PSYC 1150 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Absolute Threshold, Far-Sightedness, Sound

• School: University of Windsor
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1150
• Professor: Jill Jackson

Document Summary

Sensation: detection of physical energy by the sense organs. All our senses rely on a handful of principles: vision, hearing, smell, taste, body senses. These senses all start with different forms of energy. The language of the brain is always the same neural transmission via electrochemical energy. The external stimulus is converted by a sense receptor into neural activity via transduction. Activation is highest when stimulus is first detected, then sensory adaptation occurs. Other animals magnetic energy homing devices: (cid:271)(cid:396)oade(cid:396) spe(cid:272)t(cid:396)u(cid:373) of light, (cid:373)o(cid:396)e sou(cid:374)d f(cid:396)e(cid:395)ue(cid:374)(cid:272)ies . Study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical characteristics. Absolute threshold is the lowest level of a stimulus we can detect 50% of the time: a single candle 30 miles away, 50 odorant molecules. Just noticeable difference is the smallest amount of stimulus change humans can detect. Weber"s law: the stronger the stimulus, the greater the change you need to detect it.