Study Guide 6 Sensation and Perception

Name:_____________________________
Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception
Period:___________
Introduction & Basic Principles of Sensation and Perception (pg. 229-236)
1. Sensation:
2. Perception:
3. Bottom-Up Processing:
4. Top-Down Processing:
5. Describe an example that illustrates the difference between sensation and perception:
A. Thresholds
1. Psychophysics:
2. Absolute Threshold:
Example:
3. Signal Detection Theory:
Example:
4. Subliminal:
Example of subliminal message:
5. Priming:
6. Can advertisers really manipulate us with hidden persuasion? EXPLAIN.
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7. Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference or jnd):
Example:
8. Weber’s Law:
Example:
B. Sensory Adaptation
1. Sensory Adaptation:
Example:
2. Why do we have sensory adaptation? What is its important benefit?
Vision (pg. 236-245)
A. Transduction:
Example:
B. The Stimulus Input: Light Energy
1. Wavelength (distance from one wave peak to the next) determines what?
2. Hue:
3. Amplitude (wave length) determines what?
4. Intensity:
C. The Eye
1. Cornea:
2. Pupil:
3. Iris:
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4. Lens:
5. Retina:

Accommodation

Rods

Cones

Bipolar Cells

Ganglion Cells
6. Optic Nerve:
7. Blind Spot:
8. Fovea:
D. Visual Information Processing
1. After being processed in the retina, the optic nerve carries vision information to what part of
the brain?
2. Feature Detectors (Hubel & Wiesel):
3. Parallel Processing:
Example:
E. Color Vision
1. If no one sees a tomato, is it red? Explain the answer to this question:
2. Young-Helmholtz Trichoromatic (3 color) Theory:
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3. What’s the problem with this theory?
4. Afterimages:
5. Opponent Process Theory (by Hering):
6. How is color vision a 2-stage process?
Hearing (pg. 245-252)
1. Audition:
A. The Stimulus Input: Sound Waves
1. Amplitude (strength) determines what?
2. Frequency (length) determines what?
3. What is sound measured in?
B. The Ear
1. Outer Ear: Eardrum:
2. Middle Ear: 3 bones in middle ear:
3. Inner Ear: Cochlea:
4. Summarize how we hear:
5. Pitch
a. Place Theory:
Problem:
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b. Frequency Theory:
Problem:
c.
Volley Principle:
C. Hearing Loss & Deaf Culture
6. What is the difference between sensorineural hearing loss and conduction hearing loss?
7. Cochlear Implant:
Other Important Senses (pg. 252-263)
A. Touch
1. What are the 4 distinct skin sensations that make up touch?
2. Kinesthesis:
3. Vestibular Sense:
a. Where are the biological parts for your sense of equilibrium located?
B. Pain
1. Why do you need to feel pain?
2. Gate-Control Theory (for pain):
3. Endorphins:
4. What are phantom limb sensations?
5. List 2 examples of psychological influences of pain.
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6. List 2 examples of social-cultural influences of pain.
C. Taste
1. What are the 4 basic tastes?
2. What is the newest 5th one? Describe it.
3. Explain why taste is considered a chemical sense.
D. Sensory Interaction
1. Sensory Interaction:
Example:
2. McGurk Effect:
E. Smell
1. What is the scientific name for smell? (Starts with an O.)
2. Because it is a primitive sense, what part of the brain does smell bypass?
3. The receptor cells send messages to the brain’s _____________________.
(Smell is the only sense that does not pass through the thalamus.)
4. Smells have a huge power to trigger memories. Why?
Example:
Perceptual Organization (pg. 263-272)
1. Gestalt:
A. Form Perception
Figure-ground:
Example:
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Grouping:
Gestalt Principle
Definition
Draw an Example
Proximity
Similarity
Continuity
Connectedness
Closure
B. Depth Perception:
1. Visual Cliff:
2. What did the visual cliff experiments demonstrate – is depth perception learned or not?
Explain:
3. Binocular Depth Cues:
a. Retinal Disparity:
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4. Monocular Depth Cues:
a. Relative Height:
b. Relative Size:
c. Interposition:
d. Relative Motion:
e. Linear Perspective:
f. Light and Shadow:
C. Motion Perception
1. How does the brain typically compute motion?
2. Stroboscopic Movement:
Example:
3. Phi Phenomenon:
Example:
D. Perceptual Constancy
1. Example of size constancy:
2. Example of shape constancy:
3. Example of lightness constancy:
4. Example of color constancy:
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Perceptual Interpretation (pg. 272 – 281)
A. Sensory deprivation & restored vision
1. What does research on sensory restriction & restored vision reveal about the effects of
experience?
2. Perceptual Adaptation:
Example:
3. Perceptual Set:
Example:
4. What determines our perceptual set?
5. Context effects:
Example:
B. Perception & the Human Factor
1. Human Factors Psychologist:
Example:
2. Are human factors psychologists doing basic or applied research? Explain.
Is there Extrasensory Perception? (pg. 282-285)
1. Extrasensory Perception (ESP):
2. Parapsychology:
3. Telepathy:
4. Clairvoyance:
5. Precognition:
6. Psychokinesis:
The Heart of Science: Test them to see if they work. After extensive ESP research, what are scientist’s
conclusions regarding ESP?
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