In this video I introduce psychophysics and explain the difference between the absolute threshold and the difference threshold (or just noticeable difference). I also discuss the difficulties of measuring our sensitivity to stimulation and provide a simple demonstration of Weber’s … Read More
Introduction to Sensation and Perception
In this video I introduce sensation and perception by explaining the difference between these two related terms. I also define transduction and consider how the organization and interpretation of sensory stimulation involves learning, experience, and the possibility for multiple interpretations … Read More
What is Psychophysics?
My apologies to those of you hoping to read about physics gone mad; the truth is that psychophysics is actually the study of our sensitivity to stimuli of different strengths. This is generally done by attempting to measure different types of … Read More
Sensation & Perception Resources
On this page you’ll find a number of resources for understanding the key concepts of sensation and perception. If I’ve missed a good resource, please share it in the comments section! General Resources Sensation & Perception Key Terms Sensation & … Read More
How do 3D Movies Work?
Before we can address how 3D movies work, we need a brief review on how we experience depth perception in our everyday life. Remember that our retinas are flat surfaces which light stimulates, so how do we go from 2 … Read More
Hallucinations
I recently finished reading Oliver Sacks’ book Hallucinations. It’s a fascinating look at different types of hallucinatory experiences, from the visual scenes of Charles Bonnet Syndrome to hearing voices and feeling mystical religious ecstasy. In one chapter, Sacks also describes his … Read More
Visual Illusions from Stuart Anstis
Here’s a link to some great demonstrations from Stuart Anstis at UCSD. You can also find audio from all of the lectures of his Psych 102 class on Sensation and Perception here. The link here is to the latest edition … Read More
Magic and Change Blindness
Here’s another example of change blindness featuring Magic Singh performing some close-up illusions, followed by Beau Lotto explaining why this type of blindness occurs. While the video refers to inattentional blindness, this is probably better referred to as change blindness, … Read More
Test Your Awareness
Test your awareness with this clever Whodunnit! video demonstrating change blindness
“Flicker” Change Blindness Demos
You can find some great demonstrations of “flicker” change blindness at http://www.gocognitive.net/demo/change-blindness The demo allows you to adjust the duration of time for each image as well as the duration of the mask screen in between. Longer pauses will make detecting … Read More