AP Psychology - Sensation and Perception Flashcards
Advanced Placement Psychology
Enterprise High School, Redding, CA
All terms from Myers Psychology for AP (BFW Worth, 2011)
Terms : Hide Images [1]
| 5396391281 | sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. |  | 0 |
| 5396391283 | bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. |  | 1 |
| 5396391284 | top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. | | 2 |
| 5396391285 | selective attention | the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. |  | 3 |
| 5396391286 | inattentional blindness | failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere. |  | 4 |
| 5396391287 | change blindness | failing to notice changes in the environment. |  | 5 |
| 5396391288 | absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. |  | 6 |
| 5396391289 | signal detection theory | a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness. |  | 7 |
| 5396391291 | difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. Also called the just noticeable difference (jnd). | | 8 |
| 5396391293 | sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. |  | 9 |
| 5396391294 | transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret. |  | 10 |
| 5396391295 | wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic versions of this vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission. | 11 | |
| 5396391296 | hue | the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth. |  | 12 |
| 5396391297 | intensity | the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude. |  | 13 |