PSYC 1000 Lecture 4: PSYC - Sept 27th- Sensation and Perception

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1000
• Professor: Paula Barata

Document Summary

Overview: sensation and perception sensory and perceptual processes ( bottom up and top down) Process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. Provides the raw data about the world. The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. Our brains interpret this info ( you look with your eyes, you see with your brain) Allows for selective attention( shoes on feet) Adaptive value frees senses from the unchanging to be more sensitive to changes in environment ( stinky room) Bottom up : starts at sensory receptors and works up to higher level processing. Top down: constructs perceptions from sensory input by drawing on our experience and expectation. Mental tendencies and assumptions that affect what we perceive ( experience forms schemas, help organize the world) Can lead us to biased perceptions ( stereotypes) Can make processing much easier ( star wars example.