PSYCO104 Chapter 5: Sensation & Perception

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCO104
• Professor: James Farley

Document Summary

Sensation: organs translate stimuli into nerve impulses (transduction) Perception: organizing and giving meaning to input. Psycophysics: the scienti c study of the relationship between the physical stimuli and sensory systems. Synaesthesia: literally means mixing of the senses . People with this condition may experience sounds as colours or tastes as touch sensations that have different shapes. Electroreception: sharks can sense electricity near them in the water. The 6 stages of sensory processing and perception of information. Receptors translate stimulus properties into nerve impulses (transduction) Stimulus features are reconstructed into neural representation. Neural representation is compared with previously stored information in brain. Matching process results in recognition and interpretation of stimuli. Absolute threshold: intensity at which stimulus can be detected 50% of the time. The lower the absolute threshold, the higher the sensitivity. Subliminal stimulus: stimulus that is received by the senses but is so weak or so brief it cannot be perceived consciously.