This lesson explains how sensory systems detect physical energy and how psychologists measure the limits of detection. Understanding sensation is the first step toward understanding how we experience the world.
Sensation occurs when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor. Sensory receptors are specialized cells, often neurons, that respond to particular kinds of stimulation. For example, receptors in the eye respond to light, while receptors in the inner ear respond to sound-related vibration.
All flashcards
What is sensation?
Sensation is the detection of information from the environment by sensory receptors.
What is transduction?
Transduction is the conversion of physical stimulus energy, such as light or vibration, into neural signals that the nervous system can process.
How is an absolute threshold defined?
It is the minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be detected 50% of the time under specified conditions.
What is the difference threshold?
Also called the just noticeable difference, it is the smallest change between two stimuli that a person can detect.
What does Weber’s law state?
The difference threshold is a constant fraction of the original stimulus, so the detectable change depends on the starting intensity.
Quiz questions
What is perception?Answer: The organization and interpretation of sensory information.
What characterizes bottom-up processing?Answer: It begins with sensory information arriving from the environment.
What happens during sensory adaptation?Answer: Sensitivity to a constant or repetitive stimulus decreases over time.
What is inattentional blindness?Answer: Failing to notice a visible event because attention is focused elsewhere.
What does signal detection theory examine?Answer: How people identify a stimulus amid distracting background information.
Based on Psychology 2e by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.