Module 11: Introduction to Sensation and

Perception

I- When we select, organize and interpret our sensation, the process is called perception.

II- We hear not just a mix of pitches and d rhythms but a child’s cry of pain, the hum of distant traffic,
a symphony. In short, we transform sensation into perceptions. We create meaning.

III- Bottom-up processing- analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the
brain’s integration of sensory information.

IV- Top-down processing- Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as

when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

VII- Thresholds

A- Psychophysics- The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such
as their intensity and our psychological experience of them.

B- Absolute thresholds- the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulation needed
to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

C-Subliminal Threshold- when stimuli are below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

D- Difference threshold- minimum differences between two stimuli required for detection 50% of
the time, also called just noticeable difference.

VIII- Signal Detection

A- frog feeds on flying insects; a male silkworm moth is sensitive to female sex-attractant odor; and
we as human beings are sensitive to sound frequencies that take role of the range of human voice
consonants to a baby’s cry.

B- Signal detection theory (SDT) - a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a
faint stimulus (“signal”) amid background stimulation (“noise”). Assumes that there is no single
absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation,
and level of fatigue.

XI- Sensory Adaptation

A- Sensory adaptation- diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

XII- Selective Attention

 A-Selective attention- the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

XIII- Inattentional Blindness

A- Inattentional blindness- refers to inability to see an object or a person amidst an engrossing
scene.
B-Change Blindness is a form of Inattentional blindness, where 2/3’s of the direction giving
individuals failed to notice a change in the individual who was asking for directions.