minimum amount of a stimulus a person can perceive

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how different two stimuli must be in magnitude before they are perceived to be different - compare standard stimulus to comparison stimulus

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another word for threshold

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the amount of change necessary to predict the difference between two stimuli

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the change in stimulus intensity needed to produce a jnd divided by the stimulus intensity of the standard stimulus is a constant - which is called K

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relates the intensity of the stimulus to the intensity of the sensation

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relates the intensity of the stimulus to the intensity of the sensation - countered Fechner's law

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suggests that other, nonsensory factors influence what the subject says she senses

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measures how risky the subject is in sensory decision-making; based upon nonsensory factors

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measures how well the subject can sense the stimulus

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used to graphically summarize a subject's responses in a signal detection experiment

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respond to physical stimuli

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translates physical energy to neural impulses

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brain areas that further analyze sensory input

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clear, domelike window in front of eye which gathers and focuses incoming light

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hold in the iris

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colored part of the eye made up of involuntary muscles and autonomic nerve fibers

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lies right behind the iris and helps control the curvature of the light coming in and can focus near or distant objects on the retina

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back of eye - screen filled with neural elements and blood vessels - image-detecting part of the eye

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retina contains two types of photoreceptors

theory

used for color vision and perceiving fine detail

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low sensitivity to detail, function best in reduced illumination, allow perception only of achromatic colors

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middle section of the retina which contains only cones

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visual fibers which do not cross to the other side of the brain - outer edge of visual field

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lateral geniculate nucleus of thalamus

visual cortex in occipital lobe

superior colliculus

where visual information goes from the optic chiasm

three terms

suggests certain cells in the visual cortex are maximally sensitive to certain features of stimuli - distinguished three different types of cells

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responses of these cells give information about orientation and boundaries of an object

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responses of these cells give more advanced information about orientation, such as movement

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responses of these cells give information about more abstract concepts such as object shape

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measured cell responses using sing-cell recording, which involves placing a microelectrode in the cortex so sensitive that it could record responses of a single cell - called recording from single nerve fibers

two people

an objective measurement of the amount of light falling on a surface

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the subjective impression of the intensity of a stimulus

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caused by the regeneration of rhodopsin, the photopigment in the rods

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adjacent retinal cells inhibit one another; sharpens and highlights borders between light and dark areas - explains simultaneous brightness contrast

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wavelengths of light human eye can see

range

occurs when mixing pigments

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occurs when mixing lights - primary colors of blue, green, and red

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there are three types of color receptors: red, blue, and green - ratio of activity in the receptors determines color

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there are three opposing pairs of color receptors: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white - one side is excitement of receptor, one side is inhibition

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if one object covers another, the partially hidden object is seen as further away

cue for depth perception

comparison of retinal size of object to actual size of objects gives cue to depth

cue for depth perception

parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance

cue for depth perception

as scene recedes from viewer, the surface texture of the object appears to change

cue for depth perception

when observer moves, objects in a stationary environment appear to move relative to distance from observer

cue for depth perception

each eye sees a slightly different scene; when brain combines two scenes, we get perception of depth

cue for depth perception

integrated visual experience that stands out at center of attention

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the background against which the figure appears

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elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

Gestalt law of organization

elements that are similar to one another tend to be grouped together

Gestalt law of organization

elements that appear to follow in same direction tend to be grouped together

Gestalt law of organization

tendency to see incomplete figures as being complete

Gestalt law of organization

perceptual organization will always be as "good" (i.e., regular, simple, symmetrical, etc.) as possible

Gestalt law of organization - encompasses other laws

Gestalt law of organization

suggests that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the object in the perceptual field and the pattern of stimulation in the brain

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responds directly to components of incoming stimulus on the basis of fixed rules and then sums up components to arrive at the whole pattern

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guided by conceptual processes such as memories and expectations that allow the brain to recognize whole objects and then later the components

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when two or more stationary lights flicker in succession they tend to be perceived as a single moving light

illusion of motion

a stationary point of light appears to move when the background moves

illusion of motion

a stationary point of light when viewed in an otherwise totally dark room appears to move; probably caused by involuntary eye movements

illusion of motion

it a moving object is viewed for an extended period of time, it will appear to move in an opposite direction when the motion stops

illusion of motion

provides erroneous depth information which confuses notion of size - room with back left corner almost twice as far away from viewer as back right corner, with distortions in floor to ceiling height

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tendency for the perceived size of an object to remain constant despite variations in the size of its retinal image

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tendency for the perceived lightness of an object to remain constant despite changes in illumination

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tendency for the perceived color of an object to remain constant despite changes in the spectrum of light falling on it

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illusion where different directions of arrows on two same-length lines make one appear longer

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illusion where a starburst of lines makes two straight lines through the figure appear curved

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illusion where a v-shape makes the two same-legth lines inside the v appear different lengths

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illusion where two parallel lines each have a piece of another line coming out of them at an angle, but they are continuation of same line

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stimulus pattern in which two alternative, equally compelling, perceptual organizations spontaneously oscillate

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two different stimuli are presented side-by-side; if infant looks longer at one of them, it is inferred that the infant can perceive difference between the two

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stimulus is presented to infant, infant eventually stops attending to it; different stimulus is then presented, and if infant attends to it, it is inferred that infant can perceive difference between the two

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designed visual cliff

two people

with soundwaves, number of cycles per second; measured in Hertzes

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with soundwaves, the amplitude of the wave, measured in decibels

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subjective experience of the frequency of sound

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subjective experience of the intensity of sound

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refers to the quality of the sound

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fleshy part of ear visible from outside, which chanels sound waves into auditory canal

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vibrates in phase with incoming sound waves, moving back and forth at a high rate for high-frequency sounds and low rate for low-frequency

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entrance to inner ear, where edge of stirrup rests

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membrane that runs length of the cochlea

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rests on the basilar membrane along its entire length; composed of thousands of hair cells which bend to send electrical charges to transmit sound

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superior olive

inferior colliculus

medial geniculate nucleus in thalamus

temporal cortex

places auditory nerve projects signals

four places

each different pitch causes a different place on the basilar membrane to vibrate - true for tones above 500 Hz

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suggests that basilar membrane vibrates as a whole, and that rate of vibration equals frequency of the stimulus, which is then translated directly to appropriate number of neural impulses per second - true for tones below 4000 Hz

theory

movement of basilar membrane is maximal at different place along the membrane for each different frequency

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bumps on tongue where taste buds are found

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where smell receptors are found - upper nasal passage of nose

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where taste information travels in brain

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where smell information travels in brain

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minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli

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neutral temperature perceived to be neither hot nor cold

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theory that there is a gating mechanism in the spinal chord that turns pain signals on and off

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has to do with sense of balance and of bodily position relative to gravity

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has to do with awareness of body movement and position, specifically with muscle, tendon, and joint position

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where touch sensations are processed in brain

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said selection attention is all-or-nothing process - if you attend to one thing, you don't attend to everything else

(proved wrong)

person

technique where two ears are simultaneously presented with two different messages, and listener is asked to repeat one of the messages

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performance is worst at extremely high or low levels of arousal

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