Chapter 6: \"Sensation & Perception\" PART A

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information , enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

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

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences
(perception)

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)
-assumes there is no particular threshold and that detection depends on partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; we experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

The principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus