1
Q
What is attention?
A
voluntary or involuntary tendency to focus on stimulus of ignore it
2
Q
What is attention apart of?
A
executive thinking and decision making process
3
Q
What can attention be focused on?
A
internal or external stimulus
4
Q
What are controlled processes?
A
conscious, voluntary actions or cognitive processes that require a high level of attention
eg. learning a new skill
5
Q
What are automatic processes?
A
actions that require little conscious awareness or mental effort - does not interfere with performance of other activities.
eg. blinking
6
Q
How is attention limited?
A
how much info we can focus on at once and how long we can maintain it
7
Q
sustained attention?
A
focussing attention on an activity or stimulus over a prolonged period without being distracted
8
Q
what are key features of sustained attention?
A
- deeply focuses attention
- beneficial when learning something new
- critical for assessing motion info visually
9
Q
divided attention?
A
rapidly switching focus of awareness between two or more sources of info so you can multitask
10
Q
what are key features of divided attention?
A
- ability to divide attention depends on type of task
- slower response to changing stimuli, potential to miss crucial info
11
Q
selective attention?
A
choosing tp focus awareness on a specific or limited range of stimuli
12
Q
what are key features of selective attention?
A
- allows you to focus on most important stimuli and ignore less important stimuli
13
Q
How are things percieved (order)?
A
info (light, sound)
sensation - raw data is processed by sensory receptors (ears, tongue, nose)
perception (sensations are processed in the brain)
14
Q
Is sensation the same for everyone?
A
A physiological process that is the same for everyone
15
Q
Is perception the same for everyone?
A
A physiological process that is different for everyone
16
Q
What happens when Sensory receptors detect and respond to stimuli?
A
When they detect and respond to stimuli, signals are sent to specific areas of the brain
17
Q
What is sensation?
A
what changes the external energy we are exposed to into electrochemical neural impulses and does not involve the brain.
18
Q
What are the 3 stages of sensation?
A
reception (get it)
transduction (convert it)
transmission (send it)
19
Q
What is reception?
A
Sensory receptors in sense organ detect and respond to external stimulus energy
20
Q
What is transduction?
A
Sensory receptors convert stimulus energy into individual impulses of electrochemical energy
21
Q
What is transmission?
A
Impulses are sent to specific areas in the brain specialised to process them
22
Q
What is perception?
A
A physiological activity that gives meaning to the stimuli our sense organs detect, occurs in the brain.
23
Q
What are the 3 stages of perception?
A
Selection
Organistion
interpretation
24
Q
What is selection?
A
feature detector cells filter the impulses by selecting some for further processing and ignoring others
25
What is organisation?
the brain assembles the selected impulse into a pattern or form that can be recognised
26
What is interpretation?
The brain gives meaning to the reassembled pattern or whole, so we know what we've sensed.
27
What is bottom up processing?
Processing info by starting with the individual elements of stimulus, which eventually builds up to interpretation
28
What is top down processing?
Uses psychological factors to interpret and give meaning to stimulus, like pre-existing knowledge.
29
What is visual perception?
We are selective in what we pay attention to
30
Biological factors (visual perception)?
depth perception
31
What is depth perception?
Ability to see in 3D space and accurately judge distance (useing cues from enviroment)
32
What does depth perception rely on?
- visual system
- depth cues
- image is converted into neural impulses and transmitted via optic nerve to the brain
33
What are depth cues?
variety of internal and external stimuli or processes that inform the visual system about an objects depth or distance from the observer.
34
What are the 2 depth cues?
Binocular
- retinal disparity
- convergence
Monocular
- accomodation
- pictorial cues
35
What is binocular?
Requires both eyes to work together to provide the brain with info of depth and distance
36
What is retinal disparity?
- eyes are 6cm apart, each retina receives a different image
- brain overlaps and creates overall image
37
What is convergence?
- both eyes simultaneously turn inwards as an object moves closer
38
What is accomodation?
Involves the muscles attached to your lens of your eyes to voluntary, or involuntarily relax so it can focus on different objects
39
What do pictorial cues do?
create an impression of depth on a flat 2D surface where depth does not exist- allows brain to perceive apparent 3D depth
40
What are the pictorial cues?
- linear perspective
- interposition
- texture gradient
- relevant size
- height in visual field
41
linear perspective?
Apparent convergence of parallel lines creates illusion of increasing distance
42
interposition?
When one object partially blocks another – so we know it is at the front, therefore is closer to us than the other object
43
texture gradient?
Surface features of an object are smaller and less detailed the more distant the object becomes
44
relevant size?
Perceive the object that is larger as being closer, and the object that is smaller to be further
45
height in visual field?
Involves location of objects in visual field depending on where it is on our horizon line
Closer to line = further away
Further away to line = closer to us
46
What do the psychological factors include?
- visual perception principle
- gestalt principles
- visual constancies
- context
- motivation
- past experience
- memory
47
what are visual perception principles?
rules that our brain apply to automatically organise and interpret visual stimuli in a consistent and meaningful way
48
What are gestalt principles?
Rules we apply when we organise seperate stimuli into meaningful patterns or whole forms
49
What are the 4 main gestalt principle catagories?
1. figure ground
2. closure
3. similarity
4. proximity
50
What is figure ground?
Using imaginary contour lines to group and seperate features to see a figure
51
What is closure?
mentally filling gaps in an incomplete figure so that the figure has a consistent and overall form.
52
What is similarity?
Helps is perceive stimuli that have similar features as belonging together and form a meaningful unit.
53
What is proximity?
Perceiving stimuli that are close together in a space as belonging together to form a meaningful whole.
54
What are visual constancies?
retinal images of the brain constantly changes but brain perceives it stable - we see it as unmoving due to visual constancies.
55
What are the 4 main visual constancies catagories?
1. size constancy
2. shape constancy
3. brightness constancy
4. orientation constancy
56
What is size constancy?
perceived size of an object stays the same despite changes in the size of the object’s retinal image
57
What is shape constancy?
Perceived shape of an object remains constant despite changes to the shape of the objects retinal image
58
What is brightness constancy?
Perceived level of brightness relative to its surroundings stay the same under changing lighting conditions
59
What is orientation constancy?
True orientation of an object is perceived as being unchanged, despite changes in the orientation of the objects image on our retina.
60
What is context?
The info (condition or circumstances) that surround a stimulus
61
What is motivation?
Internal state activates, directs and sustains behaviour to achieve a goal
62
What is past experience?
Create an expectation to interpret stimuli in the same way previously donw.
63
What is memory (visual)?
Is stored and retrieved and compared to new stimulus to assist interpretation
64
What are the social factors(visual perception)?
Culture
65
What is culture (social factor)?
influences how we perceive our environment and how a person behaves, speaks and interacts.
66
How do different cultures differ with visual perception?
- eastern cultures tend to perceive stimuli more holistically
- western cultures focus on the central object
67
What is gustatory (taste) perception?
Refers to the sensory experience something put in the mouth and perceived as flavour
68
What are the 5 tastes?
- salty
- sweet
- sour
- bitter
- unami
69
What is Perceptual Distortions
involves inconsistency, or ‘mismatch’, between a perceptual experience and physical reality
Occurs when a person’s response to environmental stimuli is different from what is considered the normal response
70
Visual illusions
Visual illusions is a consistent perceptual error in interpreting the features of an external stimulus
71
What is a supertaster
person who is born with more tastebuds and taste receptors on their tongue than average
72
How do supertasters show the fallibility of gustatory perception
because it proves that taste is not consistent across individuals—what tastes mild to one person may be overwhelmingly strong or unpleasant to a supertaster.
73
What can perception distortion be a result of?
Physical damage to the brain (e.g. spatial neglect)
Psychological impairment
Influence of drugs
74
What is an example of perception distortion?
Synathesia
spacial neglect
75
What is Synastheasia?
a group of neurological conditions where information taken in by one sense is involuntarily experienced in a way normally associated with another sense
An involuntary, life-long condition that is usually present from birth
76
What are the characteristics of synathesia?
Synaesthetic perception is stable over time
Experienced in one direction – if letter T tastes like strawberries, strawberries do not trigger thought of T
Can be involuntary/ automatic
77
What are the types of synathesia?
Grapheme
Personification
Sound to colour
Lexical-Gustatory
Number-form
78
What is grapheme synathesia?
Specific numbers, letters, or words trigger specific colours
79
What is personification synathesia?
When presented with an ordered sequence, like numbers, letters, days, they are perceived as having various personalities
80
What is sound to colour synathesia?
A sound automatically triggers the visualisation of coloured, generic shapes
81
What is Lexical-gustatory synathesia?
When speaking, hearing, or writing specific words, a person experiences unique taste
82
What is Number-form synathesia?
When thinking about numbers, the person automatically visualises a number map
83
Causes of synathesia?
Not a perceptual disorder, instead is a perceptual anomaly. Irregularities in perceptual processing that causes them to experience sensations that are not consistent with a stimulus
84
What are the psychological factors (visual perception)?
Visual perception principles
Gestalt principles
Visual constancies
Context
Motivation
Past experiences
Memory
85
What is taste sensation?
Begins with the food molecules dissolved by saliva – gets into contact with taste buds
Chemical molecules in food and drink are mixed with the saliva, and enter the taste pore
It then binds to the surface of a taste receptor – taste sensation is detected
86
What is taste perception?
Neural pathway for taste begins in the tongue and ends in the brain
Differences in perception of taste is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors
87
What are the biological factors(taste perception)?
Genes
age
88
What are genes in taste perception?
Genetic make-up can influence the amount and composition of gustatory receptors on tastebuds
Twin studies have found links between genes and preference – like sugars, carbs, fats, and protein
89
What is age in taste perception?
Children have more tastebuds than adults – more sensitive to flavour
As we age, number of tastebuds and its sensitivity decreases as they do not regenerate as fast
90
What are the psychological factors of taste perception?
Memory
Food packaging
Appearance
91
What is memory in taste perception?
Our memory of past food experiences creates an expectation of a food’s taste
Smell or sight of food triggers a memory that influences your perception of it
92
What is food packaging in taste perception?
Colour and packaging – sets up expectation for taste
Texture and weight
Sound it makes
93
Psychology
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