Sensation and Perception

The process of detecting, converting, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain.

• Sensation

• Perception

The process of selecting, organizing and interpreting sensory information.

• Sensation

• Perception

Oftentimes our perception is greater than the sum of the parts actually presented to our senses.

• True

• False

Starting with the sensory input, the brain attempts to understand/make sense.

• Bottum-up processing

• Top-down processing

An experienced hiker, you

expect to see snakes on your

hike so windy stick, lizards, etc.

all seem like snakes.

• Bottum-up processing

• Top-down processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

• Top-down processing

• Bottom-up processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

• Top-down processing

• Bottom-up processing

What is a schema?

• A collection of basic

  knowledge about a

  concept or entity that

  serves as a guide to

  perception, interpretation,

  imagination, or problem

  solving.

• A schema is a method for conducting psychological experiments.
• A schema refers to a physical structure in the brain.
• A schema is a type of psychological disorder.

Gestalt Psychology

• Gestalt Psychology is solely about memory retention.
• Gestalt Psychology emphasizes the study of auditory perception.
• Gestalt Psychology is a method for analyzing historical events.
• How humans organize sensory signals, the brain creates meaning that is more than simply the sum of the available sensory signals.

The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the background).

• Figure ground

• Depth perception

• Visual Cliff

• Binocular cues