Senses and Perception Senses and perception Senses process

Senses and Perception

Senses and perception – Senses – process in which we receive information from the environment (physical) – Perception – Interpretation of environment to give it meaning (psychological)

Information Processing • Top Down - Use of conceptual information and patterns to characterize the whole, the gist. Fastest method. • Bottom Up – Use of data to process all of the information to come to conclusions. Most thorough.

• Green • Blue • Red • Yellow • Red • Green • Blue • Yellow

Senses and Perception – Threshold – the level of sensory stimulation necessary for sensation to occur • Is this constant?

Senses and Perception – Adaption – the gradual loss of attention to unneeded or unwanted sensory information

Vision

Vision • Rods - capable of receiving light energy in low levels – In retina’s periphery – Not involved with color perception

Vision • Cones - involved with color perception – Three colors(red, green, blue) – Blind spot at the optic nerve

Audition • Sound - mechanical energy typically caused by vibrating objects • Cochlea - part of inner ear, contains fluid and receptors (cilia) – Contributes to balance Sense directing of sound by how fast vibrations reach ear

Gustation(taste) • Five tastes – Sweetness – Saltiness – Sourness – Bitterness – Umami Smell, touch, and temperature all affect taste

Olfaction (Smell) • Biggest factor in taste • Can evoke highly emotional memories

Somesthesis – Mechanical Senses (Touch) i. Skin Senses – Senses temperature, pressure, and pain – Pain - several stimulus affect pain – Endorphins block pain

ii. Kinesthesis – communicates information about movement and location of body parts, in joints and ligaments iii. Vestibular senses – gives us sense of balance and knowledge of body position, in inner ear

Perception – Attention – consciousness is focused on particular stimuli • How do you decide what to pay attention to?

Perception – Attention – consciousness is focused on particular stimuli • How do you decide what to pay attention to? – Change – Uniqueness – Relavent to us

– Gestalt – grouping smaller units into larger ones • Information is usually incomplete, the brain completes it • Simplest is easier (chunking)

• Perceptual constancies – The perceived image remains the same despite changes in the retinal image of an object ex. Shape, size, color

Depth perception • Binocular cues – both eyes sees different images and gives us 3 D (binocular disparity)

Depth Perception • Monocular cues – uses one eye – We judged depth using the size, texture, motion, and shadows of objects

Why do optical illusions work?

Why do optical illusions work? • The strategies we use to see the world cause us to misinterpret the sensory input