Unit 4 sensation and perception, motivation and emotion

Sensation

Perception

Absolute threshold

Difference threshold (JND)

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  Weber’s law
  

Selective attention

Signal detection theory

Subliminal stimulation (messages)

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  fovea
  

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  rods/cones/bipolar/ganglion
  

Color theories

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  Young-Helmholtz (trichromatic)
  
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  opponent-process
  

Parallel processing

Deafness

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  conduction
  
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  sensorineural (nerve)
  

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  place theory
  
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  frequency theory
  

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  decibels (high/loud) = lessened ability to hear high hertz (high pitch)
  

Smell and memory

Touch sensations

Gate-control theory (substance P)

Kinesthesis

Vestibular sense (including where it is located)

Sensory interaction
Top-down processing

Bottom-up processing

Perceptual organization

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  context effects
  
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  visual capture
  

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  schemas
  

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  similarity, figure ground, closure,
  

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  linear perspective/interposition
  
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  retinal disparity/convergence
  

Biological, emotional, cognitive, social

Instinct

Drive

Incentive

Theories of Motivation

1. 
   Instincts and Evolutionary
   

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  Instinct:  innate, automatic disposition toward responding in a particular way when confronted with a specific stimulus
  

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  Problems with this theory (especially with humans)?
  

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  Not as common with humans as are with other species
  

   2.  Drives

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  Drive-reduction theory:  states that motivation arises from imbalances in homeostasis (constant internal state)
  

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  the imbalance in homeostasis creates a need (biological requirement for well-being)
  
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  the brain responds to such needs by creating drive (psychological state of arousal that prompts an organism to take action, restore balance and reduce the drive)
  

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  remember…drives PUSH us to satisfy our needs
  

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  Incentive theory:  states that behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli
  

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  Value of an incentive is influenced by both biological and cognitive factors
  

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  remember…incentives PULL us into action
  

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  Arousal theories:  state that people are motivated to behave in ways that maintain what is, for them, an optimal level of arousal
  

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  Your level of arousal can be measured by electrical activity in your brain, heart rate or muscle tension
  
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  People perform best when arousal is moderate
  

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  Generally people try to increase arousal when to low or decrease when too high– level is different for all people
  

   5.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

lower needs must be met 1^st   

Hunger

External incentives

Taste preference
Anorexia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa

Binge eating disorder

Sex

Master and Johnson

Sexual response cycle
Sexual Orientation
Achievement

Intrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation
THEORIES OF EMOTION

Emotions:  feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements and that influence behavior

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  Theories of emotions
  
  • 
    James-Lange Theory
    
    
    

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  Cannon-Bard Theory
  

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  Schachter-Singer (Two-Factor) Theory
  

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  Must cognition precede emotion?
  

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  Zajonc – argues that emotional reactions can be quicker than our interpretations of a situation…so we feel before we think
  

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  Research on neurological processes support this idea – some neural pathways involved in emotion bypass the cortical areas involved in thinking
  

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  Lazarus – argues that while our brain does process a lot unconsciously, even instantaneously felt emotions require some sort of cognitive appraisal of the situation – otherwise, how do we KNOW what we are responding to
  

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  Appraisal may be effortless and may not be conscious of it, but it is still happening
  

EXPRESSING EMOTION

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  Cultural universals
  

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  Ekman – people speak and understand pretty much the same “facial language” around the world
  

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  Emotional “facial” universals
  

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  Cultural differences
  

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  Huge differences across cultures in both the context and intensity of the emotional displays
  

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  Stressor – a stressful stimulus, a condition demanding adaptation
  

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  Stress:  the physical and mental changes that occur in response to a challenging or threatening situation
  

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  4 major components to the stress response
  

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  Cognitive appraisal
  
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  Physiological response
  
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  Subjective feelings
  
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  Behavior
  
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  Stress is NOT just another emotion
  
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  Types of stressors
  
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    Catastrophic events
    
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    Life changes/strains
    
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    Chronic stressors
    
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    Daily hassles
    
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  The Physical Stress Response
  
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    Fight-or-flight response – sequence of internal processes preparing an organism to struggle or escape
    

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  Seyle – General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – a three-stage pattern of responses triggered by the effort to adapt to any stressor
  

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  Stage 1 = alarm reaction
  

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  If stressor persists over long period…this initially adaptive alarm reaction can become distress as it depletes body’s energy and defense resources
  

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  Stage 2 = resistance
  

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  Resistance only applies to the original stressor – if another stressor is introduced, organisms defenses could be so depleted that it would be unable to respond to second stressor
  

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  Stage 3 = exhaustion
  

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  Stress and the Immune System