Sensation and Perception
1. Sensation: The stimulation of sensory receptors and transmission of sensory
information to the central nervous system
2. Where are sensory receptors located?: Eyes, ears, skin, etc
3. Where does stimulation come from?: Sources of energy, light and sound
(automatic processes)
4. Perception: Process where sensations are organized and interpreted to form
inner representations of the world
5. Absolute Threshold (Gustav Fechner): Weakest amount of stimulus that a
person can distinguish from no stimulus at all
6. Pitch: Highness or lowness of a sound
7. Difference Threshold: Minimum difference in magnitude of two stimuli required
to tell them apart
8. Weber's Constant (Ernst Weber): The perceived difference in the intensity of
light (2% or 1/60th)
9. Just noticeable difference: Minimum difference in stimuli that a person can
detect (2% or 1/50th)
10. Signal Detection Theory: View that perception of sensory stimuli involves the
interaction of physical, biological and psychological factors
11. Light: Visible light that triggers visual sensation
12. Hue: Color of light, determined by wavelength
13. Cornea: Transparent tissue forming the outer surface of the eyeball
14. Iris: Muscular membrane whose dilation regulates the amount of light that
enters the eye
15. Pupil: Black looking opening in the center of iris through which light enters
16. Lens: Adjusts/accomodates to the image by changing its thickness and focuses
image on the retina
17. Photoreceptors: Cells that respond to light
18. Bipolar Cells: Neurons that conduct neural impulses form rods and cones to
ganglion cells
19. Ganglion Cells: Neurons whose axons form the optic nerve
20. Optic Nerve: Nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain
21. Retina: Inner surface of eye that consists of cells called photoreceptors
22. Rods (125 Million distributed across retina): Rod shaped photoreceptors that
are sensitive only to the intensity of light and allow you to see in black and white
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1. Sensation: The stimulation of sensory receptors and transmission of sensory
information to the central nervous system
2. Where are sensory receptors located?: Eyes, ears, skin, etc
3. Where does stimulation come from?: Sources of energy, light and sound
(automatic processes)
4. Perception: Process where sensations are organized and interpreted to form
inner representations of the world
5. Absolute Threshold (Gustav Fechner): Weakest amount of stimulus that a
person can distinguish from no stimulus at all
6. Pitch: Highness or lowness of a sound
7. Difference Threshold: Minimum difference in magnitude of two stimuli required
to tell them apart
8. Weber's Constant (Ernst Weber): The perceived difference in the intensity of
light (2% or 1/60th)
9. Just noticeable difference: Minimum difference in stimuli that a person can
detect (2% or 1/50th)
10. Signal Detection Theory: View that perception of sensory stimuli involves the
interaction of physical, biological and psychological factors
11. Light: Visible light that triggers visual sensation
12. Hue: Color of light, determined by wavelength
13. Cornea: Transparent tissue forming the outer surface of the eyeball
14. Iris: Muscular membrane whose dilation regulates the amount of light that
enters the eye
15. Pupil: Black looking opening in the center of iris through which light enters
16. Lens: Adjusts/accomodates to the image by changing its thickness and focuses
image on the retina
17. Photoreceptors: Cells that respond to light
18. Bipolar Cells: Neurons that conduct neural impulses form rods and cones to
ganglion cells
19. Ganglion Cells: Neurons whose axons form the optic nerve
20. Optic Nerve: Nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain
21. Retina: Inner surface of eye that consists of cells called photoreceptors
22. Rods (125 Million distributed across retina): Rod shaped photoreceptors that
are sensitive only to the intensity of light and allow you to see in black and white
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