国外心理学导论6.ppt

Module 6 Perception PERCEPTUAL THRESHOLDS Becoming aware of a stimulus Gustav Fechner defined the absolute threshold as the smallest amount of stimulus energy (such as sound or light) that can be observed or experienced Absolute threshold the intensity level of a stimulus such that a person will have a 50% chance of detecting it PERCEPTUAL THRESHOLDS (CONT.) Subliminal stimulus has an intensity that gives a person less than a 50% chance of detecting the stimulus PERCEPTUAL THRESHOLDS (CONT.) E. H. Weber worked on the problem of how we judge whether a stimulus, such as loud music, has increased or decreased in intensity concept of just noticeable difference (JND) refers to the smallest increase or decrease in the intensity of a stimulus that a person is able to detect Weber’s law The increase in intensity of a stimulus needed to produce a just noticeable difference grows in proportion to the intensity of the initial stimulus. SENSATION VERSUS PERCEPTION Basic Differences Sensations our first awareness of some outside stimulus. outside stimulus activates sensory receptors, which in turn produce electrical signals that are transformed by the brain into meaningless bits of information Perceptions the experience we have after our brain assembles and combines thousands of individual sensations into a meaningful pattern or image SENSATION VERSUS PERCEPTION (CONT.) Changing sensation into perception Stimulus change of energy in the environment, such as light waves, sound waves, mechanical pressure, or chemicals Transduction change physical energy into electrical signals electrical signals are changed into impulses that travel into the brain Brain impulses from senses first go to different primary areas of the brain SENSATION VERSUS PERCEPTION (CONT.) Changing sensation into perception brain: association areas sensation impulses are sent to the appropriate association area in the brain Personalized perceptions each of us has a unique set of personal experiences, emotions, a