Sensation and Perception

Preassement to Sensation and

Perception

Question 1

You can see color in your peripheral vision

FALSE

Question 2

Receptor cells allow you interpret what is going on your world

TRUE

Question 3

Sensation refers to the process of getting information from the world to our brain.

TRUE

Question 4

If you stay in a hot tub it will seem as hot as it did when you first got in it. Sensory adaptation refers to the decline in sensitivity to a constant stimuli.

FALSE

Question 5

Our interpretations of the world are due to our personal sensations.

FALSE

Question 6

The colored part of the eye, which is actually a ring of muscles that controls the size of the pupil, is called the iris

TRUE

Question 7

The eardrum is interprets sound waves for the brain so that we can hear.

FALSE

Question 8

People judge people based on what groups they belong

TRUE

Question 9

On a clear, dark night we can see a candle flame 30 miles away.

TRUE

Question 10

Advertisers are able to shape our buying habits through subliminal messages

FALSE

Question 11

If we stare at a green square for a while and then look at a white sheet of paper, we can see red

TRUE

Question 12

If we close our eyes and hold our nose, we cannot taste the difference between an apple and a raw potato.

TRUE

Question 13

If required to look through a pair of glasses that turns the world upside down, we soon adapt and coordinate our movements without difficulty.

TRUE

Question 14

If people are told that an infant is “David”, they are likely to see “him” as bigger and stronger that if the same infant is called “Diana.”

TRUE

Question 15

Laboratory evidence clearly indicates that some people do have ESP

FALSE

Our Essential Questions!

How do sensations and perceptions differ? How do the senses transform information

into brain messages? What is the nature of attention?

Grab a scrap sheet of paper

Write down your definition of sensationperception

Let’s brainstorm…

Sensation Perception

Sensation

The process by which our sensory systems (eyes, ears, and other sensory organs) and nervous system receive stimuli from the environment

A person’s awareness of the world

Perception

The process of integrating, organizing and interpreting sensations.

Bottom-Up Processing

Information processing that focuses on the raw material entering through the eyes, ears, and other organs of sensation

Top-Down Processing

Top-Down Processing: expectations and experiences influence how

we interpret incoming sensory information

Sensation v Perception

Complete the worksheet

The Major Senses

7 major senses Vision (most studied) Hearing Touch Smell Taste Vestibular Kinesthetic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuYrPB2i-_8

The Riddle of Separate Sensations

Sense receptors specialized cells

unique to each sense organ that respond to a particular form of sensory stimulation

Sensory Receptors – An Example

When you bite into a crisp apple, you hear the crunch, you taste the sweetness, you feel the smooth skin, you see the red, and you smell the aroma.

Receptor Cells

Each of the seven senses is specifically coded to only take in one type of stimulus, whether it be light waves, sound waves, smell, taste, or touch.

What Does That Mean?

Turn to your neighbor and tell them what sensation means.

What is with those blasted receptor cells as well… explain what they do

Principles of Sensation

TransductionAbsolute thresholdDifference thresholdSensory adaptation

TransductionThe process by

which a form of physical energy is converted into a coded neural signal that can be processed by the nervous system.

What is a Threshold?

Threshold

An edge or a boundaryWalking into the room – on one side

you are in the room on the other you are outside of the room

Absolute Threshold

The smallest possible strength of a stimulus that can be detected half the time.

Absolute Threshold Example (1)

Taste: 1 gram of table salt in 500 liters of water – the minimum needed to taste something

Absolute Threshold (2)

Vision: A candle flame on a clear night, 30 miles away – the minimum needed to see it. Doesn’t mean that you can make out what it is

Just Noticeable Difference Threshold

The minimum difference that a person can detect between two stimuli 50% of the time.

Examples

When you can detect the difference in volume of music

When you can detect the difference in pressure on your arm

Weber’s Law

The greater the magnitude of the stimulus, the larger the difference must be in order to be noticed

Weber’s Law Example If you are carrying 20 lbs. and add 5

lbs., it’s noticeable. If you are carrying 100 pounds and add 5 pounds, it may not be noticeable. You need to add 10 lbs. to 100

pounds to make it noticeable.

Weber’s Law Lab

In groups of 3, follow the directions and complete the lab

Sensory AdaptationWhen exposed to a stimuli over

a period of time there will be a diminished sensitivity to it

If a stimulus is constant and unchanging, eventually a person may fail to respond to it

Example of Sensory Adaptation

A hot tub – after a certain period of time no longer seems as hot

The Nature of Attention

Where does attention come into play here?

Hypothetical Situation

What would happen if we had no filter between sensation and perception?”

Hallway example

Sensory Overload

Overstimulation of the senses

Selective hearing

Do you think it exists?

Selective AttentionFocusing conscious awareness on a

particular stimulus (sense) to the exclusion of others

Selective Attention Examples

Walking down the hallway – all 5 senses are firing. What grabs your attention?

Let’s write!

How do sensations and perceptions differ? How do the senses transform information

into brain messages? What is attention? How much control do

we have over our attention?

Time to get creative!

With your partner, create a poster depicting 3 the following: Sensation Perception Attention Absolute sensory thresholds Sensory overload

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4m0t4hkBg