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Unit 4 Key Terms
N/A
12
Psychology
12th Grade
10/05/2012

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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
Selective Attention
Definition
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Term
Inattentional blindness
Definition
failing to see visual objects when our attention is directed else where.
Term
Change blindness
Definition
failing to notice changes in the environment.
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 amount of 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 stimuation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and taht detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.
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.
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