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Sensation and Perception. Sensation. The process by which our senses gather information and send it to the brain. Vision. Rods help us see B&W Cones help us see color. Hearing. Smelling. Taste. Touch. Pain. The Gate-Control Theory.
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Sensation • The process by which our senses gather information and send it to the brain
Vision • Rods help us see B&W • Cones help us see color
The Gate-Control Theory • Melzak and Wall (1965, 1983) proposed that our spinal cord contains neurological “gates” that either block pain or allow it to be sensed.
Absolute Threshold • The point where something becomes noticeable to our senses • The softest sound we can hear • The softest touch we can feel • Anything less goes unnoticed
Absolute Thresholds • Vision: On a clear dark night, you can see a candle 30 miles away! • Hearing: The tick of a watch 20 ft away in a quiet room. • Touch: A bee’s wing falling on your cheek from 1 cm above you. • Taste: 1 teaspoon of sugar in a gallon of water • Smell: One drop of perfume in a 3 room apartment
Difference ThresholdWeber’s Law • The amount of change needed to recognize a change has been made • If you have a 5 pound weight and 1 pound is added, you’ll probably notice that • If you have a 50 pound weight and 1 pound is added, you probably won’t notice.
Signal Detection • We try to differentiate between what is important to notice and what isn’t important • In a crowded room with many conversations going on at once you have to decide which conversation(s) to focus on
Sensory Adaptation • We adapt to sensations after experiencing them for a period of time • Can you tune out the ticking of the clock? • Can you smell your own perfume/cologne? • You can tune certain sounds out • Maybe the teacher talking!
Perception • The interpretation of what we take in through our senses
Gestalt Principles of Grouping • This theory says we group images together in 4 different ways because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts • Instead of seeing four dots below, you would probably say you see a row of dots . . . .
Gestalt Principles of Grouping • Similarity refers to our tendency to group things together based upon how similar to each other they are. In the first figure above, we tend to see two rows of red dots and two rows of black dots. The dots are grouped according to similar color. In the next figure, we tend to perceive three columns of two lines each rather than six different lines. The lines are grouped together because of how close they are to each other, or their proximity to one another. Continuity refers to our tendency to see patterns and therefore perceive things as belonging together if they form some type of continuous pattern. In the third figure, although merely a series of dots, it begins to look like an "X" as we perceive the upper left side as continuing all the way to the lower right and the lower left all the way to the upper right. Finally, in the fourth figure, we demonstrate closure, or our tendency to complete familiar objects that have gaps in them. Even at first glance, we perceive a circle and a square.
Perceptual Constancy • Perceptual Constancy – our ability to perceive things differently without having to reevaluate it • Size • Shape • Brightness
Perceptual Constancy • Size Constancy – allows us to understand something is the same size even as we move closer or farther away • Shape Constancy – allows us to understand something’s shape even when viewed at a different angle • Brightness Constancy – allows us to know colors stay the same even when viewed in different levels of light
Size Constancy • The AmesRoom
Brightness Constancy The color and brightness of square A and B are the same.
ESP • ESP is Extrasensory Perception • Or perception without any sensory input • Most scientists say ESP does not exist.
Main Types of ESP • Telepathy: Mind-to-mind communication. One person sending thoughts and the other receiving them. • Clairvoyance: Perception of remote events, such as sensing a friend’s house on fire. • Precognition: Perceiving future events, such as a political leader’s death.
Is it true? Can psychics see the future? Can psychics aid police in identifying locations of dead bodies? What about psychic predictions of the famous Nostradamus? The answers to these questions are NO! Nostradamus’ predictions are “retrofitted” to events that took place after his predictions.
In an experiment with 28,000 individuals, Wiseman attempted to prove whether or not one can psychically influence or predict a coin toss. People were able to correctly influence or predict a coin toss 49.8% of the time. Putting ESP to Experimental Test
