Sensation

The passive process of bringing

information from the outside world into

the body and to the brain

Perception

The process of organizing interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Our sensory & perceptual processes work together to help us sort out complex images

7 Major Senses

Audition- Hearing Gustation- Taste Olfaction- Smell Touch Vision Vestibular- body orientation Motion

How do theses senses work?

Each of the structures (ears, eyes, nose, etc.) have receptor cells that change stimuli into a neural impulse.

– Process is called

Transduction

Transduction:

The process of changing the input stimuli into a neural impulse.

Each organ has specialized receptors for the designated purpose. (eye=light, nose=scent).

Sensation

Bottom-Up Processing analysis that begins with

the sense receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Sensation

Top-Down Processing information processing

guided by higher-level mental processes

as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Top Down Processing Example:

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at CmabrigdeUinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht

oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olnyiprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and

lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a total mses and you cansitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is

bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raedervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a

wlohe.

Psychophysics:

Is the study of how physical energy relates to our psychological experience.

Thresholds are used to measure these experiences.– Absolute Thresholds– Signal detection– Subliminal Stimulation– Difference Thresholds

Absolute Threshold

Absolute Threshold– Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus

50% of the time– i.e. candle light 30 miles away, bee’s wing drop

from two feet away from our face, single drop of perfume in a three room apartment.

Signal Detection:

Adaptive measure that allows our psychological state to influence our sensations.– i.e. mother-baby, silkworm-scent of female

Subliminal Stimulation?

Is our subconscious effected by messages undetectable to our conscious awareness?

Yes and no. http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=iEbNvbxhC88

Just Noticable Difference (JND)

The minimum difference a person can detect between two stimuli 50% of the time

Weber’s Law- the greater the intensity of a stimulus, the greater the change needed to produce a noticeable change.

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Just noticeable difference

Vision:

Two physical characteristics that allow us to experience light– Wavelength determines the color– Intensity determines the brightness

How do we process visual stimuli

Retina relays information to the visual cortex located in the occipital lobe.

Specialized cells respond to particular features of objects.

The visual cortex passes information on to specialized association areas.

Visual Information ProcessingVisual Cortex

Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex

Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex

Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex

Pathways from the eyes to the visual cortex

Cones Rods

The EyeThe Retina

Rods and ConesRodsCones

Parallel Processing:

Our brain integrates color, motion, form, and depth.

Visual Information ProcessingParallel Processing

Parallel processing– Blind sight

Color is in our brains only:

Two Theories on how Humans see color– Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

3 type of color receptors- red, green, blue

– Opponent Process Theory Only one side of each pair can fire at a time.

– Red-green– Blue-yellow– White-black

This slide is intentionally left blank.

How do we see color?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZflIMBxyIak

The Physical Property of Waves

The Physical Property of Waves

The Physical Property of Waves

The Physical Property of Waves

The Physical Property of Waves

Optical Illusions

Other PowerPoint

Audition- Hearing

Transducing air pressure changes into neural impulses involves the ear and brain, which decodes the message into sound.

The structure of the ear

Oval window = where the stirrup connects to the cochlea.

The structure of the ear

Cochlea = a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

The Ear

Inner ear– Oval window– Cochlea

Basilar membrane

– Auditory nerve– Auditory cortex

The structure of the ear

Oval Window

The structure of the ear

Cochlea

The structure of the ear

Fluid in the cochlea

The structure of the ear

Hair cells in the cochlea

The structure of the ear

Auditory nerve = nerve which sends the auditory message to the brain via the thalamus.

The structure of the ear

Nerve fibers

The structure of the ear

Auditory nerve

Neural impulse to the brain

The EarPerceiving Loudness

Basilar membrane’s hair cells– Compressed sound

Cochlea and loud sounds

The EarPerceiving Pitch

Place theory– High pitched sounds

Frequency theory– Low pitched sounds– Volley principle

The EarLocating Sounds

Stereophonic hearingLocalization of sounds

– Intensity– Speed of the sound

Hearing Loss and Deaf Culture

Hearing loss– Conduction hearing loss– Sensorineural hearing loss– Cochlea implant

Signing