Sensation & Perception Don’t

“Just Happen”
Sensation
 Light bounces off Dilbert
 Light forms image on retina
 Image generates electrical
signals in receptors
 Signals travel along nerve
fibers to the brain...

Perception
Signals are processed and you “perceive” Dilbert
 How Do We Study Sensation?
Psychophysics
• Study of the relationship
twixt a physical
stimulus and your
perception of it.
• Concerned mostly with
physical attributes of
the stimulus (e.g., amp &
Gustav Fechner loudness).
Father of Psychophysics
(and a lot of fun at parties)
 Absolute Thresholds
or
How Low Can We Go?

• What is the minimum Intensity     

stimulation necessary 105 Y Y

104 Y Y Y
to detect a stimulus 103 Y Y Y
50% of the time? 102 Y Y Y
101 Y Y Y Y Y
100 Y Y Y N Y
Vision 99 N N Y N N
On a clear, dark 98 N N N
97 N N
night you can 96 N N
see a candle
99.5 99.5 98.5 100.5 99.5
from 30 miles Crossover Values
away
 Signal Detection

Detecting a weak
signal depends on:
1. Signal’s strength
2. Our internal  state
(experience, motivation
& fatigue)

Do “absolute” thresholds really exist?

 Signal Detection
Signal
Present Absent

“Yes” Hit Miss

Ss
Response

“No” False Correct

Alarm Rejection
Subliminal Stimulation

Study
Can More
we process For
information
without Test 2!
being aware of it?
 Subliminal Stimulation
Self-Help Tape
Memory Self-Esteem

Memory M-M M-SE

Subject
Request
Self-Esteem SE-M SE-SE

Result? ZILCH! No Differences!

 Difference Thresholds (JND)

What
What isis the
the minimum
minimum
difference
difference between
between two two
stimuli
stimuli that
that aa person
person can can
detect
detect 50%
50% of of the
the time?
time?
 Difference Thresholds (JND)

What
What isis the
the minimum
minimum
difference
difference between
between two two
stimuli
stimuli that
that aa person
person can can
detect
detect 50%
50% of of the
the time?
time?

(Ernst)
(Ernst) Weber’s
Weber’s Law
Law
“Regardless
“Regardless ofof magnitude,
magnitude, two
two stimuli
stimuli must
must
differ
differ by
by aa constant
constant proportion
proportion for
for the
the
difference
difference to
to be
be noticeable.”
noticeable.”
 Sensory Adaptation
The
The most
most important
important aspect
aspect of
of our
our environment
environment is...
is...

CHANGE
Our senses are designed toCHANGE
notice changes:
CHANGE Visual
AuditoryCHANGE
CHANGEOlfactory
CHANGE Touch CHANGE

CHANGE
Sensory CHANGE
Sensory Adaptation
Adaptation
 Vision
Transduction - the process by which
stimulus energy (e.g., light) is converted
into neural energy.
Electromagnetic
Spectrum Violet 360nm
Indigo
Blue
Green 500nm
Yellow
Orange 600nm
Red 700nm
 Properties of...LIGHT
Longer
Longer
Wavelength
Wavelength
Lower
Lower
Frequency
Frequency

Shorter
Shorter
Wavelength
Wavelength
Higher
Higher
Frequency
Frequency
 Properties of...LIGHT
Smaller
Smaller
Amplitude
Amplitude
Dull
Dull
Colors
Colors

Higher
Higher
Amplitude
Amplitude
Bright
Bright
Colors
Colors
 Cornea
The Eye
Iris

Lens
Blind
Spot

Fovea
Retina

Optic Nerve
 Retina (Rods & Cones)
Retina

Cones Rods
Number 6 million 125 million
Location in Retina Center Periphery
Sensitivity to Light Low High
Color Sensitive Yes No
 Dark & Light Adaptation

Adaptation - process by which the eye becomes

more or less sensitive to light
Processing Info in the Visual Cortex
Three Major Types of Hubel
Visual Cells in Cortex &
Wiesel
Simple Cells - line of correct
width & angle, in the right position
in receptive field
Complex Cells - same as Simple,
plus line must be moving in a
particular direction
Hypercomplex Cells - same as
Complex but line must be a certain
length
 Visual Information Processing
Retinal Processing
Rods & Cones Bipolar Cells Ganglion Cells

Feature Detection
Detector cells respond to elementary features

Abstraction
High-level cells respond to combined info
from feature-detector cells

Recognition
Brain matches the constructed image with stored images
 Color Vision
Do objects possess color?

Is a lemon “yellow”?

NO! Light has no color

Is a chili pepper “red”?

Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision
Human eye has 3 types of cone
receptors sensitive to different
wavelengths of light.
light

Short Medium Long

People see colors because the
eye does its own “color mixing”
Helmholtz 1852 by varying ratio of cone
neural activity
Cones and Color
 Opponent Process Theory
Ewald Hering - Eye contains 3
mechanisms that produce antagonistic
responses to three pairs of colors

R B B

G Y W

Why?
Afterimages & Color Deficiency
 “If a tree falls…”

If a tree falls in the

forest and there is nobody
around to hear it…
Does it make a noise?

NO…Sound (like color) is all in your head!

 Hearing

What is Sound?
Compression & Rarefaction
of air molecules.
 Sound Waves
Amplitude (Loudness)
Strength or height of the
wave
Frequency (Pitch)
Distance twixt consecutive
peaks

Mix (Timbre)
Interaction of different
waves

1 Hertz = 1 Cycle/Sec Human Hearing

20 - 20k Hz
 Outer Ear
auditory/8th nerve

pinna malleus

cochlea
auditory canal
incus
tympanic membrane

Pinna - collect and direct “sound” into auditory canal

Auditory Canal - amplify & funnel “sound” to
tympanic membrane
Tympanic Membrane - collect “sound” &
vibrate ossicles
 Middle Ear
malleus incus

handle long process

of malleus of incus

stapes

Malleus - vibrate & move the Incus

Incus - vibrate & move the Stapes
Stapes - vibrate against Oval Window of Cochlea
 Inner Ear
anterior
semicircuar
canal
lateral
semicircular
canal
posterior
semicircular cochlea
canal

vestibule

Cochlea - filled with fluid & contains receptors

for hearing (Hair Cells)

Basilar Membrane - divides length of cochlea & holds

the hair cells
Auditory Pathway
 Perceiving Pitch
Place Theory - pitch determined by
point of maximal vibration on
basilar membrane
Traveling Wave Theory 1957
Georg von Békésy
1899-1972

Frequency Theory - pitch determined by the rate

at which the hair cells fire (i.e., 1KHz tone cause
hair cells to fire 1k times/sec)
Volley Principle