Perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Perception
Electrodes on a person's scalp that records brief fluctuations in the brain's electrical activity. Diagnoses epilepsy, tumors, and physical brain damage.
EEG
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from the environment
Sensation
There are three different cone systems in the eye that perceive three types of color: blue, green, and red.
Trichromatic theory
Input below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Subliminal
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
Bottom-up processing
Momentary changes in the EEG signals that occur as an immediate response to something that the participant has observed or thought.
ERP- Event-related potential
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Sensory adaptation
A theory that an organized whole is perceived as more than the sum of its parts, and explains that our brains group things together. Includes continuity, similarity, proximity, etc.
Gestalt Principles
Destruction of the tissue in the brain, possibly caused by a stroke
Brain lesion
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Top-down processing
Briefly running a large current through a coil that produces a magnetic field that temporarily disrupts normal brain activity in a small area
TMS- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Absolute threshold
Our ability to see color is controlled by three receptors that detect red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white. The red part must be turned off in order to process green and vise versa.
Opponent process theory
Minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time; increases with stimulus size
Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not the other (Determined by schemas influencing top-down processing)
Perceptual set
Looks at oxygen rich blood, measures the amount of oxygen in the blood to tell how much is being used.
fMRI
Predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus amid the background noise
Signal detection theory
Our brain recognizes and processes sensory information by identifying specific features, like lines, angles, or movements
Feature detection theory
The conversion of one form of energy into another (turning sights/sounds/smells into neural impulses the brain can interpret)
Transduction
Activating (often unconsciously) associations in our mind, setting us up to perceive, remember, or respond to objects or events in certain ways
Priming
Injected with a radioactive chemical, depicts where the chemical goes. Measures the hemoglobin that moves to areas of the brain just used. Usually used to locate tumors.
PET Scan
For an average person to perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (not a constant amount), the exact proportion varies depending on the stimulus
Weber's Law
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent combinations is known as
Grouping
A given stimulus may trigger different perceptions because of the immediate context
Context effects