Essentials of Psychology
First Edition
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between a stimulus and a sensation; recognize the interplay between the two that inspired some of the first psychologists to measure them.
- Explain how physical energy becomes a psychological experience.
- Determine the minimum amount of stimulation needed to register on our senses.
- Differentiate between measurements for the smallest amount of stimulation detectable and the smallest change in stimulation detectable.
Imagine what life would be like for one day without sensation.
- List the steps that occur when the human visual system converts light into meaningful color images.
- Describe the structures in the auditory system that convert vibrating air molecules into meaningful sounds.
- Compare and contrast the chemical senses of smell to taste.
- Examine how those who have synesthesia experience the world.
Summarize the steps we take to perceive our world as adults.
- List the ways that perception is an active mental process.
- Discuss how we manage to identify objects despite apparent changes in their size, shape, and other features.
- Describe how we perceive depth in three-dimensional space.
- Examine whether our perceptual skills are inborn or learned from experience.
- Critique why humans fall prey to perceptual illusions.