[PSY 102] - Final Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam (41 pages long!)

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 102
• Professor: Kosha Bramesfeld

Document Summary

Sensory receptors in the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin transduce neural signals to various parts of the brain to create sensory experiences. Absolute thresholds- the minimum amount of stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time. Weber"s law- the stronger the stimulus, the bigger the change needed for a change in the stimulus to be noticeable. Sensory adaptation- sensitivity to stimuli can diminish as a consequence of constant stimulation. Signal detection theory- how stimuli are detected under different conditions. Reaction time- our ability to quickly detect a stimulus affects our ability to react to that stimulus. Perceptual sets- environmental conditions, experiences, expectations, motivation and alertness affect what we sense. Bottom-up processing- first we sense, then assign meaning. Top- down processing- our experiences frame what we sense. Selective attention- conscious awareness is focused only on a very limited aspect of all that you experience.