PSY2012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Absolute Threshold, Cerebral Cortex, Sound Energy
Document Summary
Chapter 4: sensation and perception: sensation: receive signals from the environment, perception: organizing and interpreting these signals. We don"t immediately perceive what we sense. Absolute thresholds: the lowest level of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time, a boundary, the five senses, vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Subliminal stimuli: popular in movie theaters, stimuli that are below the absolute threshold. Case study: endangered manatees: they cannot hear low frequency sounds. Weber"s law: the ability to finally distinguish the threshold. Many perceptions invite some uncertainty: use the cognitive process of decision-making. Selective attention: we can sometimes be so focused that we miss important information. Divided attention: we are not as good at multitasking as we may like to think. Light travels in waves with two important properties: wavelength, perceived as color, amplitude, perceived as brightness. The ems ranges from cosmic rays, through x-rays and ultraviolet light, to tv and radio waves.
