1. What are the specific sensory thresholds our bodies contain? Logan D

2. Normal Human Absolute Thresholds
The smallest amount of stimulation necessary for a stimulus to be detected
Normal Human Absolute Thresholds
Vision: a candle flame on a clear, dark night = 30 miles
Hearing: A ticking watch in a quiet room = 20 feet
Taste: Tablespoon of sugar dissolved in two gallons of water = One
Smell: Perfume diffused in a small house = one drop (1 part in 500 mil)
Touch: Pressure of the wing of a fly falling on a cheek from .4 inch

3. What is going on in your head if you are super sensitive to sound
What is going on in your head if you are super sensitive to sound? Madison R

4. Figure 6.2 Absolute threshold Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers

5. Signal Detection Theory
Sensation is a judgment the sensory system makes about incoming stimulation
A combination of sensation and decision-making processes
When something goes ‘bump in the night’ you must decide what it is.
What you decide depends on the keenness of your hearing, what you expect to hear as well as other background noises
Individual characteristics affect detection
Stimulus event
Neural activity
This is why parents can hear a baby crying in the middle of the night but their siblings don’t hear the baby
Comparison with personal standard
Action (or no action)

6. Just Noticeable Difference
The minimal amount of change in a signal that is still recognizable
Example
How many lights must be turned off before you notice a difference
Difference threshold and JND are used interchangeably

7. Unnumbered Figure 6.1 The difference threshold Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers

8. Weber’s Law
The JND is always large when the stimulus intensity is high, and small when the stimulus intensity is low
For Example: If the TV volume is high, you have to turn it down a lot to make the difference noticeable

9. If a weightlifter adds 2 pounds to 10 pounds of weight, he’ll notice a difference.
If he adds 2 pounds to 100 pounds, he won’t notice a difference…it would take 20 pounds to do that

10. Marsha was listening to her Ipod and when she turned it down turned ¼, she noticed a big difference.
Later, when she was listening to it at a much louder level, she turned it down the same amount as before, but did not notice as much of a difference

11. For example, if you are buying a new computer that costs $1,000 and you want to add more memory that increases the price $200 (a 20% increase), you might consider this too much additional money to spend. However, if you were buying a $300,000 house, a $200 feature may seem like nothing. It might take an additional $10,000 to make you stop and think if it's too much to spend. In this example, the amount stays the same ($200), but the proportion changes and that's what makes the perceptual difference.

12. How do subliminal messages work?
-Sarah Glenn

14. Subliminal Persuasion
Use of weak stimulations to influence behavior
Subliminal means below the level of the conscious mind.
The brain perceives the information in theory, but the mind does not interpret the information for meaning.
No controlled research has ever shown that subliminal messages delivered to a mass audience can influence people’s buying habits
But different people have different threshold levels, it may work for some, not others

16. Subliminal priming can alter behavior
Winkielman, Berridge, & Wilbarger (2005): Subliminal priming can alter behavior
Exposed participants to subliminal images of happy or angry faces
Participants then tasted a new, lemon-lime flavored drink. After reporting how thirsty they were, they were told to drink as much as they wanted.
Participants exposed to happy faces consumed more than twice as much—but only if they were already thirsty
Priming may act as a “trigger,” but only if there is a prior need, goal or drive.

17. Cautions regarding subliminal priming effects
Effects of priming are short-lived
The subliminal prime must still be perceived, even if perception is without awareness
No proof of commercial viability

18. This ad ran in Time Magazine (July, 2007)
Note the drink to the left. Two olives and a straw create male genital.
Note the drink in the man's hand. We have a very similar use of olives and a straw.
This time the straw points right to the woman's genital.

30. How Are the Senses Alike? How Are They Different?
The senses all operate in much the same way, but each extracts different information and sends it to its own specialized processing region in the brain
Each sense organ has as different design, and each sends neural messages to its own specialized region of the brain

31. Can the sensory threshold of an individual vary based on their environment (ie. an individual no longer noticing a sound because they are used to it)? Devan C.

32. The diminished responsiveness of senses to prolonged stimulation
Sensory Adaptation
The diminished responsiveness of senses to prolonged stimulation
For Example:
Getting used to cold water
Skin touching the chair your are sitting in
The heater blower in the room
Any change in the stimulation, such as a noise getting louder, draws one’s attention
Our nervous system "pays more attention" to changing stimuli than to constant stimuli.

33. Sensory adaptation occurs due to….
The loss of responsiveness in receptor cells after stimulation has remained unchanged for a while
You feel the socks on your feet when you put them on…but not for long…

34. Chromatic adaptation in action
Look first at the image of the airplane, and fix your gaze right on the dot.
You'll notice immediately that the lighter portions on the left half of the plane have a definite bluish cast, while those on the right half of the plane have a definite yellowish cast
Fix your gaze on the dot between the blue and yellow rectangles for 20 seconds.
It's OK to blink normally, but keep your gaze fixed on the dot while your eyes are open.
After 20 seconds, shift your gaze to the dot in the airplane image
If you keep your eyes trained on the dot while examining the picture, you will notice that now the lighter portions of the plane now look the same in both halves of the picture.