AP Psychology Unit 4 questions and
answers with solutions
Sensation: - ANSWER the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive
and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Perception: - ANSWER the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling
us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Bottom-up Processing: - ANSWER analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information
Top-down Processing: - ANSWER information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Selective attention: - ANSWER the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness: - ANSWER failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere
Change Blindness: - ANSWER failing to notice changes in the environment
Psychophysics: - ANSWER the study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli,
such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold: - ANSWER the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus
50% of the time
, Signal detection theory: - ANSWER a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence
of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes there is no single absolute threshold
and that detection depends party on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and
alertness
Subliminal: - ANSWER below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Priming: - ANSWER the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus
predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
Difference threshold: - ANSWER the minimum difference between two stimuli required for
detection 50% of the time
Weber's Law: - ANSWER the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ
by a constant percentage
Sensory adaptation: - ANSWER diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction: - ANSWER conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the
transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, smells, into neural impulses our brains
can interperet.
Wavelength: - ANSWER the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of
the next.
Hue: - ANSWER the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of the light
Intensity: - ANSWER the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as
brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude
answers with solutions
Sensation: - ANSWER the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive
and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Perception: - ANSWER the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling
us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Bottom-up Processing: - ANSWER analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up
to the brain's integration of sensory information
Top-down Processing: - ANSWER information processing guided by higher-level mental
processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Selective attention: - ANSWER the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness: - ANSWER failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed
elsewhere
Change Blindness: - ANSWER failing to notice changes in the environment
Psychophysics: - ANSWER the study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli,
such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them
Absolute threshold: - ANSWER the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus
50% of the time
, Signal detection theory: - ANSWER a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence
of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes there is no single absolute threshold
and that detection depends party on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and
alertness
Subliminal: - ANSWER below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Priming: - ANSWER the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus
predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
Difference threshold: - ANSWER the minimum difference between two stimuli required for
detection 50% of the time
Weber's Law: - ANSWER the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ
by a constant percentage
Sensory adaptation: - ANSWER diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Transduction: - ANSWER conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the
transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, smells, into neural impulses our brains
can interperet.
Wavelength: - ANSWER the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of
the next.
Hue: - ANSWER the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of the light
Intensity: - ANSWER the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as
brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude
