Psychology Other Senses and Perception. Other Senses I. Gustation II. Olfaction III. Somesthesis

PsychologyOther Senses and Perception

Other Senses

I. Gustation

II. Olfaction

III. Somesthesis

Gustation (taste)

Taste cells are chemical-sensitive receptors located in the taste bud clusters.

Five Basic Taste Qualities

Sweetness

Saltiness

Sourness

Bitterness

Umami- glutamates

Types of Tasters

I. Non-tasters: people who are unable to taste the chemical propylthioyracil, a bitter compound.

Types of Tasters

II. Medium Tasters: people with an average number of taste buds; they taste the bitter PROP at an average of medium level.

Types of Tasters

Supertasters: people who are extremely sensitive to some tastes, have a high number of taste buds, and are highly sensitive to PROP.

II. Olfaction (smell)

Olfactory epithelium: thin membrane found in the upper nasal cavity.

Olfaction (smell)

Olfactory cells carry information to the olfactory bulb.

Olfactory bulb: activates the prefrontal cortex

Olfaction (smell)

Odors and scents stimulate the olfactory epithelium

Pheromones: same-species odors, used as a form of chemical communication.

Olfaction (smell)

Anosmia: the loss of lack of sense of smell.

III. Somesthesis

Somesthesis: refers to the mechanical senses, including kinesthesis, vestibular sensation, and the skin senses.

Somesthesis

Kinesthesis: communicates information about movement and location of body parts.

Receptors are found in joints and ligaments.

Somesthesis

Vestibular Sense: Also called the equilibratory sense

Concerned with the sense of balance and knowledge of body position.

Skin Senses

Cold, Warmth, Pressure, and Pain.

Pain

Pain: the experience evoked by a harmful stimulus; directs our attention toward a danger and holds our attention.

Gate Control Theory of Pain

The brain can only focus on one pain stimulus at a time.

PsychologyPerception

Perception

I. Attentional Processes

II. Perceptual Abilities

III. Perceptual Illusions

Attentional Processes

Attention: a process in which consciousness is focused on particular stimuli.

Attentional Processes

Selective Attention: ability to focus on one stimulus while excluding other stimuli that are present.

Divided Attention: ability to respond to more than one stimulus.

Perceptual Abilities

Perceptual Organization: processes that group smaller units of the perceptual world into larger units.


Gestalt: the whole experience is greater than the sum of its individual parts.


Figure-ground perception: tendency to organize the visual field into objects (figures) that stand apart from the surroundings (ground).


Gestalt principles: the world is organized around best forms – some which are defined geometrically, such as a circle or square.


Law of Pragnanz

A. also called the law of simplicity.

B. tendency to see things in the simplest form.


Closure: filling in missing information from the perceptual array by closing in gaps.


Laws of grouping:

A. similarity: grouping things on the basis of how similar they are.

B. proximity: grouping things on the basis of how near they are.


Perceptual Constancy:

Shape Constancy: perceived shape of an object remains constant despite changes in the shape of the retinal image of that object.


Perceptual Constancy:

Size Constancy: Perceived size of an object remains constant despite changes in the size of the retinal image of that object.


Depth Perception:

Binocular Cues: depth cues provided by both eyes.

Monocular Cues: depth cues provided by one eye.


Motion Parallax: near objects are seen as moving more rapidly than far objects when the viewer’s head is moving.


Texture Gradient: when the texture of a surface receding in the distant changes in clarity, blurring at further distances.


Linear Perspective: produced by apparent converging of parallel lines in the distance.


Interposition: one item blocks the view of items in the back of it.


Relative Height: Objects higher in the perceptual field are farther away.

Light and Shadow: lighter objects appear closer.


Occulomotor Cue: depth cue based on our ability to sense the tension in our eye muscles and the position of our eyes.

III. Perceptual Illusions

Demonstrate how easy it is to misinterpret sensory input.

Types: Muller-Lyer illusion, the Ames room. Based on Gestalt principles.

Documents

Psychology Other Senses and Perception. Other Senses I. Gustation II. Olfaction III. Somesthesis