PSY 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Nociceptor, Stirrup

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 1101
• Professor: Najwa Haddad

Document Summary

E(cid:454): f(cid:396)ogs ha(cid:448)e (cid:272)ells i(cid:374) their eyes that fire in response to small, dark moving objects. Transduction: transduction: conversion of one form of energy into another. All sensory receptors receive sensory stimulation; transform stimulation into neural impulses; deliver neural information to brain. Thresholds: absolute threshold: the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time, signal detection theory: a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Difference thresholds: difference threshold: the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. To function effectively, we need absolute thresholds low enough to allow us to detect important sights, sounds, textures, tastes, and smells: we need to also detect difference threshold; increases with size of stimulus. Can subliminal messages control our behaviour: subliminal sensation is a fact; slightly below absolute threshold means slightly hear stimulus some of the time, subliminal persuasion not fact.