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AP Psychology Sensation & Perception
N/A
35
Psychology
12th Grade
10/13/2014

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Term
sensation
Definition
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Term
perception
Definition
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Term
bottom-up processing
Definition
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Term
top-down processing
Definition
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Term
psychophysics
Definition
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Term
absolute threshold
Definition
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Term
signal detection theory
Definition
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.
Term
subliminal
Definition
below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Term
priming
Definition
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
Term
difference threshold
Definition
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable diffference.

also called the just noticeable difference or jnd
Term
Weber's law
Definition
to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Term
sensory adaptation
Definition
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Term
selective attention
Definition
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

cocktail party effect
Term
inattentional blindness
Definition
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Term
gate-control theory
Definition
spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Term
sensory interaction
Definition
the principle that one sense may influence another as when the smell of food influences its taste
Term
kinesthesis
Definition
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Term
vestibular sense
Definition
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance
Term
perceptual adaptation
Definition
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
Term
perceptual set
Definition
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Term
human factors psychology
Definition
a branch of psych that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.
Term
extrasensory perception (ESP)
Definition
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart form sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.
Term
parapsychology
Definition
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.
Term
visual capture
Definition
the tendency for vision to dominate all other senses
Term
gestalt
Definition
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes
Term
figure-ground
Definition
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
Term
grouping
Definition
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Term
depth perception
Definition
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Term
visual cliff
Definition
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Term
binocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes
Term
retinal disparity
Definition
a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object
Term
convergence
Definition
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. The greater the inward strain, the closer the object.
Term
monocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Term
phi phenomenon
Definition
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
Term
perceptual constancy
Definition
perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
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