APPSY Unit 3: Sensation and Perception

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

• sensation

• perception

• top-down processing

• bottom-up processing

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information; enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

• sensation

• perception

• top-down processing

• bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

• sensation

• perception

• top-down processing

• bottom-up processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental process, as when we construct perceptions drawing out our experience and expectation.

• sensation

• perception

• top-down processing

• bottom-up processing

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

• absolute threshold

• awareness threshold

• just noticeable difference

• sensory floor

the minimum difference or change between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

• absolute threshold

• awareness threshold

• difference threshold

• sensory floor

If the level of a stimulus is so low that it is noticed less than 50% of the time, it is considered to be:

• subliminal

• unnoticeable

• below the difference threshold

• subconscious

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

• adaptation

• accommodation

• habituation

• transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.

• transduction

• bottom-up processing

• accommodation

• neurotransmission

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

• wavelength

• amplitude

• intensity

• trough