SENSATION AND PERCEPTION TEST PAPER
2026 COMPLETE RESPONSES GRADED A+
◉ perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting
sensory information that makes sensory patterns of objects and
events meaningful and more elaborate;
interpretation of sensations;
draws heavily on memory, motivation, and emotion
◉ top-down processing. Answer: expectations, memories,
knowledge, cultural background, and other cognitive factors;
work down;
influences perception conceptually
◉ bottom-up processing. Answer: analysis that stresses features of
the stimulus rather than internal concepts;
example: noticing a flower in a field;
building on each feature until you notice the whole picture
◉ selective attention. Answer: focusing of attention on selected
aspects of the environment and blocking out of others
,◉ cocktail party effect. Answer: only listening to a single
conversation even while other conversations are going on around
you
◉ selective inattention / inattentional blindness. Answer: failing to
see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere;
everything you miss in the background because of selective
attention
◉ change blindness. Answer: to see an object change it is necessary
to attend to it
◉ sensory threshold. Answer: the smallest amount of stimulation to
be detected 50% of the time
◉ signal-detection theory. Answer: provides a precise language and
graphic notation for analyzing decision making in the presence of
uncertainty;
detection depends on experience, expectations, motivation, and
alertness
◉ Weber's Law. Answer: the JND is LARGE when the stimulus
intensity is HIGH;
the JND is SMALL when the stimulus intensity is LOW
, ◉ Fechner's Law (difference threshold). Answer: the smallest
difference between two stimuli that can be detected as a difference;
the threshold is when you can first detect a change
◉ Steven's power law. Answer: the magnitude of subjective
sensation increases proportional to a power of stimulus intensity;
more mathematical and accurate than Fechner's Law
◉ subliminal stimulation. Answer: below the threshold
◉ priming. Answer: unconscious activation of certain associations;
predisposes one's perception, memory, or response
◉ sensory adaptation. Answer: the nervous system pays more
attention to changing stimuli than constant stimuli
◉ sensory deprivation. Answer: deliberate removal of stimuli from
the senses;
examples: blindfold, earplugs
◉ transduction. Answer: the process that converts physical energy
into neural messages
2026 COMPLETE RESPONSES GRADED A+
◉ perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting
sensory information that makes sensory patterns of objects and
events meaningful and more elaborate;
interpretation of sensations;
draws heavily on memory, motivation, and emotion
◉ top-down processing. Answer: expectations, memories,
knowledge, cultural background, and other cognitive factors;
work down;
influences perception conceptually
◉ bottom-up processing. Answer: analysis that stresses features of
the stimulus rather than internal concepts;
example: noticing a flower in a field;
building on each feature until you notice the whole picture
◉ selective attention. Answer: focusing of attention on selected
aspects of the environment and blocking out of others
,◉ cocktail party effect. Answer: only listening to a single
conversation even while other conversations are going on around
you
◉ selective inattention / inattentional blindness. Answer: failing to
see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere;
everything you miss in the background because of selective
attention
◉ change blindness. Answer: to see an object change it is necessary
to attend to it
◉ sensory threshold. Answer: the smallest amount of stimulation to
be detected 50% of the time
◉ signal-detection theory. Answer: provides a precise language and
graphic notation for analyzing decision making in the presence of
uncertainty;
detection depends on experience, expectations, motivation, and
alertness
◉ Weber's Law. Answer: the JND is LARGE when the stimulus
intensity is HIGH;
the JND is SMALL when the stimulus intensity is LOW
, ◉ Fechner's Law (difference threshold). Answer: the smallest
difference between two stimuli that can be detected as a difference;
the threshold is when you can first detect a change
◉ Steven's power law. Answer: the magnitude of subjective
sensation increases proportional to a power of stimulus intensity;
more mathematical and accurate than Fechner's Law
◉ subliminal stimulation. Answer: below the threshold
◉ priming. Answer: unconscious activation of certain associations;
predisposes one's perception, memory, or response
◉ sensory adaptation. Answer: the nervous system pays more
attention to changing stimuli than constant stimuli
◉ sensory deprivation. Answer: deliberate removal of stimuli from
the senses;
examples: blindfold, earplugs
◉ transduction. Answer: the process that converts physical energy
into neural messages
