PSYC 2000 Chapter : Modules 17 21 Sensation And Perception
Document Summary
Sensation and perception: sensation: process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. This is more physical: perception: process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. Bottom-up processing: analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain"s integration of sensory information. Top-down processing: information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. Example: understanding context clues for a word in a sentence, such as lead . Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience with them. Thresholds: absolute threshold: minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time, subliminal threshold: when stimuli are below one"s absolute threshold for conscious awareness. It may be detected but less than 50% of the time. It is at the border line of being detected.
