PSYCH 110 Notes-10/2/17

HEARING/AUDATION
-physical stimulus: sound waves from music enter your outer ear, making the eardrum vibrate.
Then they pass to the middle ear, making the ossicles and the oval window vibrate. Finally, they
pass to the cochlea, in your inner ear.
-sensation: pressure waves in the cochlea move the basilar membrane, stimulating the sensory
receptors, called hair cells, in your inner ear.
-transduction: when the hair cells bend, they convert the pressure waves into signals that are
sent to the brain by the auditory nerve
-perception: the auditory nerve carries the neural signal first to the thalamus and then to the
primary auditory cortex, which processes your perception of the sound.
(see canvas for pictures)

SOUNDWAVES
-higher amplitude sound wave: creates a louder sound
-lower amplitude sound wave: creates a higher sound
-low-frequency sound wave: low-pitched sound
-high-frequency sound wave: high-pitched sound
(see canvas for diagram)

AUDITORY LOCALIZATION
-intensity and timing
-source of sound (here a cell phone)
-the sound reaches the left ear first and is perceived as more intense, this cue indicates that the
sound is closer to the left ear
-the sound reaches right ear second and is perceived as less intense, this cue also indicates that
the sound is closer to the left ear

DOPPLER EFFECT
-sound is higher pitched when traveling toward something and becomes lower pitched with
travelling away from someone
(ex: the sound of an emergency vehicle siren)

TASTE AND SMELL

-together, taste and smell produce the experience of flavor. In fact, flavor is based more on smell
than on taste.
-gustation: taste
-olfaction: smell
(see canvas for steps of tasting and smelling)

GUSTATION
-five main tastes: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, and umami (savory)
-supertasters: people who have six times as many taste buds than the average person, highly
aware of flavors, especially bitter flavors, avoid unhealthy foods often, picky eaters

TASTE PREFERENCES
-texture of food affects taste preferences
-whether food causes discomfort affects preference

OLFACTION (smell)
-physical stimulus: when you smell a loaf of bread, odorants pass into your nose and nasal cavity
(see rest of description on canvas)

VARIETY OF SMELLS
-each receptor responds to different odorants
-humans can distinguish more than a trillion odorants
-prefrontal cortex: pleasant or unpleasant
-smell intensity is processed in the amygdala (emotion and memory)

SENSE OF TOUCH
-physical stimulus: when you feel something on yours skin, such as cold water, your skin registers
the tactile stimulation
-sensation: the water stimulates sensory receptors in the skin, called warm, cold, and pressure
receptors
-transduction: the warm, cold, and pressure receptors convert the stimulation into signals that
are transmitted to the brain by various nerves
-perception: for touches above the neck, cranial nerves send neural signals to the brain(see the
rest on canvas

PAIN
-fast fibers: myelinated fibers quickly convey intense sensory input to the brain, where it is
perceived as sharp, immediate pain
-slow fibers: unmyelinated fivers slowly convey intense sensory input to the brain, where it is
perceived as chronic, dull, steady pain, stay active much longer

GATE CONTROL THEORY

-we experience pain when pain receptors are activated and a neural gate in the spinal cord
allows the signals thorough to the brain
-gate can be blocked by nerves involved in touch

CONTROLLING PAIN
-distraction can reduce your perception of pain