SLK120 CHAPTER 4
NOTES
Taneil Thompson
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, 2020
, DISCLAIMER:
PLEASE NOT THAT THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MY OWN. IT HAS
BEEN SOURCED FROM THE TEXTBOOK TITLED ‘PSYCHOLOGY
THEMES AND VARIATIONS’. THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE USED
IN ADDITION TO THE TEXTBOOK, LECTURES, LECTURE NOTES
AND TUTORIAL WORKSHEETS.
, SLK120 Notes
Chapter 4- Sensory Systems and Perception
PART 1 (for Semester Test 1):
1. Explain how stimulus intensity is related to absolute thresholds
and Just Noticeable Differences (JNDs). (155-157)
- Psychophysics: study of how a physical stimulus within the environment
is converted into perceptions and psychological experiences.
- A sensory input (stimulus) gives off energy which is absorbed by our
sensory organs (mouth, ears, eyes, skin, nose). The sensory receptors
detect this energy (this is sensation: the physiological process of taking
in raw physical energy from stimuli via the sensory receptors of our
different sensory organs) and convert it to neural impulses which are
sent to the brain (this is transduction: a sub-process that occurs during
sensation and is defined as the conversion of the raw physical energy
into sensory neurological signals). The brain then organises the sensory
input and translates it into something meaningful (this is perception: a
psychological process whereby sensory neurological signals that reach
the brain are selected, organised and interpreted, so that we can make
sense of and attach meaning to sensations)
- The point at which the physical energy is converted into a neural impulse
is the point at which the two processes (sensation and perception)
merge.
- Agnosia: disorder that results in the breakdown between sensation and
perception and is characterised by a person’s inability to identify the form
and/or function of people or objects using certain senses.
a.) Auditory agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just listening
b.) Tactile agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just touching
c.) Olfactory agnosia: Inability to recognise various odours
d.) Visual agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just seeing
(disorder of what pathway- see point 11)
o Apperceptive Visual Agnosia: inability to put information together
to create meaningful whole
o Associative Visual Agnosia: inability to give meaning to perception
o Prosopagnosia: inability to recognise familiar faces
e.) Form agnosia: Inability to perceive forms as a whole picture
- Threshold: point at which a stimulus triggers a response.
NOTES
Taneil Thompson
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, 2020
, DISCLAIMER:
PLEASE NOT THAT THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MY OWN. IT HAS
BEEN SOURCED FROM THE TEXTBOOK TITLED ‘PSYCHOLOGY
THEMES AND VARIATIONS’. THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE USED
IN ADDITION TO THE TEXTBOOK, LECTURES, LECTURE NOTES
AND TUTORIAL WORKSHEETS.
, SLK120 Notes
Chapter 4- Sensory Systems and Perception
PART 1 (for Semester Test 1):
1. Explain how stimulus intensity is related to absolute thresholds
and Just Noticeable Differences (JNDs). (155-157)
- Psychophysics: study of how a physical stimulus within the environment
is converted into perceptions and psychological experiences.
- A sensory input (stimulus) gives off energy which is absorbed by our
sensory organs (mouth, ears, eyes, skin, nose). The sensory receptors
detect this energy (this is sensation: the physiological process of taking
in raw physical energy from stimuli via the sensory receptors of our
different sensory organs) and convert it to neural impulses which are
sent to the brain (this is transduction: a sub-process that occurs during
sensation and is defined as the conversion of the raw physical energy
into sensory neurological signals). The brain then organises the sensory
input and translates it into something meaningful (this is perception: a
psychological process whereby sensory neurological signals that reach
the brain are selected, organised and interpreted, so that we can make
sense of and attach meaning to sensations)
- The point at which the physical energy is converted into a neural impulse
is the point at which the two processes (sensation and perception)
merge.
- Agnosia: disorder that results in the breakdown between sensation and
perception and is characterised by a person’s inability to identify the form
and/or function of people or objects using certain senses.
a.) Auditory agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just listening
b.) Tactile agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just touching
c.) Olfactory agnosia: Inability to recognise various odours
d.) Visual agnosia: Inability to recognise an object by just seeing
(disorder of what pathway- see point 11)
o Apperceptive Visual Agnosia: inability to put information together
to create meaningful whole
o Associative Visual Agnosia: inability to give meaning to perception
o Prosopagnosia: inability to recognise familiar faces
e.) Form agnosia: Inability to perceive forms as a whole picture
- Threshold: point at which a stimulus triggers a response.
