1. Bottom-up Processing
Analysis of the stimulus begins with the sense receptors and works up to the level of the brain and mind.
Letter “A” is really a black blotch broken down into features by the brain that we perceive as an “A.”

2. THE CHT Top-Down Processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as we construct perceptions, drawing on our experience and expectations.
THE CHT

3. Form Perception & Feature Analysis
Bottom-Up Processing
Based upon properties
of the stimulus (e.g.,
patterns of light & dark
areas
Top-Down Processing
Based upon higher-order
information (e.g., prior
knowledge & context)
What is this picture?

4. Figure 4.26 Bottom-up versus top-down processing

5. Vision

6. Physical Characteristics of Light
Wavelength (hue/color)
Intensity (brightness)

7. Wavelength (Hue)
Hue (color) is the dimension of color determined by the wavelength of the light. Wavelength is the distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next.

8. Properties of...LIGHT
Longer
Wavelength
Lower
Frequency
Shorter
Higher

9. Properties of...LIGHT
Smaller
Amplitude
Dull
Colors
Higher
Bright

10. Intensity (Brightness)
Intensity: Amount of energy in a wave determined by the amplitude. It is related to perceived brightness.

11. Visual Information Processing
Optic nerves connect to the thalamus in the middle of the brain, and the thalamus connects to the visual cortex.
Preview Question 6: How does the brain process visual information?

12. Sensation & Perception
4/15/2017
Vision Hubel & Wiesel’s Experiment
Some cells in the visual cortex respond only to certain types of visual information, for example, a diagonal line moving up and down.
These cells are called feature detectors.
Figure 3.8 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Hubel, D. H.., & Wiesel, T.N. (196Davis 2). Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat’s visual cortex. Journal of Physiology, 160,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

13. Shape Detection
Specific combinations of temporal lobe activity occur as people look at shoes, faces, chairs and houses.
Ishai, Ungerleider, Martin and Haxby/ NIMH

14. Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision
Human eye has 3 types of cone
receptors sensitive to different
wavelengths of light.
Helmholtz 1852
Short
Medium
Long
People see colors because the
eye does its own “color mixing”
by varying ratio of cone
neural activity

15. Opponent Process Theory
Ewald Hering - Eye contains 3 mechanisms that produce antagonistic
responses to three pairs of colors R G B Y W
Why?
Afterimages & Color Deficiency

16. Color Blindness
Genetic disorder in which people are blind to green or red colors. This supports the Trichromatic theory. Guys more often color blind
Ishihara Test

17. Opponent Colors Gaze at the middle of the flag for about 30
Seconds. When it disappears, stare at the dot and report
whether or not you see Britain's flag.

18. Hearing

19. Hearing The Stimulus Input: Sound Waves
Sound waves are compressing and expanding air molecules.
Preview Question 8: What are the characteristics of air pressure waves that we hear as sound?

20. Sound Characteristics
Frequency (pitch)
Intensity (loudness)

21. The Ear
Dr. Fred Hossler/ Visuals Unlimited
Preview Question 9: How does the ear transform sound energy into neural messages?

22. The Ear
Outer Ear: Collects and sends sounds to the eardrum. Middle Ear: Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window. Inner Ear: Innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

23. Cochlea
Cochlea: Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that transforms sound vibrations to auditory signals.

24. Auditory Pathway

25. Intensity (Loudness)
Intensity (Loudness): Amount of energy in a wave, determined by the amplitude, relates to the perceived loudness.

26. Loudness of Sound
Richard Kaylin/ Stone/ Getty Images
120dB
70dB

27. Frequency (Pitch)
Frequency (pitch): The dimension of frequency determined by the wavelength of sound. Wavelength: The distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next.
Preview Question 10: What theories help us understand pitch perception?

28. Perceiving Pitch Place Theory - pitch determined by
Georg von Békésy
(T.W. Theory)
Place Theory - pitch determined by
point of maximal vibration on
basilar membrane. Helps explain how
we hear HIGH pitch sounds
Traveling Wave Theory 1957
Frequency Theory - pitch determined by the rate
at which the hair cells fire…
Helps explain how we hear LOW pitch sounds
Volley Principle-neural cells alternate firing like
soldiers so that some shoot while others reload

29. Localization of Sounds
Because we have two ears, sounds that reach one ear faster than the other ear cause us to localize the sound.
Preview Question 11: How do we locate sounds?

30. Localization of Sound
1. Intensity differences 2. Time differences Time differences as small as 1/100,000 of a second can cause us to localize sound. The head acts as a “shadow” or partial sound barrier.
Preview Question 12: What are the common causes of hearing loss, and why does controversy surround cochlear implants?

31. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Hearing Hearing Disabilities
Conduction Hearing Loss
Caused by damage to the eardrum or bones in the middle ear.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Caused by damage to the structures of the inner ear.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

32. Touch
The sense of touch is a mix of four distinct skin senses—pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.
Preview Question 13: How do we sense touch and sense our body’s position and movement? How do we experience pain?
Bruce Ayers/ Stone/ Getty Images

33. Ashley Blocker (right) feels neither pain
Pain tells the body that something has gone wrong. Usually pain results from damage to the skin and other tissues. A rare disease exists in which the afflicted person feels no pain.
AP Photo/ Stephen Morton
Ashley Blocker (right) feels neither pain
nor extreme hot or cold.

34. Biopsychosocial Influences

35. Gate-Control Theory
Melzack and Wall (1965, 1983) proposed that our spinal cord contains neurological “gates” that either block pain or allow it to be sensed.
Gary Comer/ PhototakeUSA.com

36. Taste
Traditionally, taste sensations consisted of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes. Recently, receptors for a fifth taste have been discovered called “Umami”.
Preview Question 14: How do we experience taste?
Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Umami

37. Sensory Interaction
When one sense affects another sense, sensory interaction takes place. So, the taste of strawberry interacts with its smell and its texture on the tongue to produce flavor.

38. Smell
Like taste, smell is a chemical sense. Odorants enter the nasal cavity to stimulate 5 million receptors to sense smell. Unlike taste, there are many different forms of smell.
Preview Question 15: How do we experience smell?

39. Smell and Memories
The brain region for smell (in red) is closely connected with the brain regions involved with memory (limbic system). That is why strong memories are made through the sense of smell.

40. Body Position and Movement
The sense of our body parts’ position and movement is called kinesthesis. The vestibular sense monitors the head (and body’s) position.
Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works
Whirling Dervishes
Wire Walk

41. Summary of the Senses

42. Selective Attention
We focus on a very limited aspect of what we experience and ignore the rest
Other forms of S.A. are change blindness and inattentional blindness

43. Facial Recognition
After blind adults regained sight, they were able to recognize distinct features, but were unable to recognize faces. Normal observers also show difficulty in facial recognition when the lower half of the pictures are changed.
Courtesy of Richard LeGrand

44. Sensation & Perception
4/15/2017
ESP
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
The ability to perceive something without ordinary sensory information.
This has not been scientifically demonstrated.
Parapsychologists distinguish between three types of ESP:
Telepathy – Mind-to-mind communication
Clairvoyance – Perception of remote events
Precognition – Ability to see future events
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall