What is the effect of constant stimulation on sensory receptors?
Decreased responsiveness (sensory adaptation).
How does experience affect perception?
Top-down processing uses past experiences to interpret sensory input.
How do expectations affect signal detection?
Expectations can increase or decrease our likelihood of detecting a signal.
What are the three steps of sensation?
Receive, transform, deliver.
Describe the sensory transduction process.
Sensory systems transform stimulus energy into neural impulses that the brain can understand.
What is bottom-up processing?
Starts with sensory receptors and works up to the brain.
What is top-down processing?
Constructs perception from sensory input by drawing on experiences and expectations.
Explain the Gestalt principle.
We tend to organize sensations into a whole, seeing the big picture, not just individual pieces.
What is the Figure-Ground Relationship?
How we distinguish a subject (figure) from its background (ground).
Describe the Gestalt principle of proximity.
We group nearby objects together.
Describe the Gestalt principle of continuity.
We perceive continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.
Describe the Gestalt principle of closure.
We fill in gaps to form a whole object.
What is Signal Detection Theory?
Predicts when we detect a faint stimulus among background stimuli.
Explain the concept of energy senses.
Senses that respond to physical energy like light waves, sound waves, and pressure (vision, hearing, touch).
Explain the concept of chemical senses.
Senses that respond to chemical substances (taste and smell).
