Ch. 3 & 9 Study Guide Slides for Quiz

Ch. 3 Sensation & Perception Sensation –The experience of sensory stimulation Perception –The process of creating meaningful patterns from raw sensory information

Absolute threshold –The minimum amount of energy that can be detected 50% of the time –The absolute threshold is the point where something becomes noticeable to our senses.

Sensory Adaptation –An adjustment of the senses to the level of stimulation they are receiving Difference Threshold –The smallest change in stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time –Also called the just noticeable difference

Webers Law –States that the difference threshold is a constant proportion of the specific stimulus –Ernst Weber a 19th century experimental psychologist

Webers Law –Imagine holding a five pound weight and one pound was added. –Most of us would notice this difference. –But what if we were holding a fifty pound weight? –Would we notice if another pound were added?

Signal Detection Theory –Have you ever been in a crowded room with lots of people talking? –Difficult to focus on any particular stimulus –Sensory challenges –Important Data vs. Background –Detect what we want to focus on and ignore/minimize everything else.

Extrasensory Perception Refers to extraordinary perception such as –Clairvoyance – awareness of an unknown object or event –Telepathy – knowledge of someone elses thoughts or feelings –Precognition – foreknowledge of future events Research has been unable to conclusively demonstrate the existence of ESP

Hearing Disorders About 28 million people have some form of hearing damage in the U.S. Can be caused by –Injury –Infections –Explosions –Long-term exposure to loud noises

Smell Women have a better sense of smell than men Anosmia –Complete loss of the ability to smell Pheromones –Form of communication –Provide information about identity –Provide information about sexual receptivity

Taste Four basic tastes –Sweet –Salty –Sour –Bitter Recent discovery of fifth taste –Umami

Kinesthetic Senses Kinesthetic senses provide information about speed and direction of movement –Stretch receptors sense muscle stretch and contraction

Vestibular Senses Vestibular senses provide information about equilibrium and body position –Fluid moves in two vestibular sacs –Motion sickness may be caused by discrepancies between visual information and vestibular sensation

Physiological and Social roots Survival Theories Primary emotional criteria: 1) Evident in all cultures 2) Contribute to survival 3) Distinct facial expression 4) Evident in nonhuman primates fear - anger - pleasure These & cross-cultural identification analyses = six generally agreed upon fundamental, primary emotions: Happiness, Surprise, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger Ch. 9

Basic Emotions Fear Surprise Sadness Disgust Anger Anticipation Joy Acceptance Robert Plutchik (1980) proposed that there are eight basic emotions

Plutchiks Basic Emotions Visual #1

Plutchiks Basic Emotions Visual #2

Basic Emotions Some have criticized Plutchiks model as applying only to English-speakers Revised model of basic emotions includes: – Happiness – Surprise – Sadness – Fear – Disgust – Anger

Theories of Emotion James-Lange theory –Environmental stimuli bring on physiological changes that we interpret as emotions Cannon-Bard theory –Environmental stimuli elicit emotions and bodily responses simultaneously Cognitive theory –Environment gives us clues that help us interpret physiological reaction

Theories of Emotion

Nonverbal Communication of Emotion Voice quality Facial expression Body language –Posture and the way we move communicates information Personal space Explicit acts –For example, slamming doors

Nonverbal Communication of Emotion Some examples – Face Flushing & Blushing – Crying – Yawning – Self-comforting – Etc.

Instincts Inborn, goal-directed behavior that is characteristic of an entire species Human behavior is not easily explained by instincts because –Most important human behavior is learned –Human behavior is rarely inflexible

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation –Motivation for a behavior is the behavior itself –Children playing is an example Extrinsic motivation –Behavior is performed in order to obtain a reward or to avoid punishment –A bonus program is an example