THE A+ ADVANTAGE: ACE 2026/2027 NEU 325 SENSATION
AND PERCEPTION CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION|
COMPREHENSIVE Q&A
● perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory
information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
(Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● bottom-up processing. Answer: analysis that begins with the sensory
receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory
information. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● top-down processing. Answer: information processing guided by
higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions
drawing on our experience and expectations. (Myers Psychology for
AP 2e p. 152)
● selective attention. Answer: the focusing of conscious awareness on a
particular stimulus. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● inattentional blindness. Answer: failing to see visible objects when our
attention is directed elsewhere. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 154)
● change blindness. Answer: failing to notice changes in the
environment. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 154)
, ● transduction. Answer: 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 brain can
interpret.(Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 155)
● psychophysics. Answer: the study of relationships between the
physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our
psychological experience of them. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p.
155)
● absolute threshold. Answer: the minimum stimulation needed to detect
a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. (Myers Psychology for AP
2e p. 156)
● signal detection theory. Answer: 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 alertness. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 156)
● subliminal. Answer: below one's absolute threshold for conscious
awareness. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 157)
● priming. Answer: the activation, often unconsciously, of certain
associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
(Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 157, 336)
AND PERCEPTION CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION|
COMPREHENSIVE Q&A
● perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory
information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
(Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● bottom-up processing. Answer: analysis that begins with the sensory
receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory
information. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● top-down processing. Answer: information processing guided by
higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions
drawing on our experience and expectations. (Myers Psychology for
AP 2e p. 152)
● selective attention. Answer: the focusing of conscious awareness on a
particular stimulus. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 152)
● inattentional blindness. Answer: failing to see visible objects when our
attention is directed elsewhere. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 154)
● change blindness. Answer: failing to notice changes in the
environment. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 154)
, ● transduction. Answer: 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 brain can
interpret.(Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 155)
● psychophysics. Answer: the study of relationships between the
physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our
psychological experience of them. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p.
155)
● absolute threshold. Answer: the minimum stimulation needed to detect
a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time. (Myers Psychology for AP
2e p. 156)
● signal detection theory. Answer: 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 alertness. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 156)
● subliminal. Answer: below one's absolute threshold for conscious
awareness. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 157)
● priming. Answer: the activation, often unconsciously, of certain
associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
(Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 157, 336)
