AP Psy: Sensation: Basic Concepts

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receive & represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Question 2

Sensory receptors

Answer 2

Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimulus.

Question 3

Perception

Answer 3

The process by which our brain organized & interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects & events as meaningful.

Question 4

Bottom-up processing

Answer 4

Information processing that begins with the sensory receptors & works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.

Question 5

Top-down processing

Answer 5

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processing, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience & expectations.

Question 6

Transduction

Answer 6

Conversion of one form of energy, such as sights, sounds, & smells, into neural impulses the brain can interpret.

• Vision = light energy
• Hearing = sound waves

Question 7

Psychophysis

Answer 7

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, sich as their intensity, & our psychological experience of them.

Question 8

Absolute threshold

Answer 8

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

• Different levels of stimuli to test

Question 9

Single decteion theory

Answer 9

Predicting how & when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes there is no single absolute threshold & that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, & alertness.

Question 10

Subliminal

Answer 10

Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Question 11

Priming

Answer 11

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.

Question 12

Weber’s law

Answer 12

The principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than constant amount).

Question 13

Sensory adaptation

Answer 13

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.