Modules 11-16
How Do You Explain This?
Sensation vs. Perception
Sensation - The experience of sensory stimulation
Raw sights & sounds Ex. I see a train.
Perception - The process of creating meaningful patterns from raw sensory information
Creating meaning Ex. The Train is moving.
Sensory & Perceptual Processes
Begins w/ sense receptors Detect lines, angles & colors
Using our experience and context to help with interpretation
Bottom-Up Processing
Top-Down Processing
Our Bottom-Up Process let us see the horses, riders and surroundings
Our Top-Down Processing allows us to see the faces in the background, giving the title of the painting The Forest Has Eyes meaning.
Thresholds
Absolute Threshold:
The minimum
Sense TASTE SMELL TOUCH
Absolute Threshold .0356oz of salt in 529 quarts of H20 1 drop of perfume in a 3 room apartment. The wing of a bee falling on your cheek from a height of 1cm.
stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus.
Psychologists usually
measure absolute threshold by recording the stimulus needed for it to appear 50% of the time.
HEARING
VISION
The tick of a watch from 20ft away in quiet conditions.
A candles flame from 30 miles on a clear, dark night.
Thresholds
Signal Detection Theory
Ability to detect
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
stimulus varies
Depends on
The minimum difference that can be detected 50% of the time.
experience, expectation, motivation
Webers Law
In order to be
Subliminal Stimulation
Occurring below A.T. No such thing as
perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant percentage.
subliminal persuasion
Adaptation
Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging sense. Ex. Move your watch up your arm. Youll only feel it for a second.
Ex. Something / Someone stinks, but after a while you dont notice it anymore
Selective Attention
Conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. Ex. The Cocktail Party Effect
Being able to listen to
one person in a crowded room.
Change Blindness: given an interruption, scenery can change and we may not notice!
Module 12
The Stimulus Input: Light Energy
Transduction: Conversion of stimulus energies to neural impulses.
Light Energy allows us to see. Wavelength: distance from one wave peak to the next
Hue: color
Ex: Light energy to vision
Chemical energy to
smell & taste
Sound waves to sound.
Intensity: amount of energy in the wave.
Amplitude: height
More height=more
intensity
The Eye
Label Your Blank Diagram of the Human Eye
Focusing Light
Cornea: protective covering Pupil: opening in iris where light enters Iris: colored part of eye, expands/contracts. Lens: bends light onto the retina Retina: contains receptor cells sensitive to light Optic Nerve: exits eye to take information to brain
Focusing Light
Can People Itch
Little
Rodents On Necks?
Key Terms
Acuity: sharpness of
vision, greatest at center of retina
Nearsightedness:
image is projected in front of the retina (we can see close up but not farther objects)
Farsightedness: light rays reach the retina before they have been focused producing blurry up close images
Accommodation
Normal vision: lens adjusts slightly to deal with near/far objects.
Nearsighted vision: rays are focused before the retina, so when they eventually get there, it is blurry.
Farsighted vision: rays are focused past the retina, resulting in blurred images
The Retina (Rodents)
Made up of
Cones: color
Rods: light/dark
Bipolar cells:
connects receptor cells to ganglion cells. Ganglion cells: takes message to optic nerve
Fovea: best picture
Optic Nerve
Retina -> Optic Chiasm > Thalamus -> Occipital lobe Blind spot: where optic nerve leaves the eye
Visual Information Processing
The concept that specific nerve cells in the brain respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle or movement. Ability to Process Ahead
Ex. Avoid running into
Our ability to do several things at once.
Color Depth Movement Form
someone.
Feature Detection
Parallel Processing
Color Vision
How do we see things in color?
How Do We See in
What Color is the duck? A: The duck is anything but blue.
The duck rejects the short wavelengths of light that to us are blueso blue is reflected off and we see it.
Did You Know.
Light It
has no real color.
is our minds that perceive color.
Color
resides not in the object, but in our minds.~ Sir Isaac Newton
We
can discriminate between 7 million different color variations.
Theories of Color Processing
Young-Helmholtz: Trichromatic Theory:
All colors are derived
Additive Color Mixing
Ex. Mixing Lights Adding wavelengths
from the primary color combinations of
Red
increases combinations and creates white.
Blue
Green
Subtractive Color Mixing
Ex. Mixing Paint Adding color subtracts
Most colorblind people lack cone receptors for one or more of these colors.
the amount of wavelength to be reflected.
Color Deficiency
Dichromats: lack either a red or green sensitive cone.
Most dogs are
dichromats
Monochromats: lack of color receptors
Only see shades of
grey.
Opponent-Process Theory
We cannot see certain colors together in combination:
red-green blue-yellow white-black
These are antagonist/ opponent colors. The afterimage complicates vision
How did that happen?
When we stare at green and exhaust our green reception, then look at white (containing all colors), only the red seeps through.
Review:
What are the characteristics of the wavelengths that we see as visible light? How does the eye transform particles of light energy into neural messages? How is visual information processed in the brain? What theories contribute to our understandings of color vision?
Module 13
The Stimulus Input: Sound Waves
Amplitude: strength of sound wave.
Loudness
Frequency: length of sound wave
Pitch
Decibels: measuring unit for sound
60d-conversation Prolonged exposure
above 85 can result in hearing loss.
Parts of the Ear
Outer Ear Auditory Canal Eardrum (Channels Sound Waves into Ear) Middle Ear Hammer Anvil Stirrup (Relay vibrations to the inner ear.) Inner Ear Oval Window Cochlea
Basilar membrane
Auditory Nerve
The Parts of the Inner Ear
Oval Window
Membrane between the
Basilar Membrane
Vibrating membrane in cochlea. Contains sensory receptors
middle & inner ear. Conducts vibrations to the cochlea
Organ of Corti
Structure on basilar membrane
Round Window
Equalizes pressure in
that contains receptor cells for hearing.
the inner ear.
Cochlea
Contains fluid that
Auditory Nerve
Bundle of axons that carries
vibrates, which in turn causes the basilar membrane to vibrate.
signals from each ear to the brain.
The Inner Ear
How We Hear
How Do We Hear?
Outer Ear Sound Waves enter auditory canal
Eardrum Vibrates
Middle Ear Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup transmit to
Inner Ear -Cochlea -Basilar Membrane
How Do We Hear?- Inner Ear
Inside the inner ear..
Vibrations in Oval Window
Basilar Membrane Vibrates
(Organ of Corti) Tiny Hairs receive vibrations
Vibrations are transformed into neural impulses
How do We Perceive Pitch?
We hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places along the cochleas basilar membrane.
A combination of Place & Frequency theories explain hearing.
We sense pitch by the basilar membrane vibrating at the same rate as the sound.
Neural impulses cant fire
above 1000 waves/sec. So how do you explain pitches higher than 1000w/sec?
Volley Principle: cells
alternate firing to achieve firing above 1000x/second
Helmholtzs Place Theory
Frequency Theory
How Do We Locate Sounds?
2 ears = stereophonic sound Our ability to process diminishes when sound is directly in front, behind, above or below us. Aw snap!-Try it!
How Can I Damage My Hearing?
Damage To:
Eardrum Middle ear bones Nerves
Exposure To:
Prolonged loud
decibels Tinnitus: A long termlow pitched humming or ringing of the ears. (1% of pop.)
Hearing Loss
Physical damage to ear
Digital Hearing Aids are useful
Magnify soft sounds, but
Damage to the cochleas hair cells or auditory nerve.
Biological changes Exposure Cochlear Implants: Sends
not loud ones. electrical signals to cochlea to produce sound.
Conduction Hearing Loss
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Cochlear Implants & Deaf Culture What is the debate?
Most children who are born deaf are born to hearing parents. Cochlear implants allow an opportunity to hear. The deaf community insists that deafness is not a disability, and therefore objects to the use of cochlear implants before a child learns sign language.
The Deaf Community
Use of sign language. Other senses heightened The deaf community is a very proud one.
Songs you thought you knew
Are there any song lyrics you got wrong the first time, but cannot seem to hear the right ones no matter what?
Want Your Bad Romance= Bon Jovi Romance Jason Waterfalls Golden Girls Theme Song: Heart Attack
Module 14
Touch
Sensors For:
Pressure Warmth Cold Pain
Sensation of Heat:
Warm + Cold= HOT! When both warm &
cold sensors are stimulated, the result is HOT!
Pain: What is it?
Pain is Perception
Mostly
Gate Control Theory:
gate in the spinal cord
Pain is our bodys way of telling us something is wrong. What if I cannot feel pain?
that controls the transmission of pain to the brain.
Rubbing an area
around the injury can stimulate a closing of the pain gate. Endorphins also play a role.
Fun Fact: Stub Your Toe? Say @#%!
A recent study has shown that swearing during a painful experience actually lessens pain. The belief is that the swearing stimulates aggression and a similar fight or flight response.
Source: Keele University Study 2009
Taste
Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter
All other tastes are a
combination of the 4.
Taste Buds: over 10,000 Papillae: small bumps on our tongue.
Taste declines w/age.
Smoking & drinking decrease
sensitivity to taste.
Umami: A 5th Taste?
Meaty Contained in MSG
Supertasters?
Smell (Olfaction)
We take 20,000 breaths a day. specialized receptors for smell, located in the olfactory epithelium. Need moisture to smell. Pheromones: our individual scent indicators.
Smell (Olfaction)
Nerve impulses are sent to the olfactory bulb-- just below the frontal lobe, bypassing the thalamus.
Transferred to the temporal lobe to be processes.
There is a connection between certain
smells, emotions & memories.
Anosmia: A complete lack of smell
Kinesthetic & Vestibular Senses
Distinguish movement of body parts.
Coordinates muscle
Balance & Full Body Movement
Sense of equilibrium Response to changes in
movement
gravity, motion & body position. Vestibular Sacs in ears
Respond to changes Fluid-filled
Kinesthetic Sense
Vestibular Sense
Try It!
Stand Up & Lift One Leg
Notice how your body
automatically adjusts to retain your balance.
Close your eyes and extend your arms out at your sides. Point your index fingers. Now bring your index fingers quickly toward each other in front of your body. See whether you can do this without looking.
Try it 5 times and measure
Now Repeat With Your Eyes Closed
You should find the task to
be difficult. Vision clearly aids the vestibular sense.
Spin Around Rapidlythen try to stand on one leg.
The unusual stimulation of
your success.
Can you do the same behind your back?
your vestibular system will make the task very difficult even w/your eyes openobviously this sense is very important for balance!
Kinesthetic
Vestibular
Module 15
How do we perceive what we sense?
Perceptional Illusions
How do they work? Psychologists have been fascinated by illusions since the late 1800s.
Visual Capture: The tendency for vision to dominate other senses.
The images are exactly the same except for the thick black area in the right image (an example of the Poggendorff illusion (1860)). In the figure on the right, there appear to be two continuous diagonal lines: a red and a blue line.
Perception
Perception: The process of organizing and interpreting information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Gestalt Psychology:
whole, form, pattern
The brain creates a
coherent perceptual experience.
M.C. Eschers Illusions
Figure: focal point; stands out from the ground Ground: background on which a figure appears
Mini Llama
ground
figure
What color swan do you see?
When there is no clear figure or ground, it is hard to distinguish between the two.
Figures with clear contours can be perceived in very different ways because it is unclear what is figure and what is ground.
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Type of Grouping Proximity Definition We group nearby figures together. We group objects that are similar to each other together.
Similarity
Connectedness
When linked or grouped, we see areas as a unit. (brackets or rectangles?) We perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinued ones. Semicircles or wavy line?
Continuity
Depth Perception
Seeing objects in 3 dimensions although they are 2 dimensional.
Allows us to judge distance
Visual Cliff Experiment: tests depth perception in infants & animals.
Binocular Cues
Depth cues that depend on 2 eyes. Retinal Disparity: by combining images from 2 eyeballs, the brain computes distance. (Camera 1, Camera 2) Convergence: Perceives depth.
Try It!- The floating finger sausage!
Hold your 2 index fingers about 5 inches in front of your eyes, with their tips a inch apart. Now look beyond them and note the weird result. Move your fingers out farther and the retinal disparity-and the finger sausage- will shrink!
Monocular Cues: Visual cues requiring the use of only one eye.
Relative Size Interposition Linear perspective Relative Clarity Relative Height Texture gradient Shadowing
Motion parallax
Relative Size
Shorten the Def!
If we perceive two objects as similar in size, the one that casts the smaller retinal image is farther away. Smaller the object appears, the farther away it is.
Interposition
Shorten the Def!
When one object partly blocks another, the first object is perceived as being closer, the second as more distant. Closer the object, the less obstructed it is.
Linear Perspective
2 parallel lines that seem to come together at the horizon
Ponzo Illusion: Mario Ponzo theorized that we use the background of an image to judge an objects size.
Ex. RR Track example The Moon Shorten the Def!
a ually e ses
na ually he ases
The Muller-Lyer Illusion
F.C. Muller-Lyer Optical Illusion
stylized arrows Lines are all same
distance
Relative Clarity
Shorten the Def!
Distant objects have a hazy appearance and somewhat blurred outline.
Relative Height
The higher on the horizontal plane the object is, the farther away it appears
Shorten the Def!
Texture Gradient
Objects seen at a greater distance seem to be smoother and less textured.
Shorten the Def!
Shadowing
Shadows usually appear on objects that are more distant.
Shorten the Def!
Motion Parallax (Relative Motion)
When in motion, objects that are closer to the viewer go by faster than objects that are farther away.
Shorten the Def!
Perceptual Constancies
Size constancy: Brightness
Shorten the Def!
the perception of an object as the same size regardless of how its viewed.
Shape constancy:
constancy: brightness is the same
Color Constancy:
a shape is the same shape no matter the angle.
familiar objects retain their color despite changes.
Shape Constancy
Size Constancy
Perceptual Constancy
The Ames Room Illusion
Observer Characteristics:
Characteristic Description
Shorten the Def!
Motivation
Desires shape our perception. More likely to see what we need. Ex. Hungry people more often saw food in blurred images.
Values
We are taught to value more things than others. Ex. Poker Chips & Candy
Expectations
What we are supposed to see influences perception. We may add or delete things to fit our expectations.
PARIS IN THE THE SPRING
Observer Characteristics:
Characteristic Description
Shorten the Def!
Cognitive Style
levelers vs. sharpeners Levelers will level out distinctions between objects Sharpeners will magnify distinctions
Experience & Culture Personality
Cultural background influences perception -Mbuti Pygmies & the buffalo Individual personalities affect how we perceive things.
Stereoscopic Vision
Combining the two retinal images makes the perception of depth and distance more accurate.
Because both of our eyes are set in the front of the head, the visual fields from each eye overlap to form a better picture.
Perception of Movement
Judging movement by how an object moves in relationship to the background; which is perceived as stationary
Real vs. Apparent Movement
Auto-kinetic Illusion Stroboscopic Motion Phi Phenomenon
Auto-kinetic Illusion:
Perceived motion created by a single stationary object
Stroboscopic motion:
Apparent motion created by rapid series of still images
Phi Phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession.
Module 16
Perceptual Abilities: Nature or Nurture?
Knowledge is inborn
Knowledge is learned through experience
Immanuel Kant
John Locke
Sensory Deprivation & Restored Vision
What happens when vision is restricted from birth?
If a man was born blind, and now an adult, taught by his touch distinguish between a cube and a sphere Could he, if made to see, distinguish the two???
Answer: NO, these things must first be
experienced during the critical period after birth.
Perceptual adaptation
Adapting to new situations rapidly
New glasses Perception goggles Humans can adapt to upside down world, other mammals cannot
Perceptual set
Mental predisposition
Old or young woman??? Once weve formed a wrong idea about reality, it is difficult to see the truth
Examples of perceptual set
Loch Ness Monster
U F Os Also Happens with hearing.
If You Seek Amy
Schema
Context Effects
Based on immediate context, not schemas.
Music,
schema, setting can all decide whether you hear mourning or morning; die or dye, pain or pane.
Human Factor Psychologists
Help design appliances, machines, and work settings that fit our natural perceptions
Designers and engineers consider human factors when creating their inventions, like TiVo!
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)?
Parapsychology:
Psychologists who
study paranormal activity Growing field of psychology
Claims of ESP
Telepathy:
mind to mind
Precognition:
Perceiving future
communication
X-Men
events.
Minority Report
Clairvoyance:
Perceiving remote
Psychokinesis:
Making something
events happening elsewhere.
Star Wars:
move w/ mind power.
The Men Who Stare
At Goats
disturbance in the force
Premonitions or Pretensions?
Nostradamus vague predictions only make sense given our perceptual set.
Nobody has been able to scientifically demonstrate ESP to a scientific panel.
Even with an offer of
$1 million on the table
The Death of Henry II
The Death of Henry II from a jousting accident is one of Nostradamus first and most famous fulfilled prophecies.
Here is the quatrain: The young lion will overcome the older one, On the field of combat in a single battle; He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage, Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death. (Century 1, Quatrain 35)
In June 1559, Henry II ignored all warnings that Nostradamus gave him and participated in a jousting tournament against the Comte de Montgomery. Both men used shields embossed with lions. Montgomery was six years younger than Henry. During the final bout of fighting in the tournament, Montgomery failed to lower his lance in time. It shattered, sending a large splinter through the kings gilded visor (golden cage). The result was two moral wounds (two wounds made one and then he will die a cruel death.) One splinter spliced eye; the other impaled his temple just behind the eye. Both splinters from the lance penetrated his brain. Henry lived for ten days in agony, thus fulfilling the Nostradamus prophecy that he would die a cruel death.