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Summary Chapter 4 notes SLK120

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  • Course
  • SLK 120
  • Institution
  • University Of Pretoria (UP)
  • Book
  • PSYCHOLOGY

These notes are compiled using the textbook, lecture notes, and study outcomes. They are easy to understand and include diagrams. All of the visual material used in the textbook and in lectures are also included.

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  • Chapter 4
  • January 31, 2023
  • 20
  • 2022/2023
  • Summary

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  • chapter 4
  • tuks
  • psychology
  • slk 120
  • psychology themes and variations

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© Ane Venter




Chapter 4
Sensory Systems and Perception




1

,© Ane Venter
Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues

1. Thresholds: Looking for limits
2. Signal-detection theory
3. Perception with awareness
4. Sensory adaption
→ Gustav Fecher – German scientist that laid the earliest foundation of important information + research
in the field of psychophysics (1860)
→ Psychophysics = Studies how a physical stimulus within the environment is converted into perceptions
and psychological experiences
→ Wilhelm Wundt – further contributed to the field
○ Questioned the quantity and nature of physical energy needed to stimulate a psychological
experience



Stimulus

→ Our bodies process stimuli via sensory organs – eyes, ears, mouth, skin, nose
→ Sensory system = organise and interpret sensory input – attach meaning + develop response though 2
separate but interacting stages of sensation and perception
○ Sensation and perception often viewed as one process

Sensation Transduction Perception




→ Sensation: the physiological
process of taking in raw physical energy from stimuli (such as light from the environment) via the
sensory receptors of our different sensory organs
○ Sensory input sent to the brain = processing and interpretation of the stimuli occur
→ Transduction: the conversion of raw physical energy into sensory neurological signals
○ Sub-process that occurs during sensation
○ Neurological signals travel to different parts of the brain via neural pathways
→ Perception: psychological process whereby sensory neurological signals that reach the brain are
selected, organised, and interpreted so that we can make sense and attach meaning to sensation
○ Allows us to acquire and benefit from sensations in the environment
○ Enables us to gain information and respond to stimuli according to our own individual contexts
→ Each process influences the other in terms of effect or impairment
○ Agnosia = results in breakdown between sensation and perception
 Inability to identify the form and /or function of people or objects using certain senses
 Can occur in any sensory domain
○ Visual agnosia = may be able to sense the stimuli
 Impairment with the perception process can interfere with perceiving and recognising an object

2

, © Ane Venter
○ Tactile agnosia: inability to recognise an object by touching it
→ We all perceive stimuli in different ways due to 3 factors:
i. Functionality of our individual sensory systems
ii. Different types of stimuli that occur in our individual environments
iii. Our unique contexts and experiences
○ This explains why people perceive and tolerate sound, light, taste, smell, and touch differently



1. Thresholds: Looing for limits
→ The point at which a stimulus triggers a response (like a light turning itself on)
→ Stimulus intensity: how intense (strong) a stimulus must be in order to be detected
→ Absolute threshold: weakest detectable stimulus
○ Level at which the stimulus intensity is detected for a specific percentage of time (50%)
→ Fechner and contemporaries
○ Studied the absolute threshold
○ Attempted to identify absolute threshold = suggested the concept of an absolute threshold – not
absolute
○ Gradual exposure to stimuli may lower the threshold
○ Individuals don’t experience stimuli at the same intensity
→ Theory of absolute threshold cannot be used as reliable method for stimulating a psychological
experience
→ Theory of “just Noticeable Difference” (JND) = alternative method for triggering a psychological
response
○ Aims to identify the lowest intensity of a stimulus needed to create a noticeable difference between
stimuli
○ Also known as the Difference Threshold
○ More apparent when the strength between stimuli is set at a greater level of intensity
○ Subjective = based on differing perceptions



2. Signal-Detection Theory
→ Fechner’s concept of Absolute threshold = replaced by the Signal Detection Theory
→ Theory acknowledges both absolute threshold and JND theories – emphasises psychological state that
influences the detection of a stimulus
→ More modern concept in psychophysics
→ Used to predict when slightest signal of sensation is experienced
→ Acknowledges sensory process of an individual + strength of a signal in terms of identifying threshold
→ Suggests that possible limitations and influences can affect the identification of a sensation and
detection of a signal = affecting concept of thresholds
→ Theory suggests an individual can be an active decision maker in perceptual judgements and detecting
signals
→ Also explains that detection of stimuli can be influenced by variety of factors:
○ Personal experiences, biases, expectations, degrees of motivation, previous exposure to stimuli,
personal sensitivity, level & ability of alertness, willingness & confidence to respond, and personal
strengths
→ Other stimuli in environment can also affect the detection of signals – being so focussed of one stimuli
that we don’t notice another.
3

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