AP Psychology sensation and
perception Question and answers
already passed 2025/2026
Sensation - correct answer ✔Detecting physical energy from the environment and encoding it as neural
signals
Bottom-Up Processing - correct answer ✔Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Externally Driven.
Perception - correct answer ✔Selecting, organizing, and interpreting what comes in your window as
meaningful objects and events.
Top-Down Processing - correct answer ✔Guided by higher level mental processes, such as experience,
motivation, and expectations
Perceptual Adaptation - correct answer ✔Ability to adjust to an artificially displaced field
Psychophysics - correct answer ✔The study of how physical energy relates to our psychological
experience
Transduction - correct answer ✔Conversion of one form of energy into another
Absolute Threshold - correct answer ✔The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus
50% of the time
Difference Threshold
, (JND) - correct answer ✔The minimum difference a person can detect between any 2 stimuli 50% of
the time
Weber's Law - correct answer ✔Difference thresholds differ by a constant percentage rather than a
constant amount.
Signal Detection Theory - correct answer ✔Predicts when we will detect weak stimuli amid background
noise
Depends on experience, expectations, motivation, and fatigue level
Subliminal Messages - correct answer ✔Stimuli below one's absolute threshold
Unconsciously sensed
Works to an extent
Sensory Adaptation - correct answer ✔Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Wavelength - correct answer ✔Determines Hue
Amplitude - correct answer ✔Determines Brightness
Pupil - correct answer ✔A small adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
Iris - correct answer ✔A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the
pupil and controls the size of the pupil's opening
Cornea - correct answer ✔Protects the eye and bends light to provide focus
perception Question and answers
already passed 2025/2026
Sensation - correct answer ✔Detecting physical energy from the environment and encoding it as neural
signals
Bottom-Up Processing - correct answer ✔Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Externally Driven.
Perception - correct answer ✔Selecting, organizing, and interpreting what comes in your window as
meaningful objects and events.
Top-Down Processing - correct answer ✔Guided by higher level mental processes, such as experience,
motivation, and expectations
Perceptual Adaptation - correct answer ✔Ability to adjust to an artificially displaced field
Psychophysics - correct answer ✔The study of how physical energy relates to our psychological
experience
Transduction - correct answer ✔Conversion of one form of energy into another
Absolute Threshold - correct answer ✔The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus
50% of the time
Difference Threshold
, (JND) - correct answer ✔The minimum difference a person can detect between any 2 stimuli 50% of
the time
Weber's Law - correct answer ✔Difference thresholds differ by a constant percentage rather than a
constant amount.
Signal Detection Theory - correct answer ✔Predicts when we will detect weak stimuli amid background
noise
Depends on experience, expectations, motivation, and fatigue level
Subliminal Messages - correct answer ✔Stimuli below one's absolute threshold
Unconsciously sensed
Works to an extent
Sensory Adaptation - correct answer ✔Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Wavelength - correct answer ✔Determines Hue
Amplitude - correct answer ✔Determines Brightness
Pupil - correct answer ✔A small adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
Iris - correct answer ✔A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the
pupil and controls the size of the pupil's opening
Cornea - correct answer ✔Protects the eye and bends light to provide focus
