The Science of Picky Eaters (video)
More about synesthesia
Sensation: process of receiving, translating, and transmitting raw sensory data from the external and internal environments to the brain.
Perception: process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data into useful mental representations of the world.
Transduction – Transformation of one form of energy into another – especially the transformation of stimulus information into nerve impulses
Receptors –Specialized neurons that are activated by stimulation and transduce (convert) it into a nerve impulse
Sensory adaptation – Loss of responsiveness in receptor cells after stimulation has remained unchanged for a while
Absolute threshold – Amount of stimulation necessary for a stimulus to be detected
Difference threshold – Smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed and the difference be detected (also called just noticeable difference – JND)
Signal detection theory –
Perceptual judgment as combination of sensation and decision-making processes
Visual cortex –Part of the brain – the occipital cortex – where visual sensations are processed
Hearing
- Pitch – Sensory characteristic of sound produced by the frequency of the sound wave
- Loudness – Sensory characteristic of sound produced by the amplitude (intensity) of the sound wave
- Timbre – Quality of a sound wave that derives from the wave’s complexity
- Vestibular sense –Sense of body orientation with respect to gravity
- Kinesthetic sense –Sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other
Olfaction: Sense of smell
Pheromones –Chemical signals released by organisms to communicate with other members of the species
Gustation: the sense of taste
Skin senses: touch, warmth, and cold
Pain and the placebo effect
Perceptual constancy – Ability to recognize the same object under different conditions, such as changes in illumination, distance, or location
(some examples are size and shape constancy)
Gestalt psychology – View that much of perception is shaped by innate factors built into the brain
Figure and Ground
Subjective contours – Boundaries that are perceived but do not appear in the stimulus pattern
Closure 
Perceptual set
Depth Perception
Binocular cues
--retinal disparity and binocular convergence
Monocular cues
--relative size
--interposition
--relative motion
Stroop effect
Ames Room explanation
Ames Room diagram
Visual cliff experiment (video)
vision and art
Potential homework articles
Do the menstrual cycles of women living together tend to synchronize?
Finding the Perfect Mate: Male Pheromones and Female Attraction
Are there Human Pheromones?
