Sensation and Perception

detecting a stimulus from the environment

• sensation
• afterimage
• Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
• Stroop Effect

how our brain makes sense of the sensations we experience

• perception
• audition
• opponent-process theory
• Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

when our brain struggles to process conflicting information, like when we see a word written in one color but the ink color is different, causing a delay or mistake in our response

• Stroop Effect
• sound waves
• gustation
• opponent-process theory

smallest level of stimulus that can be detected

• absolute threshold
• subliminal sensations

• Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
• Stroop Effect

Reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it

• sensory adaptation
• Stroop Effect

• opponent-process theory
• cochlear implant

When stimuli are below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

• subliminal sensations
• Stroop Effect

• afterimage
• sensory adaptation

Occurs when mental focus is on multiple tasks or ideas at once

• divided attention
• selective attention

• audition
• cochlear implant

when we center our attention on certain important elements of our environment while other things blend into the background or pass us by completely unnoticed

• selective attention
• inattentional blindness

• sound waves
• McGurk Effect

When our focus is directed at one stimulus (relevant to us), leaving us blind to other stimuli

• inattentional blindness
• selective attention

• divided attention
• gustation

the tendency people have to miss changes in their immediate visual environment

• change blindness
• divided attention

• selective attention
• umami