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ElmherstMinter Spilis2016

b [Link] bM 2016 [Link]

Psychology 2e edition
petrivedom
(2016). Psychology. Prentice Hall (2nd Edition).
Module 7
Chapter 3
Sensation and Sensation
Perception

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Sensation and Perception

Learning Objectives Learning Objective 7.1: Discuss the differences between sensation and perception.

7.1 Discuss the differences between sensation and perception. Sensation

• ________________: Sensory processes taking in
7.2 Explain the process of sensation. information as raw data or meaningless pieces of
7.3 Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation. information about the external world.
7.4 Identify physical energy forms for which humans and nonhumans have sensory
Perception The process of bringing meaning
• _____________:
receptors.

7.5 Explain how the visual sensory system works.

to sensations, by way of collecting, organizing,
interpreting raw data.
7.6 Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

7.7 Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and somesthesis.

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The Process of Sensation Sensory Thresholds (1 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.2: Explain the process of sensation. Learning Objective 7.3: Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation.

• Sensation: the activation of special neuron • Sensory

________thresholds
_______: The point at which sensations
receptor sites in the sense organs, triggering begin and end
conversion of various forms of outside stimuli into
• Weber's law of just noticeable differences (jnd or
neural signals in the brain
the difference threshold)
Transduction the process of converting outside
• ____________: – The smallest difference between two stimuli
stimuli, such as light, into neural activity (detectable 50% of the time) is always constant.
Sensory ________:
• _______ receptors specialized forms of neurons Absolute threshold
• ________ _______: the lowest level of stimulation
stimulated by different kinds of energy such as that a person can consciously detect 50 percent of
light, vibrations, and pressure the time the stimulation is present

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Sensory Thresholds (2 of 2) Table 7.1: Examples of Absolute Thresholds

Learning Objective 7.3: Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation.

Subliminal
• ________stimuli
______: stimuli that are below the level
of conscious awareness
– Just strong enough to activate the sensory receptors,
but not strong enough for people to be consciously
aware of them
Subliminal____________:
• _________ perception the process by which
subliminal stimuli act upon the unconscious mind,
influencing the behavior

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Signal Detection Theory Figure 7.1: Signal Detection Theory

Learning Objective 7.3: Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation.

Signal __________
• ________ detection theory
________:
– Factors expectation and motivation into our sensory
processes
– States motivation, biases, and expectations influence
our detection of a stimulus
• Reactions to a stimulus can be categorized as:
– hit, miss, false alarm, correct rejection
• The presence or absence of a signal is followed by a response or non-
response depending on our ability to detect it
• Expectation influences the detection of a stimulus
• Factors other than volume of a sound, or brightness of a light influence
the ability to detect stimuli

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Habituation and Sensory Adaptation (1 of 2) Habituation and Sensory Adaptation (2 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.3: Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation. Learning Objective 7.3: Discuss the concepts of threshold and adaptation.

Habituation
• ____________: Lower centers of the brain filtering • Microsaccades
_____________: constant movement of the eyes;
sensory stimulation ignore or prevent conscious tiny little vibrations that people do not notice
attention to stimuli that do not change; sensory consciously
receptors respond to stimulation but no signal is – Prevent sensory adaptation to visual stimuli
sent to the cortex
Sensory adaptation
• ________ ___________: the tendency of sensory
receptor cells to become less responsive to a
stimulus that is unchanging

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Capabilities, Limitations of Sensory Processes Figure 7.2 Some Forms of Energy We Can Sense
Learning Objective 7.4: Identify physical energy forms for which humans and nonhumans
have sensory receptors.

• Sensation occurs when:

– special receptor sites on neurons in the sense organs
are activated
– various forms of outside stimuli are transduced into
neural signals in the brain
• Eye
____ receptors are triggered by electromagnetic energy in
the form of visible light
Ear receptors are triggered by molecules of vibrating air
• _____
• Touch
______ receptors are triggered by pressure or temperature

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The Science of Seeing Light and the Eye (1 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

• Light has the properties of both _________ and • Brightness is determined by the Amplitude
_________ of the
Particles
___________ wave – how high or low the wave actually is.
Photons Tiny packets of waves with specific
• __________: – higher the wave, brighter the light
wavelengths – lower the wave, dimmer the light

• Aspects of our brain’s perception of light: • Visible spectrum is the portion of the whole
Brightness spectrum of light that is visible to the human eye.
– ____________
Color
– ____________
Saturation
– ____________

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Light and the Eye (2 of 2) Optical Illusion

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

• A single point of light from a source

Length of the
• Color, or hue, is determined by the _______ travels through the structure of the
wave eye and ends up on the retina as a
single point.
– Long wavelengths are found at the red end of the • Refraction: the tendency of the light
visible spectrum. to bend as it passes through.
– Shorter wavelengths are found at the blue end of the substances of different densities
visible spectrum. • Optical illusion is caused due to
refraction of light.
Saturation the purity of the color people perceive
• _________: • While looking sideways at a drinking
– Highly saturated red contains only red wavelengths; straw in a glass of water, it appears
that the straw bends, or is broken,
less saturated red contains a mixture of wavelengths.
at the surface of the water.
– Mixing in black or gray lessens the saturation.

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Figure 7.3: Structure of the Eye Structure of the Eye (1 of 10)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.
• Light enters the eye
through the cornea
and pupil. Cornea
• ________:
• The iris controls the
size of the pupil. – is a clear, protective membrane that covers the surface
• From the pupil, light of the eye
passes through the
– focuses most of the light coming into the eye
lens to the retina.
• The light is – has a fixed curvature
transformed into nerve
impulses in the retina. • Vision-improving techniques that can change the
• The nerve impulses curvature (of the cornea) and the focus in the eye:
travel to the brain
along the optic nerve. – photoreactive keratectomy (PRK)
– laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)

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Structure of the Eye (2 of 10) Structure of the Eye (3 of 10)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Aqueous________:
• _______ humor a watery fluid that continually • Iris
___: round muscle (the colored part of the eye) in
replenishes and supplies nourishment to the eye which the pupil is located
Pupil
• _______: the hole through which the light from the – Can change the size of the pupil, letting more or less
light into the eye
visual image enters the interior of the eye
– Helps focus the image
Lens
• _______: another clear structure behind the iris,
suspended by muscles
– Finishes the focusing process begun by the cornea

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Structure of the Eye (4 of 10) Structure of the Eye (5 of 10)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Visual _________________:
• _______ accommodation the change in the Aqueous________:
• ________ humor
thickness of the lens as the eye focuses on – is a clear, jelly-like fluid that fills the open space beyond
objects that are far away or close lens
Presbyopia a disorder in which people lose their – nourishes the eye, gives it shape
• __________:
– helps keep the tissue-paper thin layers of the retina
ability for visual accommodation and therefore, pressed firmly against the back wall of the eye
their ability to focus as the lens hardens through
aging

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Structure of the Eye (6 of 10) Structure of the Eye (7 of 10)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Retina
• ________: Rods and
• ______ ____cones
________:
– is the final stop for light within the eye – are responsible for different aspects of vision
– is a light sensitive area at the back of the eye – are special receptor cells (photoreceptors) that respond
– absorbs and processes light information to the various wavelengths of light
– has three layers: – receive the photons of light and transduces them into
▪ ganglion cells neural signals for the brain
▪ bipolar cells, and – send neural signals first to the bipolar cells, and then to
▪ the photoreceptor neurons commonly called the rods and the retinal ganglion cells
cones

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Structure of the Eye (8 of 10) Structure of the Eye (9 of 10)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Rods
• _______: Cones
• ________:
– responsible for peripheral vision, or noncolor sensitivity – responsible for color vision and sharpness of vision
to low levels of light – concentrated at the fovea
– found all over the retina except fovea – may have a private line to the optic nerve
– concentrated in the periphery – are the receptors with the greatest visual acuity
– sensitive to changes in brightness – require a lot more light to function than rods do
– see in black and white and shades of gray – work best in bright light
– sensitive to different wavelengths of light

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Structure of the Eye (10 of 10) Figure 7.4: Nearsightedness and Farsightedness
Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works

Blind spot area in the retina where the axons of

• __________:
the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form
the optic nerve; insensitive to light

• Nearsightedness, or __________: The shape of the eye

causes the focal point to fall short of the retina.
• Farsightedness, or _________: The focus point is behind
the retina.

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Figure 7.5 The Blind Spot Demonstration How the Eye Works
Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Dark adaption
• _______ ____________: the recovery of the eye’s
sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after
exposure to bright lights
Light adaptation
• _______ ____________: the recovery of the eye’s
sensitivity to visual stimuli in light after exposure to
darkness

Hold the image in front of you. Close your right eye and stare at the picture of the dog with
your left eye. Slowly bring the image closer to your face. The picture of the cat will
disappear at some point because the light from the picture of the cat is falling on your blind
spot. If you cannot seem to find your blind spot, try moving the image more slowly.

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Perception of Color (1 of 2) Perception of Color (2 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Trichromatic______:
• ____________ theory theory of color vision that Opponent-process
• _______________ theory theory of color vision
_______:
proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and that proposes visual neurons are stimulated by
green light of one color and inhibited by light of another
– different shades of colors correspond to different color.
amounts of light received by the three types of cones – Afterimages: images that occur when a visual
– the combination of cones and the rate at which they fire sensation persists for a brief time even after the
their message to the brain’s vision centers determine original stimulus is removed
the color that will be seen – Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus

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Figure 7.6 Color Afterimage Color Blindness

Learning Objective 7.5: Explain how the visual sensory system works.

Color __________:
______ blindness also termed as color-deficient
vision or dichromatic vision
– caused by defective cones in the retina of the eye
– caused by having one cone that does not work properly

Stare at the white dot in the center of this oddly colored flag for about 30 seconds. Now look
at a white piece of paper or a white wall. Notice that the colors are now the normal, expected
colors of the American flag. They are also the primary colors that are opposites of the colors
in the picture and provide evidence for the opponent-process theory of color vision.

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Figure 7.7 The Ishihara Color Test Sound Waves and the Ear (1 of 2)
Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Sound waves
• _______ _____: vibrations of the molecules of air
expanding, contracting, and traveling in waves
• Properties of sound waves:
– Wavelength: interpreted as frequency or pitch (high,
medium, or low)
– Amplitude: interpreted as volume (how soft or loud a
sound is)
– Purity
______: interpreted as timbre (a richness in the tone of
In the circle on the left, the number 8 is visible only to those with normal color vision. In the the sound)
circle on the right, people with normal vision will see the number 96, while those with red-
green color blindness will see nothing but a circle of dots.

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Figure 7.8 : Sound Waves and Decibels

Sound Waves and the Ear (2 of 2)
Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.
• The higher the wave, the
louder the sound; the lower
Hertz (Hz): cycles or waves per second; a
• _______ the wave, the softer the
measurement of frequency sound.
• If the waves are close
together in time (high
frequency), the pitch will be
perceived as a high pitch.
• Waves that are farther apart
(low frequency) will be
perceived as having a lower
pitch.
• A decibel is a unit of measure
for loudness.

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Structure of the Ear (1 of 4) Structure of the Ear (2 of 4)

Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Pinna or the outer ear: visible part of the ear;

• ________, •Eardrum
______: thin section of skin that tightly covers the
funnels the sound waves from outside into opening into the middle part of the ear
structure of the ear; also an entrance to the – When sound waves hit the eardrum, it vibrates and
auditory canal causes three tiny bones in the middle ear to vibrate.
Hammer
▪ _________
Auditory canal
• _________ _______: short tunnel that runs from Anvil
▪ _________
the pinna to the eardrum (tympanic membrane)
Stirrup
▪ _________

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Structure of the Ear (3 of 4) Structure of the Ear (4 of 4)

Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the visual sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Cochlea snail-shaped structure of the inner ear

• ________: • Sound waves enter through the ear canal causing the
that is filled with fluid eardrum to vibrate.
• The eardrum causes each of the three bones of the middle
• Basilar
________membrane
_______: a membrane running through
ear to vibrate, amplifying the sound.
the middle of the cochlea
• The stirrup, the last of the three middle ear bones, transmits
Organ of
• _______ __ corti
_____: rests in the basilar membrane its vibration to the fluid in the inner ear.
– Contains receptor cells for sense of hearing
• The inner ear vibrates as the oval window vibrates.
Auditory ______:
• _________ nerve bundle of axons from the hair • Basilar membrane contains the hair-like cells that send
cells in the inner ear signals via the auditory nerve to the thalamus.
– Receives neural message from the organ of Corti
• Thalamus relays information to the auditory cortex.
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Figure 7.9: The Structure of the Ear Perceiving Pitch (1 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Pitch
• _________: how high or low a sound is
• Primary theories on how the brain receives
information about pitch
Place theory
– __________ __________
Frequency
– __________ theory
__________
Volley principle
– __________ __________

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Perceiving Pitch (2 of 2) Types of Hearing Impairments (1 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Place ______:
• ______ theory different pitches are experienced Conduction hearing impairment, or conductive
• ____________
by the stimulation of hair cells in different locations hearing loss can result from:
on the organ of Corti – Damaged eardrum: prevents sound waves from being
Frequency theory
• __________ ____: pitch is related to the speed of
carried into the middle ear properly
– Damage to the bones of the middle ear: sounds cannot
vibrations in the basilar membrane be conducted from the eardrum to the cochlea
Volley principle
• _______ __________: groups of auditory neurons
take turns firing in a process called volleying;
accounts for pitches from about 400 Hz up to
about 4000 Hz

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Types of Hearing Impairments (2 of 2) Treating Nerve Hearing Impairment

Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works. Learning Objective 7.6: Explain how the auditory sensory system works.

Sensorineural
• Nerve hearing impairment, or _______________ Cochlear________:
• ________ implant a microphone implanted just
hearing loss can result from: behind the ear that picks up sound from the
– Damage in the inner ear surrounding environment
– Damage in the auditory pathways and cortical areas of – A speech processor selects and arranges the sounds
the brain picked up by the microphone.
Tinnitus – The implant is a transmitter and a receiver, converting
• ______: ringing in one’s ears caused by infections
signals into electrical impulses.
or loud noises
• Collected by the electrode array in the cochlea
and then sent to the brain

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Figure 7.10 Cochlear Implant Gustation: How We Taste the World (1 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis.

Smell
• Sense of taste is a combination of taste and ____
• Taste buds: clusters of taste receptor cells located
on the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the cheeks,
under the tongue, and in the throat
Gustation
• ___________
– The sensation of taste whatdoes it mean
In a cochlear implant, a microphone picks up sound from the surrounding environment. A
speech processor selects and arranges the sound picked up by the microphone. The
implant itself is a transmitter and receiver, converting the signals from the speech processor
into electrical impulses that are collected by the electrode array in the cochlea and then
sent to the brain.

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Gustation: How We Taste the World (2 of 2) Different sizes of Papillae on the surface of the tongue
Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. • Taste buds line the walls of
papillae
• Five Basic Tastes • Each taste bud has about
–Sweet
________ 20 receptors
–Sour
________ • Taste is a chemical sense
–Salty
________ that works with the
molecules of foods
–Bitter
________
• When molecules fit into the
–“Brothy”. Umami
________ or ________ receptors, a signal is fired
to the brain
• In turn, the brain interprets
the taste sensation

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The Sense of Scents: Olfaction (1 of 2) The Sense of Scents: Olfaction (2 of 2)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. somesthesis.

Olfactory Sense:
• Olfaction/___________ Olfactory______
• _________ bulbs
– the ability to smell odors – the special place for the sense of smell in the brain
– the part of the olfactory system that turns odors into – located right on top of the sinus cavity on each side of
signals is at the top of the nasal passages the brain directly beneath the frontal lobes
• Olfactory Receptor Cells: Epithelium
• ____________
– nerve fibers inside the nasal cavity that carry – a membrane within the nasal cavities, contains the
information about smell directly to the olfactory bulb olfactory receptor neurons sensitive to the chemical
Cilia signals of smell
• ______
– tiny hairlike cells are the receptors for the sense of
smell

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Figure 7.11: The Olfactory Receptors Figure 7.12: Cross Section of the Skin and its Receptors

• The skin is
composed of
several types
of cells that
process pain,
pressure, and
temperature.
• Olfactory receptors send neural signals to olfactory bulbs.
• Olfactory bulbs send olfactory information to higher cortical areas.

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Somesthetic Senses (1 of 9) Somesthetic Senses (2 of 9)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. somesthesis.

• Somethetic
___________sense ______: the body senses consisting • Skin Senses
of (i) skin senses, (ii) the kinesthetic sense, and – Skin receptors receive information about touch,
(iii) the vestibular senses pressure, temperature, pain; transmit it to nervous
system
– “Soma”: body
– “Esthetic”: feeling • Some sensory receptors respond to only one kind
of sensation
–Pacinian
__________ corpuscles
_________respond to changes in pressure
– Nerve endings that wrap around the ends of the hair
follicles respond to pain and touch
– Free nerve endings beneath the uppermost layer of the
skin respond to temperature, pressure, and pain
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Somesthetic Senses (3 of 9) Somesthetic Senses (4 of 9)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. somesthesis.

Warning system
• Pain acts as a _________ Gate-control
• _________ theory pain signals must pass
___________:
through a “gate” located in the spinal cord
• Pain Disorders
– Inability to feel pain • Gate represents the relative balance in neural
▪ congenital analgesia activity of cells in the spinal cord receiving
▪ congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis information from the body and sending it to the
– Phantom limb pain: when a person who has had an brain
arm or leg removed “feels” pain in the missing limb

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Somesthetic Senses (5 of 9) Somesthetic Senses (6 of 9)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. somesthesis.

• How pain signals travel along spinal cord: • Kinesthetic

___________ sense
– Substance P is a neuromodulator released by the – kinein means “to move”
stimulation of the pain receptor cells that activate other – aesthesis means “sensation”
neurons.
– Neurons send messages through spinal gates. • Sense of the Location
_______ of body parts in relation to
– From the spinal cord, the message goes to the brain, the ground and each other
activating cells in the thalamus, somatosensory cortex, – Special receptors are located in the muscles, tendons,
areas of the frontal lobes, and the limbic system. and joints
– The brain interprets the pain information. – Proprioceptive receptors (proprioceptors) cause joint
movement or muscles stretching/contracting

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Somesthetic Senses (7 of 9) Somesthetic Senses (8 of 9)

Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis. somesthesis.

Vestibular otolith organs

• __________ senses: the sensations of movement, • the ________
balance, and body position – tiny sacs found just above the cochlea
– structures for this sense are located in the innermost – contain a gelatin-like fluid within which tiny crystals are
chamber of the ear suspended
• Kinds of vestibular organs – crystals cause fluid to vibrate, setting off receptors on
the inner surface of the sac
– the otolith organs
semicircular canals
– the semicircular canals • the ____________ _______
– three circular tubes filled with fluid
– stimulate receptors when rotated

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Somesthetic Senses (9 of 9)
Learning Objective 7.7: Outline other sensory systems, such as olfaction, gustation, and
somesthesis.

Sensory
• ______conflict
________theory
____: an explanation of motion
sickness in which the information from the eyes
conflicts with the information from the vestibular Module 8
senses
– Results in dizziness, nausea, and other physical Perception
discomforts

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Perception
Learning Objectives Learning Objective 8.1: Explain the nature of attention.

8.1 Explain the nature of attention. Perception the method by which the sensations
• __________:
8.2 Discuss the importance of perceptual constancies. experienced at any given moment are interpreted
8.3 Describe the Gestalt principles of perception. and organized in some meaningful fashion
• Powers of________:
attentionhelps in focussing on certain
8.4 Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.
_____ __
8.5 Describe the various types of perceptual illusions.
stimuli in the environment while ignoring the rest
8.6 Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception.
• Paying attention is the first step in the process of
perception

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Perceptual Constancies (1 of 2) Perceptual Constancies (2 of 2)

Learning Objective 8.2: Discuss the importance of perceptual constancies. Learning Objective 8.2: Discuss the importance of perceptual constancies.

Size Constancy
• Constancy
_________: the tendency to interpret an object as • ________________
being constant – the tendency to interpret an object as always being the
same size, regardless of its distance from the viewer
• Forms of Perceptual Constancies
– Size Constancy Shape Constancy
• ________________
– Shape Constancy – the tendency to interpret the shape of an object as
– Brightness Constancy constant, even when it changes on the retina
Brightness Constancy
• ________________
– the tendency to perceive the apparent brightness of an
object as the same even when the light conditions
change

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Figure 8.1: Shape Constancy Gestalt Principles (1 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.3: Describe the Gestalt principles of perception.
• The opening door is
actually many
different shapes, Gestalt principles
• _________________
yet we still see it as
basically a – focus on human perception and the brain’s tendency to
rectangular door. group objects and perceive whole shapes

• Though a triangle • Principles of Perceptions

and a circle cast – Figure-Ground Relationships and Reversible Figures
differently shaped
images on our – Principles of Grouping: Proximity; Similarity; Closure;
retina, we Continuity; Contiguity; Common region
experience them as
a triangle and a
circle because of
shape constancy.

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Gestalt Principles (2 of 3) Gestalt Principles (3 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.3: Describe the Gestalt principles of perception. Learning Objective 8.3: Describe the Gestalt principles of perception.

• Figure-Ground Relationships •Similarity

_____________
– the tendency to perceive objects or figures as existing – the tendency to perceive things that look similar as
on a background being part of the same group
• Reversible Figures Closure
• _____________
– visual illusions in which the figure and ground can be – the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete
reversed Contiguity
• _____________
Proximity
• ______________ – the tendency to perceive two things that happen close
– the tendency to perceive objects that are close to one together in time as being related
another as part of the same grouping

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Figure 8.2: The Necker Cube Figure 8.3: Figure–Ground Illusion

A reversible figure: The visual presentation of the cube seems to keep Figure-Ground relationship: Is it a wine goblet? Or two faces looking at
reversing its planes and edges. each other? The figure and the ground seem to “switch” each time you
look at the picture.

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Figure 8.4: Gestalt Principles of Grouping Depth Perception

Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.
Proximity: By changing the proximity
of certain dots, we experience the dots
as vertical columns or horizontal rows. Depth perception
• _______ ___________: the ability to perceive the
Similarity: The similarity of color
makes you perceive these dots as world in three dimensions
black squares and color squares.
Closure: Even though the lines are – helps in judging how far away are the objects
broken, we still see these figures as a – seems to be present in infants at a very young age
circle and a square.
Continuity: We are much more likely
to see the figure as being made up of
two lines, A to B and C to D, than to
see it as made up of A to D and C to B
or A to C and B to D.
Common Region: The colored
backgrounds define a visible common
region, and the tendency is to perceive
three different groups.

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Figure 8.5: The Visual Cliff Experiment Types of Cues for Perceiving Depth
Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.

Monocular Binocular
• ____________ Cues • _____________ Cues
– Linear perspective – Convergence
– Relative size – Binocular disparity
– Overlap
– Aerial perspective
– Texture gradient
– Motion parallax
In the visual cliff experiment, the table has both a shallow and a “deep” side, with glass – Accommodation
covering the entire table. When an infant looks down at the deep-appearing side, the
squares in the design on the floor look smaller than the ones on the shallow side, forming
a visual cue for depth. The infant seems to be very reluctant to cross over the deep-
appearing side of the table, gesturing to be picked up, instead.

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Monocular Cues (1 of 3) Monocular Cues (2 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues. Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.

• Monocular Cues (pictorial depth cues): cues for • Monocular Cues (continued)
perceiving depth based on one eye only Overlap/ Interposition the assumption that an object
– ___________________:
Linear perspective
– ________ _________: the tendency for parallel lines to that appears to be blocking another object is in front of
appear to converge on each other the second object and closer to the viewer
– Relative size perception that occurs when objects
______ _______:
Aerial (atmospheric) perspective the haziness that
– _____________________________:
that a person expects to be of a certain size appear to surrounds objects that are farther away from the
be small and are, therefore, assumed to be much viewer, causing the distance to be perceived as greater
farther away Texture gradient the tendency for textured surfaces to
– _____________:
appear to become smaller and finer as distance from
the viewer increases

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Monocular Cues (3 of 3) Figure 8.6: Examples of Pictorial Depth Cues

Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.

• Monocular Cues (continued)

Motion parallax the perception of motion of objects in
– _____________:
which close objects appear to move faster than the
objects that are farther away
Accommodation/muscular
– _____________________________thecue brain uses the (a) Linear Perspective: Both the lines of the trees and the
sides of the road appear to come together or converge in
information about visual accommodation (the tendency the distance.
of the lens to change its shape, or thickness, in (b) Texture gradient: Causes the viewer to assume that as
response to objects near or far away) as a cue for the texture of the pebbles gets finer, the pebbles are getting
farther away.
distance (c) Aerial perspective: Notice that the road and farmhouse
in the foreground are in sharp focus while the mountain
ranges are hazy and indistinct.
(d) Relative size: Notice that the flowers in the distance
appear much smaller than those in the foreground.

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Binocular Cues (1 of 2) Binocular Cues (2 of 2)

Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues. Learning Objective 8.4: Distinguish between binocular and monocular depth cues.

• Binocular cues: cues for perceiving depth based • Binocular Cues (continued)
on both eyes Binocular disparity because the eyes are a few inches
– _______________:
Convergence the rotation of the two eyes in their
– _______________: apart, they don’t see exactly the same image; If the two
sockets to focus on a single object, resulting in greater images are very different, the object must be pretty
convergence for closer objects and lesser convergence close. If they are almost identical, the object is far
if objects are distant enough away to make the retinal disparity very small

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Figure 8.7: Binocular Cues to Depth Perception

Perceptual Illusions
Learning Objective 8.5: Describe the various types of perceptual illusions.

Illusion
• ______: a visual stimulus that "fools" the eye, or a
distorted perception of something that is really
there
• Unlike hallucinations, an illusion originates in
reality rather than the brain
squint
A) Convergence: When objects are far away, the eye muscles are more
relaxed; when objects are close, the eye muscles move together, or
converge.
B) Binocular disparity: In A, the object is far enough away that the
difference is small. In B, while the object is closer, there is a greater
difference between what each eye sees. The brain interprets this
difference as the distance of the object.
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Perceptual Illusions: Müller-Lyer Illusion Perceptual Illusions: The Moon Illusion

Learning Objective 8.5: Describe the various types of perceptual illusions. Learning Objective 8.5: Describe the various types of perceptual illusions.

• Müller-Lyer Illusion: illusion of line length that is • The Moon Illusion:

distorted by inward-turning or outward-turning the moon on the
corners on the ends of the lines, causing lines of horizon appears to be
equal length to appear to be different larger than the moon
in the sky
• Explanation:
‒ When a person is outside a building, the corner of the
building appears close • Explanation:
‒ When a person is inside a building, the corner of the ‒ Apparent Distance Hypothesis
building seems to move away ‒ Misapplication of the principle of size constancy

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Perceptual Illusions: Illusion of Motion Figure 8.8: Rotating Snakes

Learning Objective 8.5: Describe the various types of perceptual illusions.

• Seeing the “snakes”

rotate is due at least in
• Illusion of Motion: an object is perceived to be part to movements of
moving when it is actually still eyes.
– Autokinetic effect: a small, stationary light in a darkened • The explanations for this
room will appear to move or drift because there are no type of motion illusion
surrounding cues to indicate that the light is not moving include:
– factors dependent on
– Stroboscopic motion: a rapid series of still pictures seem the image’s luminance
to be in motion and/or the color
arrangement, and
▪ phi phenomenon: lights turned on in sequence appear to
move – slight differences in the
time it takes the brain
to process this
information

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Figure 8.9: Reinterpretation of Enigma Factors that Influence Perception (1 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception.

•Perceptual expectancy
______________________: people’s tendency to
• Many people will see perceive things a certain way because their
the rings start to
“sparkle” or the rings
previous experiences or expectations influence
rotating. them
•Ambiguous figures an experiment that illustrates
• Tiny eye movements
called microsaccades ________________:
are directly linked to the way perceptual set influences identification of
the perception of various ambiguous figures
motion in Enigma.
• Inattentional blindness
_______________________: when we are paying
attention to a stimulus we are perceptually “blind”
to other stimuli that are present
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Factors that Influence Perception (2 of 3) Factors that Influence Perception (3 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception. Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception.

Top-down processing
• ______________________: the use of preexisting • Ames Room Illusion
knowledge to organize individual features into a Ambiguous Figures:
unified whole Influenced by past
Bottom-up processing
• __________________: the analysis of the smaller
experiences and
expectancies,
the viewer perceives
features to build up to a complete perception the room as a
rectangle, but in
reality it is a
trapezoid
with angled walls
and floor.

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Figure 8.9: Perceptual Set Figure 8.9: Perceptual Set

Would you have interpreted the first drawing differently if you had viewed
these two images first? This is because the tendency to perceive things a
Interpret the drawing certain way is influenced by the previous experiences or expectations.

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Figure 8.10: The Devil’s Trident Neuroscience of Magic (1 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception.

• Visual illusions and cognitive illusions are among

several types of illusions that serve as a basis for
various magic tricks
Visual illusions
• __________________: occur when our individual
perception does not match a physical stimulus
and are caused by organizational or processing
At first glance, the Devil’s Trident seems to be an ordinary three-pronged biases in the brain
figure. But a closer look reveals that the three prongs cannot be real as
drawn. Follow the lines of the top prong to see what goes wrong.

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Neuroscience of Magic (2 of 3) Neuroscience of Magic (3 of 3)

Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception. Learning Objective 8.6: Outline how experiences and expectations influence perception.

• Take a pencil or pen, grasp it in the middle, and persistence of vision

• Magicians use _______________________ effect
shake or wiggle it up and down. to "make an object disappear"
– The pen or pencil will appear to bend or be made of – Show the audience the target object
rubber.
– Remove it very quickly from the visual field
– Magicians use this to “blend” solid objects.
End-Stopped Neurons – The audience see the object due to after-discharge (a
• _________________________ response in vision neurons that creates an afterimage
– Special neurons in the visual cortex are sensitive to lasting for up to 100 milliseconds after a stimulus is
motion and edges. removed)
– These neurons respond differently if an object is
bouncing, causing perception of blending.

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