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

Auditory Illusions If the sounds do not work click here for link.

Absolute Threshold The smallest amount of a stimuli we can detect about half of the time.

Subliminal Messages Stimuli below our absolute threshold. Backmasking 25 th frame Do Subliminal Messages work? Probably a placebo effect Do you hear "Now he uses marijuana.“? Do you hear “Ah, see me. I'm not too young”? Do you hear Pass the gun now. It kills the love, the love is cold”? Do you hear"Play backwards. Hear words sung.“?

(Just Notable Difference) Difference Threshold The smallest amount of change needed to detect in a stimulus before we detect a change.

Weber’s Law Computes the Just Noticeable Difference. The change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus. The more intense the stimulus the more change is needed to notice the difference. 8% for vision.

Perceptual Ideas

Signal Detection theory Absolute thresholds are not really absolute. Things like motivation or physical state can effect what we sense. False Positives False Negatives My wife could sleep through a war, but if one of our sons even whimpers, she is up!!!

Top-Down Processing We perceive by filling the gaps in what we sense. I _ant ch_co_ate ic_ cr_am. Based on our experiences and schemas. If you see many old men in glasses, you are more apt to process a picture of an old man (even when you may be in error).

Bottom-Up Processing Also called feature analysis. We use the features on the object itself to build a perception. Takes longer that top-down but is more accurate. Click to see an example of bottom –up processing.

Figure Ground Relationship Our first perceptual decision is what is the image is the figure and what is the background.

Gestalt Psychology Gestalt psychologists focused on how we GROUP objects together. We innately look at things in groups and not as isolated elements. Proximity (group objects that are close together as being part of same group) Similarity (objects similar in appearance are perceived as being part of same group) Continuity (objects that form a continuous form are perceived as same group) Closure (like top-down processing…we fill gaps in if we can recognize it)

Constancy Objects change in our eyes constantly as we or they move….but we are able to maintain content perception Shape Constancy Size Constancy Brightness Constancy

Perceived Motion Stroboscopic effect (flip book effect) Phi phenomenon Autokinetic Effect (if people stare at a white spotlight in a dark room, it appears to move.)

Depth Cues Eleanor Gibson and her Visual Cliff Experiment. If you are old enough to crawl, you are old enough to see depth perception. We see depth by using two cues that researchers have put in two categories: Monocular Cues Binocular Cues

Monocular Cues You really only need one eye to use these (used in art classes to show depth). Linear Perspective Interposition Relative size Texture gradient Shadowing

Binocular Cues We need both of our eyes to use these cues. Retinal Disparity (as an object comes closer to us, the differences in images between our eyes becomes greater. Convergence (as an object comes closer our eyes have to come together to keep focused on the object).

Sensation and Perception Sensation: your window to the world Perception: interpreting what comes in your window.

Transduction Transforming signals into neural impulses. Information goes from the senses to the thalamus, then to the various areas in the brain. Remember Ethan in Sky High. He changes his body to slime. Solid form to liquid form. Change from one form of energy to another. Click the picture to watch power placement.

Sensory Adaptation Decreased responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation. Do you feel your underwear all day?

Cocktail-party phenomenon The cocktail party effect describes the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other conversations. Form of selective attention.

Energy v. Chemical senses Energy SensesChemical Senses

VisionVision Our most dominating sense. Visual Capture

Phase One: Gathering Light The height of a wave gives us it’s intensity (brightness). The length of the wave gives us it’s hue (color). ROY G BIV The longer the wave the more red. The shorter the wavelength the more violet.

Phase Two: Getting the light in the eye

Phase Three: Transduction

Transduction Continued Order is Rods/Cones to Bipolar to Ganglion to Optic Nerve. Sends info to thalamus- area called lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Then sent to cerebral cortexes. Where the optic nerves cross is called the optic chiasm.

Phase Four: In the Brain Goes to the Visual Cortex located in the Occipital Lobe of the Cerebral Cortex. Feature Detectors. Parallel Processing We have specific cells that see the lines, motion, curves and other features of this turkey. These cells are called feature detectors.

Color Vision Two Major Theories

Trichromatic Theory Three types of cones: Red Blue Green These three types of cones can make millions of combinations of colors. Does not explain afterimages or color blindness well.

Opponent-Process theory The sensory receptors come in pairs. Red/Green Yellow/Blue Black/White If one color is stimulated, the other is inhibited.

Afterimages

Hearing Our auditory sense

We hear sound WAVES The height of the wave gives us the amplitude of the sound. The frequency of the wave gives us the pitch if the sound.

The Ear

Transduction in the ear Sound waves hit the eardrum then anvil then hammer then stirrup then oval window. Everything is just vibrating. Then the cochlea vibrates. The cochlea is lined with mucus called basilar membrane. In basilar membrane there are hair cells. When hair cells vibrate they turn vibrations into neural impulses which are called organ of Corti. Sent then to thalamus up auditory nerve. It is all about the vibrations!!!

Pitch Theories Place Theory and Frequency Theory

Place Theory Different hairs vibrate in the cochlea when they different pitches. So some hairs vibrate when they hear high and other vibrate when they hear low pitches.

Frequency Theory All the hairs vibrate but at different speeds.

Deafness Conduction Deafness Something goes wrong with the sound and the vibration on the way to the cochlea. You can replace the bones or get a hearing aid to help. Nerve (sensorineural) Deafness The hair cells in the cochlea get damaged. Loud noises can cause this type of deafness. NO WAY to replace the hairs. Cochlea implant is possible.

Touch Receptors located in our skin. Gate Control Theory of Pain

Taste We have bumps on our tongue called papillae. Taste buds are located on the papillae (they are actually all over the mouth). Sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

Vestibular Sense Tells us where our body is oriented in space. Our sense of balance. Located in our semicircular canals in our ears.

Kinesthetic Sense Tells us where our body parts are. Receptors located in our muscles and joints. Without the kinesthetic sense you could touch the button to make copies of your buttocks.