Chapter 3 - Sensation and Perception

3
Sensation and
Perception
Those potato chips sound delicious!
A ny child knows the essentials of sensation. We see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our noses,
and taste with our tongues. What could be simpler? Expert chefs often warn, “We taste with our eyes first,”
meaning that the way food looks can influence how it tastes to us. Could this warning be literally true? Is it
possible that what food looks like (or sounds like) influences how it tastes? Psychologist Charles Spence has
conducted numerous studies on the ways our senses combine to produce experience (Piqueras-Fiszman &
Spence, 2015). Among other things, his work shows how the color of a mug can influence how coffee tastes—
for instance, a white mug can lead to bitter coffee (Twilley, 2015). In addition, the way food sounds can influ-
ence its flavor. In one study, participants wore headphones while they munched Pringles potato chips (Zampini
& Spence, 2004). Crunching sounds were picked up by a microphone and were fed into the headphones.
Here’s the catch: The sounds were manipulated by the experimenters so that they sounded louder and higher
pitched for some participants. Although the chips were identical, as all Pringles are, those who heard the loud,
high-pitched crunches reported the chips as tasting fresher. Another study showed the quality of music heard
while eating affected the taste of chocolate: The smoother the music, the creamier and sweeter chocolate
tasted (Reinoso Carvalho & others, 2017). These amusing studies have an important lesson about the way we
experience the world. What we see, hear, smell, and taste is all that we know of reality in our everyday lives
(Brunetti & others, 2017). Our reality is the product of our senses combining in fascinating ways.
©Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
© Philip and Karen Smith/The Image Bank/Getty Images

PREVIEW
This chapter explores sensation and perception, the processes by which we engage
with the external world. We first examine vision and then probe hearing, the skin
senses, taste, smell, and the kinesthetic and vestibular senses. Without the senses,
we would be isolated from the world around us; we would live in dark silence—and in
a tasteless, colorless, feelingless void.
1 How We Sense and Perceive the World

Sensation and perception researchers represent a broad range of specialties, including
ophthalmology, the study of the eye’s structure, function, and diseases; audiology, the sci-
ence concerned with hearing; neurology, the scientific study of the nervous system; and
many others. Understanding sensation and perception requires comprehending the phys-
ical properties of the objects of our perception—light, sound, the texture of material things,
and so on. The psychological approach to these processes involves understanding the
physical structures and functions of the sense organs, as well as the brain’s conversion of
the information from these organs into experience.
The Processes and Purposes

of Sensation and Perception
Our world is alive with stimuli—all the objects and events that surround us. A stimulus
sensation can be anything that we detect in the world. Sensation and perception are the processes
The process of receiving that allow us to detect and understand these various stimuli. We do not actually experi-
stimulus energies from the
external environment and
ence these stimuli directly; rather, our senses allow us to get information about aspects
transforming those energies of our environment, and we then take that information and form a perception of the
into neural energy. world. Sensation is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environ-
ment and transforming those energies into neural energy. Physical energy such as light,
sound, and heat is detected by specialized receptor cells in the sense organs—eyes, ears,
skin, nose, and tongue. When the receptor cells register a stimu-
lus, the energy is converted into an electrochemical impulse or
action potential that relays information about the stimulus perception
through the nervous system to the brain (Copeland & others, The process of
organizing and
2017). Recall that an action potential is the brief wave of electri- interpreting
cal charge that sweeps down the axon of a neuron for possible sensory informa-
transmission to another neuron. When it reaches the brain, the tion so that it
information travels to the appropriate area of the cerebral cortex makes sense.
(Andric, Davis, & Hasson, 2017; Heeger, 2017).
The brain gives meaning to sensation through per-
ception. Perception is the process of organizing
and interpreting sensory information so that If you've ever begged someone
it makes sense. Receptor cells in our eyes to try your favorite food only to have the
record—that is, sense—a sleek silver object
person give you a shrug and "meh,"
in the sky, but they do not “see” a jet
Through sensation we take in information from the world; plane. So, sensation is about the biologi- that's the difference between sensation
through perception we identify meaningful patterns in that cal processing that occurs between our and perception. Both tongues had
information. Thus sensation and perception work hand in
sensory systems and the environment, while the same experience. But perception
hand when we enjoy a hug and the sweet fragrance of a
flower.
perception is our experience of those pro- is subjective.
©Purestock/SuperStock cesses in action. Sensation is the biological
84 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on
process of the person encountering stimuli. Perception is the brain providing meaning to
those encounters.
BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN PROCESSING Psychologists distinguish

between bottom-up and top-down processing in sensation and perception (Self & others,
2017). In bottom-up processing, sensory receptors register information about the external bottom-up processing
environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation (Klapper & others, 2014; The operation in sensation
Pattamadilok & others, 2017; Watanabe & Aust, 2017). Bottom-up processing means taking and perception in which
sensory receptors register
in information and trying to make sense of it. Bottom-up processing begins with the exter- information about the
nal world. In contrast, top-down processing starts with cognitive processing in the brain. In external environment and
top-down processing we begin with some sense of what is happening (the product of our send it up to the brain for
experiences) and apply that framework to incoming information from the world. Top-down interpretation.
processing is reflected when our expectations affect what we (or think we) see, hear, or
top-down processing
feel (Huffman, Rajsic, & Pratt, 2017; Lyngs & others, 2016 ; Rajsic, Taylor, & Pratt, 2017). The operation in sensation
One way to understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing is and perception, launched by
to think about how you experience a song you have never heard before versus that same cognitive processing at the
song when you have heard it many times (Figure 1). The first time you hear the song, brain’s higher levels, that
you listen carefully to get a “feel” for it. That is bottom-up processing: taking the incom- allows the organism to sense
what is happening and to
ing information of the music and relying on that external experience. Now, once you have apply that framework to
a good feel for the song, you listen to it in a different way. You have expectations and information from the world.
know what comes next. That is top-down processing. You might even sing along with the
song when it comes on the radio or at a club. Be careful, though, because top-down
expectations are not always accurate, and you might find yourself singing to a remix that
differs from what you are used to.
Top-down processing can happen even in the absence of any stimulus at all. You
can experience top-down processing by “listening” to your favorite song in your
head. As you “hear” the song in your mind’s ear, you are engaged in a per- Eating strawberries, cherries,
ceptual experience produced by top-down processing. and red popsicles, little kids often get
Bottom-up and top-down processing work together in sensation and percep- the idea that red = sweet . . . then they
tion to allow us to function accurately and efficiently (Hartcher-O’Brien, get a taste of red beets! It's always a
Soto-Faraco, & Adam, 2017). By themselves our ears provide only incoming fun moment when bottom-up experience
information about sound in the environment. Only when we consider both what
the ears hear (bottom-up processing) and what the brain interprets (top-down
collides with top-down expectations.
Top-Down Processing
…that the brain interprets
rets Thinking about
as music. the music…
…creates a
perceptual experience
in the mind‘s ear.
Taking in the sounds…
Bottom-Up Processing
FIGURE 1 Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in Perception When you listen to a song for
the first time, bottom-up processing allows you to get a feel for the tune. Once you know the song well,
you can create a perceptual experience in your mind’s ear, by “playing” it in your head. That’s top-down
processing.
How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 85

processing) can we fully understand how we perceive sounds in our world. In everyday life,
the two processes of sensation and perception are essentially inseparable. For this reason, most
psychologists consider sensation and perception as a unified information-processing system.
Top-down expectations can influence what we think we see or hear (Lyngs & others,
2016). For example, in a series of studies, researchers ask people to find a toothbrush in
a picture of a bathroom. Participants had no trouble picking out a (regular sized) tooth-
brush on the counter in front of the sink. However, what they did not seem to notice was
a gigantic toothbrush, nearly as big as the counter itself, just behind the sink (Eckstein
& others, 2017). In fact, people missed giant objects 13 percent more often than much
smaller, but regularly sized objects. The explanation for this difference is that we look for
objects based on our expectations for what they should look like, including size.
When the objects of our perception are other people, such expectations can include ste-
reotypes, or our expectations for a person’s behavior because of their membership in a par-
ticular group. If you hold a stereotype of police as helpful you might be more likely to see a
policeman’s neutral face as smiling. Similarly, stereotypes we hold can influence our ability
to accurately perceive a broad range of other people, sometimes with important consequences.
To read about the influence of stereotypes on perception, see the Challenge Your Thinking.
THE PURPOSES OF SENSATION AND PERCEPTION Why do we

perceive the world? From an evolutionary perspective, the purpose of sensation and per-
ception is adaptation that improves a species’ chances for survival (Kaiser & Haselhuhn,
2017; Melin & others, 2017; Troscianko & others, 2017). An organism must be able to
sense and respond quickly and accurately to events in the immediate environment, such
as the approach of a predator, the presence of prey, and the appearance of a
Dogs can smell better than potential mate. Not surprisingly, therefore, most animals—from goldfish to goril-
humans. But that's because dogs need las to humans—have eyes and ears, as well as sensitivities to touch and chemicals
(smell and taste). Furthermore, a close comparison of sensory systems in ani-
to and humans don't.
mals reveals that each species is exquisitely adapted to the habitat in which it
evolved. Animals that are primarily predators generally have their eyes at the front
of their faces so that they can perceive their prey accurately. In contrast, animals that are
more likely to be someone else’s lunch have their eyes on either side of their heads, giving
them a wide view of their surroundings at all times.
Sensory Receptors and the Brain

All sensation begins with sensory receptors. Sensory receptors are specialized cells sensory receptors
There is that word again, that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and Specialized cells
the brain. Sensory receptors are the openings through which the brain and that detect stimu-
afferent. Remember that afferent = lus information and
arrives at the brain. nervous system experience the world. Figure 2 shows the human sensory recep- transmit it to sen-
tors for vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. sory (afferent)
nerves and the
brain.
Most predatory animals have eyes at the front of the face; most animals that are prey have eyes on the side
of their head. Through these adaptations, predators perceive their prey accurately, and prey gain a
measure of safety from their panoramic view of their environment.
(owl) ©Michael Cummings/Getty Images; (rabbit) ©Vetta/Getty Images
86 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a n d Per c epti on
Challenge YOUR THINKING
Why Does a Cell Phone Look Like a Gun?
A
cell phone. Car keys. A driver’s license. A billfold. A bottle of
water. A toy gun in a toy aisle.
What all of these mundane objects have in common is
that they have all, in various tragic cases, been mistaken for a gun
by a police officer who has opened fire on the men holding them. In
all of these cases, the police officers were cleared of wrongdoing.
Juries and judges concluded that they had made terrible but honest
mistakes. Such cases have incited critical attention, including the re-
cent controversy about professional football players kneeling during
the national anthem. Could it be a coincidence that the unarmed
dead men were all African Americans? What role did race play in
these mistakes?
Inspired by such cases, social psychologists have examined how
ethnicity might influence the misperception of harmless objects as
weapons (Rivers, 2017). In these studies, participants are told that
they will see two pictures on a computer screen (Payne, 2006). Their
job is to decide, as quickly and accurately as possible, whether the
second picture is a gun or a tool. The first picture—always a picture
of an African American man or a White man—cues the participants
that the judgment is coming. Studies show that, after seeing an Afri-
can American man’s face, participants are quicker to recognize guns
accurately in the second picture. In addition, when responses are
hurried, participants are more likely to mistakenly view tools as guns
when the tools are shown after a picture of an African American man
(Rivers, 2017).
(mobile) ©REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock; (wallet)
How can we understand such results? Social psychologists sug- ©Ensuper/Shutterstock; (gun) ©photo one/
gest that when what we perceive is ambiguous, stereotypes can fill Shutterstock
in the gaps (Correll & others, 2015). Essentially, this means that the
faces of African American men are acting as top-down cues, that fa-
cilitate access to stereotypical information indicating the person is dangerous.
Perhaps most disturbing, a recent set of studies showed that even when Black suspect. Instead, the explanation may lie in the automatic application of ste-
male faces were those of children as young as 5 years old, participants were reotypes (Todd & others, 2016).
quicker to recognize weapons (Todd, Thiem, & Neel, 2016). Even the faces of The mistakes police have made in shooting unarmed men and boys may
children led participants to misperceive harmless objects as weapons. be innocent, but they are not inevitable. Individuals who live in a society that
Could such stereotype-driven top-down processing help us understand does not view ethnic minority individuals as dangerous, aggressive, or likely to
shootings of unarmed Black men? Research suggests that it might (Spencer, be criminals might be less inclined to misperceive a wallet, car keys, or cell
Charbonneau, & Glaser, 2016). For instance, some studies have participants phone as a weapon.
play a video game in which they must decide whether to shoot or not shoot a
potential suspect who is holding either a gun or a harmless object. In these What Do You Think?
studies, both African American and White participants have been found to de-
■ How might this research be used to prevent
cide to shoot more quickly at an armed African American man and to decide
future tragic mistakes?
not to shoot more quickly at an unarmed White man (Correll & others, 2011).
■ How does this research influence your views
Because African Americans and Whites were equally disposed to react in
of police use of deadly force?
these ways, the researchers concluded that personal prejudice cannot explain
the tendency to let ethnicity guide the decision to shoot or not shoot a

FIGURE 2 Human Senses: Vision Hearing Touch Smell Taste
Organs, Energy Stimuli, and
Sensory Receptors The receptor
cells for each sense are specialized to
receive particular types of energy Sensory
Receptor
stimuli.
(eye) ©Barbara Penoyar/Getty Images; (ear) Cells
©iStockphoto/Getty Images; (skin) ©McGraw-Hill
Education/Jill Braaten, photographer; (nose)
©S. Olsson/PhotoAlto; (tongue) ©Glow Images/
Superstock
Photoreception: Mechano- Mechano- Chemoreception: Chemoreception:

detection of light, reception: reception: detection of detection of
Type of
perceived as detection of detection of chemical stimuli, chemical stimuli,
Energy sight vibration, pressure, perceived as perceived as
Reception perceived as perceived as smell taste
hearing touch
Sense
Organ
Eyes Ears Skin Nose Tongue
Figure 3 depicts the flow of information from the environment to the brain. Sen-
sory receptors take in information from the environment, creating local electrical
currents. These currents are graded; that means they are sensitive to the intensity of
stimulation, such as the difference between a dim and a bright light. These receptors
The frequency of firing trigger action potentials in sensory neurons, which carry that information to the
communicates intensity for all of central nervous system. Because sensory neurons (like all neurons) follow the
our sensory neurons. A loud noise all-or-nothing principle, the intensity of the stimulus cannot be communicated
to the brain by changing the strength of the action potential. Instead, the
leads to more frequent pulses too.
receptor varies the frequency of action potentials sent to the brain. So, if a
And a very painful jab from a needle stimulus is very intense, like the bright sun on a hot day, the neuron will fire
leads to more frequent pulses more frequently (but with the same strength) to let the brain know that the
communicating, OUCH! light is indeed very, very bright.
Other than frequency, the action potentials of all sensory nerves are alike. This
sameness raises an intriguing question: How can an animal distinguish among sight,
sound, odor, taste, and touch? The answer is that sensory receptors are selective and have
different neural pathways. They are specialized to absorb a particular type of energy—light
energy, sound vibrations, or chemical energy, for example—and convert it into an action
potential.
Sensation involves detecting and transmitting information about different kinds of
energy. The sense organs and sensory receptors fall into several main classes based on
the type of energy that is transmitted. The functions of these classes include
■ Photoreception: detection of light, perceived as sight
■ Mechanoreception: detection of pressure, vibration, and movement, perceived as touch,
hearing, and equilibrium
■ Chemoreception: detection of chemical stimuli, perceived as smell and taste
Each of these processes belongs to a particular class of receptors and brain processes.
There are rare cases, however, in which the senses can become confused. The term syn-
aesthesia describes an experience in which one sense (say, sight) induces an experience
in another sense (say, hearing) (Newell & Mitchell, 2016; Teichmann, Nieuwenstein, &
Rich, 2017). An individual might “see” music or “taste” a color, for example. One woman
was able to taste sounds, so that a piece of music might taste like tuna fish (Beeli, Esslen,
& Jancke, 2005). Neuroscientists are exploring the neurological bases of synaesthesia,
Sensation and Perception
Vision
Taste
Smell
Hearing
Balance
Sensory Touch
Neuron
Action
potential
Cell membrane
Receptor
protein
Sensory Receptor
Cell
Chemical
FIGURE 3 Information Flow in Senses The diagram shows a general flow

Light of sensory information from energy stimulus to sensory receptor cell to sensory
Mechanical
neuron to sensation and perception.
(woman) ©Stockbyte/PunchStock; (molecule) ©Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo; (light) ©Dean
Energy Stimulus Muz/Design Pics; (hands) ©PhotoAlto/Laurence Mouton/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
especially in the connections between the various sensory regions of the cerebral cortex
(van Leeuwen & others, 2016). For example, one fMRI study identified the parietal cortex,
an area of the brain associated with integrating sensory experiences, as the key auditory-
visual location in the brain for individuals with synaesthesia who experienced music as
color (Neufeld & others, 2012). Another study found, in a blind participant, that “seeing”
sounds as color involved activity in the occipital lobe, the brain area responsible for vision
(Yong, Hseih, & Milea, 2017).
In the brain, nearly all sensory signals pass through the thalamus, the brain’s relay
station. From the thalamus, the signals go to the sensory areas of the cerebral cortex,
where they are modified and spread throughout a vast network of neurons.
Certain areas of the cerebral cortex are specialized to handle different sensory Occipital = the back of the brain;
functions. Visual information is processed mainly in the occipital lobes; hearing, in
temporal = on the sides; parietal = on
the temporal lobes; and pain, touch, and temperature, in the parietal lobes. Keep
in mind, however, that the interactions and pathways of sensory information are the top. (You're welcome!)
complex, and the brain often must coordinate extensive information and interpret it.
An important part of perception is interpreting the sensory messages. Many top-down
factors determine this meaning, including signals from different parts of the brain,
prior learning, the person’s goals, and his or her degree of arousal. Moving in the

opposite direction, bottom-up signals from a sensory area may help other parts of the
brain maintain arousal, form an image of where the body is in space, or regulate
movement.
The principles we have surveyed so far apply to all of the senses. We’ve seen that the
senses are about detecting different energies and that all have specialized receptor cells
and areas of the brain that serve their functions. You have probably heard about a “sixth
sense”—extrasensory perception, or ESP. ESP means that a person can detect information
from the world without receiving concrete sensory input. Examples of ESP include telep-
athy (the ability to read another person’s mind) and precognition (the ability to sense
future events). The vast majority of psychologists reject the idea that people can foretell
the future or read each other’s minds (Cameron, 2016; Moulton & Kosslyn, 2008;
Wiseman & Watt, 2006).
Think about something like precognition in the ways we have considered sensation and
perception. Sensation involves detecting energy from the environment. If ESP exists, consider
this: Which afferent neurons send psychic messages from the future to the brain, and what
sort of energy conveys these messages? Believers in ESP have not produced answers to these
important questions. The success of gambling casinos, daily experiences with surprise, and
scientific evidence (Barušs & Rabier, 2014; Rabeyron, 2014) converge to tell us that human
beings cannot feel the future. Perhaps we are fine with just the five senses we have.
Thresholds
Any sensory system must be able to detect varying degrees of energy. This energy can
take the form of light, sound, chemical, or mechanical stimulation. How much of a stim-
ulus is necessary for you to see, hear, taste, smell, or feel something? What is the lowest
possible amount of stimulation that will still be detected?
ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD One way to think about the lowest limits of percep-
tion is to assume that there is an absolute threshold, or minimum amount of stimulus
energy that a person can detect. In other words, the absolute threshold is the dimmest absolute threshold
light, the faintest sound, or the softest touch a person can still see, hear, or feel. When The minimum
the energy of a stimulus falls below this absolute thresh- amount of stimulus
old, we cannot detect its presence; when the energy of energy that a
the stimulus rises above the absolute threshold, we can person can detect.
100
detect the stimulus (Heil, Matysiak, & Neubauer, 2017;
Tinsley & others, 2016). As an example, find a clock that
Percentage of yes responses
75 ticks; put it on a table and walk far enough away that

you no longer hear it. Then gradually move toward the
clock. At some point, you will begin to hear it ticking.
50 Hold your position and notice that occasionally the tick-
ing fades, and you may have to move forward to reach
the threshold; at other times, it may become loud, and
25 you can move backward.
In this experiment, if you measure your absolute
threshold several times, you likely will record several dif-
0
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 ferent distances for detecting the stimulus. For example,
Distance in feet from a ticking clock the first time you try it, you might hear the ticking at
25 feet from the clock. However, you probably will not
FIGURE 4 Measuring Absolute Threshold Absolute hear it every time at 25 feet. Maybe you hear it only 38
threshold is the minimum amount of energy we can detect. To percent of the time at this distance, but you hear it
measure absolute threshold, psychologists have arbitrarily decided
50 percent of the time at 20 feet away and 65 percent
to use the criterion of detecting the stimulus 50 percent of the
of the time at 15 feet. People have different thresholds.
time. In this graph, the person’s absolute threshold for detecting
the ticking clock is at a distance of 20 feet. Some have better hearing than others, and some have
©Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images better vision. Figure 4 shows one person’s measured
FIGURE 5 Approximate Absolute Thresholds for Five Senses These thresholds show the amazing
power of our senses to detect even very slight variations in the environment.
©Stockdisc
Vision A candle flame at 30 miles on a dark, clear night

Hearing A ticking clock at 20 feet under quiet conditions
Smell One drop of perfume diffused throughout three rooms
Taste A teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water
Touch The wing of a fly falling on your neck from a distance of 1 centimeter
absolute threshold for detecting a clock’s ticking sound. Psychologists

have arbitrarily decided that absolute threshold is the point at which the
individual detects the stimulus 50 percent of the time—in this case, 20 feet
away. Using the same clock, another person might have a measured absolute
threshold of 26 feet, and yet another, 18 feet. Figure 5 lists the approximate absolute
thresholds of five senses.
Under ideal circumstances, our senses have very low absolute thresholds, so we can
be remarkably good at detecting small amounts of stimulus energy. You might be surprised
to learn that the human eye can see a candle flame at 30 miles on a dark, clear night.
However, our environment seldom gives us ideal conditions with which to detect stimuli.
If the night were cloudy or the air smoky, for example, you would have to be much closer
to see the candle flame. In addition, other lights on the horizon—car or house lights—would
hinder your ability to detect the candle’s flicker. Noise is the term given to irrelevant and noise
competing stimuli—not just sounds but any distracting stimuli for our senses (Nesti & Irrelevant and competing
stimuli—not only sounds but
others, 2014; Zhao & others, 2017). When we are in a noisy environment, it is difficult
also any distracting stimuli for
to detect accurately specific stimuli. the senses.
DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD In addition to studying how much energy is required

for a stimulus to be detected, psychologists investigate the degree of difference that must exist
difference between two stimuli before the difference is detected. This is the difference threshold, or just
threshold noticeable difference. An artist might detect the difference between two similar shades of
The degree of dif-
color. A fashion designer might notice a difference in the texture of two fabrics. How differ-
ference that must
exist between two ent must the colors and textures be for someone to say, “These are different”? Like the
stimuli before the absolute threshold, the difference threshold is the smallest difference in stimulation required
difference is to discriminate one stimulus from another 50 percent of the time.
detected. Difference thresholds increase as a stimulus becomes stronger. That means that at very
low levels of stimulation, small changes can be detected, but at very high levels, small
changes are less noticeable. When music is playing softly, you may notice when your
Weber’s law
roommate increases the volume by even a small amount. If, however, he or she turns the
The principle that volume up an equal amount when the music is playing very loudly, you may not notice.
two stimuli must Weber’s law, discovered by German physiologist E. H. Weber more than 150 years ago,
differ by a constant is the principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as
minimum percent- different. For example, we add 1 candle to 20 candles and notice a difference in the
age (rather than a
brightness of the candles; we add 1 candle to 120 candles and do not notice a
constant amount)
difference, but we would notice the difference if we added 6 candles to 120 candles.
Note that 1:20 = 6:120.
to be perceived as
different. Weber’s law generally holds true (Heath & others, 2017).
SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION Can sensations that occur below our absolute

Subliminal threshold affect us without our being aware of them? Subliminal perception refers to the
perception detection of information below the level of conscious awareness. In 1957, James Vicary,
The detection of
information below
an advertising executive, announced that he was able to increase popcorn and soft drink
the level of con- sales by secretly flashing the words “EAT POPCORN” and “DRINK COKE” on a movie
scious awareness. screen in a local theater (Weir, 1984). Vicary’s claims were a hoax, but people have

continued to wonder whether behavior can be influenced by stimuli that are presented
so quickly that we cannot perceive them.
Studies have shown that the brain (Chiesa & others, 2017; Khalighinejad, & oth-
ers, 2017) and cardiovscular system (van der Ploeg & others, 2017a, 2017b) respond
to information that is presented outside of awareness. In addition, such stimuli
can affect behavior (Andersson & others, 2017; Sand & Nillson, 2017). For
example, a recent study examined how erotic images would affect people’s self-
disclosure to a member of a the opposite sex (Birnbaum & others, 2017). Hetero-
sexual participants (college students) were told that the study concerned behavior
in the modern dating scene. They were told that they would be interacting through
instant messages with a member of the opposite sex. Before the online interaction,
participants were asked to complete a number of questions on a computer about their
likes and dislikes. Unbeknownst to the participants when they were answering these
questions, they were also being primed. Participants were randomly assigned to be
exposed to erotic primes (the experimental group) or images of fish (the control group).
As they completed the questionnaire, the experimental group were exposed to erotic
©Burke/Triolo/Brand X Pictures images for 30 milliseconds (that’s 1/100 of a second). In the control group, they were
exposed to pictures of fish for the same amount of time. After the priming, partici-
pants were asked to send a message about a personally meaningful experience to their part-
ner. The results showed that participants exposed to the erotic images disclosed more deeply
to their partner. They were more likely to share more personal, inner-most experiences (Birn-
baum & others, 2017). You will learn more about priming in the memory discussion.
Results like those described above can give priming a magical quality. However, it is
important to keep in mind that subliminally presented information is registering on some level.
Moreover, some have argued that even though primes are presented rapidly, some people
may still detect them, consciously (Sand & Nilsson, 2016). Perhaps even more importantly,
presenting information so that it can be consciously processed can have stronger effects
on behavior than subliminal presentation (Aoyama & others, 2017).
The notion that stimuli we do not consciously perceive can influence our behavior
challenges the usefulness of the idea of thresholds (Rouder & Morey, 2009). If stimuli
that fall below the threshold can have an impact on us, you may be wondering, what do
thresholds really tell us? Further, you might have noticed that the definition of absolute
threshold is not that absolute. It refers to the intensity of stimulation detected 50 percent
of the time. How can something absolute change from one trial to the next?
If, for example, you tried the ticking clock experiment described earlier, you might have
found yourself making judgment calls. Sometimes you felt very sure you could hear the clock,
but other times you were uncertain and probably took a guess. Sometimes you guessed right,
and other times you were mistaken. Now, imagine that someone offered to pay you $50 for
every correct answer you gave—would the presence of that incentive change your judgments?
Alternatively, what if you were charged $50 for every time you said you heard the clock and
it was not ticking? In fact, perception is often about making such judgment calls.
An alternative approach to the question of whether a stimulus is detected would empha-
size that saying (or not saying) “Yes, I hear that ticking” is actually a decision (Hozo &
signal detection theory others, 2017). This approach is called signal detection theory. Signal detection theory
An approach to perception focuses on decision making about stimuli under conditions of uncertainty. In signal detec-
that focuses on decision
tion theory, detection of sensory stimuli depends on a variety of factors besides the phys-
making about stimuli in the
presence of uncertainty. ical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer (Winer & Snodgrass,
2015). These factors include individual and contextual variations, such as fatigue, expecta-
tions, and the urgency of the moment. Figure 6 shows how signal detection works.
Perceiving Sensory Stimuli

As we just saw, the perception of stimuli is influenced by more than the characteristics
of the environmental stimuli themselves. Two important factors in perceiving sensory
stimuli are attention and perceptual set.
ATTENTION The world holds a lot of Observer’s Response
information to perceive. At this moment you are “Yes, I see the signal.” “No, I don’t see the
perceiving the letters and words that make up signal.”
this sentence. Now gaze around you and fix your
Signal Present Hit (correct) Miss (mistake)
eyes on something other than what you are read-
ing. Afterward, curl up the toes on your right
foot. In each of these circumstances, you Signal Absent False alarm (mistake) Correct rejection
selective engaged in selective attention, which involves (correct)
attention focusing on a specific aspect of experience
The act of focusing
while ignoring others (Scocchia & others, 2014; FIGURE 6
on a specific
aspect of experi- Sridharan, Schwarz, & Knudsen, 2014). A familiar Four Outcomes in Signal Detection Signal detection research helps to
ence while ignor- example of selective attention is the ability to explain when and how perceptual judgments are correct or mistaken.
ing others. focus on one voice among many in a crowded
airline terminal or noisy restaurant. Psychologists call this common occurrence the cock-
tail party effect (Kuyper, 1972; McLachlan & Wilson, 2010).
Not only is attention selective, but it also is shiftable. For example, you might be pay-
ing close attention to your instructor’s lecture, but if the person next to you starts texting
a friend, you might look to see what is going on over there. The fact that we can attend
selectively to one stimulus and shift readily to another indicates that we must be monitor-
ing many things at once.
Certain features of stimuli cause people to attend to them. Novel stimuli (those that
are new, different, or unusual) often attract our attention. If a Ferrari convertible whizzes
by, you are more likely to notice it than you would a Ford. Size, color, and movement
also influence our attention. Objects that are large, vividly colored, or moving are more
likely to grab our attention than objects that are small, dull-colored, or stationary.
Sometimes even very interesting stimuli can be missed if our atten-
tion is otherwise occupied (Hyman, Sarb, & Wise-Swanson, 2014). Inat-
tentional blindness refers to the failure to detect unexpected events when
attention is engaged by a task (Calvillo & Jackson, 2014). When we are
working intently on something, such as finding a seat in a packed movie
theater, we might not even see an unusual stimulus, such as a friend
waving to us in the crowd. Research conducted by Daniel Simons and
Christopher Chabris (1999) provides a remarkable example of inatten-
tional blindness. In that study, participants were asked to watch a video
of two teams playing basketball. The participants were instructed to
closely count the number of passes thrown by each team. During the
video, a small woman dressed in a gorilla suit walked through the action,
clearly visible for 5 seconds. Surprisingly, over half of the participants
(who were apparently deeply engaged in the counting task) never noticed
the gorilla. Inattentional blindness is more likely to occur when a task
is difficult (Macdonald & Lavie, 2008) and when the distracting stimu-
lus is very different from stimuli that are relevant to the task at hand
(White & Aimola Davies, 2008; Wiemer, Gerdes, & Pauli, 2012). Inter-
estingly, when people are primed with the goal to detect and the moni-
toring task is only moderately difficult, they are more likely to notice
the gorilla (Légal & others, 2017).
This research on inattentional blindness suggests the dangers of
multitasking when one of the tasks is driving. Engaging in a task such ©Vstock LLC/Getty Images
as talking on a cell phone or sending text messages can so occupy atten-
tion that little is left over for the important task of piloting a motor vehicle. Research
revealed that individuals who text-message while they drive face 23 times the risk
of a crash or near-crash compared to nondistracted drivers (Blanco & others, 2009;
Hanowski & others, 2009). In this research, cameras continuously observed drivers
The age group most likely
for more than 6 million miles of driving. Texting drew the drivers’ eyes away from
the road long enough for the vehicle to travel the length of a football field at to be using a cell phone while
55 miles an hour. The statistics are sobering. In the U.S., more than 8 people are killed driving is 16- to 24-year-olds.

every day due to distracted drivers and at any given daylight moment an estimated 660,000
drivers are using cellphones or other electronic devices (FCC, 2017).
Research shows that culture influences which stimuli we attend to as we perceive the
world (Senzaki, Masuda, & Ishii, 2014). Individuals from Western cultures are more likely
to attend to objects in the foreground of scenes (or focal objects), while East Asians look-
ing at the same scenes are more likely to notice aspects of the context. For example, in
one study (Masuda & Nisbett, 2001), American and Japanese participants were shown
video clips of underwater scenes. When asked to describe what they had seen, the
Americans were more likely to talk about the colorful fish swimming around, and Japanese
participants were more likely to talk about the locations of objects and aspects of the set-
ting. Such differences have led psychologists to conclude that Westerners take a more
analytical orientation, while Asians are more likely to see the big picture. Culture also
influences the kinds of stimuli that are missed in inattentional blindness. Research on
change blindness (the tendency to miss changes that have occurred in a scene) shows that
when objects in the foreground change, Americans are more likely to notice, while Japanese
are more likely to notice when changes occur in the context (Masuda & Nisbett, 2006).
What might explain these cultural differences in attention? One possibility may
be differences in the environments that individuals in these cultures typically encounter
(Senzaki, Masuda, & Ishii, 2014). In a series of studies, Yuri Miyamoto and her colleagues
(Miyamoto, Nisbett, & Masuda, 2006) found through photographic comparisons that
Japanese hotels and schools had more detail and were more complex than American
hotels and schools. Japanese individuals, then, may develop the tendency to look at the
whole picture because navigating their world requires such attention. Interestingly, in
another study, Miyamoto and her colleagues had American and Japanese participants
watch brief video clips of American or Japanese scenes (Miyamoto, Nisbett, & Masuda,
2006). They found that American and Japanese participants alike noticed changes in focal
objects in American scenes but noticed changes in the context in Japanese scenes. This
research suggests that while the mechanics of sensation are the same for human beings,
the experience of perception can be shaped by the physical environment in which each
person lives.
PERCEPTUAL SET Cover the playing cards on the right in the illustration and
look at the playing cards on the left. As quickly as you can, count how many aces of
spades you see. Then cover the cards on the left and count the number of aces of spades
among the cards on the right.
Most people report that they see two or three aces of spades in the set of cards on
the left. However, if you look closely, you will see that there are five. Two of the aces of
spades are black and three are red. When people look at the set of cards on the right,
they are more likely to count five aces of spades. Why do we perceive the two sets of
cards differently? We expect the ace of spades to be black because it is always black in a
regular deck of cards. We do not expect red spades, so we skip right over the red ones:
Expectations influence perceptions.
Psychologists refer to a predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particu-
lar way as a perceptual set. Perceptual sets act as “psychological” filters in processing perceptual set
information about the environment (Fei-Fei & others, 2007). Perceptual sets reflect top- A predisposition or readiness
down influences on perception. Interestingly, young children are more accurate at the task to perceive something in a
particular way.
involving the ace of spades than adults are. Why? Because they have not built up the
perceptual set that the ace of spades is black.
Sensory Adaptation
Turning out the lights in your bedroom at night, you stumble across the room to your
bed, blind to the objects around you. Gradually the objects reappear and become clearer.
The ability of the visual system to adjust to a darkened room is an example of sensory sensory adaptation
adaptation—a change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average A change in the responsive-
level of surrounding stimulation (Hilchey, Klein, & Satel, 2014; Iglesias, 2012). ness of the sensory system
based on the average level
You have experienced sensory adaptation countless times in your life. You adjust to of surrounding stimulation.
the water in an initially “freezing” swimming pool. You turn on your windshield wipers
while driving, and shortly you are unaware of their rhythmic sweeping back and forth.
When you first enter a room, you might be bothered by the hum of the air conditioner,
but after a while you get used to it. All of these experiences represent sensory adaptation.
In the example of adapting to the dark, when you turn out the lights, everything is
black. Conversely, when you step out into the bright sunshine after spending time in a
dark basement, light floods your eyes and everything appears light. These momentary blips
in sensation arise because adaptation takes time.
1. Every day, you see, hear, smell, taste, 3. An architect is designing apartments confronts them, bursting out, “Stop top-
and feel stimuli from the outside and wants them to be soundproof. down processing me!” Her parents think
world. Collecting data about that She asks a psychologist what the Trina has lost her mind. Which of the fol-
world is the function of ______, and smallest amount of sound is that lowing explains her outburst?
interpreting the data collected is the can be heard. Her question is most A. Trina feels that her parents are
function of ______. related to judging her sophisticated college
A. the brain; the spinal cord A. the absolute threshold. ways too harshly.
B. the spinal cord; the brain B. the difference threshold. B. Trina probably ate too much
C. sensation; perception C. Weber’s law. turkey.
D. perception; sensation D. the sensory receptors. C. Trina feels that her parents have
spent too much time analyzing her
2. The main classes into which the APPLY IT! 4. Trina, a first-year col- behavior.
sense organs and sensory receptors lege student, goes home at Thanksgiv-
D. Trina believes that her parents are
fall include all of the following except ing break after being away from home
letting their preconceived ideas
A. chemoreception. (for the first time) for three months. She
of who she is prevent them from
B. electroreception. feels as if she has changed a lot, but her
seeing her as the person she has
C. photoreception. parents still treat her like a kid in high
become.
D. mechanoreception. school. At Thanksgiving dinner she
2 The Visual System

When Michael May of Davis, California, was 3 years old, an accident left him visually
impaired, with only the ability to perceive the difference between night and day. He lived a
rich, full life, marrying and having children, founding a successful company, and becoming
an expert skier. Twenty-five years passed before doctors transplanted stem cells into May’s
Th e Vis u al Sys t em // 95
right eye, a new procedure that gave him partial sight (Bach, 2015; Kurson, 2007). May can
now see; his right eye is functional and allows him to detect color and negotiate the world
without the use of a cane or reliance on his seeing-eye dog. His visual experience remains
unusual, however: He sees the world as if it is an abstract painting. He can catch a ball
thrown to him by his sons, but he cannot recognize his wife’s face. His brain has to work
at interpreting the new information that his right eye is providing. May’s experience high-
lights the intimate connection between the brain and the sense organs in producing percep-
tion. Vision is a remarkable process that involves the brain’s interpretation of the visual
information sent from the eyes. We now explore the physical foundations of the visual
system and the processes involved in the perception of visual stimuli.
The Visual Stimulus and the Eye

Our ability to detect visual stimuli depends on the sensitivity of our eyes to differences
in light.
LIGHT Light is a form of electromagnetic energy that can be described in terms of

wavelengths. Light travels through space in waves. The wavelength of light is the distance
from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next. Wavelengths of visible light range from
about 400 to 700 nanometers (a nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter and is abbreviated
nm). The wavelength of light that is reflected from a stimulus determines its hue or color.
Outside the range of visible light are longer radio and infrared radiation waves and
shorter ultraviolet and X rays (Figure 7). These other forms of electromagnetic energy
continually bombard us, but we do not see them.
Longer Wavelengths Shorter Wavelengths
Low energy High energy
Aircraft/
shipping Micro- Infrared Visible Ultraviolet Gamma
bands Radio Television waves Radar rays light rays X rays rays
Wavelength
(nanometers) 750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400
Shorter
wavelength
Direction
of movement
Longer
wavelength White light
Direction Prism
of movement
FIGURE 7 The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Visible Light (top) Visible light is only a narrow band in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Visible light wavelengths range from about 400 to 700 nanometers. X rays are much shorter, radio waves much longer. (bottom) The two graphs
show how waves vary in length between successive peaks. Shorter wavelengths are higher in frequency, as reflected in blue colors; longer
wavelengths are lower in frequency, as reflected in red colors.
Light waves of greater amplitude make
up brighter light.
One
wavelength
Greater amplitude
Light waves of smaller amplitude make

up dimmer light.
One
Smaller amplitude
wavelength
FIGURE 9 A Color Tree Showing Color’s Three

FIGURE 8 Light Waves of Varying Dimensions: Hue, Saturation, and Brightness Hue is
Amplitude The top graph might suggest a represented around the color tree—saturation horizontally
spotlight on a concert stage; the bottom, a and brightness vertically.
candlelit dinner. ©Universal Images Group Editorial/Getty Images
We can also describe waves of light in terms of their height, or amplitude, which deter-
mines the brightness of the stimulus. Finally, the purity of the wavelengths—whether they
are all the same or a mix of waves—determines the perceived saturation, or richness, of a
visual stimulus (Figure 8). The color tree shown in Figure 9 can help you to understand
saturation. White light is a combination of color wavelengths that is perceived as colorless,
like sunlight. Very pure colors have no white light in them. They are located on the out-
side of the color tree. Notice how, the closer we get to the center of the color tree, the
more white light has been added to the single wavelength of a particular color. In other
words, the deep colors at the edge fade into pastel colors toward the center.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE EYE The eye, like a camera, is constructed to get
the best possible picture of the world. An accurate picture is in focus, is not too dark or
too light, and has good contrast between the dark and light parts. Each of several struc-
tures in the eye plays an important role in this process.
If you look closely at your eyes in the mirror, you will notice three parts—the sclera,
iris, and pupil (Figure 10). The sclera is the white, outer part of the eye that helps
to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury. The iris is the
colored part of the eye, which might be light blue in one individual and dark
If you have ever had your
brown in another. The pupil, which appears black, is the opening in the cen- pupils dilated for an eye exam, your
ter of the iris. The iris contains muscles that control the size of the pupil, doctor has basically opened the pupil up
and hence regulates the amount of light that enters the eye. To get a good to get a good look at your eye!
picture of the world, the eye needs to be able to adjust the amount of light that
enters. In this sense, the pupil acts like the aperture of a camera, opening to let in
more light when it is needed and closing to let in less light when there is too much.
Two structures bring the image into focus, the cornea and the lens. The cornea is the
first structure to encounter the world. It is a clear membrane at the very front of the eye.
The lens is a transparent and somewhat flexible, disk-like structure filled with a gelatin-like
material. Light hits the cornea and then the lens. The function of both of these structures
is to bend the light falling on the surface of the eye just enough to focus it at the back.
The curved surface of the cornea does most of this bending, while the lens fine-tunes
Sclera
Iris Retina
Cornea
Fovea
Optic
Pupil nerve
Object
Lens
Image
FIGURE 10 Parts of the Eye Note that the image of the butterfly on the retina is upside down. The brain allows us to see
the image right side up.
things. When you are looking at faraway objects, the lens has a relatively flat shape because
the light reaching the eye from faraway objects is parallel and the bending power of the
cornea is sufficient to keep things in focus. However, the light reaching the eye from objects
that are close is more scattered, so more bending of the light is required to achieve focus.
Without this ability of the lens to change its curvature, the eye would have a tough
time focusing on close objects such as reading material. As we get older, the lens loses
flexibility and hence its ability to change from its normal flattened shape to the rounder
shape needed to bring close objects into focus. That is why many people with normal
vision throughout their young adult lives require reading glasses as they age.
The parts of the eye we have considered so far work together to give
us the sharpest picture of the world. This effort would be useless, how-
ever, without a vehicle for recording the images the eyes take of the
Rod world—in essence, the film of the camera. Photographic film is made of
Cone a material that responds to light. At the back of the eye is the eye’s
“film,” the multilayered retina, which is the light-sensitive surface that retina
records electromagnetic energy and converts it to neural impulses for The multilayered
processing in the brain. The analogy between the retina and film goes light-sensitive sur-
face in the eye that
only so far, however. The retina is amazingly complex and elegantly records electro-
designed. It is in fact the primary mechanism of sight. Even after magnetic energy
decades of intense study, the full marvel of this structure is far from and converts it to
understood (Franke & Baden, 2017; Walsh & Hitchcock, 2017). neural impulses for
The human retina has approximately 126 million receptor cells. They processing in the
brain.
turn the electromagnetic energy of light into a form of energy that the
nervous system can process. There are two kinds of visual receptor cells: rods
FIGURE 11 Rods and Cones In real life, rods and cones. Rods and cones differ both in how they respond to light The receptor cells
rods and cones look somewhat like stumps and and in their patterns of distribution on the surface of the retina. Rods in the retina that
corncobs. To get a sense of how well the cones are sensitive to
are the receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light, but they are
light but not very
in the fovea work, try reading out of the corner not very useful for color vision. Rods function well under low illumina- useful for color
of your eye. It is difficult because the fovea tion; they are hard at work at night. Humans have about 120 million vision.
doesn’t get to do the reading for you. Keep in rods. Cones are the receptors that we use for color perception. Like rods,
mind that the visual information in the retina that cones
cones are light-sensitive. However, they require a larger amount of light
is closest to the nose crosses over, and the The receptor cells
to respond than the rods do, so they operate best in daylight or under in the retina that
visual information on the outer side of the retina
stays on that side of the brain. high illumination. There are about 6 million cone cells in human eyes. allow for color
©Omikron/Science Source Figure 11 shows what rods and cones look like. perception.
FIGURE 12 Direction of Light in the
Retina After light passes through the Retina
cornea, pupil, and lens, it falls on the retina. Light
Three layers of specialized cells in the retina Blind spot
convert the image into a neural signal that
can be transmitted to the brain. First, light
triggers a reaction in the rods and cones at
the back of the retina, transducing light
energy into electrochemical neural impulses. Ligh
t
The neural impulses activate the bipolar
cells, which in turn activate the ganglion
Optic
cells. Then light information is transmitted to nerve
the optic nerve, which conveys it to the
brain. The arrows indicate the sequence in
which light information moves in the retina. Rod
Optic
nerve Cone
Ganglion
cells Bipolar
cells Rod and cone
layer
The most important part of the retina is the fovea, a tiny area in the center of
the retina at which vision is at its best (see Figure 10). The fovea contains only If you want to see a very faint
cones and is vital to many visual tasks. Rods are found almost everywhere on
star, you should gaze slightly away
the retina except in the fovea.
Figure 12 shows how the rods and cones at the back of the retina convert from it, to allow your rods to do
light into electrochemical impulses. The signal is transmitted to the bipolar cells their work.
and then moves on to another layer of specialized cells called ganglion cells (Steketee
& others, 2014). The axons of the ganglion cells make up the optic nerve, which carries optic nerve
the visual information to the brain for further processing. Figure 13 summarizes the The structure at the back of
the eye, made up of axons of
characteristics of rods and cones.
the ganglion cells, that car-
One place on the retina contains neither rods nor cones. This area, the blind spot, is ries visual information to the
the area on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye on its way to the brain for further processing.
brain (see Figure 12). We cannot see anything that reaches only this part
Interestingly, squid (and other of the retina. To prove to yourself that you have a blind spot, look at
cephalopods) do not have blind spots Figure 14. Once you have seen the yellow pepper disappear, you have
because unlike us, their optic nerves do probably noticed it took a while to succeed at this task. Now shut
one eye and look around. You see a perfectly continuous picture of
not block the visual field. the world around you; there is no blind spot. This is a great example
of top-down processing and a demonstration of the con- Do It!
structive aspect of perception. Your brain fills in the gap for If you’d like to explore your blind spot
you (the one that ought to be left by your blind spot) with some pretty more, search for “blind spot
good guesses about what must be in that spot, like a creative artist paint- demonstrations” online.
ing in the blind spot.
Visual Processing in the Brain

The eyes are just the beginning of visual perception. The next step occurs when neural
impulses generated in the retina are dispatched to the brain for analysis and integration
(Kaiser & Haselhuhn, 2017).
The optic nerve leaves the eye, carrying information about light toward the
brain. Light travels in a straight line; therefore, stimuli in the left visual field What's on the "nose" side of the
are registered in the right half of the retina in both eyes, and stimuli in the retina crosses over.
Characteristics Rods Cones
Type of vision Black and white Color
Responses Dimly lit Well lit

to light
conditions
Shape Thin and long Short and fat
Distribution Not on fovea On fovea and

scattered
outside FIGURE 14 The Eye’s Blind Spot There is a normal blind spot in
of fovea your eye, a small area where the optic nerve leads to the brain. To find
your blind spot, hold this image at arm’s length, cover your left eye, and
stare at the red pepper on the left with your right eye. Move the image
slowly toward you until the yellow pepper disappears. To find the blind
FIGURE 13 Characteristics of Rods and Cones Rods and spot in your left eye, cover your right eye, stare at the yellow pepper,
cones differ in shape, location, and function. and adjust the distance until the red pepper disappears.
©David Tietz/Editorial Image LLC
right visual field are registered in the left half of the retina in both eyes (Figure 15). In
the brain, at a point called the optic chiasm, the optic nerve fibers divide, and approxi-
mately half of the nerve fibers cross over the midline of the brain. As a result, the visual
information originating in the right halves of the two retinas is transmitted to the right
side of the occipital lobe in the cerebral cortex, and the visual information coming from
the left halves of the retinas is transmitted to the left side of the occipital lobe. These
crossings mean that what we see in the left side of our visual field is registered in the
right side of the brain, and what we see in the right visual field is registered in the left
side of the brain (see Figure 15). Then this information is processed and combined into
a recognizable object or scene in the visual cortex.
visual cortex THE VISUAL CORTEX The visual cortex, located in the occipital lobe at the
Located in the occipital back of the brain, is the part of the cerebral cortex involved in vision. Most visual infor-
lobe, the part of the cerebral
mation travels to the primary visual cortex, where it is processed, before moving to other
cortex involved in vision.
visual areas for further analysis (Takemura & others, 2017; van Gerven, 2017).
An important aspect of visual information processing is the specialization of neurons.
Like the cells in the retina, many cells in the primary visual cortex are highly specialized
feature detectors (Angelucci & others, 2017). Feature detectors are neurons in the brain’s visual system that
Neurons in the brain’s visual respond to particular features of a stimulus. These detectors pick up the edges, shapes,
system that respond to par- colors, and contours of stimuli. David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel (1963) won a Nobel
ticular features of a stimulus.
Prize for their research on feature detectors. By recording the activity of a single neuron
in a cat while it looked at patterns that varied in size, shape, color, and movement, the
researchers found that the visual cortex has neurons that are individually sensitive to dif-
ferent types of lines and angles. One neuron might show a sudden burst of activity when
stimulated by lines of a particular angle; another neuron might fire only when moving
stimuli appear; yet another neuron might be stimulated when the object in the visual field
has a combination of certain angles, sizes, and shapes.
Hubel and Wiesel also noted that when deprived of certain types of visual stimulation
early on, kittens lost the ability to perceive these patterns. This finding suggested that
there might be a critical period in visual development and that the brain requires stimula-
tion in its efforts to delegate its resources to different perceptual tasks. The brain “learns”
to perceive through experience. This explains Michael May’s unusual experience, described

at the beginning of our examination of the visual system. Left visual field Right visual field
Once deprived of stimulation, the brain will redistribute
its resources to other tasks.
PARALLEL PROCESSING Sensory informa-

parallel tion travels quickly through the brain because of parallel
processing processing, the simultaneous distribution of information
The simultaneous across different neural pathways (Buetti & others, 2016;
distribution of in-
formation across
Cutter, Drieghe, & Liversedge, 2017). A sensory system
different neural designed to process information about sensory qualities
pathways. one at a time (such as processing first the shapes of
images, then their colors, then their movements, and
finally their locations) would be too slow to keep us
current with a rapidly changing world. To function, we
need to “see” all of these characteristics at once, which
is parallel processing. There is some evidence suggesting
that parallel processing also occurs for sensations of
touch and hearing (van Polanen, Bergmann Tiest, &
Kappers, 2014).
Processing at retina
BINDING Some neurons respond to color, others to

Optic nerve
shape, and still others to movement; but note that all of
these neurons are involved in responding to a given stim-
Optic chiasm
ulus—for instance, a toddler running toward you. How
does the brain know that these physical features, com-
municated by different neurons, all belong to the same Thalamus
object of perception? The answer is, binding.
One of the most exciting topics in visual perception,
binding binding is the bringing together and integration of what Processing area
In the sense of vi- is processed by different neural pathways or cells within the thalamus
sion, the bringing (Rappaport & others, 2016; Zhang & others, 2014). When
together and inte- Visual cortex
gration of what is
you see a toddler running toward you, you see the whole
in occipital lobe
processed by dif- cute little person. You perceive a running child, not all the
ferent neural path- bits and pieces. Through binding, you can integrate infor-
ways or cells. mation about the toddler’s body shape, smile, and move-
ment into a complete image in the cerebral cortex. How
binding occurs is a puzzle that fascinates neuroscientists
(Dupin, Hayward, & Wexler, 2017; Howe & Ferguson,
2015). Researchers have found that all the neurons
throughout pathways that are activated by a visual object
pulse together at the same frequency (Engel & Singer, FIGURE 15 Visual Pathways to and through the Brain
2001). Within the vast network of cells in the cerebral Light from each side of the visual field falls on the opposite side
cortex, this set of neurons appears to bind together all of each eye’s retina. Visual information then travels along the
the features of the objects into a unified perception optic nerve to the optic chiasm, where most of the visual
(Velik, 2012). information crosses over to the other side of the brain. From there
visual information goes to the occipital lobe at the rear of the
brain. All these crossings mean that what we see in the left side
of our visual field (here, the shorter, dark-haired woman) is
Color Vision registered in the right side of our brain, and what we see in the
right visual field (the taller, blonde woman) is registered in the left
side of our brain.
Imagine how dull the world would be without color. Art ©RubberBall Productions/Getty Images
museums are filled with paintings that are remarkable for
their use of color, and flowers would lose much of their
beauty if we could not see their rich hues. The process of color perception starts in the
retina, the eyes’ film. Interestingly, theories about how the retina processes color were
developed long before methods existed to study the anatomical and neurophysiological

bases of color perception. Instead, psychologists made some extraordinarily accurate
guesses about how color vision occurs in the retina by observing how people see. The two
main theories proposed were the trichromatic theory and opponent-process theory. Both
turned out to be correct.
trichromatic theory The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by
Theory stating that color Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, states that color perception is produced by three types
perception is produced by
of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different but overlapping
three types of cone recep-
tors in the retina that are ranges of wavelengths. The theory is based on experiments showing that a person with
particularly sensitive to normal vision can match any color in the spectrum by combining three other wavelengths.
different, but overlapping, Young and Helmholtz reasoned that if the combination of any three wavelengths of dif-
ranges of wavelengths. ferent intensities is indistinguishable from any single pure wavelength, the visual system
must base its perception of color on the relative responses of three receptor systems—cones
sensitive to red, blue, and green.
The study of defective color vision, or color blindness (Figure 16), provides further
support for the trichromatic theory. Complete color blindness is rare; most color-blind
people, the vast majority of whom are men, can see some colors but not others. The
nature of color blindness depends on which of the three kinds of cones is inoperative.
The three cone systems are green, red, and blue. In the most common form of color
blindness, the green cone system malfunctions in some way, rendering green indistinguish-
able from certain combinations of blue and red.
In 1878, the German physiologist Ewald Hering observed that some colors cannot
exist together, whereas others can. For example, it is easy to imagine a greenish blue
but nearly impossible to imagine a reddish green. Hering also noticed that trichromatic
theory could not adequately explain afterimages. Afterimages are sensations that remain
after a stimulus is removed (Figure 17 gives you a chance to experience an afterimage).
Color afterimages are common and involve particular pairs of colors. If you look at
red long enough, eventually a green afterimage will appear. If you look at yellow long
enough, eventually a blue afterimage will appear. These associations between viewing
a particular color (yellow) and then experiencing an afterimage of another color (blue)
cannot be explained by trichromatic theory.
Hering’s observations led him to propose that there were not three types of color
receptor cones (as proposed by trichromatic theory) but four, organized into complemen-
opponent-process theory tary pairs: red-green and blue-yellow. Hering’s view, opponent-process theory, states that
Theory stating that cells in cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might
the visual system respond to be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow
complementary pairs of red-
green and blue-yellow colors;
and inhibited by blue. Opponent process theory does indeed explain afterimages. If you
a given cell might be excited stare at red, for instance, your red-green system seems to “tire,” and when you look away,
by red and inhibited by it rebounds and gives you a green afterimage. Try it out and you will see that the opponent-
green, whereas another cell process theory does an excellent job of explaining afterimages.
might be excited by yellow If the trichromatic theory of color perception is valid, and we do in fact have three
and inhibited by blue.
kinds of cone receptors like those predicted by Young and Helmholtz, then how can the
FIGURE 16 Examples of
Stimuli Used to Test for Color
Blindness People with normal
vision see the number 8 in the left
circle and the number 5 in the
right circle. People with red-green
color blindness may see just the 8,
just the 5, or neither. A complete
color-blindness assessment
involves the use of 15 stimuli.
©Alexander Kaludov/123RF

FIGURE 17 Negative Afterimage—Complementary Colors If you gaze steadily at the dot in the colored panel on the left for a few moments, then
shift your gaze to the gray box on the right, you will see the original hues’ complementary colors. The blue appears as yellow, the red as green, the green
as red, and the yellow as blue. This pairing of colors has to do with the fact that color receptors in the eye are apparently sensitive as pairs: When one color
is turned off (when you stop staring at the panel), the other color in the receptor is briefly turned on. The afterimage effect is especially noticeable with
bright colors.
opponent-process theory also be accurate? The answer is that the red, blue, and green
cones in the retina are connected to retinal ganglion cells in such a way that the three-
color code is immediately translated into the opponent-process code (Figure 18). For
example, a green cone might inhibit and a red cone might excite a particular ganglion
cell. Thus, both the trichromatic and opponent-process theories are correct—the eye and
the brain use both methods to code colors.
Trichromatic Green Blue Red
Receptor
Perceiving Shape, System
Depth, Motion,
and Constancy
Ganglion Cells
– +
(opponent-process)
Perceiving visual stimuli means organizing and
interpreting the fragments of information that
Red-green
the eye sends to the visual cortex. Information
about the dimensions of what we are seeing is
critical to this process and critical to our To optic nerve
and brain
capacity to navigate the world (Kaiser & Hasel-
huhn, 2017). Among these dimensions are FIGURE 18 Trichromatic and Opponent-Process Theories:
shape, depth, motion, and constancy. Transmission of Color Information in the Retina Cones responsive to
green, blue, or red light form a trichromatic receptor system in the retina.
As information is transmitted to the retina’s ganglion cells, opponent-
SHAPE Think about the visible world and process cells are activated. As shown here, a retinal ganglion cell is
its shapes—buildings against the sky, boats on inhibited by a green cone (−) and excited by a red cone (+), producing
the horizon, the letters on this page. We see red-green color information.

these shapes because they are marked off
PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY from the rest of what we see by contour, a loca-
tion at which a sudden change of brightness
occurs (Chambaud, Martin, & Barraza, 2014;
Erlikhman & Kellman, 2016). Now think about
the letters on this page. As you read, you see
letters, which are shapes or figures, in a white
field or background. The figure-ground relationship figure-ground
is the principle by which we organize the per- relationship
ceptual field into stimuli that stand out (figure) The principle by
which we organize
and those that are left over (background, or the perceptual
ground). Generally this principle works well for field into stimuli
us, but some figure-ground relationships are that stand out
highly ambiguous, and it may be difficult to tell (figure) and those
what is figure and what is ground. Figure 19 that are left over
FIGURE 19 Reversible Figure-Ground Pattern Do you see the shows a well-known ambiguous figure-ground
(ground).
silhouette of a goblet or a pair of faces in profile? Use this figure to think
relationship. As you look at this illustration,
again about bottom-up and top-down processes.
> What processes did you use the first moment you looked at the your perception is likely to shift from seeing
picture—top-down or bottom-up? > Now try to see the opposite image two faces to seeing a single goblet.
(if you saw a goblet, look for the faces; if you saw the faces, look for The figure-ground relationship is a gestalt prin-
the goblet). Is this top-down or bottom-up processing? > Ask some ciple (Figure 20 shows others). Gestalt is German
friends what they see first in this image. What do they report? > What for “configuration” or “form,” and gestalt psychol-
do you think accounts for the differences? ogy is a school of thought that probes how people gestalt
naturally organize their perceptions according to psychology
A school of
certain patterns. One of gestalt psychology’s main
thought interested
principles is that the whole is different from the in how people
sum of its parts. For example, when you watch a movie, the motion you see in the film cannot naturally organize
be found in the film itself; if you examine the film, you see only separate frames. When you their perceptions
watch the film, the frames move past a light source at a rate of many per second, and you according to cer-
tain patterns.
perceive a whole that is very different from the separate frames that are the film’s parts.
Similarly, thousands of tiny pixels make up an image (whole) on a computer screen.
DEPTH PERCEPTION Images appear on our retinas in two-dimensional form, yet

depth perception remarkably we see a three-dimensional world. Depth perception is the ability to perceive
The ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. Look around you. You do not see your surroundings as flat. You
objects three-dimensionally.
see some objects farther away, some closer. Some objects overlap each other. The scene and
objects that you are looking at have depth. How do you see depth? To perceive a world of binocular cues
depth, we use two kinds of information, or cues—binocular and monocular. Depth cues that
Because we have two eyes, we get two views of the world, one from each eye. Binocular depend on the
cues are depth cues that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right combination of the
eyes and on the way the two eyes work together. The pictures are slightly different because images in the left
and right eyes and
the eyes are in slightly different positions. Try holding your hand about 10 inches from on the way the
your face. Alternately close and open your left and right eyes so that only one eye is two eyes work
open at a time. The image of your hand will appear to jump back and forth, because the together.
(a) (b) (c)
FIGURE 20 Gestalt Principles of Closure, Proximity, and Similarity (a) Closure: When we see disconnected or incomplete figures, we fill in the
spaces and see them as complete figures. (b) Proximity: When we see objects that are near each other, they tend to be seen as a unit. You are likely to perceive
the grouping as four columns of four squares, not one set of 16 squares. (c) Similarity: When we see objects that are similar to each other, they tend to be seen
as a unit. Here, you are likely to see vertical columns of circles and squares in the left box but horizontal rows of circles and squares in the right box.

image is in a slightly different place on the left and right retinas. The disparity, or
difference, between the images in the two eyes is the binocular cue the brain 3-D glasses use disparity as
uses to determine the depth, or distance, of an object. The combination of the well—they present different
two images in the brain, and the disparity between them in the eyes, give us images to each eye.
information about the three-dimensionality of the world (Georgeson & others,
2016). Thus, the disparity between the images presented by our two eyes contributes to
our capacity to see a world in 3D. Glasses that are used to see films in 3D capitalize on
the fact that our brain will do a great job of “making sense” of disparate images.
Convergence is another binocular cue to depth and distance. When we use our two convergence
eyes to look at something, they are focused on the same object. If the object is near us, A binocular cue to depth and
distance in which the muscle
our eyes converge, or move together, almost crossing. If the object is farther away, we can movements in an individual’s
focus on it without pulling our eyes together. The muscle movements involved in conver- two eyes provide information
gence provide information about how far away or how deep something is. about how deep and/or far
In addition to using binocular cues to get an idea of objects’ depth, we rely on a num- away something is.
ber of monocular cues, available from the image in one eye, either right or left. Monocu- monocular cues
lar cues are powerful, and under normal circumstances they can provide a compelling Powerful depth cues avail-
able from the image in one
impression of depth. Try closing one eye—your perception of the world still retains many eye, either the right or the
of its three-dimensional qualities. Examples of monocular cues are left.
1. Familiar size and relative size: This cue to the depth and distance of objects is based on
what we have learned from experience about the standard sizes of objects. We know
how large oranges tend to be, so we can tell something about how far away an orange
is likely to be by the size of its image on the retina. We also use relative sizes to give
us information about objects in the world. We know that dogs are smaller than cars,
and we can get a sense for how big a dog is if it is standing in front of a car.
2. Height in the field of view: All other things being equal, objects positioned higher in a
picture are seen as farther away.
3. Linear perspective: Objects that are farther away take up less space on the retina. So,
things that appear smaller are perceived to be farther away. As Figure 21 shows, as
an object recedes into the distance, parallel lines in the scene appear to converge. If
you were drawing a picture of a hill covered with trees, you would likely draw the
trees at the front of the picture taller than those farther away, high on the hill.
Objects in the horizon appear smaller than those that are closer.
4. Overlap: We perceive an object that partially conceals or overlaps another object as closer.
FIGURE 21 An Artist’s Use of the Monocular Cue of Linear Perspective

Courtesy National Gallery of Art

5. Shading: This cue involves changes in perception due to the posi-
tion of the light and the position of the viewer. Consider an egg
under a desk lamp. If you walk around the desk, you will see
different shading patterns on the egg.
6. Texture gradient: Texture becomes denser and finer the farther
away it is from the viewer (Figure 22).
Depth perception is a remarkably complex adaptation. Individuals with
only one functioning eye cannot see depth in the way that those with two
eyes can. Other disorders of the eye can also lead to a lack of depth
perception. The late Oliver Sacks (2006) described the case of Susan
Barry, who had been born with crossed eyes. The operation to correct
her eyes left her cosmetically normal, but she was unable to perceive
FIGURE 22 Texture Gradient The depth throughout her life. As an adult, she became determined to see
gradients of texture create an impression of depth. With a doctor’s aid, she found special glasses and performed eye
depth on a flat surface. muscle exercises to improve her chances of perceiving in three dimen-
sions. It was a difficult and long process, but one day she noticed things
starting to “stick out” at her—as you might when watching a film in 3-D.
Although Barry had successfully adapted to life in a flat visual world, she had come to real-
ize that relying on monocular cues was not the same as experiencing the rich visual world
of binocular vision. She described flowers as suddenly appearing “inflated.” She noted how
“ordinary things looked extraordinary” as she saw the leaves of a tree, an empty chair, and
her office door projecting out from the background. For the first time, she had a sense of
being inside the world she was viewing.
MOTION PERCEPTION Motion perception plays an important role in the lives of

many species (Clarke, Longtin, & Maler, 2014; Niehorster & Li, 2017; Qadri, Asen, & Cook,
2014). Indeed, for some animals, motion perception is critical for survival. Both predators
and their prey depend on being able to detect motion quickly (Aptekar & Frye, 2013). Frogs
and some other simple vertebrates may not even see an object unless it is moving. For
example, if a dead fly is dangled motionlessly in front of a frog, the frog cannot sense its
winged meal. The bug-detecting cells in the frog’s retinas are wired only to sense movement.
Whereas the retinas of frogs can detect movement, the retinas of humans and other
primates cannot. In humans and other primates, the brain takes over the job of analyzing
motion through highly specialized pathways.
How do humans perceive movement? First, we have neurons that are specialized to
detect motion. Second, feedback from our body tells us whether we are moving or whether
someone or some object is moving; for example, you move your eye muscles as you watch
a ball coming toward you. Third, the environment we see is rich in cues that give us
information about movement (Kaiser & Haselhuhn, 2017). For example, when we run,
our surroundings appear to be moving.
apparent movement Psychologists are interested in both real movement and apparent movement, which
The perception that a occurs when we perceive a stationary object as moving. You can experience apparent
stationary object is moving. movement at IMAX movie theaters. In watching a film of a climb of Mount Everest, you
may find yourself feeling breathless as your visual field floods with startling images. In
theaters without seats, viewers of these films are often warned to hold the handrail because
perceived movement is so realistic that they might fall.
PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCY Retinal images change constantly. Yet even though

the stimuli that fall on our retinas change as we move closer to or farther away from objects,
or as we look at objects from different orientations and in light or dark settings, our per-
perceptual constancy ception of them remains stable. Perceptual constancy is the recognition that objects are
The recognition that objects constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing.
are constant and unchanging We experience three types of perceptual constancy—size constancy, shape constancy,
even though sensory input
about them is changing.
and color constancy—as follows:
■ Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size even though the
retinal image of the object changes (Figure 23). Experiment is important to size

perception. No matter how far away you are from your
car, you know how large it is.
■ Shape constancy is the recognition that an object retains
the same shape even though its orientation to you
changes. Look around. You probably see objects of vari-
ous shapes—chairs and tables, for example. If you walk
around the room, you will view these objects from differ-
ent sides and angles. Even though the retinal image of
the object changes as you walk, you still perceive the
objects as having the same shape (Figure 24).
■ Color constancy is the recognition that an object retains
the same color even though different amounts of light
fall on it. For example, if you are reaching for a green
Granny Smith apple, it looks green to you whether you
are having it for lunch, in the bright noon sun, or as an
evening snack in the pale pink of sunset.
Perceptual constancy tells us about the crucial role of
interpretation in perception: We interpret sensation. That
is, we perceive objects as having particular characteristics
regardless of the retinal image detected by our eyes.
Images may flow across the retina, but experiences are
made sensible through perception. The many cues we use
to visually perceive the real world can lead to optical illu-
sions when they are taken out of that real-world context,
as you can experience for yourself in Figure 25. Optical FIGURE 23 Size Constancy Even though our retinal
illusions involve “tricking” the eye by using cues that work images of the hot air balloons vary, we still realize the
very well in real life vision to create perceptions that do balloons are approximately the same size. This illustrates the
principle of size constancy.
not reflect reality. ©Steve Allen/Getty Images
As you look over these illusions, consider that culture can
influence the extent to which people experience these illusions. In cultures where two-
dimensional images, such as drawings on a piece of paper, are not typically used, geo-
metrical illusions are less likely to lead to errors (Segall, Campbell, & Herskovits, 1966).
FIGURE 24 Shape Constancy The various projected images from an opening door are quite different, yet you perceive a
rectangular door.

Ponzo Illusion
The top line looks much longer than the
bottom, but they are the same length.
Rotational Illusion
The two rings appear to rotate in different
Blinking Effect Illusion directions when we approach or move away
Stare at the white circles and notice the from this figure while fixing our eyes on the
intermittent blinking effect. Your eyes make the center.
static figure seem dynamic, attempting to fill in
the white circle intersections with the black of
the background.
FIGURE 25 Perceptual Illusions

These illusions show how adaptive perceptual
cues can lead to errors when taken out of
Pattern Recognition
context. They are definitely fun, but keep in
Although the diagram contains no actual
mind that these illusions are based on
triangles, your brain “sees” two overlapping
processes that are quite adaptive in real life. triangles. The explanation is that the Induction Illusion
Remember, not everyone sees these illusions. notched circles and angled lines merely suggest The yellow patches are identical, but they
In cultures where exposure to two-dimensional gaps in which complete objects should be. The look different and seem to take on the charac-
representations is not common, individuals are brain fills in the missing information. teristics of their surroundings when they appear
less fooled by geometric illusions. against different-color backgrounds.
1. When we refer to the hue of a light C. frequently; infrequently B. Because objects that are smaller
wave, we are referring to what we D. frequently; frequently on the retina are typically farther
perceive as away, Sondra was fooled by
A. intensity. APPLY IT! 4. Sondra was driving in relative size.
B. radiation. the country one afternoon. There was C. Because objects in the mirror are
C. brightness. not much traffic on the long, straight closer than they appear, Sondra
D. color. road, though Sondra noticed a man was not able to detect the just-
walking along the roadside some dis- noticeable difference.
2. To read this question, you are looking at
tance away. Suddenly, as she ap- D. Because objects that are smaller
it. After the light passes into your eyes,
proached the person, he drifted toward on the retina are typically closer
the incoming light waves are recorded
the middle of the road, and Sondra, with than they appear, Sondra was
by receptor cells located in the
screeching brakes, was shocked to real- fooled by shape constancy.
A. retina.
ize she had nearly hit a child. Fortu-
B. cornea.
nately, the child was not harmed. It had
C. blind spot.
become clear to Sondra that what had
D. optic chiasm.
seemed like a man some distance away
3. If you are in a well-lighted room, your was actually a child who was much
rods are being used ______ and closer than she realized. What explains
cones are being used _____. this situation?
A. infrequently; frequently A. Sondra’s occipital lobe must be
B. infrequently; infrequently damaged.

3 The Auditory System
Just as light provides us with information about the environment, so does sound. Sounds
tell us about the presence of a person behind us, the approach of an oncoming car, the
force of the wind, and the mischief of a 2-year-old. Perhaps most important, sounds allow
us to communicate through language and song.
The Nature of Sound and How

We Experience It
At a fireworks display, you may feel the loud boom of the explosion in your
chest. At a concert, you might have sensed that the air around you was vibrat-
ing. Bass instruments are especially effective at creating mechanical pulsations,
even causing the floor to vibrate. When the bass is played loudly, we can sense
air molecules being pushed forward in waves from the speaker. How does
sound generate these sensations?
Sound waves are vibrations in the air that are processed by the auditory
(hearing) system. Remember that light waves are much like the waves in the
ocean moving toward the beach. Sound waves are similar. Sound waves also
vary in length. Wavelength determines the sound wave’s frequency, that is, the
number of cycles (full wavelengths) that pass through a point in a given time
interval. Pitch is the perceptual experience of the frequency of a sound, whether
it is high like a whistle or low like a bass horn. We perceive high-frequency
sounds as having a high pitch, and low-frequency sounds as having a low pitch.
A soprano voice sounds high-pitched; a bass voice sounds low-pitched. As with ©Daxiao Productions/Shutterstock
the wavelengths of light, human sensitivity is limited to a range of sound fre-
quencies. It is common knowledge that dogs, for example, can hear higher
frequencies than humans can.
Sound waves vary not only in frequency but also, like light waves, in amplitude. A
sound wave’s amplitude, measured in decibels (dB), is the amount of pressure the sound
wave produces relative to a standard. The typical standard, 0 decibels, is the weakest
sound the human ear can detect. Loudness is the perception of the sound wave’s ampli-
tude. In general, the higher the amplitude of the sound wave, or the higher the decibel
level, the louder we perceive the sound to be. Thus, in terms of amplitude, the air is
pressing more forcibly against you and your ears during loud sounds and more gently
during quiet sounds.
So far we have been describing a single sound wave with just one frequency. A single
sound wave is similar to the single wavelength of pure colored light, discussed in
the context of color matching. Most sounds, including those of speech and music,
are complex sounds, those in which numerous frequencies of sound blend together. Morgan Freeman and James
Timbre is the tone saturation, or the perceptual quality, of a sound. Timbre is Earl Jones do a lot of voice-over work
responsible for the perceptual difference between a trumpet and a trombone
because their voices have marvelously
playing the same note and for the quality differences we hear in human voices.
Figure 26 illustrates the physical differences in sound waves that produce the rich timbres!
various qualities of sounds.
Structures and Functions of the Ear

What happens to sound waves once they reach your ear? How do various structures of
the ear transform sound waves into signals that the brain will recognize as sound? Func-
tionally the ear is analogous to the eye. The ear serves the purpose of transmitting a
Th e Au d it ory Sys t em // 109

Physical Dimension Perceptual Dimension Form of Sound Waves
Amplitude (intensity) Loudness
Loud Soft
Frequency Pitch
Low High
Complex sounds Timbre
(Form of sound wave from a clarinet)
FIGURE 26 Physical Difference in Sound Waves and the Qualities of Sound They
Produce Here we can see how the input of sound stimuli requires our ears and brain to attend to
varying characteristics of the rich sensory information that is sound.
high-fidelity version of sounds in the world to the brain for analysis and interpretation.
Just as an image needs to be in focus and sufficiently bright for the brain to interpret it,
a sound needs to be transmitted in a way that preserves information about its location,
its frequency (which helps us distinguish the voice of a child from that of an adult), and
outer ear
its timbre (which allows us to identify the voice of a friend on the telephone). The ear is
The outermost part of the
ear, consisting of the pinna divided into three parts: outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear (Figure 27).
and the external auditory
canal. OUTER EAR The outer ear consists of the pinna and the external auditory canal.
The funnel-shaped pinna (plural, pinnae) is the outer, visible part of the ear. (Elephants
FIGURE 27 The Outer, Outer ear Middle ear

Middle, and Inner Ear On entering
the outer ear, sound waves travel
Semicircular
through the auditory canal, where Hammer canals
they generate vibrations in the Pinna Anvil
eardrum. These vibrations are Auditory
transferred via the hammer, anvil, nerve
and stirrup to the fluid-filled cochlea
in the inner ear. There the
mechanical vibrations are converted
into an electrochemical signal that
the brain will recognize as sound. Sound
Stirrup
Eardrum Cochlea
Auditory canal
Inner ear

have very large pinnae.) The pinna collects sounds and channels them into the interior
of the ear. The pinnae of many animals, such as cats, are movable and serve a more
important role in sound localization than do the pinnae of humans. Cats turn their ears
in the direction of a faint and interesting sound.
MIDDLE EAR After passing the pinna, sound waves move through the auditory
canal to the middle ear. The middle ear channels and amplifies the sound through the middle ear
eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup to the inner ear. The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, The part of the ear that
separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound. The ear- channels and amplifies
sound through the eardrum,
drum is the first structure that sound touches in the middle ear. The hammer, anvil, and hammer, anvil, and stirrup to
stirrup are an intricately connected chain of very small bones. When they vibrate, they the inner ear.
transmit sound waves to the fluid-filled inner ear (Oxenham, 2018). The muscles that
operate these tiny bones take the vibration of the eardrum and transmit it to the oval
window, the opening of the inner ear.
If you are a swimmer, you know that sound travels far more easily in air than in water.
Sound waves entering the ear travel in air until they reach the inner ear. At the
border between the middle and the inner ear—which, as we will see below, is
The hammer, anvil, and stirrup
a border between air and fluid—sound meets the same kind of resistance as
do shouts directed at an underwater swimmer when the shouts hit the surface are also called the ossicles. These are
of the water. To compensate, the muscles of the middle ear can maneuver the the tiniest bones in the human body.
hammer, anvil, and stirrup to amplify the sound waves. Importantly, these mus-
cles, if necessary, can also work to decrease the intensity of sound waves, to protect
the inner ear.
INNER EAR The function of the inner ear, which includes the oval window, cochlea, inner ear
and basilar membrane, is to convert sound waves into neural impulses and send them The part of the ear that
on to the brain (Sohmer, 2014). The stirrup is connected to the oval window. The oval includes the oval window,
cochlea, and basilar mem-
window is a membrane-covered opening that leads from the middle ear to the inner ear. brane and whose function is
The oval window transmits sound waves to the cochlea. The cochlea is a tubular, fluid- to convert sound waves into
filled structure that is coiled up like a snail (Figure 28). The basilar membrane lines the neural impulses and send
inner wall of the cochlea and runs its entire length. It is narrow and rigid at the base of them to the brain.
the cochlea but widens and becomes more flexible at the top. The variation in width and
flexibility allows different areas of the basilar membrane to vibrate more intensely when
exposed to different sound frequencies (Oxenham, 2018; Verberne & others, 2017). For
example, the high-pitched tinkle of a little bell stimulates the narrow region of the basi-
lar membrane at the base of the cochlea, whereas the low-pitched tones of a tugboat
whistle stimulate the wide end.
In humans and other mammals, hair cells line the basilar membrane (see Figure 28).
These hair cells are the sensory receptors of the ear. They are called hair cells
because of the tufts of fine bristles, or cilia, that sprout from the top of them. The
movement of the hair cells against the tectorial membrane, a jellylike flap above them,
generates resulting impulses that the brain interprets as sound (Sellon, Ghaffari, &
Freeman, 2017). Hair cells are so delicate that exposure to loud noise can destroy
them, leading to deafness or difficulties in hearing. Once lost, hair cells cannot
regenerate. However, researchers are seeking to develop ways to regenerate these
crucial aspects of hearing including through the use of stem cells (Franco &
Malgrange, 2017).
Cochlear implants are devices that were specifically developed to replace damaged hair
cells. A cochlear implant—a small electronic device that is surgically implanted in the ear
and head—allows deaf or profoundly hard-of-hearing individuals to detect sound (Moberly
& others, 2017; Reidy & others, 2017). Cochlear implants are not hearing aids. A hearing
aid amplifies sound so a person can hear it. A cochlear implant does not amplify sound.
Rather, it works by using electronic impulses to directly stimulate whatever working audi-
tory nerves the recipient has in his or her cochlea. In the United States, approximately
58,000 adults and 38,000 children have had cochlear implants (National Institute on
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2014).

Tectorial membrane Auditory nerve
Hair cell
Basilar membrane
lined with hair cells
Stirrup
Auditory
Oval window nerve
Cochlea
Fluid-filled
canals
Sound Auditory
vibrations nerve
Basilar membrane Cross section of cochlea
FIGURE 28 The Cochlea The cochlea is a spiral structure consisting of fluid-filled canals. When the stirrup vibrates against the oval window, the fluid
in the canals vibrates. Vibrations along portions of the basilar membrane correspond to different sound frequencies. The vibrations exert pressure on the hair
cells (between the basilar and tectorial membranes); the hair cells in turn push against the tectorial membrane, and this pressure bends the hairs. This
triggers an action potential in the auditory nerve.
Theories of Hearing
One of the auditory system’s mysteries is how the inner ear registers the frequency of
sound. Two theories aim to explain this mystery: place theory and frequency theory.
Place theory states that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular place on the place theory
basilar membrane. Georg von Békésy (1960) studied the effects of vibration applied at the Theory on how the
inner ear registers
oval window on the basilar membrane of human cadavers. Through a microscope,
the frequency of
he saw that this stimulation produced a traveling wave on the basilar membrane. sound, stating that
Békésy won a Nobel Prize in
A traveling wave is like the ripples that appear in a pond when you throw in a each frequency
1961 for his research on the basilar stone. However, because the cochlea is a long tube, the ripples can travel in produces vibra-
membrane. only one direction, from the oval window at one end of the cochlea to the far tions at a particular
spot on the basilar
tip of the cochlea. High-frequency vibrations create traveling waves that maximally
membrane.
displace, or move, the area of the basilar membrane next to the oval window; low-frequency
vibrations maximally displace areas of the membrane closer to the tip of the cochlea.
Place theory adequately explains high-frequency sounds but not low-frequency sounds.
A high-frequency sound, like the screech of a referee’s whistle or the piercing high note
of an opera diva, stimulates a precise area on the basilar membrane, just as the theory
suggests. However, a low-frequency sound, like the tone of a tuba or the croak of a bullfrog,
causes a large part of the basilar membrane to be displaced, making it hard to identify
an exact location that is associated with hearing this kind of sound. Looking only at the
movement of the basilar membrane, you would get the impression that humans are prob-
ably not very good at hearing low-frequency sounds, and yet we are. Therefore, some other
factors must be at play in low-frequency hearing.

Frequency theory gets at these other influences by stating that the perception of a frequency theory
sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires. Higher-frequency sounds Theory on how the inner
ear registers the frequency
cause the auditory nerve to fire more often than do lower-frequency sounds. One limita-
of sound, stating that the
tion of frequency theory, however, is that a single neuron has a maximum firing rate of perception of a sound’s
about 1,000 times per second. Therefore, frequency theory does not apply to tones with frequency depends on how
frequencies that would require a neuron to fire more rapidly. often the auditory nerve fires.
To deal with this limitation of frequency theory, researchers developed the volley principle, volley principle
which states that a cluster of nerve cells can fire neural impulses in rapid succession, Principle addressing limita-
producing a volley of impulses. Individual neurons cannot fire faster than 1,000 times per tions of the frequency theory
of hearing, stating that a clus-
second, but if the neurons team up and alternate their neural firing, they can attain a ter of nerve cells can fire
combined frequency above that rate. To get a sense for how the volley principle works, neural impulses in rapid suc-
imagine a troop of soldiers who are all armed with guns that can fire only one round at cession, producing a volley
a time and that take time to reload. If all the soldiers fire at the same time, the frequency of impulses.
of firing is limited and cannot go any faster than it takes to reload those guns. If,
however, the soldiers are coordinated as a group and fire at different times, some Phew! Two theories and a
of them can fire while others are reloading, leading to a greater frequency of firing. principle just to explain
Frequency theory better explains the perception of sounds below 1,000 times per
second, whereas a combination of frequency theory and place theory is needed to
how we hear.
account for sounds above 1,000 times per second.
Auditory Processing in the Brain

As we considered in the discussion of the visual system, once our receptors pick up energy
from the environment, that energy must be transmitted to the brain for processing and
interpretation. We saw that in the retina, the responses of the rod and cone receptors feed
into ganglion cells and leave the eye via the optic nerve. In the auditory system, informa-
tion about sound moves from the hair cells of the inner ear to the auditory nerve, which auditory nerve
carries neural impulses to the brain’s auditory areas. Remember that it is the movement The nerve structure that
receives information about
of the hair cells that transforms the physical stimulation of sound waves into the action
sound from the hair cells of
potential of neural impulses (Oxenham, 2018). the inner ear and carries
Auditory information moves up the auditory pathway via electrochemical transmission in these neural impulses to the
a more complex manner than does visual information in the visual pathway. Many synapses brain’s auditory areas.
occur in the ascending auditory pathway, with most fibers crossing over the midline between
the hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, although some proceed directly to the hemisphere
on the same side as the ear of reception (Lewald & Getzmann, 2011; Stange-Marten & oth-
ers, 2017). This means that most of the auditory information from the left ear goes to the right
side of the brain, but some also goes to the left side of the brain. The auditory nerve extends
from the cochlea to the brain stem, with some fibers crossing over the midline. The cortical
destination of most of these fibers is the temporal lobes of the brain, beneath the temples of
the head. As in the case of visual information, researchers have found that features are
extracted from auditory information and transmitted along parallel path- Do It!
ways in the brain (Recanzone & Sutter, 2008).
Imagine hearing impossible sounds,
nonexistent words, or three voices
where only two exist. Welcome to the
Localizing Sound world of auditory illusions. In Figure 25
you tried out some visual illusions. Did
When we hear a fire engine’s siren or a dog’s bark, how do we know you know that there are auditory
where the sound is coming from? The basilar membrane gives us infor- illusions as well? Search the web for
mation about the frequency, pitch, and complexity of a sound, but it “auditory illusions” and try some out.
does not tell us where a sound is located. They can be truly amazing and
Earlier in the chapter we saw that because our two eyes see slightly dif- baffling! Keep in mind, just as you did
ferent images, we can determine how near or far away an object is. Similarly, when looking at the optical illusions,
having two ears helps us to localize a sound because each receives somewhat that these illusions emerge as a
function of capacities that work very
different stimuli from the sound source. A sound coming from the left has
well in the “real world.”
to travel different distances to the two ears, so if a barking dog is to your

FIGURE 29
The Sound Shadow The sound
shadow is caused by the listener’s
head, which forms a barrier that
Sound
reduces the sound’s intensity. Here the
sound is to the person’s left, so the
sound shadow will reduce the intensity
of the sound that reaches the right ear.
Left ear Right ear
Sound shadow
left, your left ear receives the sound sooner than your right ear. Also, your left ear will receive
a slightly more intense sound than your right ear in this case. The sound reaching one ear is
more intense than the sound reaching the other ear for two reasons: (1) It has traveled less
distance, and (2) the other ear is in what is called the sound shadow of the listener’s head,
which provides a barrier that reduces the sound’s intensity (Figure 29). Blind individuals use
the sound shadow to orient themselves. Compared to other animals, the human capacity to
locate sounds is characterized by high levels of precision (Stange-Marten & others, 2017).
Thus, differences in both the timing of the sound and the intensity of the sound help you
to localize a sound (Stange-Marten & others, 2017). You often have difficulty localizing a
sound that is coming from a source directly in front of you because it reaches both ears
simultaneously. The same is true for sounds directly above your head or directly behind you,
because the disparities that provide information about location are not present. So, we are
able to localize sounds because we have two ears on the opposite sides of our head. This
anatomical setup allows us to use time and intensity to know where a sound is coming from.
1. Your mother’s and sister’s voices D. to clean the external auditory ca- make sense of it. Which of the following
have the same pitch and loudness, nal of any potential wax buildup. explains Limbaugh’s experience?
but you can tell them apart on the A. He is no longer able to listen
3. The bones of the middle ear are set
telephone. This is due to the percep- to music from a top-down
into motion by vibrations of the
tual quality, or ______, of their perspective.
A. cochlea.
voices. B. He is able to engage in top-down
B. eardrum.
A. timbre listening, but not bottom-up
C. saccule.
B. wavelength listening.
D. basilar membrane.
C. frequency C. He is likely to have experienced
D. amplitude damage to the temporal lobes.
APPLY IT! 4. Conservative radio per- D. He is not able to experience any
2. The major function of the hammer, sonality Rush Limbaugh experienced
auditory sensation.
anvil, and stirrup of the middle ear is sudden hearing loss in 2001, after which
A. to soften the tone of incoming he received a cochlear implant. He has
stimuli for appropriate processing. described his ability to listen to music as
B. to stir cochlear fluid so that bone dependent on what he heard before be-
conduction hearing can occur. coming deaf. If he had heard a song
C. to amplify vibrations and pass prior to becoming deaf, he could hear it,
them on to the inner ear. but if it was a new song, he could not
4 Other Senses
Beyond vision and hearing, the body has other sensory systems. These include the skin
senses and the chemical senses (smell and taste), as well as the kinesthetic and vestibular
senses (systems that allow us to stay upright and to coordinate our movements).

The Skin Senses
You know when a friend has a fever by putting your hand to her head; you know how to
find your way to the light switch in a darkened room by groping along the wall; and you
know whether a pair of shoes is too tight by the way the shoes touch different parts of
your feet when you walk. Many of us think of our skin as a canvas rather than a sense.
We color it with cosmetics, dyes, and tattoos. In fact, the skin is our largest sensory
system, draped over the body with receptors for touch, temperature, and pain. These three
kinds of receptors form the cutaneous senses.
TOUCH Touch is one of the senses that we most often take for granted,
Your ability to find a nickel in
yet our ability to respond to touch is astounding. What do we detect when we
feel “touch”? What kind of energy does our sense of touch pick up from our your pocket without looking is a truly amazing
external environment? In vision we detect light energy. In hearing we detect feat of touch. Not even the most sophisticated
the vibrations of air or sound waves pressing against our eardrums. In touch robot can do it.
we detect mechanical energy, or pressure against the skin. The lifting of a single
hair causes pressure on the skin around the hair shaft. This tiny bit of mechanical
pressure at the base of the hair is sufficient for us to feel the touch of a pencil point.
More commonly we detect the mechanical energy of the pressure of a car seat against
our buttocks or of a pencil in our hand. Is this energy so different from the kind of energy
we detect in vision or hearing? Sometimes the only difference is one of intensity—the
sound of a rock band playing softly is an auditory stimulus, but at the high volumes that
make a concert hall reverberate, this auditory stimulus is also felt as mechanical energy
pressing against our skin.
How does information about touch travel from the skin through the nervous system?
Sensory fibers arising from receptors in the skin enter the spinal cord. From there the Warm Cold
information travels to the brain stem, where most fibers from each side of the body cross water water
over to the opposite side of the brain. Next the information about touch moves on to the
thalamus, which serves as a relay station. The thalamus then projects the map of the
body’s surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex
(Hirata & Castro-Alamancos, 2010; Sereno, 2017).
Just as the visual system is more sensitive to images on the fovea than to images in
the peripheral retina, our sensitivity to touch is not equally good across all areas of the
skin. Human toolmakers need excellent touch discrimination in their hands, but they
require much less touch discrimination in other parts of the body, such as the torso and
legs. The brain devotes more space to analyzing touch signals coming from the hands
than from the legs.
TEMPERATURE We not only can feel the warmth of a comforting hand on our
hand, we also can feel the warmth or coolness of a room. We must be able to detect
thermoreceptors temperature in order to maintain our body temperature. Thermoreceptors, sensory nerve
Sensory nerve endings under the skin, respond to temperature changes at or near the skin and provide
endings under the
input to keep the body’s temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. There are two types of
skin that respond
to changes in tem- thermoreceptors: warm and cold. Warm thermoreceptors respond to the warming of the
perature at or near skin, and cold thermoreceptors respond to the cooling of the skin. When warm and cold FIGURE 30
the skin and pro- A “Hot” Experience
receptors that are close to each other in the skin are stimulated simultaneously, we expe-
vide input to keep rience the sensation of hotness. Figure 30 illustrates this “hot” experience. When two pipes, one
the body’s temper- containing cold water and the
The sense of touch is one of the ways we connect with each other. Patting a friend on
ature at 98.6 de- other warm water, are
grees Fahrenheit. the shoulder during a difficult time or giving someone a much needed hug are just two
braided together, a person
of the ways interpersonal touch communicates our feelings. Individuals with mirror-touch
touching the pipes feels a
pain synaesthesia experience the sense of touch in an extreme and sometimes troubling way.sensation of “hot.” The
The sensation that To read about this fascinating condition, see the Intersection. perceived heat coming from
warns an individual
of damage to the
the pipes is so intense that
body.
PAIN Pain is the sensation that warns us of damage to the body. When contact with the individual cannot touch
the skin takes the form of a sharp pinch, our sensation of mechanical pressure changes them for longer than a
from touch to pain. When a pot handle is so hot that it burns our hand, our sensation couple of seconds.
Other Senses // 115

INTERSECTION
Sensation and Social Psychology: Why Do Some
People Literally Feel What Others Feel?
T
he human capacity for empathy, the ability to feel what dummy, and an object. The groups only differed when the target
others are feeling, lies at the heart of compassion and of touch was another person’s face (Holle, Banissy, & Ward, 2013).
caring. For some people with a rare condition called This result suggests that MTS is not simply about perceiving touch
mirror-touch synaesthesia (MTS), the feeling of empathy but is, in some ways, about confusing the self and others. Individu-
takes on a very different character. MTS means that a person als with MTS seem to experience what another person is experi-
experiences tactile sensations when the person sees someone encing, suggesting that people with MTS cannot disregard what
else being touched. One of the distinctive features of MTS is the another person is feeling or doing (Cioffi, Banissy, & Moore, 2016).
specificity of the experience: The role of mirror neurons in
Seeing someone else get- MTS is still controversial but
ting a flu shot, a woman with research on this unusual
MTS might feel (literally) the experience may help us
needle prick on her own understand sensation and
arm. For individuals with perception more generally
MTS, the phrase “I feel your (Linkovski, Katzin, & Salti,
pain” is taken to a com- 2017).
pletely different level (Martin, Imagine having such di-
Cleghorn, & Ward, 2017). rect access to other people’s
What explains the phe- feelings. We might think that
nomenon of MTS? It seems such a situation would solve
to involve processes at two a host of problems, remov-
separate levels—the brain ing misunderstandings al-
and sensory systems but most completely. What
also the way people think, would it be like to say “I
socially. One theory of MTS know how you feel” and
relies on the mirror-neuron © PeopleImages/Getty Images
really mean it? At the same
system for touch (Ward & time, individuals with MTS
Banissy, 2015). Recall that when we see another person being may find the unrelenting bombardment of other people’s feelings
touched, our own mirror neurons activate, simulating the other to be exhausting and difficult. For some, MTS means automatically
person’s experience. A brain-imaging study showed that, among feeling what another person is experiencing and never knowing if
those with MTS, the mirror system is more active in response to your feelings are really your own (Martin, Cleghorne, & Ward,
seeing another person experience touch (Holle, Banissy, & Ward, 2017).
2013). One of the most fascinating aspects of MTS is its social
\\ What would it be like to
nature. For instance, in the brain-imaging study noted above, indi-
viduals with and without MTS were compared as they watched feel another person’s
someone touch three different targets: another person’s face, a feelings, literally?
of temperature becomes one of pain. Intense stimulation of any one of

Do It! the senses can produce pain—too much light, very loud sounds, or too
If you’d like to learn more about many habanero peppers, for example. Our ability to sense pain is vital
mirror-touch synaesthesia, check out for our survival as a species. It functions as a quick-acting messenger
the Entanglement episode of the that tells the brain’s motor systems that they must act fast to minimize
Invisibilia Podcast. www.npr.org/ or eliminate damage.
podcasts/510307/Invisibilia Pain receptors are dispersed widely throughout the body—in the skin,
in the sheath tissue surrounding muscles, in internal organs, and in the
membranes around bone. Although all pain receptors are anatomically similar, they differ
in the type of physical stimuli to which they most readily react, with some responding to
pressure, others to heat, and others to both. Many pain receptors are chemically sensitive
and respond to a range of pain-producing substances.

Pain receptors have a much higher threshold for firing than receptors for temperature
and touch (Cassels & Barde, 2017). Pain receptors react mainly to physical stimuli that
distort them or to chemical stimuli that irritate them into action. Inflamed joints or sore,
torn muscles produce prostaglandins, fatty acids that stimulate the receptors and cause the
experience of pain. Drugs such as aspirin likely reduce the feeling of pain by reducing
prostaglandin production.
Two different neural pathways transmit pain messages to the brain: a fast pathway and
a slow pathway (Boddice, 2017). In the fast pathway, fibers connect directly with the thal-
amus and then to the motor and sensory areas of the cerebral cortex. This pathway trans-
mits information about sharp, localized pain, as when you cut your skin. The fast pathway
may serve as a warning system, providing immediate information about an injury—it takes
less than a second for the information in this pathway to reach the cerebral cortex. In the
slow pathway, pain information travels through the limbic system, a detour that delays the
arrival of information at the cerebral cortex by seconds. The unpleasant, nagging pain that
characterizes the slow pathway may function to remind the brain that an injury has occurred
and that we need to restrict normal activity and monitor the pain (Ranebo & others, 2017).
Many neuroscientists believe that the brain actually generates the experience of pain.
There is evidence that turning pain signals on and off is a chemical process that probably
involves endorphins. Recall that endorphins are neurotransmitters that function as natural
opiates in producing pleasure and pain (Coutaux, 2017). Endorphins are believed to be
released mainly in the synapses of the slow pathway.
Perception of pain is complex and often varies from one person to the next (Fillingim,
2017). Some people rarely feel pain; others seem to be in great pain if they experience a
minor bump or bruise. When people experience the same potentially pain-causing injury,
some may find it to be relatively mild while others are made quite miserable. A person’s
pain thresholds can also change with age (Lautenbacher & others, 2017). To some degree,
these individual variations may be physiological. A person who experiences considerable
pain even with a minor injury may have a neurotransmitter system that is deficient in
endorphin production. However, perception of pain goes beyond physiology. Although it
is true that all sensations are affected by factors such as motivation, expectation, and other
related decision factors, the perception of pain is especially susceptible to these factors.
For example, when people experience high levels of work stress, their pain threshold tends
to be lower (Hven, Frost, & Bonde, 2017).
Studies have shown that women experience more clinical pain and suffer more pain-
related distress than men (Bartley & Fillingim, 2016; Carpenter & Patil, 2017; Mansfield
& others, 2016). However, this difference is not consistently found and men and women
are very similar in pain perception, intensity, and types of pain experienced (Racine &
others, 2012a, 2012b). An important factor to consider in the realm of gender differences
in pain is the role of cultural expectations (Berke & others, 2017). Men may be more
likely than women to respond physiologically to pain while women may be more likely to
report openly about their experiences of pain (Etherton, Lawson, & Graham, 2014).
Cultural and ethnic contexts influence the degree to which an individual experiences
or reports pain (Kim & others, 2017). Compared to Americans and Europeans, Japanese
consider expressing physical pain to be inappropriate and report lower levels of pain (Feng
& others, 2017; Onishi & others, 2017). Of course, pain can mean different things to dif-
ferent people. For example, one pain researcher described a ritual performed in India in
which a chosen person travels from town to town delivering blessings to the children and
the crops while suspended from metal hooks embedded in his back (Melzack, 1973). The
individual apparently reports no sensation of pain and appears to be in ecstasy.
The Chemical Senses

The information processed through our senses comes in many diverse forms: electromag-
netic energy in vision, sound waves in hearing, and mechanical pressure and temperature
in the skin senses. The two senses we now consider, smell and taste, are responsible for
Other Senses // 117

processing chemicals in our environment. Through smell, we detect airborne chemicals,
and through taste we detect chemicals that have been dissolved in saliva. Smell and taste
are frequently stimulated simultaneously. We notice the strong links between the two
senses when a nasty cold with lots of nasal congestion takes the pleasure out of eating.
Our favorite foods become “tasteless” without their characteristic smells. Despite this link,
taste and smell are two distinct systems.
TASTE Think of your favorite food. Why do you like it? Imagine that food without
its flavor. The thought of giving up a favorite taste, such as chocolate, can be depressing.
Indeed, eating food we love is a major source of pleasure.
How does taste happen? To get at this question, try this. Take a drink of milk and
allow it to coat your tongue. Then go to a mirror, stick out your tongue, and look care-
fully at its surface. You should be able to see rounded bumps above the surface. Those
bumps, called papillae, contain taste buds, the receptors for taste. Your tongue houses papillae
about 10,000 taste buds, which are replaced about every two weeks. As people age, Rounded bumps
however, this replacement process is not quite as efficient, and an older individual above the
Some people have more papillae tongue’s surface
may have just 5,000 working taste buds at any given moment. As with all of that contain the
than others. A "supertaster" is someone who the other sensory systems we have studied, the information picked up by these taste buds, the re-
has as many as 40 papillae in a 6 mm area taste receptors is transmitted to the brain for analysis and, when necessary, ceptors for taste.
of the tongue (about the size of a pencil eraser). for a response (spitting something out, for example).
Supertasters can taste substances that The taste fibers leading from a taste bud to the brain often respond strongly
others cannot and thus are valuable to a range of chemicals spanning multiple taste elements, such as salty and sour.
to the food and wine industries. The brain processes these somewhat ambiguous incoming signals and integrates
them into a perception of taste (Iannilli & others, 2012). So although people often
categorize taste sensations along the four dimensions of sweet, bitter, salty, and sour, our
tasting ability goes far beyond these. Researchers and chefs have been exploring a taste
called umami (Maruyama & others, 2006; Satoh-Kuriwada & others, 2014). Umami is the
Japanese word for “delicious” or “yummy.” The taste of umami, one that Asian cooks
have long recognized, is the flavor of L-glutamate. What is that taste? Umami is a
Studying complex tastes like umami savory flavor that is present in many seafoods as well as soy sauce, parmesan and
is surprisingly important to understanding the mozzarella cheese, anchovies, mushrooms, and hearty meat broths.
nature of human consciousness. These tastes Culture certainly influences the experience of taste. Any American who
are subjective—the experience goes beyond the has watched the Japanese version of the TV series Iron Chef quickly notices
that some people enjoy the flavor of sea urchin, while others just do not get
simple sensations to a complex experience
the appeal. In some cultures, food that is so spicy as to be practically inedible
that is more than the sum of its parts. for the outsider may be viewed as quite delicious or umami. The culture in which
we live can influence the foods we are exposed to as well as our sense of what tastes
good. In some cultures, very spicy food is introduced slowly into children’s diets so that
they can learn what is delicious at an
early age.
SMELL Why do we have a sense of

smell? One way to appreciate the impor-
tance of smell is to think about animals
with a more sophisticated sense of smell
than our own. A dog, for example, can use
smell to find its way back from a long
stroll, to distinguish friend from foe, and
even (with practice) to detect illegal drugs
concealed in a suitcase. In fact, dogs can
detect odors in concentrations 100 times
lower than those detectable by humans.
Given the nasal feats of the average dog,
we might be tempted to believe that the
sense of smell has outlived its usefulness
©norikko/Shutterstock in humans.

PSYCHOLOGY IN OUR WORLD
Why Salt Is the Salt of the Earth

M any people, including those with high blood pressure or diabetes and
older adults, should keep their salt intake relatively low. That can be
hard to do because—as the ingredients list on the labels of most foods
reveals—salt is everywhere. A recent study of supertasters might give us a
clue as to why salt seems so important to good flavor.
Supertasters have a highly sensitive palate and can detect flavors other
folks cannot. Given their heightened taste sensitivity, we might expect
supertasters to use less salt than others. One study found just the opposite.
Supertasters in fact were more likely to add salt to their food than others
(Hayes & Keast, 2011). Why might this be the case? One of the researchers,
John E. Hayes, suggests that because supertasters are so sensitive to a
wide range of flavors (including the bitterness of some foods), they need
more salt to counteract those flavors.
The explanation is that salt does not just make foods salty—it changes
how humans experience a whole host of flavors. Have you ever noticed that
recipes for even sweet foods like cakes and cookies include a pinch of salt?
Chefs know that salt does more than add a salty flavor, and sometimes it
©Tom Grill/Getty Images
seems that everything tastes better with a sprinkle of salt.
What do humans use smell for? For one thing, humans need the sense of smell to
decide what to eat. We can distinguish rotten food from fresh food and remember (all
too well) which foods have made us ill in the past. The smell of a food that has previously
made us sick is often by itself enough to make us feel nauseated. For another thing,
although tracking is a function of smell that we often associate only with animals, humans
are competent odor trackers. We can follow the odor of gas to a leak, the smell of smoke
to a fire, and the aroma of a hot apple pie to a windowsill.
What physical equipment do we use to process odor information? Just as the eyes scan
the visual field for objects of interest, the nose is an active instrument. We actively sniff
when we are trying to track down the source of a fire or an unfamiliar chemical odor.
The olfactory epithelium lining the roof of the nasal cavity contains a sheet of receptor olfactory epithelium
cells for smell (Figure 31), so sniffing maximizes the chances of detecting an odor. The The lining of the roof of the
nasal cavity, containing a
receptor cells are covered with millions of minute, hairlike antennae that project through
sheet of receptor cells for
the mucus in the top of the nasal cavity and make contact with air on its way to the smell.
throat and lungs (Lapid & others, 2011). Interestingly, unlike the neurons of most sensory
systems, the neurons in the olfactory epithelium tend to replace themselves after injury
(Vukovic & others, 2009).
What is the neural pathway for information about smell? The answer to this question
reveals an important difference between the sense of smell and other senses. All other
sensory pathways pass through the thalamus but the pathway for smell does not. In smell,
the neural pathway goes straight to the olfactory areas in the temporal lobes. Then it
projects to various brain regions, especially the limbic system, which is involved in emo-
tion and memory (Huart, Collet, & Rombaux, 2009; Stankewitz & May, 2011). Unlike the
other senses, smells take a superhighway to emotion and memory, a phenomenon we will
consider in more detail when those topics are discussed.
Other Senses // 119

Olfactory bulb Olfactory nerve
Bone
Olfactory
chemicals
Nasal passage
Receptor cells located in the

ge
olfactory epithelium of the Olfactory bulb sa
upper nasal passage pas
l
as
Na
FIGURE 31
The Olfactory Sense Airborne molecules of an odor reach tiny
receptor cells in the roof of the nasal cavity. The receptor cells form
a mucus-covered membrane called the olfactory epithelium. Then
the olfactory nerve carries information about the odor to the brain
for further processing.
©Tara McDermott
Smell might have a role to play in the chemistry of interpersonal attraction. From an
evolutionary perspective, the goal of human mating is to find someone with whom to
produce the healthiest offspring (Buss, 2012). Mates with differing sets of genes (known
as the major histocompatibility complex, or MHC) produce healthier offspring with the
broadest immune systems (Mueller, 2010). How do we find these people, short of taking
a blood test? Martie Haselton (2006) has conducted studies on interpersonal attraction
using the “smelly T-shirt” paradigm. In this research, men are asked to wear a T-shirt to
bed every day for a week without washing it. After they have been thoroughly imbued
with a male’s personal scent, the T-shirts are pre-
sented to women to smell and rate for attractiveness.
Women reliably rate men whose MHCs are different
from their own as more attractive, on the basis of the
aroma of the T-shirts. Thus, although the eyes may
be the window to the soul, the nose might be the
gateway to love. Interestingly, researchers have not
found these effects for women who are taking contra-
ceptives that alter their hormonal cycles.
The Kinesthetic and

Vestibular Senses
You know the difference between walking and running
and between lying down and sitting up. To perform
even the simplest act of motor coordination, such as
reaching out to take a book off a shelf or getting up
The kinesthetic and vestibular senses play an essential role in a baseball
pitcher’s windup and delivery. out of a chair, the brain must constantly receive and
©Digital Vision/Getty Images coordinate information from every part of the body.

Your body has two kinds of senses that give you information about your movement and
kinesthetic orientation in space, as well as help you to maintain balance. The kinesthetic senses provide
senses information about movement, posture, and orientation. The vestibular sense provides infor-
Senses that pro-
mation about balance and movement.
vide information
about movement, No specific organ contains the kinesthetic senses. Instead, they are embedded in muscle
posture, and ori- fibers and joints. As we stretch and move, these receptors signal the state of the muscle.
entation. Kinesthesia, the name for the kinesthetic senses, is a sense that you often do not even
notice until it is gone. Try walking when your leg is “asleep” or smiling (never mind talking)
vestibular sense
when you have just come from a dentist’s office and are still under the effects of Novocain.
Sense that pro-
vides information We can appreciate the sophistication of kinesthesis when we think about it in
about balance terms of memory. Even a mediocre typist can bang out 20 words per minute—but You may not think about the
and movement. how many of us could write down the order of the letters on a keyboard with- kinesthetic senses as senses at all.
out looking? Typing is a skill that relies on very coordinated sensitivity to the But these senses are important to our
orientation, position, and movements of our fingers. We say that our fingers ability to navigate in the world and
“remember” the positions of the keys. Likewise, the complicated movements a
know where our body is and what it is
pitcher uses to throw a baseball cannot be written down or communicated easily
using language. They involve nearly every muscle and joint in the body. Most infor- doing at any given moment.
mation about the kinesthetic senses is transmitted from the joints and muscles along the
same pathways to the brain as information about touch.
The vestibular sense tells us whether our head (and hence usually our body) is tilted,
moving, slowing down, or speeding up. It works in concert with the kinesthetic senses to
coordinate our proprioceptive feedback, which is information about the position of our
limbs and body parts in relation to other body parts. Consider the combination of sensory
abilities involved in the motion of a hockey player skating down the ice, cradling the puck,
and pushing it forward with the hockey stick. The hockey player is responding simultane-
ously to a multitude of sensations, including those produced by the slickness of the ice,
the position of the puck, the speed and momentum of the forward progression, and the
requirements of the play to turn and to track the other players on the ice.
semicircular The semicircular canals of the inner ear contain the sensory receptors that detect head
canals motion caused when we tilt or move our heads and/or bodies (Figure 32). These canals
Three fluid-filled
consist of three fluid-filled, circular tubes that lie in the three planes of the body—right-left,
circular tubes in
the inner ear con- front-back, and up-down. We can picture these as three intersecting hula hoops. As you move
taining the sensory your head, the fluid of the semicircular canals flows in different directions and at different
receptors that de- speeds (depending on the force of the head movement). Our perception of head movement
tect head motion and position is determined by the movements of these
caused when an
receptor cells (Yoder & Taube, 2014). This ingenious
individual tilts or
moves the head system of using the motion of fluid in tubes to sense
and/or the body. head position is similar to the auditory system of the
inner ear. However, the fluid movement in the cochlea
results from the pressure sound exerts on the oval win-
dow, whereas the movements in the semicircular canals
reflect physical movements of the head and body. Ves-
tibular sacs in the semicircular canals contain hair cells
embedded in a gelatin-like mass. Just as the hair cells
in the cochlea trigger hearing impulses in the brain,
the hair cells in the semicircular canals transmit infor-
mation about balance and movement.
The brain pathways for the vestibular sense show
the interesting nature of this sense and the importance
of structures used for hearing for our sense of balance.
Impulses from the vestibular sense begin in the audi- FIGURE 32
tory nerve, which contains both the cochlear nerve The Semicircular Canals and the Vestibular Sense
(with information about sound) and the vestibular The semicircular canals provide feedback to the gymnast’s brain as her
head and body tilt in different directions. Any angle of head rotation is
nerve (which has information about balance and
registered by hair cells in one or more semicircular canals in both ears.
movement). Most of the axons of the vestibular nerve (inset) The semicircular canals.
connect with the medulla, although some go directly (gymnast) ©Dominique Douieb/Getty Images; (inner ear) ©MedicalRF.com/Getty Images
Other Senses // 121

to the cerebellum. There also appear to be vestibular projections to the
Do It! temporal cortex, but research has not fully charted their specific pathways.
If you have a few minutes and a strong Information from the sense of vision supplements the combination
stomach, give your vestibular system a of kinesthetic and vestibular senses. This principle causes a motorist to
workout. Spin around quickly and slam on the brakes in his tiny sports car when the big truck next to him
repeatedly for a minute. You can do it starts to move forward. When everything in our visual field appears to
in a swivel chair or standing in the be moving, it is generally because we are moving.
center of a room (be careful of sharp Throughout this chapter we have viewed sensation and perception as
edges). When you stop, you will feel our connections to the world. Sensation builds a bridge between the
dizzy. Here’s what’s happening. The objects in our environment and the creative interpreter that is our brain.
fluid in the semicircular canals moves
Through perception, our sensations become meaningful and our mental
rather slowly and changes direction
life engages with the environment. Sensation and perception allow us to
very slowly. When we spin for a while,
the fluid eventually catches up with survive in that environment but also to experience the world in all its
our rate of motion and starts moving in vibrancy. Sue Barry, the woman who achieved the ability to perceive
the same direction. When we stop depth only after a long, arduous effort, described her encounter with
moving, however, the slow-moving nature on a snowy day. “I felt myself within the snow fall, among the
fluid keeps on moving. It tells the hair snowflakes . . . . I was overcome with a sense of joy. A snow fall can be
cells in the vestibular canals (which in quite beautiful—especially when you see it for the first time” (quoted in
turn tell the brain) “We are still Sacks, 2006, p. 73). Also, recall Michael May, who was able to see after
spinning”—and we feel as if we are. 25 years of blindness. One night, with his seeing-eye dog Josh at his
side, he decided to go look at the sky. Lying on the grass in a field, he
opened his eyes. He thought he was “seeing stars”—in the metaphorical sense. He thought
that the thousands of white lights in the sky could not really be real, but they were. As
he remarked in his vision diary: “How sweet it is” (May, 2003; Stein, 2003).
1. Taste buds are bunched together in head motion, as when we move our (in other words, he hates it). What does
A. taste cells. head and/or body, are the this example demonstrate?
B. the papillae. A. stirrups. A. Danny may not have the taste
C. salivary glands. B. semicircular canals. receptors for umami.
D. the olfactory epithelium. C. hammer. B. Although Sean and Danny have
D. cochlea. similar tongue anatomy, percep-
2. _____ is/are involved in the sense of
tion is still a subjective process.
smell.
A. The papillae
APPLY IT! 4. Sean loves anchovy, Sean is apparently a big umami
mushroom, and double-cheese pizza on fan, but Danny is not.
B. The olfactory epithelium
a whole-wheat crust from his hometown C. Danny may have a disorder
C. The thalamus
pizzeria. He brings a pie back from home of the olfactory epithelium.
D. The pinnae
to give his roommate Danny a chance D. Danny is engaged in top-down
3. The inner-ear structures that contain to taste it. Sean is stunned by Danny’s processing.
the sensory receptors that detect reaction to the pizza: “Dude! Epic fail!”
SUMMARY
1 How We Sense and Perceive is the smallest difference in stimulation required to discriminate one
stimulus from another 50 percent of the time.
the World Perception is influenced by attention, beliefs, and expectations.
Sensory adaptation is a change in the responsiveness of the sensory
Sensation is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the environ- system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation, essentially
ment. Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory the ways that our senses start to ignore a particular stimulus once it is
information to give it meaning. Perceiving the world involves both around long enough.
bottom-up and top-down processing. All sensation begins with sensory
receptors, specialized cells that detect and transmit information about a
stimulus to sensory neurons and the brain. Sensory receptors are selec- 2 The Visual System
tive and have different neural pathways. Light is the stimulus that is sensed by the visual system. Light can be
Psychologists have explored the limits of our abilities to detect stim- described in terms of wavelengths. Three characteristics of light waves
uli. Absolute threshold refers to the minimum amount of energy that determine our experience: wavelength (hue), amplitude (brightness),
people can detect. The difference threshold, or just noticeable difference, and purity (saturation).

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©Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

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1 How We Sense and Perceive the World

The Processes and Purposes

BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN PROCESSING Psychologists distinguish

How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 85

THE PURPOSES OF SENSATION AND PERCEPTION Why do we

Sensory Receptors and the Brain

How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 87

Photoreception: Mechano- Mechano- Chemoreception: Chemoreception:

Eyes Ears Skin Nose Tongue

FIGURE 3 Information Flow in Senses The diagram shows a general flow

How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 89

75 ticks; put it on a table and walk far enough away that

Vision A candle flame at 30 miles on a dark, clear night

absolute threshold for detecting a clock’s ticking sound. Psychologists

DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD In addition to studying how much energy is required

SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION Can sensations that occur below our absolute

How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 91

Perceiving Sensory Stimuli

How We Sense and Perc eive t h e World // 93

2 The Visual System

The Visual Stimulus and the Eye

LIGHT Light is a form of electromagnetic energy that can be described in terms of

Light waves of smaller amplitude make

FIGURE 9 A Color Tree Showing Color’s Three

Visual Processing in the Brain

Type of vision Black and white Color

Responses Dimly lit Well lit

Shape Thin and long Short and fat

Distribution Not on fovea On fovea and

100 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on

PARALLEL PROCESSING Sensory informa-

BINDING Some neurons respond to color, others to

Th e Vis u al Sys t em // 101

102 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on

Th e Vis u al Sys t em // 103

DEPTH PERCEPTION Images appear on our retinas in two-dimensional form, yet

(a) (b) (c)

104 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a n d Per c epti on

FIGURE 21 An Artist’s Use of the Monocular Cue of Linear Perspective

Th e Vis u al Sys t em // 105

MOTION PERCEPTION Motion perception plays an important role in the lives of

PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCY Retinal images change constantly. Yet even though

106 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on

Th e Vis u al Sys t em // 107

FIGURE 25 Perceptual Illusions

108 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on

The Nature of Sound and How

Structures and Functions of the Ear

Th e Au d it ory Sys t em // 109

Amplitude (intensity) Loudness

Complex sounds Timbre

(Form of sound wave from a clarinet)

FIGURE 27 The Outer, Outer ear Middle ear

110 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on

Th e Au d it ory Sys t em // 111

Basilar membrane Cross section of cochlea

112 // C H A P T E R 3 // S e n s a t i o n a nd Per c epti on