PSYC 1000U Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Complementary Colors, Primary Color, Opponent Process
October 2, 2017
Sensation Perception
Lecture 4
Sensation:
• bottom up process (begins at entry level, information flowing from sensory receptors to
the brain)
• The process of taking in information through sensory organs (eyes, ear), recording it,
and transferring information (this is your raw data)
Perception:
• top down process (information processing is guided by high-level mental processes,
filter information through experience and expectation)
• The process of getting information from sensory organs and the brain trying to make
sense of all this
We have different experiences due to biology
Perceiving color:
• Light strikes object and absorbs it. Then reflects back and strikes back of eye for one to
be able to see it
Longer wavelength – reddish colours
Shorter wavelength – blueish and purplish colors
Different wavelengths of light result in different colours
Blue, green, and red are the primary colors of vision and light
Paints and pigments use blue, yellow, and red as primers
Theories with color:
Trichromatic
• Stage of processing happens early in the retina, three different cone types are compared
in the brain, determines color of the stimulus. This helps to explain certain color
lidess’s
Opponent process
• Happens later in visual pathway, within the colour pair one member will respond
positively to a color (i.e. blue) and negative to another (i.e. yellow). Helps to explain
complementary color afterimages and prominence of yellow as a primary color
Intensity (brightness)
Great amplitude – bright colors, loud sound
Small amplitude – dull colors, soft sound
Anatomy of the eye:
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Sight starts at back of eye, Vision starts at the back of the brain
We have blind spots on our vision
Retina is at the very back of the eye
Cones and rods: back of retina
Provide special sensitivity
• Cones – sensitive to detail and color, adapt first
• Rods – sensitive to faint light
Hearing:
• Decoding sound waves
• Sound waves strike ear drum, causing it to vibrate. Then transmit vibrations to the
cochlea. Then ripples in the fluid of the cochlea bend the hair cells, this triggers impulses
of nerve cell. Then axons transmit signals to auditory cortex
Intensity (loudness)
Great amplitude – bright colors, loud sounds
Small amplitudes – dull colors, soft sounds
Sounds over 90 db are harmful to our hearing
Frequency (pitch)
Short wavelength = high frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
Long wavelength = low frequency (reddish color, low-pitched sounds)
Perceiving pitch theories
• Place theory: liks pith heard with plae where ohlea’s erae is stiulated; est
explains high pitches
Frequency theory (temporal theory):
• rate of nerve impulses travels up the auditory nerve match the frequency of a tone,
enabling its pitch to be sensed, explains low pitches
Localizing sounds:
• Because we have two ears, sounds that reach one ear faster than the other ear causes
us to localize the sound
Sense of smell – Olfaction
Smell and memories:
• brain region for smell is closely connected with the brain regions involved with memory
Pheromones – MClitok effet, others a ofte idetify their aies’ lakets y sell
alone
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 4: bottom up process (begins at entry level, information flowing from sensory receptors to the brain, the process of taking in information through sensory organs (eyes, ear), recording it, and transferring information (this is your raw data) Perception: top down process (information processing is guided by high-level mental processes, filter information through experience and expectation: the process of getting information from sensory organs and the brain trying to make sense of all this. Perceiving color: light strikes object and absorbs it. Then reflects back and strikes back of eye for one to be able to see it. Different wavelengths of light result in different colours. Blue, green, and red are the primary colors of vision and light. Paints and pigments use blue, yellow, and red as primers. Trichromatic: stage of processing happens early in the retina, three different cone types are compared in the brain, determines color of the stimulus.
