Unit 3 - Sensation & Perception
Question and answers verified to pass
2025/2026
sensation - correct answer ✔the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive
and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
perception - correct answer ✔the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling
us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
bottom-up processing - correct answer ✔analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information.
top-down processing - correct answer ✔information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
selective attention - correct answer ✔the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
inattentional blindness - correct answer ✔failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere.
change blindness - correct answer ✔failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of
inattentional blindness.
transduction - correct 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 brains
can interpret.
, psychophysics - correct answer ✔the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of
stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
absolute threshold - correct answer ✔the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular
stimulus 50 percent of the time.
signal detection theory - correct answer ✔a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of
a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise).
subliminal - correct answer ✔below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
priming - correct answer ✔the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus
predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
difference threshold - correct answer ✔the minimum difference between two stimuli required for
detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference
(or jnd).
Weber's Law - correct answer ✔the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ
by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
sensory adaption - correct answer ✔diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
perceptual set - correct answer ✔a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
extrasensory perception (ESP) - correct answer ✔the controversial claim that perception can occur
apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Question and answers verified to pass
2025/2026
sensation - correct answer ✔the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive
and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
perception - correct answer ✔the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling
us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
bottom-up processing - correct answer ✔analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information.
top-down processing - correct answer ✔information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
selective attention - correct answer ✔the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
inattentional blindness - correct answer ✔failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere.
change blindness - correct answer ✔failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of
inattentional blindness.
transduction - correct 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 brains
can interpret.
, psychophysics - correct answer ✔the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of
stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
absolute threshold - correct answer ✔the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular
stimulus 50 percent of the time.
signal detection theory - correct answer ✔a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of
a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise).
subliminal - correct answer ✔below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
priming - correct answer ✔the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus
predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
difference threshold - correct answer ✔the minimum difference between two stimuli required for
detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference
(or jnd).
Weber's Law - correct answer ✔the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ
by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
sensory adaption - correct answer ✔diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
perceptual set - correct answer ✔a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
extrasensory perception (ESP) - correct answer ✔the controversial claim that perception can occur
apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
