LecturePPT_Ch04 Part 1.ppt

Sensation Sensation: simple awareness due to the stimulation of a sense organ Perception: organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation. Transduction: when sensors in the body covert physical signals from the environment into neural signals sent to the nervous system. Synesthesia: perceptual experience of one sense that is evoked by another sense. ? 1. This is the process of converting physical energy into neural signals. A. sensation B. perception C. transcription D. transduction E. signal detection Psychophysics Psychophysics: methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus. experiments involving making judgments. A B C D E Measuring Thresholds Absolute threshold: the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus. threshold: a boundary. difference between “sensing” and “not sensing”. detection on 50% of experimental trials. Just noticeable difference (JND): the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected. Approximate Sensory Thresholds Signal Detection Sensing is gradual, not all-or-none. Noise: all other stimuli coming from the internal and external environment. can compete and interfere. Response Criterion: An individual’s judgment Signal detection theory: detection depends on a person’s sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person’s response criterion. Cluttered Environments Sensory Adaptation Sensory adaptation: sensitivity to prolonged stimulations tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions. stimulus doesn’t change. Vision Visual acuity: the ability to see fine detail. smallest font readable from 20 feet away in humans (20/20 is perfect). The Snellen Eye Chart, p. 96 Sensing Light Visible light is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see. ? The __________ of light waves determines which color (i.e., hue) we see. A. amplitude B. purity C.