PSYC 1001 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Hair Cell, Brainstem, Middle Ear

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1001
• Professor: Chris Motz

Document Summary

Involved building uniform model from integrated input of all senses. Transduction: conversion of one form of energy to another (e. g. sense organs convert enviro. effects into neural activity) Psychophysics: relation between distal and proximal stimulus, how the characteristics of the environmental stimulus and the sensations they produce are related. Threshold: dividing point between energy levels that are or aren"t detectable. Absolute threshold: minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect stimulus, no single intensity that is detectable, involves perception for individuals, gradual process leading to detection. Just noticeable difference (jnd): smallest difference of stimulation that is detectable. Absolute threshold = first jnd, jnd from nothing. Oj example x-axis: measure of physical intensity y-axis: extent of perception. Weber"s law: size of jnd = constant proportion to initial stimulus, weber"s fraction (percentages and fractions increasing). Fechner"s law: magnitude of sensory experience proportional to # of jnds past absolute threshold, perception cannot be measured on absolute scales, progressively smaller differences when perceiving sensation.