PSYC100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Two-Streams Hypothesis, Ganglion Cell, Color Vision

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC100
• Professor: Ly Agnes

Document Summary

Sensation- the detection of external stimuli and the transmission of this information to the brain. Perception- the processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals. Bottom-up processing- perception based on the physical features of the stimulus: bottom to top. Top-down processing- how knowledge, expectations, or past experiences shape the interpretation of sensory information: what we expect to see influences what we perceive, breaks it down to smaller. ***the main focus of sensation is detection, whereas the main focus of perception is construction of useful information about a particular sensation*** Transduction- the process by which sensory stimuli are converted to signals the brain can interpret. Ex: when you touch a hot stove, neurons in the hand and brain will signal the brain, but the brain cannot process the physical stimuli directly so it has to be translated into something the brain would understand. Absolute threshold- the minimum intensity that must occur before you experience a sensation.