Sensation What if we could sense everything Life

Sensation

What if we could sense everything? Life would hurt. So we can only take in a window of what is out there. This is the study of psychophysics: relationship between physical stimuli and our psychological experiences to them. 2

Energy v. Chemical senses Energy Senses Chemical Senses

Transduction • Transforming signals into neural impulses. • Information goes from the senses to the thalamus , then to the various areas in the brain. Remember Ethan in Sky High. He changes his body to slime. Solid form to liquid form. Change from one form of energy to another. Click the picture to watch power placement.

Top-Down Processing • We perceive by filling the gaps in what we sense. • I _ant ch_co_ate ic_ cr_am. • Based on our experiences and schemas. • If you see many old men in glasses, you are more apt to process a picture of an old man (even when you may be in error).

Bottom-Up Processing • Also called feature analysis. • We use the features on the object itself to build a perception. • Takes longer that top-down but is more accurate. Click to see an example of bottom –up processing.

Absolute Threshold • The smallest amount of stimulus energy necessary for sensation to take place 50% of the time Candle flame seen at 30 miles on a clear dark night. Tick of a watch under quiet conditions at 20 feet H: AP Psych 2011AP Psych 2010Unit 4 Sensation and perceptionvideosPsychology_-_Sensation__Perception 1. avi. wmv 1 drop of perfume diffused in a 3 room apartment 1 teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water

(Just Notable Difference) Difference Threshold The smallest amount of change needed to detect in a stimulus before we detect a change.

Weber’s Law • Computes the Just Noticeable Difference. • The change needed is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus. • The more intense the stimulus the more change is needed to notice the difference. • 8% for vision.

Signal Detection theory • Absolute thresholds are not really absolute. • Things like motivation or physical state can effect what we sense. • Signal detection experiment : – If stimulus is present and the person thinks its present it is a hit – If a stimulus is present and the person thinks it is absent it is a miss. – If a stimulus is absent and the person thinks it is present, it is a false alarm – If a stimulus is absent and the person thinks it is absent, it is a correct reject. My wife could sleep through a war, but if one of our sons even whimpers, she is up!!!

Subliminal Messages Do you hear "Now he uses marijuana. “? Do you hear “Ah, see me. I'm not too young”? • Stimuli below our absolute threshold. • Backmasking • 25 th frame • Do Subliminal Messages work? • Probably a placebo effect Do you hear Pass the gun now. It kills the love, the love is cold”? Do you hear"Play backwards. Hear words sung. “?

Cocktail-party phenomenon • The cocktail party effect describes the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other conversations. • Form of selective attention.

An example of selective attention is: Cocktail Part Effect: ability to listen to one voice among many. 13

Inattentional Blindness H: AP Psych 2011AP Psych 2010Unit 4 Sensation and perceptionvideosExperimental Psychology - Change Blindness. avi Daniel Simons, University of Illinois Inattentional blindness refers to inability to see a an object or a person amidst an engrossing scene. Simmons & Chabris (1999) showed that half of the observers failed to see the gorilla-suited assistant in a ball passing game. H: AP Psych 2011AP Psych 2010Unit 4 Sensation and 14 perceptionvideosDerren_Brown_ -_Person_Swap. wmv

Change Blindness Change blindness is a form of inattentional blindness, where two-thirds of direction giving individuals failed to notice a change in the individual who was asking for directions. © 1998 Psychonomic Society Inc. Image provided courtesy of Daniel J. Simmons. H: AP Psych 2011AP Psych 2010Unit 4 Sensation and perceptionvideosExperimental Psychology - Change Blindness. avi H: AP Psych 2011AP Psych 2010Unit 4 Sensation and perceptionvideosDerren_Brown_15 _Person_Swap. wmv

Sensory Adaptation • Decreased responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation. Do you feel your underwear all day?