front 6

Method of Constant Stimuli

Back 6

Different intensities of a stimuli are presented in a random order; each is presented multiple times

Front 7

Method of Adjustment

Back 7

Participant adjusts intensity until it matches perceived or given stimulus

Front 8

Absolute Threshold

Back 8

The minimum energy to detect a stimulus (only one stimulus)

Ex: Hearing different tones and indicating whether one can hear it or not

Front 9

Difference Threshold

Back 9

The point at which we are able to tell whether two stimuli are different (comparing)

Front 10

Point of Subjective Equality (PSE)

Back 10

Adjusting two stimuli until they look the same (adjusting lines so that they appear equal)

Front 11

Just Noticeable Difference

Back 11

Adjusting two stimuli so that they appear just different – we can tell the difference

Front 12

Error of Habituation

Back 12

Occurs when a participant answers the same way between different stimuli or trials, especially if the stimuli are very similar

Front 13

Error of Anticipation

Back 13

Occurs when a participant gets used to a stimulus being the same every time, and gives the same answer before they are really able to digest the stimuli.

Front 14

Physiological Method for Studying Perception

Back 14

Single cell recording, recording brain activity

Front 15

Psychological Method for Studying Perception

Back 15

manipulate stimulus, measure behavior (know how proprioception research demonstrated this)

Front 16

Sensory Adaptation

Back 16

Occurs when there are no changing stimuli in the environment, and the senses become accustomed to what they are taking in; it allows us to notice differences in our environments

Front 17

Sensory Overload

Back 17

Occurs when the senses are over-stimulated and therefore have difficulty making sense of a person’s environment

Front 18

Sensory Deprivation

Back 18

Occurs when there is nothing for the senses to take in. There is no input. Research shows that when the senses are deprived for long periods, the brain begins to create perceptions that are not real (they’re basically hallucinations)

Front 19

Perceptual Deprivation

Back 19

Occurs when there is input, but when it is unchanging (sitting or lying very still, wearing translucent goggles and hearing only white noise)

Front 20

Afterimage Illusion

Back 20

Our sensory input stops responding after a while (when things are not changing, namely), so when we look away we see an afterimage.
These show us how our perceptual systems work. When we look too long at one thing, our perceptual systems turn off the stimulated areas. When we look away, the opposite areas are stimulated, leaving us with an afterimage of what we were initially looking at

Front 21

Mind-Body Problem

Back 21

States that what the sensory systems input is up to the mind to interpret. Perception can be different for different people though, making it difficult to tell exactly how perception works for each individual. Prior knowledge plays a huge role

Front 22

Inattentional Blindness

Back 22

Occurs when attention is divided between many things, and a person does not notice something important (the gorilla thing)

Front 23

Change Blindness

Back 23

Occurs when a person fails to notice a change in display; attention is focused on one thing and a person does not notice a change in stimuli (large board and switching the person that one is talking to)

Front 24

Synesthesia

Lower Synesthesia

Higher Synesthesia

Back 24

The blending or mixing of sensory experiences

LS: Is more in the fusiform gyrus; mostly concerns visual synesthesia (colors and numbers)

HS: In the angular gyrus; colors or tastes are associated with abstract ideas of sequence or ordinality. Includes synesthesia with emotion and taste

Front 25

Proprioception

Back 25

Perception of the location of our own bodies (without seeing them).

Receptor: Proprioceptors

Front 26

Kinesthesis

Back 26

The perception that the body is in motion.

Receptors: Kinesthetic and Vestibular receptors

Front 27

Temperature

Back 27

Thermoreceptors

Front 28

Pain

Back 28

Nociceptors

Front 29

Cutaneous/Object Properties

Back 29

Mechanoreceptors

Front 30

Discuss Sensory Coding in the Brain

Back 30

Nerve impulses are sent to different areas of the brain, so we are able to distinguish different perceptual experiences

Front 31

Discuss Sensory Coding in Receptors

Back 31

Receptors respond to different types of stimuli, allowing us to perceive different qualities

Front 32

RA Receptors

SA Receptors

Back 32

Rapidly Adapting; fire when pressure begins and when it stops

Slowly Adapting; fire when pressure is applied and stop firing when it is lifted

Front 33

Small Receptive Fields

Back 33

Activate fewer neurons – they allow us to perceive exactly where the skin is being stimulated

Front 34

Large Receptive Fields

Back 34

Allow us to respond to weaker stimulation; they are tuned for gross stimulation

Front 35

Two-Point Threshold

Back 35

The point at which we are able to differentiate being stimulated in a certain spot with two areas of pressure rather than just one. This is much lower is areas such as the fingers and the face, where receptive fields are small

Front 36

Merkel Receptors

Back 36

Location: Upper layer of dermis

SA Fibers; respond to continuous pressure

Small receptive fields; perceive fine details

Front 37

Meissener Receptors

Back 37

Location: Upper dermis

RA Fibers; respond to changing stimuli (start and stop)

Small receptive fields; perceive handgrip control

Front 38

Ruffini Receptors

Back 38

Location: Lower dermis

SA Fibers; respond to continuous pressure

Large receptive fields; perceive stretching of the skin

Front 39

Pacinian Receptors

Back 39

Location: Subcutaneous layer

RA Fibers; respond to rapid vibrations

Large receptive fields; perceive vibrations and textures determined by rapid movement

Front 40

Gate-Control Theory of Pain

Back 40

States that neural mechanisms in the spinal cord can close, reducing or preventing the fire of T-Cells that cause the brain to perceive pain

Front 41

Ways to Prepare for Pain

Back 41

If we distract ourselves from pain, staying busy with something else, T-Cells fire less often

Front 42

Penfield / Sensory Homunculus

Back 42

The sensory homunculus shows us how much of the brain is dedicated to each part of our bodies. As such, the lips, face, and hands are unusually large because those areas take up the most space in the brain.

Front 43

Pon's Experiments with Monkeys

Back 43

Neurons in moneys’ arms were severed so that there would be no sensory input going to the brain from them. From there, the arm was touched in order to see if there was neural firing in the brain. There was not. However, when the face was stimulated, the face-area in the brain showed neural activity as well as the arm-area.

Front 44

Ramachandran's Q-Tip Experiment

Back 44

Ramachandran simulated an amputee’s face, and the patient reported that he was able to feel it in his phantom limb. This is how he explains the brain’s ability to remap itself after an amputation occurs

Front 45

Phantom Limb

Back 45

Occurs sometimes when a limb is amputated. It is the sensation that the limb remains. For some, they can feel it moving as though it were still there. For others, it is a painful experience, as though it is always cramping.