HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON P SYCHOLOGY PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE 1 Chapter 4 Sensation and Perception

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE

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Chapter 4Chapter 4

Sensation and Perception



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Hmmm…what do you think???

Sensation and perception are essential to human communication, learning, and survival. Write down an example of (1) a situation in which you experienced difficulties as a result of failing to hear, see, taste, smell, or feel something in the environment and of (2) a situation in which you sensed something in the environment but were unable to accurately interpret the sensory information.



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Chapter 4SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Section 1: Sensation and Perception: The Basics

Section 2: Vision

Section 3: Hearing

Section 4: Other Senses

Section 5: Perception



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Chapter 4: Section 1

Sensation and Perception: The Basics



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Main Objective:

Distinguish between sensation and perception, and explain how they contribute to an understanding of our environment.



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Sensation and Perception

Senses

Vision Hearing Smell Touch Taste Body Senses



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What is Sensation and Perception??????

Sensation: The stimulation of sensory receptors and the

transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain).

Perception: Psychological process through which we interpret

sensory stimulation.EX: We realize that the people

on a small TV are bigger in real life.



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Stimulation of senses and the ways in which people interpret that stimulation are affected by

several concepts:

Absolute thresholdDifference ThresholdSignal-detection theorySensory adaptation



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Absolute Threshold:

Absolute Threshold: The weakest amount of a stimulus that can be

sensed.EX: Hearing the first beep in a hearing test.

Dogs can hear and smell things that people cannot…they have a different threshold.

Thresholds differ

from person to person!



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Difference Threshold:

Difference threshold: The minimum amount of difference that can be

detected between two stimuli.EX: differences in shades of color.



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Signal-Detection Theory: A method of distinguishing sensory stimuli that takes

into account not only their strengths but also such elements as the setting, your physical state, your mood, your attitudes, and motivation. EX: Mind wandering in class…

you still hear but your mind

will wander.



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Sensory Adaptation:

The process by which we become more sensitive to weak stimuli and less sensitive to unchanging stimuli. Sensory systems adapt to changing environment.

Seeing people in movie theater (weak stimuli)City dwellers adapt to sounds

of traffic (unchanging stimuli)



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Video on Sensation & Perception30 minutes

Write 15 interesting facts/concepts throughout video!



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Chapter 4: Section 2

Vision



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Question: How does the eye enable vision?

THE EYE AND VISION Light enters the eye and then is projected onto a surface The amount of light that enters the eye is determined by

the size of the pupil which adjusts automatically to the amount of light entering the eye

Once light enters the eye, it encounters the lens which adjusts to the distance of objects by changing its thickness

Section 2: Vision



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Question: How does the eye enable vision?

These changes project a clear image of the object onto the retina, which consists of neurons that are sensitive to the light called photoreceptors

Once the light hits the photoreceptors, a nerve carries the visual input into the brain where the information is relayed to the visual area of the occipital lobe

Section 2: Vision

THE EYE AND VISION (continued)



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Question: How does the ear perceive sound?

HOW THE EAR PERCEIVES SOUND Sound enters the outer ear and is funneled to the

eardrum Inside the middle ear, the hammer, anvil, and stirrup

vibrate, transmitting the sound to the inner ear Within the brain, auditory input is projected onto the

hearing areas of the cerebral cortex

Section 3: Hearing



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Question: What are the chemical, skin, and body senses?

CHEMICAL, SKIN, AND BODY SENSES Smell – allows a person to taste Taste – sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and

bitterness Skin senses of pressure, temperature, and pain Vestibular and kinesthetic body senses

Section 4: Other Senses



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Question: What are the laws of sensory perception?

LAWS OF SENSORY PERCEPTION Closure – the tendency to perceive a complete or whole

figure even when there are gaps in what your senses tell you

Figure-ground perception – the perception of a figure against a background

Proximity – the tendency to group together visual and auditory events that are near each other




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Question: What are the laws of sensory perception?

Similarity – thinking of similar objects as belonging together

Continuity – the tendency to group stimuli into continuous patterns


LAWS OF SENSORY PERCEPTION (continued)

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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON P SYCHOLOGY PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE 1 Chapter 4 Sensation and Perception