Study Aid in Psy 1 7.

Subliminal Perception
Sensation and Perception the ability to detect information below
Section E Second Sem 2015 the level of conscious awareness.

Sensation 8. Sensory Interaction

the principle that one sense may be
The process of detecting and encoding influenced by another
stimulus energy in the world
9. Synesthesia
Perception a neurological condition in which
stimulation of one sense also evokes
The brains process of organizing and another
interpreting sensory information to give it
meaning B. The Five Senses
Characteristics: automatic, selective,
contextual, creative 1. Sense of Sight

Parts of the Eye

I. Sensation
A. Sensory Processing and Interpretation
1. Sensory Receptors
specialized cells that detect and transmit
stimulus information to sensory nerves
and the brain.
2. Transduction
transformation of environmental stimuli
to a form which can be perceptible to the
nervous and perceptual system.
3. Absolute Threshold
the minimum amount of energy we can
detect
4. Difference Threshold
the degree of difference that must exist
between two stimuli before the difference
is detected.
Sclera outer white part of the eye
Iris colored part of the eye
Pupil opening in the center of the iris
Cornea a clear membrane on the front
surface of the eye
Lens a transparent and somewhat
flexible balllike entity at the front
of the pupil
Retina the light sensitive surface at the
back of the eye contains the rods
and cones
Rods receptors in the retina that are
exquisitely sensitive to light but
are not very useful for color vision
Cones receptors in the retina for color
perception
Blind Spot an area on the retina, directly in
front of the optic nerve, that does
not contain any receptors

5. Sensory Adaptation
the tendency of sensory receptor cells to
become less responsive to a stimulus that
is unchanging.

6. Habituation
the tendency of the brain to stop
attending to constant, unchanging
information.
Theories of Color Vision
Trichromatic Theory
(Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz)
color perception results from mixing three
distinct color systems, one system
maximally sensitive to short wavelengths
(blue), another maximally sensitive to
medium wavelengths (green), and
another maximally sensitive to long
wavelengths (red)
OpponentProcess theory
(Ewald Hering)
color perception is based on three
systems of color opposites. Each color
system is sensitive to two opposing colors
blue and yellow, red and green, black
and white.
On the Phenomenon of Color Blindness
Malleus, Incus, Stapes (hammer, anvil,
stirrup) a chain of three bones which
translate sound waves in water (lymph) so
they can be processed further in the inner
ear
Inner Ear
Oval Window the membrane unto which
the stapes is connected; it transmits the
waves to the cochlea
Cochlea long, tubular, fluidfilled
structure that is coiled up like a snail
Basilar Membrane housed inside the
cochlea and runs through its entire length
Organ of Corti also runs the length of
the cochlea, sits on the basilar membrane
and contains the ears sensory receptors
which change the energy of sound waves
into nerve impulses that can be processed
by the brain

People with normal color vision are trichromats.

They can match a range of colors using three
primary colors (red, blue, and green). People who
have deficiencies in perceiving color are often
referred to as color blind. Some are dichromats,
meaning they can match a range of color using
two primaries (red and green or blue and yellow).
Others are monochromats, meaning they see the
world in black and white or shades of gray.
Colorblindness is hereditary and may be
diagnosed using the Ishihara Test for
Colorblindness.

2. Sense of Hearing

Structures and Functions of the Ear

Theories of Pitch Perception
Outer Ear
Place theory
consists of the pinna (outer, visible part of
theory of pitch that states that different
the ear) and the external auditory canal
pitches are experienced by the
(funnels sound waves to the middle ear)
stimulation of hair cells in different
locations in the organ of corti.
Middle Ear

Eardrum - first structure that sound

touches in the middle ear; a membrane
that vibrates in response to sound
Frequency theory
theory of pitch that states that pitch is
related to the speed of vibrations in the
basilar membrane
Pain
On Decibels and Deafness
Difficulties in hearing are nowadays referred to as
hearing impairment rather than deafness. A
person can be partially hearing impaired or
totally hearing impaired. This impairment may be
of two types.
Conduction hearing impairment (middle ear
deafness)
sound waves cannot be passed from the
eardrum to the cochlea and is most likely
the result of a damaged eardrum or
damaged bones of the middle ear.
Phantom Limb Pain
Nerve hearing impairment (inner ear deafness)
the impairment is caused by a problem in
the inner ear or in the auditory pathways
and cortical areas of the brain.
Congenital Analgesia
The most common and preventable cause of
nerve hearing impairment is continuous exposure
to loud sounds (high decibel levels) which
damages hair cells. Unfortunately, damage to hair
cells is irreversible.
3. Skin Senses
includes our senses for touch,
temperature and pain. The receptors for
these sensations are found underneath
the skin and occur in various
concentrations and depths
Gate Control Theory
Touch
involves Pacinian corpuscles which are
highly sensitive to light pressure sensitive
to touch and are found near the epidermis
and receptors for strong pressure which
are found in the lower levels of the
dermis.
Temperature
thermoreceptors respond to changes in
temperature
a sensation that warns us that damage is
occurring to our bodies.
free nerve endings scattered all over the
body respond to the sensation of pain
there are two kinds of pain: (a) visceral
pain pain sensations experienced in the
organs, (b) somatic pain pain sensations
in the skin muscle and joints may be
controlled or lessened by distractions,
focused breathing, and
counterstimulation
the sensation of pain in an arm or leg that
has been removed
a rare genetic disorder affecting the
neural pathways that carry pain, heat, and
cold sensations leading to an inability to
feel pain
this disorder is sometimes coupled with
disruptions in the bodys heat/cold
sensing perspiration system resulting to
the inability to perspire as well. This
particular condition is known as
congenital insensitivity to pain with
anhidrosis.
states that the spinal cord contains a
neural gate that can be opened to allow
the perception of pain or closed to block
the perception of pain
the neural gate is not a physical structure,
it simply represents the relative balance
of neural activity in the cells of the spinal
cord
4. Kinesthetic Sense
the sense of the location of body parts in
relation to the ground and each other.
Kinesthetic receptor cells are called
proprioceptors and are found in the skin,
muscles, joints and tendons
5. Vestibular Senses
the sense that provides information
regarding balance and movement
there are two kinds of vestibular organs
otolith organs and semicircular canals-
which are both found within the ears
otolith organs are tiny sacs filled with
gelatin-like fluid found just above the
cochlea
semicircular canals are three circular
tubes filled with fluid that detect head
motion caused by tilting the head or other
bodily motion
Motion Sickness
the tendency to get nauseated when in a
moving vehicle, especially one with an
irregular movement explained by the
sensory conflict theory which suggests
that the information from the eyes
conflict with the information from the
vestibular senses, resulting in dizziness,
nausea, and other physical discomfort.
6. Chemical Senses
Taste
the five basic flavors we could taste are
bitter, sour, salty, sweet, and umami
The tongue has rounded bumps on the
surface called papillae. The larger papillae
contain the taste buds, the receptors for
taste.
Smell
an average person can distinguish
between 10 40,000 different odors
the receptors for the sense of smell are
found at the roof of the nasal cavity,
known as the olfactory epithelium
Pheromones special chemicals secreted
by many animals that float through the air
as a primitive means of communication
with others members of the same species
II. Perception
influenced by experiences, memory,
expectations and biases
Selective attention
focusing on a specific aspect of experience
while ignoring others
Principles of Perception
1. Perceptual Constancy
denotes the tendency of animals and
humans to see familiar objects as having
standard size, shape and color regardless
of changes in angle of perspective,
distance or lighting
a. Size Constancy
the tendency to interpret an object as
always being the same actual size,
regardless of its distance
b. Shape Constancy
the tendency to interpret the shape of an
object as being constant, even when its
shape changes on the retina
c. Brightness Constancy
the tendency to perceive the apparent
brightness of an object as the same even
when light conditions change
2. Gestalt Principles
a. Similarity
the tendency to perceive things that look
similar as part of the same group
b. Proximity
the tendency to perceive objects that are
close to one another as part of the same
grouping
c. Closure
the tendency to complete figures that are
incomplete
d. Continuity
the tendency to perceive things simply as
a continuous pattern rather than a
complex broken up pattern
e. Contiguity
the tendency to perceive two events that
happen close together in time as being
related
3. Figure-Ground Relationships
the tendency to perceive objects or
figures as existing on a background
4. Depth Perception
the ability to see the world in three
dimensions involves the use of various
cues requiring the use of only one eye
(monocular cues) or of both eyes
(binocular cues)
5. Monocular cues
a. Linear perspective
when parallel lines appear to converge,
they are perceived as vanishing in the
distance
b. Relative clarity
objects seen as dull or hazy are perceived
as being farther away
c. Relative size
if an image contains an array of similar
objects that differ in size, smaller objects
are perceived as being farther away
d. Relative height
among similar objects, those that appear
higher are perceived as being farther
away
e. Superimposition
(interposition, occlusion or overlap) an
object that partly blocks or obscures
another one is perceived as being nearer
f. Texture gradient
the tendency for textured surfaces to
become smaller and finer as distance from
the viewer increases
g. Shading
brightly lit objects (or parts of objects)
appear closer, while objects in shadows
appear farther away
h. Motion parallax
the perception of motion of objects in
which close objects appear to move more
quickly than objects that are farther away
6. Binocular cues
a. Binocular disparity
the difference in images between the two
eyes, which is greater for objects that are
close and smaller for distant objects
b. Binocular Convergence
the rotation of the two eyes in their
sockets to focus on a single object,
resulting in greater convergence for closer
objects and lesser convergence if objects
are distant
7. Motion Perception
perception of motion arises whenever an
image moves across the retina (real
motion) or when a stationary object is
perceived as moving (apparent motion)
8. Apparent motion 3. Retrocognition
purported ability to perceive past events
a. Autokinetic effect which could not be known through normal
means
a small stationary light in a darkened
4. Clairaudience
room will appear to move because there purported ability to hear things beyond the
is no surrounding cues to indicate that the range of normal hearing
light is not moving
5. Mental telepathy
b. Stroboscopic motion purported ability to read someone elses
mind
the illusion of movement created by the
rapid stimulation of the retina 6. Psychokinesis
purported ability to influence inanimate
c. Phi phenomenon objects by willpower

lights turned on in a sequence appear to

move
Prepared by:
9. Perceptual Illusions
Kristine R. Alagad
occur when perception does not
correspond to reality Source:

10. Visual illusion Ocampo, J., Galano, C. and M.D. Lopez. (2011).
The Ins and Outs of Teaching Psychology
1. Laguna: University of the Philippines
illusion that occurs when two objects
Los Banos.
produce exactly the same retinal image
but are perceived as different images
Photo Credits:
III. Extrasensory Perception
Retrieved January 8, 2013 from http://joana-
Perception that occurs without the use of rivera.blogspot.com/
any known sensory processes
Psi phenomena- the collective term for Retrieved January 8, 2013 from
extra sensory perception and psychokinesis. http://moodle.rockyview.ab.ca/mod/book/view.
The study of psi phenomena is called php?id=56719&chapterid=20851.
parapsychology

1. Clairvoyance
purported ability to perceive things/events
unaffected by distance or normal physical
barriers

2. Precognition
purported ability to perceive future events
which could not be known through normal
means