Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior

1
Thinking About Psychology The Science of Mind
and Behavior

• Charles T. Blair-Broeker
• Randal M. Ernst

2
Sensation and Perception

• Chapter 04

3
Sensation

• Module 09

4
Introduction

• Module 9 Sensation

5
Sensation

• The process by which our sensory systems (eyes,
  ears, and other sensory organs) and nervous
  system receive stimuli from the environment
• A persons awareness of the world

6
Bottom-Up Processing

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

7
Perception

• The process of organizing and interpreting
  sensory information

8
Top-Down Processing

• Information processing that focuses on
  expectations and experiences in interpreting
  incoming sensory information

9
Thresholds

• Module 9 Sensation

10
Threshold

• An edge or a boundary

11
Difference Threshold

• The minimum difference that a person can detect
  between two stimuli 50 of the time
• Also called just noticeable difference

12
Absolute Threshold
13
Thresholds Signal Detection Theory

• Module 9 Sensation

14
Signal Detection Theory

• Set of formulas and principles that predict when
  we will detect the presence of a faint stimulus
  (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)
• Developed out of the Cold War

15
Signal Detection Theory

• Three kinds of variables
• Stimulus variables
• Environmental variables
• Organismic variables

16
Sensory Adaptation

• Module 9 Sensation

17
Sensory Adaptation

• Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant
  stimulation
• If a stimulus is constant and unchanging,
  eventually a person may fail to respond to it

18
Selective Attention

• Module 9 Sensation

19
Selective Attention

• Focusing conscious awareness on a particular
  stimulus to the exclusion of others
• The ability to focus on one stimulus at a time
• Allows a person to function in a world filled
  with many stimuli

20
Selective Attention

• Insert Neissers Selective Attention Test Video
  23 from Worths Digital Media Archive for
  Psychology.
• Instructions for importing the video file can be
  found in the Readme file on the CD-ROM.

21
The Visual System The Nature of Light

• Module 9 Sensation

22
Electromagnetic Energy

• An energy spectrum that includes X-rays, radar,
  and radio waves
• A small portion of the spectrum includes light
  visible to the human eye

23
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
24
Hue

• The color of light as determined by the
  wavelength of the light energy
• Includes red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
  indigo and violet (ROY G BIV)
• The eye can detect 7 million separate hues

25
Wavelength
26
Amplitude

• The brightness of light as determined by height
  of the wave
• The taller the wave, the brighter the color

27
Amplitude
28
The Visual System The Structure of the Visual
System

• Module 9 Sensation

29
Cornea

• The clear bulge on the front of the eyeball
• Begins to focus the light by bending it toward a
  central focal point
• Protects the eye

30
Parts of the Eye Cornea
31
Iris

• A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored
  portion of the eye creates a hole in the center
  of the iris (pupil)
• Regulates the size of the pupil by changing its
  size--allowing more or less light to enter the
  eye

32
Parts of the Eye - Iris
33
Pupil

• The adjustable opening in the center of the eye
  that controls the amount of light entering the
  eye (surrounded by the iris)
• In bright conditions the iris expands, making the
  pupil smaller.
• In dark conditions the iris contracts, making the
  pupil larger.

34
Parts of the Eye - Pupil
35
Lens

• A transparent structure behind the pupil focuses
  the image on the back of the eye (retina)
• Muscles that change the thickness of the lens
  change how the light is bent thereby focusing the
  image
• Glasses or contacts correct problems in the lens
  ability to focus.

36
Parts of the Eye - Lens
37
Inverted Images

• Play Perception Inverted Vision (504) Module
  10 from The Brain Teaching Modules (2nd
  edition).

38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
Retina

• Light-sensitive surface with cells that convert
  light energy to nerve impulses
• At the back of the eyeball
• Made up of three layers of cells
• Receptor cells
• Bipolar cells
• Ganglion cells

42
Parts of the Eye - Retina
43
Receptor Cells

• These cells are present in every sensory system
  to change (transduce) some other form of energy
  into neural impulses.
• In sight they change light into neural impulses
  the brain can understand.
• Visual system has two types of receptor cells
  rods and cones

44
Rods

• Visual receptor cells located in the retina
• Can only detect black and white
• Respond to less light than do cones

45
Cones

• Visual receptor cells located in the retina
• Can detect sharp images and color
• Need more light than the rods
• Many cones are clustered in the fovea.

46
(No Transcript)
47
Fovea

• The central focal point of the retina
• The spot where vision is best (most detailed)

48
Parts of the Eye - Fovea
49
Bipolar Cells

• Gather information from the rods and cones and
  pass it on to the ganglion cells
• Cells that form the middle layer in the retina

50
Ganglion Cells

• Pass the information from the bipolar cells
  through their axons
• Together these cells form the optic nerve.
• The top layer of the cells in the retina

51
Visual Processing in the Retina
52
Visual Processing in the Retina
53
Visual Processing in the Retina
54
Visual Processing in the Retina
55
Optic Nerve

• The nerve that carries visual information from
  the eye to the occipital lobes of the brain

56
Vision and the Brain

• Play Visual Information Processing Elementary
  Concepts (911) Module 8 from The Brain
  Teaching Modules (2nd edition).

57
Parts of the Eye Optic Nerve
58
Blind Spot

• The point at which the optic nerve travels
  through the retina to exit the eye
• There are no rods and cones at this point, so
  there is a small blind spot in vision.

59
Parts of the Eye Blind Spot
60
Visual Impairment

• Play Smart Glasses (813) Segment 9 from
  Scientific American Frontiers Video Collection
  for Introductory Psychology (2nd edition).

61
The Visual System Color Vision

• Module 9 Sensation

62
Trichromatic (three-color) Theory

• Theory of color vision that says cones are
  tuned to be sensitive to red, green and blue
  light
• All the colors we see are a combination of these
  three colors.
• Based on work of Helmholtz and Young
• Similar to the design of a color TV

63
(No Transcript)
64
Subtractive Color Mixing

• When mixing colored paints, each new color
  SUBTRACTS (soaks up) another wavelength.
• Red, blue, and yellow combine to make black paint.

65
Additive Color Mixing

• When mixing colored lights, each new color ADDS
  another wavelength.
• Red, green, and blue combine to make white light.

66
Color Deficient Vision

• People who lack one of the three types of cones
• Usually the red or green receptors are missing
• Usually referred to as color blindness
• In inherited and found more in males

67
Opponent-Process Theory of Color

• Theory that says color is processed in opponent
  pairs of color
• Red-green, yellow-blue, black-white
• Light that stimulated one half of the pair
  inhibits the other half
• Ewald Hering
• Explains the afterimage effect

68
Afterimage Effect
69
(No Transcript)
70
Hearing The Nature of Sound

• Module 9 Sensation

71
Sound

• Sound, like light, comes in waves
• Sound is vibration
• Features of sound include
• Pitch
• Hertz
• decibels

72
Pitch

• A sounds highness or lowness
• Dependent on the frequency of the sound wave
• Is measured as hertz (Hz)

73
Hertz (Hz)

• A measure of the number of sound wave peaks per
  second measures frequency
• Determines the pitch of the sound
• Human hearing goes from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz

74
Decibel (dB)

• A measure of the height of the sound wave
• Determines the loudness of the sound
• Sometimes called amplitude

75
(No Transcript)
76
Hearing The Structure of the Auditory System

• Module 9 Sensation

77
Parts of the Ear Sound Waves
78
Auditory Canal

• The opening through which sound waves travel as
  they move into the ear for processing
• Ends at the tympanic membrane (eardrum)

79
Parts of the Ear Auditory Canal
80
Tympanic Membrane (eardrum)

• The tissue barrier that transfers sound vibration
  from the air to the tine bones of the middle ear
• Can be damaged by objects in the ear or
  exceptionally loud noises

81
Parts of the Ear Tympanic Membrane
82
Ossicles

• Three tiny bones that transfer sound waves from
  the eardrum to the cochlea
• Hammer, anvil and stirrup

83
Parts of the Ear - Occicles
84
Cochlea

• A hearing organ where sound waves are changed
  into neural impulses
• The major organ of hearing
• Filled with fluid a snail shaped body tube

85
Parts of the Ear - Cochlea
86
Oval Window

• The point on the surface of the cochlea which
  receives the sound vibration from the ossicles
• As the oval window vibrates, the fluid in the
  cochlea vibrates.

87
Parts of the Ear Oval Window
88
Hair Cells

• The receptor cells for hearing in the cochlea
  that change sound vibrations into neural impulses
• Similar to the rods and cones within the eye

89
Parts of the Ear - Hair Cells
90
Auditory Nerve

• The nerve that carries sound information from the
  ears to the temporal lobes of the brain

91
Parts of the Ear Auditory Nerve
92
Semicircular Canals

• Organs in the inner ear used in sensing body
  orientation and balance (vestibular sense)
• Relies on fluid in the canals
• Spinning in circles disrupts the fluid.

93
Parts of the Ear Semicircular Canals
94
Divisions of the Ear

• Ears structure can be divided into
• The outer ear
• The middle ear
• The inner ear

95
Divisions of the Ear
96
Divisions of the Ear
97
Divisions of the Ear
98
Hearing Sound Localization

• Module 9 Sensation

99
Localization of Sound

• Locating where sound is originating from
• Done through two cues
• Which ear hears the sound first?
• Which ear hears the louder sound?

100
Localization of Sound
101
Other Senses Taste

• Module 9 Sensation

102
Taste

• Taste is a chemical sense.
• Receptor cells are located primarily on the
  tongue and in the mouth.
• Four different tastes
• Salty, sweet, sour and bitter
• Damaged taste receptor cells are replaced within
  a few days.

103
Supertasters

• People with an abundance of taste receptors
• Approximately 25 of the population

104
Nontasters

• People with a minimum of taste receptors
• Taste with less intensity than the rest of the
  population
• Approximately 25 of the population

105
Supertasters and Nontasters

• Play Tasters and Supertasters (1400) Segment
  12 from Scientific American Frontiers Video
  Collection for Introductory Psychology (2nd
  edition).

106
Other Senses Smell

• Module 9 Sensation

107
Smell

• Smell is a chemical sense.
• Olfactory cells in the upper nasal passages
  detect molecules in the air.
• Taste and smell interact to produce flavor.

108
Olfactory Cells

• The chemical receptor cells for smell
• Located in the nasal passages

109
Smell
110
Smell
111
Smell
112
Other Senses Touch

• Module 9 Sensation

113
Touch

• Touch receptors are on the skin
• Four basic skin senses are
• Pain, warmth, cold, and pressure
• All skin sensations are a combination of these
  four basic senses

114
Gate-control Theory of Pain

• Pain messages travel on one set of nerve fibers
  containing pain gates.
• The gates are open when pain is felt.
• Other sensory messages go through another set of
  fibers.
• The nonpain fibers can close the pain gates to
  stop the sense of pain.

115
Pain and Phantom Pain

• Play Phantom Limb Pain Fooling the Mind (429)
  Segment 20 from The Mind Psychology Teaching
  Modules (2nd edition).

116
Other Senses Body Senses

• Module 9 Sensation

117
Kinesthetic Sense

• The system for sensing the position and movement
  of individual body parts
• Relies on receptor cells from the muscles and
  joints
• Ones leg falling asleep is a disruption of the
  kinesthetic sense

118
Vestibular Sense

• The system for sensing body orientation and
  balance
• Relies on fluid in the semicircular canals of the
  inner ear
• Spinning in circles disrupts the fluid.

119
Parts of the Ear Semicircular Canals
120
Kinesthetic and Vestibular Sense

• Play Sensory-Motor Integration (327) Module
  11 from The Brain Teaching Modules (2nd
  edition).

121
The End
122
Name of Concept

• Use this slide to add a concept to the
  presentation

123
Name of Concept
Use this slide to add a table, chart, clip art,
picture, diagram, or video clip. Delete this box
when finished