Sensation & Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

Process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimuli

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

Question 3

Bottom-up processing

Answer 3

starts at sensory receptors and works up to higher levels of processing

Question 4

Top-down processing

Answer 4

Constructs perceptions from sensory input by drawing on your experience and expectations

Question 5

Transduction

Answer 5

conversion of stimulus energy into neural impulses our brain can interpret

Question 6

Psychophysics

Answer 6

Study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them

Question 7

Absolute threshold

Answer 7

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

Question 8

3 steps to all sensory systems

Answer 8

• receive sensory info
• transform stimulation into neural impulses
• deliver the neural info into our brain

Question 9

Subliminal sensation

Answer 9

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Question 10

Priming

Answer 10

The activation of certain associations predisposing one’s perception, memory or response

Question 11

Weber’s Law

Answer 11

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ a constant minimum percentage

Question 12

perceptual set

Answer 12

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (young woman vs old woman)

Question 13

Sensory adaptation

Answer 13

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Question 14

wavelength

Answer 14

distance from peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next

Question 15

Hue

Answer 15

dimension of color determined by wavelength of light

Question 16

Rods

Answer 16

Retinal receptors that detect black and white and movement

Question 17

Cones

Answer 17

retinal receptors near center of retina AS WELL as detect color and detail

Question 18

Optic Nerve

Answer 18

nerve that carries neural impulses from eye to brain

Question 19

Opponent process theory

Answer 19

theory than opposing retinal processes enable color vision (American flag example)

Question 20

Feature detectors

Answer 20

nerve cells in brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus (shape, angle, movement)

Question 22

Parallel processing

Answer 22

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously

Question 23

3 forms of grouping:

Answer 23

• Proximity
• Continuity
• Closure

Question 24

Depth perception

Answer 24

ability to see objects in 3D (allows us to judge distance)

Question 25

Relative Luminance

Answer 25

amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings