Final Perception
Final Perception
World Around Us
Sensation
The activation of the sense organs by a source
of physical energy.
Perception
The process by which the brain organizes and
interprets sensory information.
Absolute threshold
The smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present
for the stimulus to be detected.
Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
The smallest level of added or reduced stimulation
required to sense that a change in stimulation has
occurred.
Absolute Sensory Thresholds
Vision:
A single candle flame from 30 miles on a
dark, clear night
Hearing:
The tick of a watch from 20 feet in total quiet
Smell:
1 drop of perfume in a 6-room apartment
Touch:
The wing of a bee on your cheek, dropped
from 1 cm
Taste:
1 tsp. Sugar in 2 gal. water
Perception:
Constructing
View of Our World
Perception
process by which we become aware of objects and events in
the external world.
Many people ignore the fact that all of us are different and that these
differences equip us to view the world from our very own vantage
points. Usually we spend more energy defending our own position than
understanding others.
Top-down processing:
Perception that is guided by higher-level
knowledge, experience, expectations, and
motivations.
We perceive by filling the gaps in what
we sense.
I _ant ch_co_ate ic_ cr_am.
Bottom-up processing
Perception that consists of the
progression of recognizing and processing
information from individual components
of a stimuli and moving to the perception
of the whole.
Factors Influences on Perception
Physiological (biological, neurological) Influences
Senses, age, health, fatigue, hunger, biological
cycles
Social Influences
Cultural Differences
o Nonverbal behaviors, odors, speech, silence,
space
Social Roles
o Sex roles, gender roles, occupational roles
Self-Concept
o Self-esteem, locus of control, attribution
(attaching meaning to behavior)
Gestalt Laws of Organization
A series of principles that describe how we organize bits and
pieces of information into meaningful wholes.