Ch. 5

Sensation v. Perception Process where a

stimulated receptor (like eyes or ears) creates a pattern of impulses that represent the stimulus

The basis for color, odor, sound, texture, taste

Process that assigns meaning to incoming sensory patterns

Interpretation of senses

How does stimulation become sensation?

Sight Hearing Skin Senses Smell Taste Equilibrium Pain Kinesthetic

Sight

Is stimulated by light waves, its organ is the eye, its receptors are rods and cones of the retina, and its sensations include colors, patterns, and textures.

Sight

Bill Nye Eye Diagram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7cIm

d-6bZ8

If Your Eyes Could Talk Worksheet Finding your Blind spot Afterimage Activity http://www.brainpop.com/health/

bodysystems/eyes/

Hearing

stimulated by sound waves, the organ is the ears, the receptors include hair cells of the basilar membrane, and the sensations include noises & tones.

Hearing

How we Hear http://www.brainpop.com/health/

bodysystems/hearing/ Ear Diagram

Skin Senses - Touch

stimulated by external contact with the skin the receptors are nerve endings in the skin sensations include touch, warmth, and cold

Touch

http://www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/touch/

Smell stimulated by substances through the nose the receptors are hair cells that line the nose sensations include odors such as musky,

flowery, burnt, and minty

Smell

http://www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/smell/

Taste stimulated through substances by the

tongue receptors are taste buds on the tongue sensations include flavors such as bitter,

sour, salty, and sweet

Taste

http://www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/taste/

Equilibrium

stimulated by mechanical and gravitational forces in the inner ear

Receptors include hair cells of the canals and vestibule

sensations include spatial movement and gravitational pull

Pain

extreme stimulus such as temperature and chemicals that hits the many pain fibers throughout the body

Receptors include your nerve endings sensations are acute and chronic pain

Kinesthetic & vestibular senses stimulated by body position and movement

through skeletal muscles, joints, and tendons. Receptors include the neurons [in the

mentioned above] sensations are your positions of body parts in

space

Thresholds 1. Light—Candle flame, 30 miles, on a dark clear

night.

2. Sound—The tick of a mechanical watch under quiet conditions at 20 feet.

3. Taste—One tablespoon of sugar in two gallons of water.

4. Smell—One drop of perfume diffused into the entire volume of a three bedroom apartment.

5. Touch—The wing of a bee falling on your cheek from a distance of one centimeter.

BBC- Human Senses – Hearing and Balance http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6UOmVSNGTV8&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

After Experiment

What was the most difficult about your taste test?

What sense is the most important when we eat?

Theories in Perception

Learning Based InferenceObserver uses prior knowledge to interpret

informationEx: Britney Spears pg. 191

○ We fail to see facial patterns that violate our expectations

Theories in Perception

Context and ExpectationsOnce a context is identified, you form

expectations about what you think will be experienced

○ Ever have a hard time recognizing someone outside their usual context?

Ex: picture pg. 192 and THE CAT○ Rely on context clues

Theories in Perception

Context and ExpectationsOnce a context is identified, you form

expectations about what you think will be experienced

Ex: picture pg. 192 and THE CAT

Theories in Perception

Perceptual Set Our readiness to detect a particular stimulus

in a given context. ○ Example: new mother is perceptually set to

hear the cries of her child

FOX; OWL; SNAKE; TURKEY; SWAN; D?CK

BOB: RAY: DAVE: BILL: TOM: D?CK

Perceptual set

Meaning of the words read prior to the ambiguous stimulus create a perceptual set

Example: do it yourself 193 Perceptual sets influence peoples

attitudes and behaviors towards different groups

Gestalt Approach

View that maintains that the brain is designed to seek patternsBrain sees the whole rather than the parts

○ Example: square

Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Grouping

laws that show how we group things according to 1 varied factor

Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Grouping

Law of SimilarityGroup things together that look similar

X O X O

X O X O

X O X O

X O X O

X O X O

X O X OColumns not rows

Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Grouping

Law of ProximityWe group things together that are near each

other

XO XO XO XO

“you are the company you keep”

Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Grouping

Law of ContinuityWe see things as connected and continuous

figures rather than disjoint