Sensation and Perception

Sensation vs. Perception

Sensation = the process by which sensory
organs in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth,
skin, and other tissues receive and detect
stimuli
_______________________

Perception = the organization and

interpretation of sensory stimuli by the
brain
_______________________

You find that you have to add 1 teaspoon of sugar to a

cup of coffee that already has 5 teaspoons of sugar in it
to notice the difference in sweetness. If you have a cup
of coffee with 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, how many
teaspoons would you have to add to notice the
difference in sweetness at least half the time?

A.
B.
C.
D.

1
2
4
5

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vpzPBewsqWU/TPMrvnTvzoI/AAAAAAAAPnU/wUZD2mp1KJg/s1600/Kopi%2BDan%2Bgula.jpg

Sensation
_______________ = the study of the relationships between the
physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and
our psychological experience of them
________________ = the minimum stimulation needed to
detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
___________________________ = the minimum difference
between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time
Also known as a ________________________
______________: JNDs are proportional to the size of the
original stimulus

Examples of Absolute Thresholds

You find that you have to add 1 teaspoon of sugar to a

cup of coffee that already has 5 teaspoons of sugar in it
to notice the difference in sweetness. If you have a cup
of coffee with 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, how many
teaspoons would you have to add to notice the
difference in sweetness at least half the time?

A.
B.
C.
D.

1
2
4
5

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vpzPBewsqWU/TPMrvnTvzoI/AAAAAAAAPnU/wUZD2mp1KJg/s1600/Kopi%2BDan%2Bgula.jpg

Human Sensory Systems

Vision
Hearing (Audition)
Smell (Olfaction)
Taste (Gustation)
Somatosenses
Touch
Vestibular sense
Kinesthesis

Receptor Cells

Specific _______________ for each sense

stimulate neurons in the CNS

Receptor cells _____________ sensory input

from the environment (sights, sounds, smells)

Vision: The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Human Eye

Receptor Cells for Vision

1. Rods

concentrated in the
periphery of the retina
black and white vision
most active in dim
illumination

2. Cones

concentrated in the center

of the retina (fovea)
color vision
most active in bright
illumination

Pathways in the Visual System

Its dark in your house and you are struggling to

see what time it is without turning on the light.
You notice that if you turn your gaze slightly to
the side of your watch, you can make out the
large numbers. The ability to see these large
details in the dark is due to your:
A.
B.
C.
D.

presbyopia
optic disc
cones
rods

The Auditory System

Comparing Vision and Hearing

Sense

Vision

Hearing

Name of
Receptor Cells

Location of
Receptor Cells

Hair Cells in the Cochlea

Rods and cones are to vision as

___________ are to audition.
A.
B.
C.
D.

eardrums
pinnas
hair cells
cochleas

Hearing
1. _________ magnify sound from the
______________________
2. ________ in the _______ fire action
potentials
3. ________________localizes sound in space
4. __________ distributes frequency information
5. __________________interprets sound

Perception
the organization and interpretation of
sensory stimuli by the brain
(knowledge-based processing)

Perception
Includes the processing, organization,
and interpretation of sensory signals
Results in an internal representation of
environmental stimuli
Perceptual organization

Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing

___________________= analysis that begins
with the sensory receptors and works up to
the brains integration of sensory information
Example: reading (letters words)

___________________= information
processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions
drawing on our experience and expectations
Conscious perception of sensory information
involves both types of processing

Examples of Top-Down Processing

Priming means that prior information will
alter what we expect to perceive
The context in which we receive
information also changes what we
perceive

Priming

Priming: Duck or Rabbit?

Context

Context

Context

Context: A Young Beauty

Context: An Old Woman

Perceptual Organization:
Figure & Ground
Our visual system divides everything we see into
components, a process called ___________________
The most important aspect of perceptual parsing is
dividing what we see into the _______ and ________
Perceptual ambiguities demonstrate what happens
when figure and ground are reversible
Sometimes called ____________________

Reversible Figures

Reversible Figures

Reversible Figures

Perceptual Organization:
Gestalt Principles
Law of Proximity
Law of Similarity
Closure

Law of Proximity

Law of Similarity

Closure

Although a few keys on the piano were broken,

Shana couldn't prevent herself from mentally
filling the missing notes of the familiar melodies.
This best illustrates the principle of:

A.
B.
C.
D.

proximity
similarity
continuity
closure

http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/piano-keys-anthony-rapp.jpg

Depth Perception
Depth cues for the visual system can be divided into
binocular depth cues and monocular depth cues
One important binocular depth cue is caused by the
distance between the eyes
This cue is known as ______________________

Brain uses the disparity between the images of each

eye to compute distances to nearby objects

Binocular Disparity

Binocular Disparity

Monocular Depth Cues

Interposition
Linear perspective
Texture gradient

Interposition

Linear Perspective

Texture Gradient

Motion Cues for Depth Perception

Relative Motion Parallax
Distance of objects from
viewer determines their
relative motion

Nearby objects appear to

pass ___________
Distant objects appear to
pass more ___________

Perceptual Constancies
Refers to the ability to retain an
unchanging percept of an object
despite variations in the retinal image
Three examples:
1. Size constancy
2. Shape constancy
3. Lightness constancy

Size Constancy

Size Constancy

Shape Constancy

Lightness Constancy

Taking his first train ride, a child is amazed at

how quickly the fence posts along the track are
whizzing by, but the farm in the distance hardly
seems to move. This best illustrates:
A.
B.
C.
D.

Retinal disparity
Relative motion parallax
Size constancy
Interposition